Wirecutter

This battery-operated outdoor Wi-Fi camera provides clear 2K images, and if you add a subscription, it can distinguish between people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general motion.

This 2K camera is wireless in every way; it uses a battery pack that can deliver one to two months of use anywhere you need it.

This battery-operated outdoor Wi-Fi camera provides clear 2K images. With the storage plan, it can also distinguish among people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general motion.

Best for Most

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Consumer Reports

Smart alerts for: People and facesOptional storage subscription: YesCR’s take: The Eufy Cam 2C Pro is a bit unusual in that Eufy at minimum makes you buy a two-camera kit, making it better suited to shoppers looking for a multi-camera system. In our tests, it performs well across the board, with an Excellent rating for its array of smart features. Its only flaw is its middling data privacy, but that’s a common issue for the majority of cameras in our ratings. The Eufy Cam 2C Pro packs a ton of features, including person detection, facial recognition, a built-in spotlight, monitoring zones, a siren, two-way audio, 16 gigabytes of memory for local video storage (there’s no SD card slot for expandable storage), and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa, Apple Home/Siri, and Google Home/Assistant.

Upgrade Pick

Smart alerts for: People onlyOptional storage subscription: YesCR’s take: The Eufy SoloCam S40 is the first security camera CR has tested with a built-in solar panel to recharge its battery. In our tests, it offers superb video quality and data security, and it receives a Very Good rating for its response time. The camera doesn’t offer great data privacy, though, which is common among these devices. It features monitoring zones; person alerts; voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant; a built-in siren; color night vision (thanks to its built-in spotlight); and 8 gigabytes of memory to store footage locally.

Budget Pick

The Nest requires a subscription to capture recordings, but you can choose whether you want to record 1080p video 24/7 or just motion events.

This camera is completely waterproof, provides crystal-clear 1080p images, and has options for motion-only or 24/7 recording.

TechGearLab

The upmarket Google Nest Cam has superb live video quality supported by a fantastic onboard microphone and speaker. An unusual element of note is the familiar face feature that allows you to save individuals' faces and have the camera notify you when they are detected. Other specifications that we like are the redundant battery/plug-in power source, the high-resolution night vision, and the reasonably well laid out app. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the Nest is the ease with which it fits into Google's Smart Home system.
While the Nest Cam is a top-performing camera, it falls short where cost is concerned because it is priced much higher than comparable devices. Included in this cost assessment is the subscription required to gain access to many of the features that make this camera competitive.  For example, glass breaking alerts, emergency service notifications, and smoke and carbon monoxide detection. Also, the night vision lacks color &#40;though we don't think that's a huge deal&#41;. The camera is also larger and more conspicuous than its competitors which could be a pro or con depending on your situation. All that said, we acknowledge that some will find the upfront and long-term costs of the Nest worth the money if they are using Google's Smart Home platform, or they just have to have its specialized features like the familiar face alert. 
Read Full Review: Google Nest Cam

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The Arlo Q can provide more customized alerts if you add an Arlo Secure subscription. Without it, you still get alerts, live viewing, and video storage for seven days.

cnet.com

Smart alerts for: Faces onlyOptional storage subscription: YesCR’s take: The Blue by ADT Indoor Camera is one of the company’s first DIY cameras—and one of the top performers in our ratings. It offers superb response time for alerts, great video quality, and strong data security, but only a middle-of-the-road Good rating for data privacy. This camera features an SD card slot for local video storage (card sold separately), as well as a rolling 24 hours of free cloud video storage, which the camera uses by default (unless you use an SD card). Other features include facial recognition, monitoring zones, battery backup for power outages, smoke and carbon monoxide siren detection, and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant.

Smart alerts for: People and vehiclesOptional storage subscription: NoCR’s take: The Lorex Smart Indoor/Outdoor WiFi W282CAD-E is the most affordable outdoor security camera on this list, as well as an all-around great performer in our lab tests. It receives high marks for video quality and data security, as well as a Very Good rating for response time. It offers middling data privacy in our tests, but that’s common for this product category. This camera comes with a 32-gigabyte microSD card for local video storage and features two-way audio, monitoring zones, person detection, vehicle detection, a siren to scare off intruders, and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant.

