Verkada vs a traditional system
An honest comparison, written by somebody who sells one of them and has installed plenty of the other.
What we are actually comparing
By “traditional” we mean IP cameras recording to an on-site NVR with a client application — the arrangement most UK schools and businesses have.
| Traditional NVR system | Verkada | |
|---|---|---|
| Recording | Continuous, to a recorder on site | On the camera, with optional cloud backup |
| If the recorder is stolen | Footage is gone | Not applicable — there is no recorder |
| Viewing | Client software, often on one PC, often on the local network | Any browser, any site, with roles |
| Finding an incident | Scrub the timeline, or export and search | Search by person or vehicle description |
| Multi-site | One recorder and one login per site | One login for everything |
| Updates | Somebody visits with a laptop, or it never happens | Pushed over the air |
| Upfront cost | Lower | Higher |
| Ongoing cost | Maintenance, and eventual recorder replacement | Licence per device, in 1, 3, 5 or 10-year terms |
| Warranty | Typically 2–3 years | Up to 10 years depending on model |
| If you stop paying | It keeps working | Devices keep recording; Command access is restricted after a 30-day grace period |
| Data location | On your premises | EU region, Ireland — no UK region |
Where each one wins
This is not a page designed to make one answer inevitable.
Traditional wins on
Upfront cost, keeping data physically on your premises, and small single sites where nobody needs remote access.
Verkada wins on
Multi-site estates, finding things quickly, resilience against the recorder being stolen, and whole-life cost over eight to ten years.
The licence is the real question
You are trading a lower capital cost for an operating cost. Over three years traditional is usually cheaper; over ten, frequently not.
What we would ask you
How many sites, how often you actually need footage, and whether the last time you needed it you got it.
The question schools keep asking
We are asked this on almost every education survey, so here is a straight answer.
A large proportion of the UK’s installed CCTV is Hikvision or Dahua, and both have been the subject of sustained procurement and security scrutiny in the UK public sector. Whether that matters to you is a governance decision for your organisation, not something a supplier should decide for you.
What we would say is this: if you are a school or a public body, the question will be asked eventually — by a governor, a parent, an auditor or a journalist — and it is easier to have an answer ready than to find one under pressure. That is a legitimate factor in a procurement decision alongside cost and capability. It is not a reason to rip out a working system tomorrow.
Sources
Everything on this page is taken from these. Checked 25 September 2026.
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