If keeping an eye on your home while you’re out is of great importance to you, then you need more than just a security camera, but one that will go places with you. There are many options for beefing up your home security system but sitting at the top of the list are the Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex.
These two home security devices are excellent wire-free cameras for both outdoor and indoor use, they both have features that make the perfect tool for watching your home while on-the-go, but which camera can you trust to do a better job? Find out in this Canary Flex vs Arlo Pro 3 showdown.
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Canary Flex or Arlo Pro 3: Which Should You Buy?
Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex are smart wireless security cameras that offer users more than just the basic requirements for home security, they both have an array of premium features to ensure your home is covered 24/7 while giving you the option to stream live security footage from anywhere.
With either of these smart security systems, you can keep an eye on your home from anywhere, and receive emergency alerts to notify you when someone or a vehicle pulls up your front porch. Despite being very good security cameras, Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex are far from being evenly matched home security gadgets.
These smart home devices have a line-up of premium features however, the Arlo Pro 3 proves to be the more advanced of the two with much better video quality (crisp clear 2K video with HDR), wider field of view, longer lasting battery, both local and cloud storage options. Arlo Pro 3 also has a higher price tag which isn’t much of a surprise, and it’s certainly the better camera for your smart home.
Quick Product Reviews
Arlo Pro 3
The Arlo Pro 3 is a wireless security camera with a ton of advanced features which easily puts it above the pack. This camera provides crisp-clear 2K videos, live-streaming and instant notifications of what’s happening back home, and an advanced AI with person detection, package detection, animal detection and vehicle detection ensure you get no false alarms.
With 160 degrees diagonal field of view, motion detection and clear 2-way audio, you get to clearly monitor every movement and communicate with whoever shows up at your front porch. The Arlo Pro 3 provides 24 hours motion recording with an infrared night vision in traditional black and white or colored with integrated spotlight, and it can be used as an outdoor or indoor camera for your smart home.
- High quality 2K video
- Smart AI features
- Easy to install and use
- Continuous video recording
- Long-lasting battery
- A little expensive
- Arlo SmartHub or base station are sold separately
- Advanced features require subscription
- Arlo Pro 3 Add-on Camera requires an Arlo SmartHub or Base Station, sold separately
Last update on 2023-05-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Canary Flex
With the Canary Flex wireless security camera you’ll have no need to fret about what’s happening at home when you’re out. The Canary Flex is a versatile home security camera and can be used indoors or outdoors, it comes with a 360° magnetic swivel base for flexible viewing and 116 degrees field of view. With a 6700 mAh in-built rechargeable battery, the Flex can be used for 2 months wire-free.
The Canary app gives you access to live footage of your home and an interactive 2-way audio lets you communicate with anyone outside your house. With motion sensors and infrared night vision, the Flex records clear security videos round the clock. Canary Flex is compatible with smart voice controls and seamlessly integrated with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
- Excellent two-way audio
- Easy to setup and use
- Magnetic 360-degree swivel base
- Smart AI features
- No local storage
- Many features require a membership
- AWARD-WINNING TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN: Trusted by over a million users & over 10,000 first responders – a camera beautifully designed in New York that doesn’t look like a security camera
Last update on 2023-05-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Arlo Pro vs Canary Flex — Side by side comparison
Two-way audio
These two cameras have two-way audio so you can speak to the person you’re recording which greatly compliments any smart home. This is an important feature in a security camera because it lets you interact with a guest without first opening your doors, this could be you telling the delivery guy where to drop the package.
Both cameras are evenly matched in this category because the audio is crystal clear however, to get access to this feature on the Canary Flex requires a Canary membership subscription of $9.99 a month.
Motion detection
You can’t have a good security camera without motion detection. The best smart security systems are able to sense motion and start recording automatically, and this is so for both Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex.
They are both programmed to detect motion and automatically record for 10 seconds after that. For the Arlo Pro 3, you can increase the duration of time it records to 5 minutes by adjusting the app setting, but the Canary Flex requires an active Canary subscription plan to record non-stop.
Night vision
Again, Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex have excellent night vision and are evenly matched in this category. They both use infrared night vision stemming from LED sensors and produce clear black-and-white images of whatever happens after dark.
The Arlo Pro 3 has color night vision which uses a spotlight, but this feature is a little too obvious for a security camera that’s supposed to be discreet.
Remote viewing
With the remote viewing feature you can view footage in your security camera from anywhere.
Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex will let you access live security footage via their apps so you can receive emergency alerts and see what’s happening in your home even while you’re away, and you can stream video to Echo Show or Echo Spot (these devices are sold separately).
But Arlo Pro takes it a little further, it not only lets you stream live footage, it also gives you access to security footage via the web.
Artificial Intelligence
Person detection has become a common feature in many security cameras and both the Canary Flex and Arlo Pro 3 can tell you when a person walks up to your front porch.
And besides that, both devices also feature package detection which identifies packages and notifies you when you have a delivery, with this you can tell when that package you’ve been expecting arrives even if you’re not home.
The Arlo Pro 3 can also detect animals and vehicles and this ability to tell things apart helps prevent false alarm as the camera will notify you accordingly.
The AI of these cameras is not immediate because it takes some time for them to learn to pick up things accurately, and they get better over time.
Ease of setup and use
These smart home gadgets are easy to install and neither of them requires a base station. It takes roughly 10 minutes to get these cameras setup and ready to get to work.
A large part of the setup happens in the app, and you’ll find instructions that will walk you through the entire process of setting up the cameras including mounting, positioning, charging the batteries and getting it to work.
