Probably no other technology has impacted deer hunting more than cellular trail cameras in the last 10 years. Initially, they were very expensive and required you to add a line to your cell phone plan, limiting their usefulness.
As with most technology, though, the prices came down with time and increased availability, and most camera companies now offer their own data plans.
While it’s great that you can now buy a good cellular trail camera for less than the cost of a traditional trail camera just a few years back, the cost of a data plan can quickly add up for those running multiple cameras or getting lots of photos.
If you’re looking to purchase a new camera, you need to not only consider the cost of the camera, but also the data plan, as that expense will likely surpass the cost of the camera in a short time.
While I’ve been fairly happy with my Moultrie cell cams, as I set out to purchase some additional cameras, I decided to research the various data plans for my own benefit. And I figured as long as I was doing the research, I might as well share what I’ve learned here on Get Outdoors! South. I hope it’s a helpful resource for you as well.
Bushnell
No free plan
$9.99/mo for 2,000 photos
*Includes 10 hi-res images and 5 monthly video downloads
$14.99/mo for unlimited photos
*Includes unlimited hi-res images and video downloads
Our Top Bushnell Pick
- 20MP images and HD video
- No glow infrared night vision
- Dual-SIM card support allows you to choose between multiple carriers
- Sorts images by weather, wind, moon & more
Browning
No free plan
Scout – $9.99/mo for 1,200 photos
*Includes 1 camera
Scout Plus – $12.99/mo for 2,400 photos
*Includes 10 HD image uploads
**Up to 2 cameras
Hunter – $19.99/mo for 3,000 photos
*Includes 50 HD image uploads
**Up to 3 cameras
Hunter Plus – $29.99/mo for 6,000 photos
*Includes 300 HD image uploads
**Up to 4 cameras
Guide Pro – $49.99/mo for 12,000 photos
*Includes 400 HD image uploads
**Up to 6 cameras
Unlimited – $17.99/mo or $14.99/mo annually
*no HD image or video downloads included
Our Top Browning Pick
- 22MP images
- 100ft sensor and 120ft flash range
- Pre-installed AT&T and Verizon SIM cards
- GPS-tagged images
Covert
No free plan
$4.99/mo for 100 photos
$7.99/mo for 1,000 photos
$9.99/mo for 5,000 photos
$14.99/mo for 10,000 photos
$19.99/mo for 20,000 photos
Unlimited Plan – $19.99/mo or $59.97/quarter or $239.88/annually
*Add a line to any non-unlimited plans for $5/camera
Our Top Covert Pick
- 32MP images and 1080p video
- 100ft sensor and flash range
- 44 no-glow LED bulbs invisible infrared flash
- 0.4-second trigger speed
Moultrie Mobile
No free plan
Standard – $9.99/mo or $107.88/yr for 1,000 images + 10 videos
Unlimited – $16.99/mo or $155.88/yr – unlimited images + 50 videos
Pro Plan – $34.99/mo or $275.88/yr – unlimited images + 50 videos
*Add additional cameras for $7.99/ea per month or $95.88 annually
Add Ons: Additional 500 images on standard plan for only $4.99/mo and additional 50 videos for $1/mo
Our Top Moultrie Pick
- 32MP images and 720p video
- 80ft sensor and flash range
- Works on multiple cellular carriers
- No SD card required; has built-in memory
Muddy
No free plan
$5.00/mo or $48/yr for 600 Images (50MB)
$10/mo or $96/yr for 2,000 images (100MB)
$15/mo or $144/yr for unlimited images
Bundle Pro – $50/mo or $480/yr for 3GB/36,000 images
*3 cameras included and $5/ea additional camera
Elite Hunter Plan – $5/mo and includes:
- Automatic filtering of bucks, does, hogs and turkey
- Two years of cloud storage
- Security monitoring sends notifications in the event of attempted camera activation on an unauthorized account.
Our Top Muddy Pick
- 36MP images and 1080p video
- 80ft sensor and flash range
- Automatically connects to the strongest network in area
- 0.4 second trigger speed
Spypoint
Free Plan – includes 100 photos
Basic – $5/mo or $48/yr for 250 photos
Standard – $10/mo or $84/yr for 1,000 photos
Premium – $15/mo or $120/yr for unlimited photos
Add Ons:
- Full HD photo package $5/50 photos
- Full HD video package $5/20 videos
Our Top Spypoint Pick
- 33MP images and 1080p video
- 100ft sensor and flash range
- Automatically connects to the strongest network in area
- 0.3 second trigger speed
Stealth Cam Fusion
$5/mo or $48/yr for 600 photos (50MB)
$10/mo or $96/yr for 2000 photos (100 MB)
$20/mo or $180/yr for unlimited photos
*3 cameras included, $5 per added camera
Elite Hunter Plan – $5/mo and includes:
- Automatic filtering of bucks, does, hogs and turkey
- Two years of cloud storage
- Security monitoring sends notifications in the event of attempted camera activation on an unauthorized account.
