In this article we are going to talk about cellular trail camera plans and what you need to know and consider when shopping for your next cellular trail camera. Its easy to focus on the camera and forget about the data plan and coverage that is required. Not all cellular trail camera plans are created equal with some being very cheap but providing low limits and very confusing options.
Table of contents
- BEST Cellular Trail Camera Plan
- Cheapest Cellular Trail Camera Plans
- How Did We Review The Wireless Trail Camera Plans
- Browning Cellular Trail Camera Plans
- Bushnell Cell Camera Plans
- Covert Cellular Camera Plans
- Cuddeback Cellular Trail Cam Plans
- Exodus Cellular Plans
- Moultrie Mobile Cell Plan
- Muddy Cell Plans
- Reconyx Cellular Plans
- Spartan Cellular Game Camera Plans
- Spypoint Cellular Trail Cam Plans
- Stealth Cam Cellular Plans
- Tactacam Reveal Cellular Plans
- Wildgame Innovations Cellular Plans
I’ll try to lay it out and help provide a cellular trail camera plan comparison that shows cost, transmission limits and carrier and then discuss if there really is a best cellular trail camera data plan.
Comparison Chart for Mobile Phone Visitors – I had to shrink the chart to fit on mobile devices. The full chart is also included in the summary section.
Cellular Trail Camera Plan Comparison Chart
Comparison Chart for Desktop Visitors
Cellular Trail Camera Plan Comparison Chart
4 Trail Cameras Per Month
To find the best plan we had to establish a review criteria. I decided the best overall plan would support 4 cellular game cams. Four camera plans are affordable and a reasonable number to monitor your deer hunting lease.
BEST Cellular Trail Camera Plan
Tactacam Reveal = Best Plan for 4 Cameras
Reconyx should win the award for the best cellular trail camera data plan. $20/month for 4 cameras. The plan offers unmatched simplicity and flexibility. $5 per camera and $5 per block of 2000 images makes the Reconyx plan a great value and super easy to understand. The hish price of the Reconyx cellular cameras is the big trade off. A data plan only cost $5/month but the trail cam is $599.
Exodus and Tactacam came in a close second. $31/month for 4 cameras. Exodus and Tactacam produce some great hardware that is reliable and rated very highly. The price point for Tactacam Reveal and Exodus Render falls significantly below the price of Reconyx models.
All companies use AT&T and Verizon so coverage should be the same.
Tactacam Reveal Interdiate Plan = $30.50/month for 4 cameas
Reconyx = $20/month for 4 cameras
Tactacam Reveal Trail Camera $119 * 4 = $476
Reconyx HyperFire Cellular $599 * 4 = $2,396
My decision has been made. Tactacam Reveal Intermediate Plan wins the best cellular trail camera plan award.
What if you only have one cell trail camera?
This pushes the decision even further in Tactacam Reveal’s favor.
Tactacam Reveal Trail Camera $119
Tactacam Plan = $8/month
Reconyx HyperFire Cellular $599
Reconyx Plan = $5/month
The $3/month month difference on the plan cost pales in comparison to the $480 delta in hardware cost.
Cheapest Cellular Trail Camera Plans
Covert LoRa = Cheapest Plan for 4 Cameras
Covert LoRa wins the prize for the cheapest cell plan. The long range radio daisy chain technology connects 3 remote trail cams to the base unit. The base unit contains a cell modem and transmits to your app. The Covert LoRa plan cost $9.99 for 4 cameras and 5000 pictures per month. The LoRA plan
Cuddelink also offers a daisy chain option that will support 4 trail cams for only $20/month.
Cuddelink and Covert LoRa could be your best choice if you are deploying several cellular trail cameras on one lease or one small farm.
How Did We Review The Wireless Trail Camera Plans
The comparison and chart above was created through researching all the data plans to determine the specifics of each plan. The research is broken down by brand and outlined in more detail below. AT&T and Verizon are the only wireless carriers offered at this time. Coverage will be identical across all brands so please remember that any signal strength issues can only be caused by your location and the camera hardware.