App support and smart controls
Both cameras have their respective Wi-Fi enabled mobile apps which gives you access to a plethora of features for the cameras, especially if you have a subscription plan.
Beside the mobile app, these cameras are also integrated with smart voice controls to enable you to give hands-free commands. They both work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but Arlo Pro 3 also works with Apple Watch so you can receive alerts on-the-go and speak through the two-way audio.
Warranty
Arlo Pro and Canary Flex both come with a 1-year warranty at no extra cost. The Canary Flex also gives you a chance to increase your warranty to 2 years and you can do this with a Canary membership subscription. The Arlo Pro 3 has no such option.
Arlo Pro vs Canary Flex — Key Differences
Arlo Pro 3 is a beautifully designed security camera with a sleek white look and weighs just about 1 pound. And at 1.5 pounds, the Canary Flex is also visually pleasing and comes in black or white.
Both cameras have aesthetically pleasing designs and will perfectly blend in wherever they are mounted. They both have the basic features of any security camera but some differences which we discussed below.
Field of view
The Canary Flex is designed for both indoor and outdoor use but it’s field of view is only 116 degrees which is somewhat disappointing for an outdoor security camera.
Probably to make up for this, Canary Flex sports a powerful digital zoom to give you a clear enough view of any footage. In contrast, Arlo Pro 3 has 160 degrees field of view and sports 12X digital zoom which completely trumps the Canary Flex.
Video quality
Canary Flex claims to have an optimal 1080p HD viewing but the default setting is 720p, and to change this setting will require some form of subscription plan because there isn’t any option for changing the setting within the Canary app to HD video resolution 1080p.
With the default setting, the video quality of the Flex is below industry standard which is a little disappointing.
Video quality is another strong point for the Arlo Pro 3, it has a much sharper and higher quality video than the Flex. Arlo Pro 3 features a crisp clear 2K (2560 x 1440 pixels) with High Dynamic Range (HDR) for capturing vibrant pictures even in dark and low light settings.
However, you’ll need the most recent version of the Arlo hub to access the 2K video feature.
Storage options
There are usually two storage options for security camera footage, cloud and local storage. Arlo Pro 3 will allow users to store their video files locally using a USB port, it also gives access to cloud storage if you sign up for Arlo Smart.
Canary Flex also offers 24 hours cloud-based storage and unlimited live-streaming but you’ll need an active subscription to have access to these features, and the Flex has no local storage which is unfortunate.
Subscription cost
Canary Flex offers a free 24-hour event-based video history and subsequent $9.99 monthly subscription or an annual plan for $99.99. Subscription plan for the Arlo Pro 3 is at $2.99/month per camera or $9.99 per month for up to five cameras which supports up to 2K video.
Power source
Both Arlo Pro and Canary Flex use rechargeable batteries and will work without electricity. The Canary Flex comes with an in-built battery that lasts for about 2 months before it will require a recharge while the Arlo pro 3 has a battery that lasts for a maximum of 6 months and a minimum of 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does the battery last on Arlo Pro 3?
The Arlo Pro 3 comes with a rechargeable battery that will last for about 3 to 6 months on a single charge. This camera is also designed such that you can recharge the battery without taking it out of the camera using a magnetic charging pole which takes about 3.5 hours till the battery is completely charged. Alternatively, you can remove it and charge separately and this significantly reduces the charging time to less than 3 hours, precisely 2.9 hours.
- Can I install these cameras outside the house?
Yes, both the Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex can be used as either indoor or outdoor security cameras, and they are weather-proof and water resistant and can be installed outside the house. They are built to withstand the elements, heat, sun, cold, rain, etc.
- Do security cameras get stolen?
Outdoor security cameras are usually mounted outside so It’s not unusual for them to get stolen. Someone can simply unscrew a security camera and walk away with it, but there are a few ways to theft-proven your camera like an alarm that will automatically go off if someone tries to unscrew the camera. Arlo has a theft replacement program for their camera that allows users with subscription plans to get a replacement Arlo cameras if theirs get stolen, but there are conditions.
- How do the cameras attach to the house outside?
The best way to attach a security camera outside the house is by securing it to the wall using screws to ensure it stays put. Both the Arlo Pro 3 and Canary Flex come with a 360° magnetic swivel base that attaches to the physical device. It doesn’t require a base station but you will need to purchase the secure mount accessory to ensure the camera is securely mounted and doesn’t easily come off. A base station is optional for the Arlo Pro 3.
- Does this come with free cloud storage?
The usual free 7 days cloud storage is not included with Arlo Pro 3 and you’ll need an Arlo Smart subscription to gain access to cloud storage and record clips with 2K video resolution, plus other premium features. For the Canary flex you get 24 hours free cloud storage after which you will have to get the Canary membership subscription plan to continue enjoying cloud storage, live-streaming and many more.
Final Thoughts on the Canary Flex vs Arlo Pro 3
It’s evident that these are two great security cameras, both are easy to install and use plus they both come with many exotic features and require a subscription plan to get full access to some of these features.
The Canary Flex may require lesser initial payment but all the useful features can only be unlocked with a Canary membership subscription while the Arlo Pro offers some features without payment, but access to the best features still require a subscription.
Any of these cameras will do a good job, however, we recommend the Arlo Pro 3 as it’s the better camera.
Emma Marie is a valued writer at the Little Robot Shop. She studied robotics and deeply understands technology, which shows in her writing. She consistently produces high-quality content, making her a perfect fit for the Little Robot Shop team.
While not writing, Emma works in a popular electronics retail chain. Emma also enjoys running and has two dogs with whom she loves spending time.
