Home Hub to Home Hub Pro: Is the Storage Upgrade Worth It?

Automated research by Top10Scout editorial team · Not hands-on tested · Last verified 2026-10-05

Published 2026-10-05 · Updated 2026-10-05

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Keep Home Hub if its supported camera count and microSD storage already cover the history you need. Move to Home Hub Pro when you specifically need its hard-drive expansion or documented USB video export. The Pro purchase is a storage-and-management upgrade for a compatible system. It does not automatically improve the picture from cameras you already own.

What storage problem would the upgrade solve?

What changes in daily use

Decision	Reolink Home Hub	Reolink Home Hub Pro
Storage expansion	Up to 1TB ×2	Up to 16TB HDD
Display connector	NO	YES
USB connection/export	NO	Supports exporting videos to external USB drives
Local network operation	enabling your security cameras to function seamlessly without the need for an Internet connection.	direct management and control over data within the local network

Home Hub supports Up to 1TB ×2 for microSD storage. Home Hub Pro provides a hard-drive route expandable to Up to 16TB HDD. The useful question is whether your current recordings are being overwritten before the events you want to review, or whether the existing capacity is already sufficient.

A larger supported drive can provide room for a different retention plan, but the capacity label alone does not tell you how many days your own system will retain. Camera settings, recording schedules and how much footage the system creates affect the result. We would first review the history actually retained by the current setup.

If you can already retrieve the events you need, keep the existing hub. If the current storage is the constraint, compare an appropriate supported card expansion with the complete Pro purchase before replacing the controller.

Will the planned cameras work with the new hub?

Home Hub lists Up to 8 cameras. Home Hub Pro separately specifies Up to 12 PoE & Plug-in Cams. The latter applies to PoE and plug-in cameras; it is not a universal maximum for every mixture of battery and powered cameras. Match the device class before using a count in an expansion plan.

Both product pages identify supported Reolink camera families and exclude cellular cameras and the specified older battery-camera group. Battery-camera support also carries firmware requirements. Check each exact camera against the current compatibility information before assuming it can move to the new hub.

List the installed cameras and the planned additions before upgrading. A storage upgrade does not turn an unsupported camera into a compatible one or make a battery camera provide a recording mode its own hardware does not support. Buy Pro for the verified storage or export task, then confirm that the intended camera mix is supported.

What changes when you need to save an event?

Home Hub Pro explicitly supports exporting video to an external USB drive. Home Hub's specifications mark USB as unavailable. For someone who regularly wants a separate physical copy of an important recording, that is a more concrete reason to upgrade than a larger number on the product name.

The Pro specifications also list HDMI, while the original hub does not. Check the intended viewing and export workflow before purchase; the presence of a connector should not be expanded into a promise about an unverified app or monitor setup.

Pro also has a storage limitation worth noticing: its microSD card cannot save videos when an HDD and card are both inserted. Do not buy it expecting those media to create simultaneous duplicate recordings automatically. The documented USB export route is a separate action, not a guarantee that every recording already has another copy.

Do you need Pro to obtain local storage without a fee?

No. Both Home Hub pages describe local storage and operation on the local network. Both specify encrypted storage. Upgrading just to acquire those basic properties would duplicate functions already documented for the original hub.

Local operation also needs the local equipment to remain working. It is not the same claim as remote access while the house has no internet, and it does not protect a recording from every possible failure or theft scenario.

The setup instructions for both hubs connect the unit to power and the home router by Ethernet. Plan its location around that actual requirement and the supported camera connections. This is a decision about a working recording system, not just replacing one attractive desktop object with another.

How much does an existing owner actually have to spend?

The current selected US Home Hub Pro reference is $319.99 for the package that includes a hard drive. The current Home Hub Solo reference is $149.99, with no microSD card included. These exact retailer packages differ, so a new-buyer price gap is not a clean like-for-like storage calculation.

An existing Home Hub owner needs to budget the full Pro purchase, any additional storage required and the work to configure the camera system. We do not subtract an assumed resale value or pretend the old hub's current retail price is money returned to you.

Our upgrade threshold is practical: buy Pro when one of its documented additions fixes the actual storage or export constraint. Keep Home Hub when it already serves the installed cameras and provides enough accessible history. A first-time buyer should separately compare complete packages and supported camera requirements rather than inherit an existing-owner replacement recommendation.

Keep Home Hub when the current recording plan works

The installed cameras are supported, their count fits and the retained history covers your needs. Shared local-storage and encryption functions do not justify replacing working hardware.

Upgrade for a specific storage or management limit

You need the documented HDD route or USB export workflow. Verify each camera and budget the complete Pro package, including storage that is actually part of the selected offer.

Frequently asked questions

Does every Home Hub Pro include a hard drive?

No. Reolink documents versions with and without a drive. The checked retailer reference here is the drive-included package. Match the selected buying option to its contents before comparing it with a hub-only or card-only setup.

Will Pro improve the camera image automatically?

Replacing the recording hub does not change the optics or lighting at an existing camera. The documented differences in this comparison concern storage, supported device count and management connections, which should match a real system need.

Can Pro record to its card and hard drive together?

Its specifications say the microSD card cannot save videos when both media are inserted. Do not assume two inserted media form an automatic duplicate recording system. Use a documented export or backup workflow for footage you need to retain separately.

Should I replace Home Hub before adding another camera?

Check the existing hub’s supported count and the exact camera’s compatibility first. If the current system still covers the planned addition and required history, replacement may be unnecessary. Upgrade when a documented limit actually constrains the plan.

Official sources

Reolink Home Hub Pro: checked exact-model source and conditions — checked 2026-10-05

Reolink Home Hub: checked exact-model source and conditions — checked 2026-10-05