I switched to cellular trail cameras many years ago when Covert released their first cellular model. There were no apps back then and the pics were received via text message. It was exciting but quickly became annoying as heck.
Cellular trail cameras are more reliable and also a lot more affordable. The apps have also significantly improved quality of life for managing cameras but also for viewing all your trail cam pics.
Browning Cellular Trail Camera Plans
Browning is currently several cellular trail cameras in the Defender family. The three wireless models are the Defender, Defender Ridgeline and Defender Pro Scout. All other Browning models are standard cameras with no data delivery.
Browning offers three cellular trail cameras but they are offering 8 different cellular trail camera plans!
The flexibility is impressive, but the number of options can be terribly confusing. Verizon and AT&T coverages both carry the same cost in each plan.
Plans range from the Status Plan which just offers camera status updates all the way up to Unlimited Plan which as you might guess is unlimited. Let’s take a closer look at each Browning plan below.
Browning has limits on the number of additional cameras that can be attached to each plan.
Browning Cell Plans Continued
Status Plan
Location is the only data that is shared. This is an inexpensive way to track cameras if you think they might become stolen. No pictures.
Scout
The Browning Scout cellular plan is $9.99 per month and limited to 1200 images. Browning limits this plan to one trail camera.
Scout Plus
The Scout Plus Plan doubles the number of pictures up to 2400. For $12.99 per month, you can run one camera and add ONE additional camera for $5/month.
Hunter
3,000 trail camera pictures a month for $19.99 for the main service. The Browning Hunter cellular plan allows for a maximum of 3 trail cameras to share the 3000 picture balance.
Hunter Plus
Seeing a trend, LOL? For a hunt club that needs four cameras they would need to choose the Hunter Plus plan. $29.99/Month will give you 6,000 pictures but also 300 HD pictures and 100 video downloads.
Guide Pro
The Guide Pro cellular plan will service up to 6 cameras at a cost of $49.99 per month. Do not forget the 2nd through 6th trail camera will cost an additional $5 per month. The plan owner is allocated 12,000 pictures, 400HD pictures and 100 video downloads per month.
Unlimited/Monthly
You guessed it, the Unlimited/Monthly plan provides unlimited picture downloads. NO video or HD pictures downloads are provided with the unlimited program. $17.99 per month for one camera and $17.99 for each additional trail cam with NO limit on the total number of cameras.
Unlimited/Yearly
Same as above but this is billed yearly rather than monthly. You save a few bucks a month for subscribing for the entire year. Each subscription is $14.99 and limited to one camera. For additional cameras you just need to purchase additional subscriptions. I need to see if this impacts how pictures are viewed in the app???
Bushnell Cell Camera Plans
Over the years I have had very positive success with the Bushnell Trophy Cam line. The pictures were high resolution and the game cameras were reliable. I have not used the Bushnell Cellucore cellular trail cameras but this review is all about the different wireless trail camera data plans.
Bushnell cell plan only offers a 2000 picture and a limited plan. There is no mention or documentation regarding adding additional lines so let’s just take that to mean that you must purchase another plan with each game cam.
Covert Cellular Camera Plans
The Covert Cellular Trail Camera plans get even more complicated because Covert offers LoRa as a third option. Covert is owned by FeraDyne and the camera quality and service are still highly rated. You have several models to choose from and each is available from Verizon or AT&T. The Covert Cellular trail camera plans will provide service for the Blackhawk LTE, WC30 and legacy cameras as well.
