Find the Best Home Security Camera

The Google Nest Cam (battery, ~$180) is our overall pick — sharp 1080p HDR video, free on-device person, animal, and vehicle alerts, and it works indoors or out. The Arlo Pro 5S is the best wireless upgrade, the eufy SoloCam S340 (~$200) is the best pick if you refuse to pay monthly fees, and the Wyze Cam v4 (~$36) is the best budget camera worth owning.

Not always, and this is where most of the money is won or lost. Cloud plans typically run $3 to $20 a month — Ring Home starts around $4.99 per month per device, Nest Aware is about $8 a month, and Arlo Secure starts at $7.99. Cameras from eufy, Reolink, and Wyze record locally to a microSD card or hub with no recurring fee at all, which over five years can be hundreds of dollars cheaper to own.

No. Amazon owns both Ring (acquired 2018) and Blink (acquired 2017), and a Prime membership includes neither company's cloud plan — Prime members pay the same monthly subscription as everyone else. Prime also does not back up camera footage: Amazon Photos gives unlimited photo storage but caps video at 5GB.

1080p (Full HD) is the practical minimum and is fine for most rooms and yards. 2K and 4K let you zoom in far enough to read a license plate or identify a face, which matters most on driveways and long approaches. Higher resolution consumes proportionally more storage, so balance detail against how much footage you want to keep — and if you record continuously to microSD, buy a high-endurance card rated for 24/7 writes.

Yes — visible cameras are among the most effective low-cost deterrents available. In a University of North Carolina at Charlotte study of convicted burglars, roughly 60% said the presence of a camera or alarm system would cause them to pick a different target. FBI crime data also shows most residential burglaries occur during daytime hours when homes are empty, so a camera that pushes real-time alerts while you are at work is working exactly when it matters.

Cover the entry points burglars actually use. Per FBI crime data, the front door and first-floor windows are among the most common break-in points, so prioritize the front entrance, back and side doors, the garage, and the driveway. Mount cameras 8 to 10 feet high and angled down so they capture faces without being easy to reach, and keep at least one camera clearly visible from the street for deterrence.