Foscam review
Updated September 30, 2026 · SmartHomeCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026
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Our verdict
Foscam suits self-installing homeowners who want a camera and a video doorbell without professional monitoring, with local storage available on a DIY range. Cloud retention runs 3 to 30 days, and support sits on email and help centre only, so the Home Security Superstore may suit buyers who want a phone line too.
Key facts
- Best for
- DIY buyers who want cameras and a video doorbell with recording kept on their own storage.
- Products
- Camera, Video-doorbell (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Local storage
- Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Top resolution
- 4k (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Recording retention
- 3 to 30 days (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Legal entity
- ShenZhen Foscam Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd. (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Headquarters
- China (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Founded
- 2007 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Support channels
- Email, Help-centre (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Pricing model
- Diy
- Power source
- Battery, Wired, Poe
- Ecosystems
- Alexa, Google
- Official website
- foscam.com
Pros and cons
Pros
- Local storage is available, so recording can start on hardware in the house rather than on a subscription.
- The range covers camera and video doorbell, so the cameras and the doorbell share an app.
- Power options are battery, wired and poe, so battery, wired and PoE installs all sit in the same catalogue.
- The local storage table tops out at €349.91, under the site ceiling of €1,402.75.
- Ecosystems cover alexa and google, so voice control works through the listed assistants.
Cons
- Support runs on email and help centre only, with no phone line or live chat listed, while phone support appears on 58.2% of security camera brands in the ranking.
- Cloud retention stops at 3 to 30 days, so anything older than that window has to sit on local storage.
- The range is camera and video doorbell, narrower than The Home Security Superstore, whose types cover alarm, camera and smart lock.
- Ecosystems are limited to alexa and google, while HomeKit support stands at 34.9% across the security camera ranking.
Ready to try Foscam?
Who it suits
- People who install their own kit, since the range is diy and the power options are battery, wired and poe.
- Households that want footage kept inside the home, since local storage is available and cloud retention runs 3 to 30 days.
- Buyers who want cameras and a doorbell from the same maker, since camera and video doorbell covers both sides of the house.
Who should look elsewhere
- Buyers who want alarms, smart locks and personal alarms in one order, since The Home Security Superstore covers alarm, camera and smart lock while Foscam covers camera and video doorbell.
- Households that want locks and a smoke alarm alongside cameras, since Aqara's types run to camera, smart lock and smoke alarm.
What it does well
Foscam's listed product types are camera and video doorbell, so the same account can cover the house with cameras and add a video doorbell at the front without buying into a second app. The range is diy rather than a monitored service, so the hardware is bought outright and the owner does the install. Local storage is available, and that is the detail that matters most to anyone who objects to a recurring charge: footage can sit on a card or drive inside the house and stay there. Cloud recording is the optional second copy, and it is the one with a time limit, since retention runs 3 to 30 days. Want more than that window means using local storage rather than the cloud. On cost, the security camera table puts a typical Foscam camera at €40.34 against a site wide median of €61.38, the local storage table reads €39.68 and the video doorbell table €53.98. The ceiling in the local storage table is €349.91, so the costliest local storage kit in the ranking still sits under the site maximum of €1,402.75. On the running side, the monitoring column in the security camera table reads €0 and contract months read 0 months, so the purchase is the only payment rather than the start of a cycle. The local storage table keeps its monitoring figure at €0, which points the same way.
Who runs it
The brand is run by ShenZhen Foscam Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd., whose headquarters sit in China, and it has traded since 2007. That is a settled history rather than a recent rename of an existing range, and the contracting party is a named company rather than a trading label, which matters if you order for a landlord, a letting portfolio or a business account. It also means an overseas supply chain, with warranty and returns handled by the company itself rather than by a distributor in your own market. Support is the narrower side of the picture. The listed support channels are email and help centre, so written email plus a help centre, with no phone desk and no live chat on the list. In this comparison, phone support appears on 58.2% of security camera brands, and on 63.3% of video doorbell brands, so a buyer who expects to pick up a phone after a camera fails to come online is in the smaller group. A help centre is common across the tables, at 92.5% of security camera brands and 92.2% of local storage brands, so written answers are the normal route. Email, at 73.5% across the brands tracked here, is the other one you can rely on. Budget for the answer arriving in writing rather than in the room.
How Foscam compares
Arno
BlazeVideo DE
Where Foscam is available
- Available
- United Kingdom, United States
Countries from its affiliate programme (Source)
Frequently asked questions
What does Foscam actually make?+
The listed product types are camera and video doorbell, so you can cover a house with cameras and add a video doorbell at the same front door without buying into a second app. Power options are battery, wired and poe, covering battery, wired and PoE installs, so the range suits a rental that cannot be cabled as well as a house that can.
Do I have to pay a monthly monitoring fee?+
Foscam is listed as a diy range, so the money stops at the hardware purchase. In the security camera table the median monitoring fee reads €0 and contract months read 0 months, so there is no recurring charge to cancel and nothing that renews on its own.
How long does Foscam keep my footage in the cloud?+
Cloud retention runs 3 to 30 days, so the cloud copy is a short buffer rather than a long archive. That is why local storage matters here: with local storage available, older footage can stay on hardware inside the house and the cloud window stops being the ceiling on what you can review.
Can I record without a subscription at all?+
Yes, local storage is available on the range, and 95.1% of the brands tracked here offer it, so Foscam sits with the majority on this point. Cloud recording is the optional extra rather than the only route, and the median monitoring charge in the security camera ranking reads €0.
Which voice assistants work with Foscam?+
Ecosystem support covers alexa and google, so voice control runs through the listed assistants. HomeKit is not among them, and across the security camera ranking HomeKit support stands at 34.9%, so Apple home owners have fewer options here than in the wider field.
What happens if a camera stops connecting?+
Support runs on email and help centre, so the help centre and email are the routes, with no phone desk or live chat listed. Phone support appears on 58.2% of security camera brands in the ranking, so expect to write rather than call, and have the model number ready before you send.
Who am I buying from?+
The brand is run by ShenZhen Foscam Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd., headquartered in China and trading since 2007. A named legal entity matters when you order for a landlord, a letting portfolio or a business, because the contracting party is a specific company rather than a marketplace seller. Expect written support and an overseas supply chain.
How does the price compare with other camera brands?+
In the security camera table a Foscam camera sits at €40.34, the local storage table reads €39.68 and the video doorbell table €53.98, against a site wide median of €61.38. The local storage table tops out at €349.91, under the site ceiling of €1,402.75.
Sources
- foscam.com checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Top resolution, Support channels
“By combining radar sensing with 4K resolution, the indoor Foscam R8M and outdoor Foscam PD8”
- foscam.com/company/about_us.html checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Founded, Headquarters, Legal entity, Pricing model
“Founded in 2007, Foscam has established distribution channels”
- foscam.com/company/cloudservice.html checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Recording retention
“check what happened in the past 3, 7 or 30 days”
- foscam.com/V5P.html checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Ecosystems, Local storage, Power source, Products
“Support Amazon Alexa & Google Home”
Compiled from 4 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Price, Monitoring per month, Minimum contract.
Foscam
DIY buyers who want cameras and a video doorbell with recording kept on their own storage.