| Plan | Images | # Cameras | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 100 | 1 | $4.99 |
| Monthly | 1000 | 1 | $7.99 |
| Monthly | 5,000 | 1 | $9.99 |
| Monthly | 10,000 | 1 | $14.99 |
| Monthly | 20,000 | 1 | $19.99 |
| Monthly | Unlimited | 1 | $19.99 |
Covert Quarterly Plans
| Plan | Images | # Cameras | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 400 | 1 | $14.99 |
| Quarterly | 3,500 | 1 | $19.99 |
| Quarterly | 12,500 | 1 | $24.99 |
| Quarterly | 25,000 | 1 | $34.99 |
| Quarterly | 50,000 | 1 | $49.99 |
| Quarterly | Unlimited | 1 | $59.97 |
Covert Yearly Plans
| Plan | Images | # of Cameras | Price/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly | 1,500 | 1 | $59.99 |
| Yearly | 15,000 | 1 | $74.99 |
| Yearly | 30,000 | 1 | $89.99 |
| Yearly | 50,000 | 1 | $99.99 |
| Yearly | 125,000 | 1 | $149.99 |
| Yearly | 500,000 | 1 | $424.99 |
| Yearly | 1,000,000 | 1 | $849.99 |
| Yearly | Unlimited | 1 | $239.88 |
What is LoRa?
What is Covert LoRa cellular system and What is LoRa. LoRa is a wireless protocol that is widely used to connect IOT (internet of things) devices. Long Range Radio – LoRa does well at transmitting data over long ranges while consuming very little power. LoRa plans will be required for the Covert LoRa LB-V3 scouting camera system.
Covert took advantage of this technology to daisy chain many different trail cameras together. This chain ties back into a hub or base device that is equipped with a cellular modem. This base trail camera then aggregates the picture feed from all the cameras and uploads them to your app. Pretty slick!
We will run the math on all the cellular trail camera plans later but for now let’s zero in on the specific menu options.
Covert provides hunters and outfitters the option to select plans Monthy, Quarterly or Yearly. Quarterly could provide a little cost savings to get you the three months during hunting or just go all in for yearly and cover spring turkey season as well.
Covert will charge $5 for each trail camera that is added to the plans. This charge is not required for the LoRa systems and plans.
Covert Monthly LoRa Plan
| Plan | Images | Cameras | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 1,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $7.99 |
| Monthly | 5,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $9.99 |
| Monthly | 10,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $14.99 |
| Monthly | 20,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $24.99 |
| Monthly | 40,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $44.99 |
| Plan Term | Images | Cameras | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 3,500 | 1 + LoRa units | $19.99 |
| Quarterly | 12,500 | 1 + LoRa units | $24.99 |
| Quarterly | 25,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $34.99 |
| Quarterly | 50,000 | 1 + LoRa units | $59.99 |
Cuddeback Cellular Trail Cam Plans
The Cuddelink Cell is another high technology system like the Covert LoRa system. Even though Cuddelink does not specifically mention LoRa but it sure seems highly likely. Cuddelink cell plans will allow up to 16 trail cameras to daisy chain back the base unit.
Cuddeback cell plans only offer a Verizon LTE plan to support the Cuddelink Cell Trail Camera family. They claim it to be the most cost effective because of the 16 camera capacity but we will compare all the data plans later. The plans can be purchased monthly or on an annual basis.
| Plan | Images | Cameras | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 750 | 1 + remote units | $15 |
| Monthly | 2,000 | 1 + remote units | $20 |
| Monthly | Unlimited | 1 + remote units | $40 |
| Yearly | 750 | 1 + remote units | $120 |
| Yearly | 2,000 | 1 + remote units | $180 |
| Yearly | Unlimited | 1 + remote units | $360 |
Exodus Cellular Plans
Exodus is a newer brand and at this time is the only direct to consumer trail camera. Sort of. Exodus does not sell through brick and mortar stores but instead they market and sell directly to hunters on their site. This business model is gaining in popularity and is said to provide the consumer with a better valued product with fewer price markups.
