Guard vs camera-AI: what's it really costing you?

A security guard vs CCTV cost calculator compares what you pay for 24×7 manned guard posts with what an always-on camera-AI layer costs, and shows the net rupee swing per year. In India a single compliant guard costs roughly ₹20,000–25,000 a month all-in, and one round-the-clock post needs about four of them. The swing only turns positive when cameras let you drop or merge a post, or cut real losses. Cameras do not replace the guard at the gate.

How the calculator works

The calculator takes five inputs and does simple monthly arithmetic, then multiplies by 12.

• 24×7 guard posts you pay for: the number of positions staffed round the clock (main gate, rear gate, stores, and so on). A post is not one person. It is every guard needed to hold that spot across all shifts, weekly-offs and leave.
• Fully-loaded cost per guard post (₹/month): what one post costs you in total: wages for all the guards on it, plus PF, ESI, bonus, gratuity and the agency's service charge.
• Camera-AI monitoring (₹/month): the monthly cost of software watching all your camera zones 24×7. Treat this as a quote you get, not a fixed price.
• Theft / pilferage you'd cut per month (₹): the loss you expect to stop. This is the hardest number to know. Leave it at zero if you have no evidence.
• Guard posts you could consolidate (slider, 0–4): how many posts you could drop or merge because cameras now cover that zone. The calculator never lets this exceed your number of posts.

The calculation:

• Current guarding cost = posts × cost per post (shown per month and × 12 per year)
• Consolidation saving = posts consolidated × cost per post
• Net saving per year = (consolidation saving + theft cut − camera-AI cost) × 12

Negative inputs are treated as zero. The net figure can come out negative, and that is a real answer: it means the camera layer costs more than it saves on these assumptions.

Worked example (India)

A mid-size plant in Haryana with three 24×7 posts (main gate, rear/scrap gate, stores). Guard wage taken at the Haryana unskilled minimum from the state gazette (No. 2/25/26-2 Lab, 9 Apr 2026): ₹15,220.71/month.

Result:

• Current guarding: 3 × ₹81,000 = ₹2,43,000/month, ₹29,16,000/year
• Consolidation saving: 1 × ₹81,000 = ₹81,000/month
• Net: (₹81,000 + ₹20,000 − ₹16,000) × 12 = ₹10,20,000/year

The honest version: set the slider to 0 (you keep all three posts) and the net drops to (₹20,000 − ₹16,000) × 12 = ₹48,000/year. That margin rests entirely on a theft figure you have to prove. Almost all of the money comes from removing a post, so that is the decision to look at carefully.

What typical numbers look like

• One compliant unskilled guard in Delhi: about ₹23,900–24,800/month all-in. That is a ₹18,456 basic wage plus about ₹3,700 of statutory costs and a 6–10% agency charge (Knighthood).
• Guard pay itself ranges from about ₹13,000 to ₹30,000/month depending on city, experience and armed or unarmed duty (WeCare). That is pay, not a fully loaded post.
• A full 24×7 post is therefore about 3.5–4 guards, roughly ₹75,000–1,15,000/month at these rates (low end at Haryana-level wages, high end at Delhi rates with 4.5 guards per post), and more with a supervisor or armed guards. This range is our arithmetic from the sources above, not a published benchmark.
• Most pilferage is internal. A study by the Indian Institute of Logistics, cited by Edgistify, traced 70% of pilferage incidents to internal actors. This matters because a guard can be part of the problem, while a timestamped record can't be edited by staff.
• Camera-AI monitoring cost: we found no credible public benchmark for Indian factory pricing. It depends on camera count and on whether you retrofit existing CCTV. Use a written quote, not the default.

What this number does not tell you

• Cameras do not physically act. They don't open gates, check gate passes, sign for deliveries, search vehicles, stop an intruder or respond to a fire at 2 a.m. Any post whose job is intervention or access control stays manned.
• Some posts are not yours to remove. Insurers, OEM customers, state night-shift rules for women or your own fire-safety plan may require a guard on site. Check before you move the slider.
• The theft figure is a guess until measured. If you can't point to stock-variance or weighbridge records, enter zero and judge the case on consolidation alone.
• It ignores one-time costs: new cameras, cabling, lighting for night coverage, storage and installation. See what a camera + AI system costs.
• Alerts need someone to act on them. If no one answers the alert at night, you have bought a recording, not security. Budget for a response person or a patrolling guard.

Related guides

• Security Guard vs AI Cameras: The Real ₹ Math for an Indian Factory
• The Gate and the Weighbridge: Where Indian Factories Lose Material
• Employee Theft in Indian Factories: What Cameras Catch (and What They Don't)
• Does Camera-AI Pay for Itself in an Indian Factory? The Honest ₹ Payback
• Night & Low-Light Cameras on a Shop Floor: What Works (2026)

FAQ

Is CCTV cheaper than a security guard in India? Per month, a camera-AI layer usually costs less than one 24×7 guard post, which runs about ₹75,000–1,15,000 once you count the 3.5–4 guards it takes. But that comparison only matters if the cameras let you drop or merge a post. If you keep every guard, the cameras are an added cost that has to pay back through cut losses.

How many guards do you need for one 24×7 security post? About 3.5 to 4. A week has 168 hours and one guard works about 48 (six 8-hour shifts), which gives 3.5. Leave, sickness and weekly-offs push it to around 4.

Can AI cameras replace security guards in a factory? Not fully. Cameras watch every zone at once and keep a timestamped record, but they cannot man a gate, check vehicles or physically stop anyone. The realistic setup is fewer guards at the gate and for response, with cameras covering stores, scrap, dispatch and the perimeter between rounds.

What is the monthly cost of a security guard in India in 2026? A compliant unskilled guard costs roughly ₹20,000–25,000 a month all-in: the state minimum wage, plus PF, ESI, bonus and gratuity, plus a 6–10% agency charge. The exact figure depends on your state's minimum wage and the guard's skill grade.

How do you calculate ROI of replacing guards with cameras? Net saving per year = (posts consolidated × cost per post + monthly theft cut − monthly camera-AI cost) × 12. Add one-time hardware and installation separately to get the payback period.

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