Perchmont vs Subscription Bird Cameras
Most smart bird feeders are sold on the hardware price and monetised afterwards. This page explains how that model works, what it costs over time, and where we differ \u2014 including where we do not.
How the subscription model works
The camera is priced low, sometimes below what it costs to make. The revenue comes from the plan attached to it.
What typically sits behind that plan: automatic species identification, video history beyond a day or two, and sometimes alerts. These are not extras. They are the reasons people buy a camera feeder at all.
The uncomfortable part is that features can move behind the paywall after you have bought the hardware. Customers who paid for a device on the strength of what it did have found it doing less a year later. That is the specific thing we object to.
What it costs over five years
Take a camera at $99 with an $8 monthly plan.
Year one: $99 plus $96, so $195. Each following year: $96. Over five years, $579.
Our 1080p feeder at $149 costs $149. Over five years, $149.
The gap is roughly $430 \u2014 more than the feeder, the pole and a year of bird food combined.
Side by side
Subscription cameras
- Species ID often behind a paywall
- Video history expires without a plan
- Features can move behind the paywall later
- $60\u2013120 per year, indefinitely
- Larger companies, bigger app teams
- Thousands of reviews
Perchmont
- Species ID included, for the life of the product
- Unlimited viewing
- No premium tier, because nothing is held back
- $0 per year, always
- Small company, phone answered by a person
- A new brand with few reviews
Where they beat us
Being straight about this is more useful than pretending otherwise.
The established brands have had years to refine their apps, and app quality is most of the experience with a camera feeder. They have tens of thousands of reviews, so you can research them properly. Their identification models have been trained on far more data, which shows on difficult birds. And they will still be there in five years, which is a fair thing to weigh when buying electronics from a company you have not heard of.
If those matter more to you than the subscription, buy theirs. We would rather you were happy than sold to.
Where we are better
The cost over time is not close, and the commitment is unconditional \u2014 there is no premium tier for anything to migrate into.
You can also call us. That sounds minor until something goes wrong with a $249 device and you are three levels deep in a chat widget.
How to decide
Ask what you actually want to watch. If it is hummingbirds, buy a feeder with a macro lens \u2014 ours or anyone's \u2014 because a general camera cannot focus that close. If it is a nesting family, buy a nest box with night vision. If it is the garden crowd, almost any hopper-style camera feeder will do the job.
Then ask whether you want to be paying for it in 2031.
Questions: +1 929 604 7180, weekdays 9\u20135 Eastern.