The Exodus Render Cellular Trail Camera operates on the Verizon network. The plan levels are below but please note the picture numbers are estimates. The plan will charge $7 for each additional camera.
| Images | Base # Cameras | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 1 | $1 |
| 500 | 1 | $3 |
| 1,000 | 1 | $5 |
| 2,000 | 1 | $10 |
| 5,000 | 1 | $15 |
| 10,000 | 1 | $20 |
| 20,000 | 1 | $30 |
| 40,000 | 1 | $60 |
| 100,000 | 1 | $120 |
| 200,000 | 1 | $220 |
$7/additional Camera
Just a note about Verizon trail camera plans. I run cell cams in NC, SC and OH and the Verizon network has done just fine at all my leases. This ain’t true for everyone but just wanted to add my two cents. Official Exodus site
Moultrie Mobile Cell Plan
Moultrie might be one of the most well-known brands in this list. Did you know Moultrie Mobile is the sub-brand for Moultrie Cellular Game Cameras? Moultrie has even figured out how to utilize the strongest available network in your area. The signal strength will determine if the unit connects to the AT&T or Verizon network. You pay Moultrie for the cellular game cam plan and the rest is completely transparent.
Muddy Cell Plans
Does Muddy have one of the best cellular trail camera plans? The Muddy camera arm makes filming all my deer hunts much easier. The quality of the Muddy products impresses me. Muddy has been providing standard game cameras for years and is also moving into the cellular game camera world.
| Images | $/Monthly | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | FREE | Free |
| 600 | $5 | $48 |
| 2000 | $10 | $96 |
| Unlimited | $20 | $180 |
| 36,000 BUNDLE PRO | $36 | $480 |
Muddy is a GSM brand with Stealth Cam and Wildgame Innovations. Turns out the Muddy cell plan is identical to the Stealth Cam data plan.
Reconyx Cellular Plans
Reconyx is luxury brand in this line up. The company prides itself on domestic engineering and fabrication. Reconyx has built a reputation for reliability and quality. Let’s take a look the cellular data plans for Reconyx trail cameras.
The Cellular Trail Camera Plans from Reconyx seem overly simplified compared to many of the other overly complicated offerings from other manufacturers.
Reconyx cellular trail cameras bill month to month. Cell access is $5 per camera and that provides connection to the mobile network and 200 images. At&t and Verizon are available.
Reconyx Data Plan Details
| Plan | Images | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellular Access for 1 Camera | 200 | $5 | $60 |
| Block of 2,000 Images | 2,000 | $5 | required monthly |
| Real Time Video on Demand | $5/Camera |
$5 for 2000 pictures
This is a really cool feature that Reconyx automatically adds an additional 2000/shared images per account as needed.
The Reconyx cellular trail cameras also offer a real time access option. For an additional $5 you can turn on a live view of what is in front of your trail camera at that time. The Reconyx Connect App facilitates all these features very well.
Spartan Cellular Game Camera Plans
The company finds its home in Georgia. Spartan offers shared data plans from Verizon or AT&T. Spartan does not charge you per picture. STC charges you for the amount of data transmission you consume.
Spartan provides the utility to estimate the data requirements for the number of cameras and number of pictures you plan to receive. This plan might be fairly affordable if you are running a lot of cameras and a lot of pictures. The trail camera plan comparison will help us better understand if that sweet spot exist.
Things to be aware of with Spartan cellular trail camera plans so pay attention to these items.
$5/month for additional cameras
The plans share data.
Each plan has a maximum camera limit so pay attention to your growth needs
Spypoint Cellular Trail Cam Plans
My Spypoint cellular trail cameras have performed well on the Verizon network. For some reason the At&t cameras have struggled with cell signal strength and battery life. I would love to hear from you if you have had good results with the At&t models.
Spypoint plans are similar to Bushnell plans because they are only offering one camera per plan. The app or technology may be forcing this decision but I think it may weigh against them in the plan comparison. You must select a plan when you activate the camera. The picture/data allocation is for that camera only and not shared across your account in Spypoint data plans.
Stealth Cam Cellular Plans
Stealth Cam has a nicely developed app with about three different cellular trail cameras currently available. At&t and Verizon are both supported depending upon your area.
Alert –Stealth Cam charges for the download on demand feature. I suspect the competitor plans have the demand charge built into the pricing.
| Images | $/Monthly | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | FREE | Free |
| 600 | $5 | $48 |
| 2000 | $10 | $96 |
| Unlimited | $20 | $180 |
| 36,000 BUNDLE PRO | $36 | $480 |
Stealth Cam requires the Bundle Pro package to operate more than one camera on a plan and will cost an additional $5 on top of the cost mentioned above.
