Is Trace or Veo cheaper overall?

Trace publishes its figures and Veo does not, so an honest total comparison is not possible from public information alone. What you can compare is shape: Trace leases the hardware alongside a per-year subscription, while Veo sells the camera and prices the plan by region and team count. Get a quote for your country before deciding.

Do I need analysis software as well as a camera?

Not necessarily. Both cameras give you watchable footage and automatic highlights out of the box, which is enough for a lot of clubs. Separate analysis software earns its place when you want to tag and break down phases of play systematically. Getting feedback to individual players is a third thing again, and neither the camera nor the tagging tool does it.

Can I use footage from either with coaching tools?

Yes. Sidetalk works with both by storing a link to your match and a single time offset, so your own touchline notes carry the video’s timestamps. Nothing is uploaded and neither account is touched.

Is there a free way to try this?

Filming on a phone from a raised position gets you surprisingly far, and costs nothing. It is worth doing for a few matches before spending on hardware, if only to find out how much footage you actually watch.

Trace vs Veo: which sports camera is right for your team?

We do not sell cameras. Sidetalk works with footage from either one, and from a phone on a fence post, so we have nothing riding on your answer. Here is the straight version.

Both products solve the same original problem: filming a match without asking a human to stand behind a tripod for ninety minutes. They arrive at it differently, and the difference shows up in what you pay, what you own, and who the footage is really for.

At a glance

	Trace	Veo
How it records	Fixed camera with 180° coverage of the field. AI cuts personalised highlights for every player on both teams automatically.	Fixed camera on a tripod, records the whole pitch unmanned. Onboard AI follows the action.
Hardware	Equipment lease listed at $795, with a $0 one-time fee on yearly plans or $99 on monthly.	No public list price — plans are quoted by region rather than listed on the pricing page.
Subscription	PlayerFocus Basic at $15/mo billed yearly ($180) or $25/mo monthly. PlayerFocus Pro at $25/mo billed yearly ($300) or $40/mo monthly.	Plans from Starter (10 recording hours, 1 team, 15 users) to Club (unlimited hours, 10 teams, 300 users) and Enterprise. Prices are quoted by region rather than listed.
What you get	One camera system, leased rather than bought outright.	Veo Cam 3, Veo Cam 3 5G (livestream and upload over cellular), and Veo Go, which uses two iPhones instead of a dedicated camera.
Sports	Not listed on the pricing page, which is soccer throughout.	Football/soccer, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, American football, field hockey, baseball and ice hockey.

Last verified 19 August 2026 · Trace pricing, Veo pricing

Where Trace fits better

You want every player to get something. Trace’s model is built around per-player highlights, cut automatically for both teams. If your parents are asking for individual clips — and in youth soccer in the US, they are — this is the shape that answers it.
You would rather not buy hardware. The camera is leased alongside the subscription rather than bought outright, which turns a large one-off into a smaller recurring line the club can actually budget for.
You want the price up front. Trace publishes its numbers. That sounds small until you have spent a week chasing a quote.

Where Veo fits better

You coach something other than soccer. Veo lists support across football/soccer, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, American football, field hockey, baseball and ice hockey. If your club runs more than one sport off one camera, this is the deciding line.
You need more than one team on it. The plans scale by teams and users, up to unlimited recording hours and ten teams on the Club plan. A single-team plan and a club plan are genuinely different products.
You want a route in without the hardware. Veo Go turns two iPhones into the camera. For a club that wants to try the workflow before committing to a pole and a case, that is a real option.
You are in Europe. Veo is Danish, and its footprint across European clubs is heavy enough that other coaches in your league will already know how it works.

The part both of them leave to you

Whichever you pick, in three weeks you will have footage and the same question every coach has at that point: now what?

Neither camera closes the loop between a video existing and a player doing something differently. That still runs through you — what you noticed, what you said, and whether it reached the right player while it still meant something. Sidetalk records that half: it listens while you coach, writes individual feedback for each player, and lines those notes up with your match video so a note and a moment share a timestamp. It works the same either way, which is why we can be straight with you about the cameras.

Frequently asked questions

Is Trace or Veo cheaper overall?: Trace publishes its figures and Veo does not, so an honest total comparison is not possible from public information alone. What you can compare is shape: Trace leases the hardware alongside a per-year subscription, while Veo sells the camera and prices the plan by region and team count. Get a quote for your country before deciding.
Do I need analysis software as well as a camera?: Not necessarily. Both cameras give you watchable footage and automatic highlights out of the box, which is enough for a lot of clubs. Separate analysis software earns its place when you want to tag and break down phases of play systematically. Getting feedback to individual players is a third thing again, and neither the camera nor the tagging tool does it.
Can I use footage from either with coaching tools?: Yes. Sidetalk works with both by storing a link to your match and a single time offset, so your own touchline notes carry the video’s timestamps. Nothing is uploaded and neither account is touched.
Is there a free way to try this?: Filming on a phone from a raised position gets you surprisingly far, and costs nothing. It is worth doing for a few matches before spending on hardware, if only to find out how much footage you actually watch.