powerreviews

CR’s take: The Arlo Pro 2 offers superb video quality, and Arlo cameras are the only models in our ratings with Excellent Smart IQ ratings. That means they offer a wide array of smart features compared with the competition, including a siren, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, a rechargeable battery, and a rolling seven days of free storage for motion- and audio-triggered video clips (a perk that the other Arlo cameras in our ratings lack).  The Pro 2 also receives a great data security score, which means it will hold up well against hackers, but its data privacy could be better. (See this article on our security camera data privacy and security tests for more information.)  With an Arlo Smart plan, you can get more video storage as well as monitoring zones; person, package, vehicle, and animal detection; and e911, which allows you to contact your home’s local 911 dispatcher directly, regardless of whether you’re home or halfway around the world. If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for video storage, you can connect a USB drive to the base station and store footage there instead.   Free video storage: 7 days  Optional subscription costs: 30 days of cloud video storage for $3 per month for one camera or $10 per month for five cameras; 24/7 continuous video recording for $10 per month per camera for 14 days and $20 per month per camera for 30 days.

Free video storage: 7 days Optional subscription costs: 30 days of cloud video storage for $3 per month for one camera or $10 per month for five cameras; 24/7 continuous video recording costs $10 per month per camera for 14 days and $20 per month per camera for 30 days CR’s take: The Arlo Pro 2 offers superb video quality, and Arlo cameras are the only models in our ratings with Excellent Smart IQ ratings, which means they offer a wide array of smart features compared to the competition, including a siren, voice control via Amazon Alexa (as well as Apple HomeKit/Siri and Google Assistant), a rechargeable battery, and a rolling seven days of free storage for motion- and audio-triggered video clips (a perk that the other Arlo cameras in our ratings lack). The Pro 2 also receives a great data security score, but its data privacy could be better. With an Arlo Smart plan, you can get more video storage as well as monitoring zones; person, package, vehicle, and animal detection; and e911, which allows you to contact your home’s local 911 dispatcher from the Arlo app. If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for video storage, you can connect a USB drive to the base station and store footage there instead.

Free video storage: 7 days Optional subscription costs: 30 days of cloud video storage for $3 per month for one camera or $10 per month for five cameras; 24/7 continuous video recording costs $10 per month per camera for 14 days and $20 per month per camera for 30 days CR’s take: The Arlo Pro 2 offers superb video quality, and Arlo cameras are the only models in our ratings with Excellent Smart IQ ratings, which means they offer a wide array of smart features compared with the competition, including a siren, voice control via Apple HomeKit/Siri (as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant), a rechargeable battery, and a rolling seven days of free storage for motion- and audio-triggered video clips (a perk that the other Arlo cameras in our ratings lack). The Pro 2 also receives a great data security score, but its data privacy could be better. With an Arlo Smart plan, you can get more video storage as well as monitoring zones; person, package, vehicle, and animal detection; and e911, which allows you to contact your home’s local 911 dispatcher from the Arlo app. If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for video storage, you can connect a USB drive to the base station and store footage there instead.

Free video storage: 7 days Optional subscription costs: $3 to $20 per month CR’s take: The Arlo Pro 2 offers superb video quality, and Arlo cameras are the only models in our ratings with Excellent Smart IQ ratings. The Pro 2 also receives a great data security score, but its data privacy could be better. As for features, you get a siren, voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant), a rechargeable battery, and a rolling seven days of free storage for motion- and audio-triggered video clips, a perk that the other Arlo cameras in our ratings lack. With an Arlo Smart subscription, you can get more video storage as well as monitoring zones; person, package, vehicle, and animal detection; and e911, which allows you to contact your home’s local 911 dispatcher from the Arlo app. The company offers subscriptions for 24/7 continuous video recording, too. If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for video storage, you can connect a USB drive to the base station and store footage there instead.

Smart alerts for: People onlyOptional storage subscription: NoCR’s take: The Lorex 2K Pan-Tilt WiFi W462AQC-E is a CR Best Buy pick, thanks to its winning combination of solid performance and a relatively low price. It scores well in just about every test, with an Excellent rating for video quality. Its only weak spot is its middling data privacy, but that’s common among most of the top-rated security cameras in our ratings. This Lorex camera comes with a 16-gigabyte microSD card for local video storage and features motorized pan-and-tilt so you can remotely move the camera to change its view (handy for large rooms or open floor plans); person detection, monitoring zones, and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant.

Security Camera Comparison