$.10/HD picture download
$.25/Video download
You can purchase Stealth Cam cell plans with a monthly or annual term.
Stealth Cam is a GSM just like Muddy and Wildgame Innovations. The cellular game camera data plans are identical to Muddy.
Tactacam Reveal Cellular Plans
This is a popular brand and popular among the RetrievD Staff. I have purchased five Reveals over past couple of years and all five are still performing great. The battery life is excellent and the transmission reliability is very solid. See the best prices on the Tactacam Reveal X Gen2.
You will purchase Tactacam plans monthly or you can purchase annually and receive a slight discount. I did not look at the plans before i made my Reveal purchase. This plan comparison is sure to be interesting.
Tactacam Reveal Cellular Plan Details
| Plan | Images | Cost Monthly | Cost Annually | Monthly Price + Camera | Annual Price + Camera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 250 | $5 | $55 | $5 | $55 |
| Intermediate | 500 | $8 | $85 | $7.50 | $75 |
| Pro | Unlimited | $13 | $120 | $12 | $96 |
I purchased Tactacam Reveal trail cams for the hardware and the app and didn’t really put that much thought into the data plan cost or options.
The Starter, Intermediate and Pro Plans offer the hunters three different BUT the allocations are PER/Camera and not spread over the total account. Tactacam bills monthly or annually
The cost to add more cameras also changes with each plan so that makes the comparison and shoppint a little more difficult.
Wildgame Innovations Cellular Plans
I have field tested a bunch of the Wildgame Innovations trail cameras. You can find WGI in all major brick and mortar retailers so they are easy to come by and very inexpensive. The Terra Extreme is one of my favorite non-cellular trail cameras at the moment in 2022 for under $50.
WGI Plan Review
| Plan | Images | $/Monthly | $/Annually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | 100 | free | Free |
| Bronze | 250 | $5 | $48 |
| Silver | 1,250 | $10 | $96 |
| Gold | Unlimited | $12 | $120 |
Adding a camera will require the purchase of a new plan.
GSM Outdoors owns WGI brands. Not sure if this is a family change or just a name change. Anyway….
GSM and WGI have attempted to monetize the cellular trail camera app and also the data plan.
Unfortunately the app is getting blasted with terrible reviews.
The app has three levels of access which are Scout, Weekend Warrior and Pro Hunter.
The transmission data plan includes four levels Copper, Bronze, Silver and Gold
Cellular Trail Camera Data Plans Comparison Summary
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Cellular Trail Camera Plan Comparison Chart
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Gathering the details of the different cellular game camera plans consumed approximately 2 days of my life. I mention this to highlight how many different options deer hunters must sort through when buying a new cellular trail camera.
The presentation of the plans in the graph and the individual reviews of each verizon and at&t trail camera plans is totally impartial. Selecting Covert LoRa as the cheapest plan was also completely impartial and based solely upon the very inexpensive monthly cost of $9.99.
Covert LoRa is the cheapest cellular trail camera plan for managing multiple trail cameras in the same general area.
How Did We Select The Best Plan
Our review process had to become more subjective in order to determine the overall best cellular trail camera plan. I established the minimum requirements below so that is the portion of the review that I consider subjective.
- Monthly Plan
- Monthly Plan Cost
- 2000 shared images minimum
- 4 trail cameras per plan
- Trail Camera Cost
Tactacam Reveal brings home the title of best cellular trail camera plan. I have personally used many of the cameras and plans that are reviewed in this comparison. My deer hunting partners and I are currently managing about 10 Tactacam and 6 Spypoint cameras. I’m sure this experience influenced my decision but the data still speaks for itself.
Use the contact form or comment section to let me know if found any mistakes with the plan data.
I hope you found this comparison useful and please share your thoughts and comments below in the comments section.
