Citywide Alarms vs. Google Nest Cameras
Google Nest makes cameras and doorbells that you manage in the Google Home app. Citywide designs, installs, monitors, and services a complete security system with cameras built in. Here is how they compare.
The Answers Before You Buy
Citywide Alarms and Google Nest, Side by Side
| Feature | Citywide Alarms | Google Nest |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Family-owned, St. Louis-based since 2010 | |
| Alarm system | Full alarm system with door and window sensors, motion detection, glass break, and cameras | No alarm sensors; Nest Secure was discontinued |
| Product support history | Local company that services the equipment it installs | Nest Secure and Dropcam stopped working when Google ended support on April 8, 2024 |
| Installation | Citywide technicians design and install every system | Homeowner setup, with optional professional installation through a Google partner |
| Connection | Wireless, IP, and hardwired PoE options | Wi-Fi; battery or wired power depending on model |
| Support | The local team that installed it, from offices in Clayton and St. Charles | Google support and online help |
| 24/7 professional monitoring | Yes | Alerts go to your phone; professional monitoring only through a separate partner |
| Resolution | HD to 4K | 1080p and 2K HDR models |
| Recording | On-site and/or cloud recording; weeks of footage | Cloud-based; internal memory holds up to an hour of events during an internet outage |
| Smart detection | Person, vehicle, and animal detection, tripwire, custom zones, and Perimeter Guard | Person, animal, and vehicle alerts |
| Video doorbell | Yes, KSDK's top video doorbell provider in St. Louis | Yes |
| Smart home | Smart locks, lights, thermostat, and garage control, with remote arming | Google Home app |
| Business security | Commercial security, access control, and commercial fire systems | Designed for homes; cameras and doorbells primarily intended for personal and household use |
Google Nest information based on Google's Nest support and store pages, Google's small business support page, NerdWallet's Nest Secure and Nest coverage, 9to5Google's April 2024 report, and SafeHome.org's 2026 testing of Nest cameras, as of October 2026.
See what a Citywide system looks like for your home.
Get A Free QuoteKey Differences Between Our Security Cameras & Nest’s
A Security Camera Is Not a Security System
Since Google ended Nest Secure, a Nest setup is cameras and a doorbell, with no Google alarm sensors and no professional monitoring of its own. A camera records a break-in. A system detects it, alerts a monitoring center, and gets help moving. Citywide’s cameras sit inside a full system with door and window sensors, motion detection, glass break detection, and 24/7 professional monitoring. See how our home alarm systems work.
Recording That Doesn’t Live Only in the Cloud
Nest cameras upload footage to the cloud. When the internet drops, a camera’s internal memory holds up to an hour of events until the connection returns, according to Google. Citywide records on-site and in the cloud, so footage is not tied to the cloud alone. Hardwired PoE cameras feeding an NVR can record continuously on the property, with weeks of footage available. Learn more about our cloud storage options.
Equipment Backed by a Local Company
When Google ended support for Nest Secure and Dropcam in April 2024, devices that had been working stopped functioning. Manufacturers do retire products. Citywide installs and services the equipment it puts in, from offices in Clayton and St. Charles, and has done so since 2010. As one customer, Rachel B., put it, “Cody the technician made sure everything was set up perfectly before he left.”
Smart Home Controls Built Into the Security System
Google Home is Nest’s strength, and it works well for people who already use Google’s smart home devices. The difference is what sits behind it. A Citywide system ties the alarm, cameras, smart locks, lights, thermostat, and garage together, so remote arming and location-based automation work alongside your security. Smart locks can disarm the system in one step for guests, with time-limited codes for visitors. Explore our smart home options.
Switching from Google Nest
If you own Nest Secure, that hardware stopped working when Google ended support in April 2024, so a replacement alarm system is a full installation. If you own Nest cameras, they are built around the Google Home app, so ask any company what it can keep before you plan around the old equipment. Either way, a Citywide technician walks through your home, designs the cameras and alarm together, and installs a complete home security system. The same local team handles service afterward.
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Proudly Serving Construction Sites All Over The St. Louis Metro
Citywide Alarms provides trusted security solutions throughout St. Louis and surrounding communities. Whether you’re a home or a business, we’re ready to help you protect what matters most.
- St. Louis7733 Forsyth Blvd. Suite 1100
Saint Louis, MO 63105
- St. Charles965 Sycamore Dr.
St. Charles, MO 63304
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