Our Top Stealth Cam Pick
- 26MP images and 1080p video
- 80ft sensor and flash range
- Dual network coverage automatically connects to the strongest network in your area
- 0.4 second trigger speed
Tactacam
Starter Plan – $5/mo or $55/yr for 250 photos
*add additional cameras for $5/mo or $55/annually
Intermediate Plan – $8/mo or $85/yr for 500 photos
*add additional cameras for $7.50/mo or $75/yr
Pro Plan – $13/mo or $120/yr for unlimited photos
*add additional cameras for $12/mo or $96/annually
Pro Xtra Package – $9/mo per account – enables on-demand photo capture, all multi-shot photos sent to app, and unlimited HD photos/videos
Our Top Tactacam Cam Pick
- 18MP images and HD video
- 96ft+ sensor and flash range
- Comes with AT&T and Verizon sim cards
- Sub 0.5 second trigger speed
Wildgame Innovations
Copper Plan – Free for 100 photos
*includes 30 days of cloud storage, mapping tools, weather forecast, and photo sorting
Bronze Plan – $5/mo or $48/yr for 250 photos
*includes 30 days of cloud storage, mapping tools, weather forecast, and photo sorting
Silver Plan – $10/mo or $96/yr for 1,250 photos
*includes 6 months of cloud storage, mapping tools, weather forecast, photo sorting, image recognition, and moon guide.
Gold Plan – $12/mo or $120/yr for unlimited photos
*includes 1 year of cloud storage, mapping tools, weather forecast, photo sorting, image recognition, moon guide, species recognition, hit list, hunt predictor, and buck scoring.
Our Top Wildgame Innovations Pick
- 20MP images
- Works nationwide on any network
- 21 LED Illumination
- Utilizes the latest HuntSmart app features
What’s the Best Data Plan for You?
So, what’s the best data plan for your application? It really depends on how many cameras you plan to run, and how many photos you get per camera. If you’re a public land hunter like myself, who sets up cameras on trails, scrapes or natural pinch points, and doesn’t get a lot of photos, then one of the plans with a free option may be the perfect option. That includes Spypoint and Wildgame Innovations.
If you’re planning on running multiple cameras and getting lots of photos, then Stealth Cam, Tactacam, or Wildgame Innovations may be your best bet. I will note that Tactacam has a great reputation and seems to be the camera of choice for many cellular trail cam users currently. I haven’t personally used a Tactacam, but it will likely be my next purchase.
To get an idea of which plan is best for running multiple cameras, we looked at the cost of running four cameras with unlimited photos. Those results are shared below.
Cost to run 4 cameras with unlimited photos
Camera Manufacturer | Monthly Cost |
Browning | $71.96 |
Bushnell | $60.00 |
Covert | $80.00 |
Moultrie Mobile | $58.96 |
Muddy | $60.00 |
Spypoint | $60.00 |
Stealth Cam Fusion | $25.00 |
Tactacam | $49.00 |
Wildgame Innovations | $48.00 |
Summary
As the price of cellular trail cameras continues to drop, more and more deer hunters will take advantage of the advanced technology and benefits they provide. But it’s important for would-be users to look beyond just the cost of the camera and understand what it’s going to cost to continue operating the camera through deer season and often beyond. Hopefully this article cleared up some of the questions and confusion around those data plans so you can make an informed choice about your next (or first) cellular trail camera.
Thanks for sharing the info.
No problem, Dan. I hope it was helpful to you.
you saved me lots of time and a headache. i now don’t need to do anymore research. I bought a tacticam just the other day and only than realized how much it would cost to run several eventually. I’m glad I found your research and now feel better about it. lots of good reviews on the tacticam.
Bryan, glad it was helpful!
Hi, Not exactly sure what your approach was. You choose to buy a camera based on the cellular plan they offer? I was thinking of buying a camera with properties I like and then go to the service provider and buy a plan to suit my needs. For example you buy a camera with desirable features that do not have a card or plan offered. Is that an option? Who does Browning for example contract with for the plans offered? I understand some cameras come with pre-activated cards.
Bertus, while some trail camera companies used to require you to get a data plan through your cell phone carrier, I’m not aware of any that still do that. There may be one, but none that I’m aware of. They now all have their own data plans that they work out directly with AT&T and Verizon, and you have to use their plan in order for your camera to send photos to your phone or their app. That’s why the cost of cell cameras have become so affordable. Because they know they’re going to make their money back on the data plans.
Hope that helps,
Brian
Hey Brian,
i found this very helpful. i did find one discrepancy on your pricing so far with Stealthcam. it appears their monthly unlimited is $20 per camera not $20 per 3 camera.
further thought: have you done any breakdown on which plans the various brands use? i know i need to stick with att as my hunting area has absolutely zero verizon reception ( a blessing and a curse).
thanks!
Ben,
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll double check the Stealth plans. And that’s a great idea about adding which carriers each plan works with!
I thought the synopsis was great. I have already spent hours trying to determine which camera/plan I’m going to invest in. I wish I found this article first.
Jim
Thanks for sharing!
It was very informative.
Two questions.
1- Is there a cellular game camera that I can put a sims card in and get my own cellular plan?
2 – is there one camera that stands out among the rest for viewing on my phone Vs my computer? The quality of the cell phone images and videos on Spypoint were hard to make out, so I returned the camera, but the computer images were great, I just had to pull the mini card and put it into the computer.