Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE vs TP-Link Tapo C500 comparison

Updated August 2026

Data from Amazon and official Aqara and TP-Link sites.

2026 verdict

The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE wins on PoE power, RTSP, alerts and hub features against the TP-Link Tapo C500, which makes it the more capable outdoor camera despite the two sharing weather sealing and color night vision. The Aqara runs on a single Ethernet cable, streams RTSP into Home Assistant or a recorder, detects people, animals, vehicles, packages, familiar faces, baby crying and smoke alarms locally, and doubles as a Zigbee coordinator, Thread border router and Matter bridge with HomeKit and SmartThings on top of Google Home, Alexa, Home Assistant and IFTTT. The TP-Link Tapo C500 is much cheaper, has a 2-year warranty against 1 year, and adds 360-degree pan with 130-degree tilt, customizable motion zones, a light, a siren and microSD recording with free cloud options, though it has no RTSP and only detects people. Buy the Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE for reliability and integrations, and the TP-Link Tapo C500 for cheap outdoor pan-and-tilt coverage.

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Feature	Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE	TP-Link Tapo C500	Winner
Price	$199.99	$39.99	TP-Link Tapo C500
Warranty	1 year	2 years	TP-Link Tapo C500
PoE	YES	NO	Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE
RTSP	YES	NO	Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE
Alerts	Motion, People, Animals, Vehicles, Familiar Faces, Packages, Baby Crying Sound, Smoke Alarm Sound	Motion, People	Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE
Hub	Zigbee Coordinator, Thread Border Router, Matter Bridge	None	Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE
Customizable Motion Zones	NO	YES	TP-Link Tapo C500
Rating	4.5	4.5	Tie
Weather Resistance	IP65	IP65	Tie
Solar Charging	NO	NO	Tie
Connectivity	Ethernet	2.4 GHz WiFi	Tie
Storage	MicroSD Card Slot, Cloud	MicroSD Card Slot, Cloud	Tie

Winner

Aqara

Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE

13% OFF

$199.99

$229.99

Buy on Amazon USA

+ PoE: YES
+ RTSP: YES
+ Alerts: Motion, People, Animals, Vehicles, Familiar Faces, Packages, Baby Crying Sound, Smoke Alarm Sound
- Price: $199.99 vs $39.99
- Warranty: 1 year vs 2 years

TP-Link

TP-Link Tapo C500

$39.99

Buy on Amazon USA

+ Price: $39.99
+ Warranty: 2 years
+ Customizable Motion Zones: YES
- PoE: NO vs YES
- RTSP: NO vs YES

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall: Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE or TP-Link Tapo C500?

The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE wins overall with PoE power, RTSP, far more alert types and Zigbee, Thread and Matter hub features. The TP-Link Tapo C500 is much cheaper, adds 360-degree pan and tilt and comes with a 2-year warranty.

What is the biggest difference between the Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE and the TP-Link Tapo C500?

Integration depth. The Aqara streams RTSP, detects people, animals, vehicles, packages and faces locally and works as a smart home hub, while the Tapo C500 focuses on affordable outdoor pan-and-tilt coverage with people detection only.

Are both suitable for outdoor use?

Yes. The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE is IP65 rated and the TP-Link Tapo C500 is also IP65, so both handle rain and dust. The difference is power: the Aqara uses Power over Ethernet, while the Tapo needs a mains adapter and Wi-Fi.

Which one can feed a network video recorder?

The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE, thanks to its RTSP stream, which also makes it easy to use in Home Assistant. The TP-Link Tapo C500 does not offer RTSP, so it stays inside the Tapo app and its supported voice assistants.

Who should buy the Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE?

Buy the Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro PoE if you want an IP65 camera on a single Ethernet cable with local recording, RTSP, color night vision, rich detection and Zigbee, Thread and Matter hub duty across HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings.

Who should buy the TP-Link Tapo C500?

Buy the TP-Link Tapo C500 if you want affordable outdoor coverage that pans 360 degrees and tilts, with color night vision, a light, a siren, microSD recording, motion and privacy zones and a 2-year warranty.

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