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I've Tested Over 100 Home Security Cameras. Here's Which to Buy
A professional security system can be pricey, but installing a few of the best security cameras around your home is affordable and easy. Cover entrances, driveways, garages, sheds, and your main hallways, and you’ll be alerted to any unwelcome guests. Security cameras can even help deter would-be intruders and thieves.
Beyond the purchase price, expect ongoing running costs, and be prepared to sacrifice some privacy. It’s vital you trust the camera brand you invite into your home. It makes sense to pick one brand for easy app access and management. I’ve tested more than 100 different security cameras over the last decade, and five brands consistently dominate my recommendations. Whether you want cloud or local storage, serious AI smarts, or the cheapest cameras you can get without sacrificing quality, I’ve got you covered. And I’ve included more brands worth considering below, with a few that are best avoided.
Want more options? Check out the Best Outdoor Security Cameras, Best Subscription-Free Security Cameras, Best Floodlight Security Cameras, and Best Video Doorbells.
For sheer feature-packed variety, Eufy security cameras are tough to beat. They’re easy to set up and use. They’re also reliable, and they don’t hide their best features behind a subscription. That means you can record locally on a hub, NVR, NAS device, or sometimes directly on the camera. My favorite Eufy cameras is the Indoor Cam S350, which is a good middle-ground in terms of price and features.
In fact, even this model will likely feel like overkill for most folks. It combines a regular camera with a 130-degree field of view that can go up to 4K with a 2K telephoto lens that provides 3X optical zoom. It also has 360-degree pan and 75-degree tilt controls, as well as AI tracking that works well. The camera also supports up to four preset positions it can patrol through, including the default position that it returns to after tracking a subject out of frame. There’s also privacy mode, two-way talk, and onboard AI to detect people, pets, and sounds. You can record locally with a microSD card up to 128 GB (not included), hook it up to a HomeBase S380 ($200), or subscribe for cloud storage from $4 per month. The Home Base S380 (previously called HomeBase 3) is a hub that connects to your router, ideally via Ethernet cable, and offers 16 GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 16 TB with a hard drive.
The footage is crisp and detailed enough to zoom in on, though bright areas like sun streaming in a window can appear blown out. Because the frame rate is 15 fps, sometimes fast-moving subjects appear blurry. The motion detection is reliable, and you can set up privacy zones in the app. Notifications are swift and come with a thumbnail if you don’t mind uploading to the cloud (which is optional). I sometimes noticed a slight lag on the live feed, and the sound quality could be better. There is no HomeKit support, but you get Alexa and Google Assistant, though the camera was very slow and sometimes failed to load for me via Google.
This is my favorite pan-and-tilt camera right now, and it's a self-contained powerhouse with a fixed main lens that has a 130-degree field of view and records crisp, clear video at up to 4K, paired with dual 2K pan-and-tilt lenses that pan through 360 degrees and tilt through 70 degrees. The 8X hybrid zoom can blow up subjects up to 164 feet away. Tracking is very good, and you retain the fixed view, so there’s no risk of missing anything. The quick swap 10,000-mAh battery is rechargeable, but the included solar panel, which can go on top of the camera or nearby, was enough to keep mine topped off. The 32 GB of built-in storage is plenty for local recordings (expandable to 256 GB via microSD). But you can also get this in two or four cam kits with Eufy’s HomeBase S380.
If you like the S4 cameras, but you're able to go the wired route and run Ethernet cables, Eufy's S4 Max ($1,500) system employs Power over Ethernet (PoE)