Vantrue N4 Pro vs N4 Pro S: Which One Do You Actually Need?

Vantrue N4 Pro vs N4 Pro S: Which One Do You Actually Need?

The Vantrue N4 Pro and the Vantrue N4 Pro S are the same idea built to two different standards. Both record three channels at once, both put 4K on the road ahead, both watch the cabin in infrared, and both come from us with a weather-sealed rear camera. The N4 Pro is for drivers who want that coverage for less. The N4 Pro S is for drivers who need the plate behind them readable rather than merely visible.

If you are in a hurry

Choose the N4 Pro if the rear channel is mostly there to prove you were rear-ended, and you would rather spend the difference on a card and a hardwire kit.

Choose the N4 Pro S if you want to read the plate of the car behind you at speed, or you want the same night performance on all three cameras.

Are these two actually comparable?

Yes, and that is unusual for a comparison. Both are current models. Both sit at the top of Vantrue's three-channel range. Both ship as a three-piece kit with the same install job.

The front and cabin channels are the same on paper. The whole decision is the rear one, which is why so many buyers get stuck here.

One thing worth clearing up first. A lot of overseas reviews describe the N4 Pro as having an interior-only rear camera. The N4 Pro we supply comes with the IP67 rear camera, so exterior mounting is on the table with either model. That takes the usual tiebreaker off the table and leaves you deciding on detail alone.

What actually differs

N4 Pro N4 Pro S
Front 4K, Sony STARVIS 2 4K, Sony STARVIS 2
Rear 1080p, IP67 rated 2.5K, IP67 rated
Cabin 1080p infrared 1080p infrared
STARVIS 2 sensors Front only All three cameras
Card support Up to 512 GB Up to 1 TB

Figures are Vantrue's own published specifications and are manufacturer claims. We have not measured either camera.

Where the N4 Pro wins

It costs less for the same front camera. That is the whole argument, and it is a strong one. The channel that identifies a vehicle and reads a plate ahead of you is identical on both. You are not buying a lesser front camera by choosing the N4 Pro.

You also keep the exterior mounting option. That is the part most comparisons get wrong. Because the rear camera is weather-sealed, a ute with a canopy or a car with heavier than legal tinted rear glass is still solvable on the cheaper model. You are not forced up a tier by your vehicle.

For a lot of suburban driving the rear channel is a witness rather than an investigator. It shows following distance, closing speed and the moment of contact. A 1080p rear does that. Say your realistic worst case is being rear-ended at a roundabout. The extra rear resolution then buys you something you will probably never use.

Where the N4 Pro S wins

The rear channel records at 2.5K rather than 1080p. That is the difference between seeing that a car was there and reading which car it was. If someone tailgates you down the Hume and then leaves the scene, the rear plate is the only evidence that matters, and resolution is what makes it legible.

Then there is the sensor spread. STARVIS 2 sits on all three cameras rather than just the front. That shows up at night on the two channels people forget about. The cabin and rear are usually the first to disappoint after dark, and this is the model that addresses both.

It also takes a 1 TB card against 512 GB. On a three-channel camera that is not a vanity figure. Three streams fill a card quickly, and a bigger card means more days before the loop writes over the clip you needed.

What neither one does well

Neither records 4K at 60 frames per second. Both cap the front channel at 30. Frame rate is how many images a second the camera captures. A higher rate makes a plate flashing past at highway speed easier to read. If that is your priority, neither of these is your camera.

Neither will record while parked out of the box. Both need a hardwire kit, because the cigarette socket cuts power with the ignition. Budget for it, or parking mode is a feature you paid for and cannot use.

And both are three-piece systems. Three cameras means three cable runs, and that is the same job on either one. Neither is a ten-minute fit.

What this means on Australian roads

Heat comes first. Both use a supercapacitor rather than a small rechargeable battery, which copes better with a car parked outside through summer. That favours both, so it is not a tiebreaker.

Vehicle shape usually is the tiebreaker, and here it mostly is not. Because both rear cameras are weather-sealed, a canopy, a tray or dark tint does not push you to the dearer model. Work out instead how far back you need to identify a vehicle. City commuting rarely needs 2.5K behind you. Highway and towing kilometres often do.

Then the install. Both are bought here with an 18-month warranty and no product registration required, and we ship from Melbourne. We do not install cameras ourselves, but we keep a directory of independent installers if you would rather not run three cables yourself. They are independent businesses, so you book and contract directly with them.

So who should buy which?

Choose the Vantrue N4 Pro if most of your driving is suburban, the rear camera is there to establish fault rather than identify a stranger, and you would rather put the difference toward a bigger card and a hardwire kit.

Choose the Vantrue N4 Pro S if you cover highway kilometres, you tow, you drive for work, or you want the same low-light performance on the cabin and rear that you get up front.

Choose neither if you do not need a cabin camera at all. Rideshare and family drivers do. A solo commuter often does not, and a two-channel front and rear camera puts that money into a sharper rear channel instead. The Vantrue N4S is also worth a look if a 2.7K front channel is enough, because it pairs that with the same weather-sealed 2.5K rear as the S.

Common questions

What are the differences between the Vantrue N4 Pro and N4S dash cams?

They swap priorities. The N4 Pro records 4K at the front with a 1080p rear. The N4S drops the front to 2.7K but lifts the rear to 2.5K and puts STARVIS 2 sensors on all three cameras. Choose the N4 Pro for front detail, the N4S for rear detail for less.

Is the Vantrue N4 Pro good?

It is the three-channel camera we sell most of. The front sensor does the plate work, the infrared cabin channel keeps working at night, and the supercapacitor suits Australian heat. Its honest limits are a 30 fps ceiling at 4K and a 1080p rear. Our full Vantrue N4 Pro review goes deeper.

Which is the best Vantrue dash cam?

There is no single answer, because the range splits by how many angles you need rather than by quality. Our Vantrue buyer's guide walks through the Element, Nexus and Sonnet series and names the driver each one suits.

Does the Vantrue N4 Pro have GPS?

Yes. GPS is built in, and it stamps speed and location onto the footage rather than storing it separately. That is the data an insurer asks for when two accounts of an incident disagree. The N4 Pro S has it too.

Still stuck?

Tell us the vehicle and the kind of kilometres you do, and we will give you a straight answer. Michael or Harrison will come back to you. You can also browse the full Vantrue range or compare the wider three-channel cameras we stock.

Last reviewed: 9 September 2026. The sensor, rating and specification figures here come from Vantrue's own published material rather than from controlled testing by us. If a specification, a feature or a claim on this page is wrong or has gone out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Commercial disclosure: The Dash Cam Guys sells both the N4 Pro and the N4 Pro S, so read this as a comparison of two cameras in our own range rather than an independent test of the three-channel market. No brand paid for, sponsored or supplied anything for this review. We buy the cameras we review out of our own stock, the same stock we sell. Specifications, including the rear resolution, the IP67 rating and the sensor spread, are Vantrue's own published figures and are manufacturer claims unless we say otherwise. Descriptions of how reviewers rate the footage are published opinion, not measurements. We have not run a controlled side-by-side test of the two cameras. If a specification, a feature or a claim on this page is wrong or has gone out of date, tell us and we will correct it.