Home security cameras not only enhance the safety and security of your home by warding off potential burglars and by keeping an eye on your property, but they can also help you keep tabs on your kids and pets, track packages and food deliveries and more. After testing over a dozen cameras for months, I chose the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro as the best home security camera: It’s easy to install, easy to manage thanks to an intuitive app and will last for years of service.
A home security camera begins doing its job even before it spots would be trouble; it's helping as ... More
As you choose the best home security camera for your property, consider features like image clarity, video storage capacity, alarm functions, custom programming options and more. Budget-friendly security cameras like the Arlo Essential Outdoor XL (2nd Gen) can offer peace of mind in your backyard for less than $100, while the Baseus S1 Pro Outdoor Security Camera can offer advanced sun-tracking solar-powered so you almost never have to worry about recharging. Here are the best security cameras for your property and your peace of mind, based on months of testing.
Best for:
- Its ease-of-use once installed
- Bright lighting and a loud alarm
- Bird’s eye view custom monitoring
Skip if:
- You want a battery-powered unit
- You are bothered by lights flashing on and off
I have set up two Ring doorbells and three Ring security cameras over the past few years, and in every case I have been struck first by one thing: simplicity. Once you have the Ring app installed and you spend a few minutes getting to know it, the process of pairing and then commencing to control a Ring camera is just a breeze. Granted, installing my best overall pick, the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro, does require a hard-wired power connection. While these cameras are built for DIY installation, you may require an electrician if you don’t already have power running to the extended installation point.
Once installed, a Ring Floodlight Cam Pro is quite easy to use and manage.
This security camera system has a 2K video resolution quality that could pick out every detail of what I saw on camera, and in color both day and night. You can choose zones to intensify the sensitivity of the camera and you can also block out areas you don’t wish to monitor for privacy concerns. And with its “Bird’s Eye Zones,” you can also get accurate information on where motion was detected, and you can track movement across your property both on recordings and in real time.
Building on Ring’s tradition of adding bright lights to security cameras, this system packs 2,000 lumens of lighting into its spotlights, which is enough to bathe nearby swaths of your property in light. It also has a 110dB alarm to ward off prowlers or animals not dissuaded by the light. A two-way talk function can welcome wanted guests to come on in or help you communicate with the delivery driver.
As with all Ring products, this camera pairs readily with Amazon’s Alexa digital helper, so you can control the Floodlight Cam Wired Pro with voice commands and you can get updates via your smart speaker.
The price of this camera tends to be acceptable as Amazon slaps it on sale all the time (Amazon does own Ring, after all), but even at full price it’s not overpriced for a security camera with a proven track record, bright lights, sharp eyes and an easy-to-use app interface.
Best for:
- Getting ultra high-definition video
- A huge 180-degree field of view
- Bright full-color night vision
Skip if:
- You want easy controls in the app
- You want a built-in spotlight
The Reolink Argus 4 Pro has the widest, clearest field of view in just about any security camera I’ve seen to date, save for those that pan from side to side. It uses two lenses set far apart (and makes the camera look rather like an owl). The cameras use AI to stitch their fields of view into one 180-degree image—and it does so in crystal clear 4K ultra high definition. You can see every detail of your property and of the people or critters populating it, and that’s true day and night.
The camera features proprietary ColorX Night Vision technology that allows it to capture bright, full-color video even in the dark of night. Now, you might be saying: “Hey, lots of security cameras can do that!” Yes they can—but not without a spotlight. This camera captures clear, colorful video at night without a light. It’s pretty cool, but it also means the Argus 4 Pro is lacking the deterrent effect that a spotlight can be. I’d prefer an optional light to the omission of a floodlight, regardless of its necessity for video quality.
The Reolink Argus 4 Pro Ultra camera has a huge high definition field of view.
I’ve experienced some lag issues with other Reolink products, such as the Reolink Video Doorbell, but the Argus 4 Pro had very low latency, thanks largely to its dual band Wi-Fi 6 capacity. Even placed at a good distance from your router, this camera connects with ease and with speed. And as it’s battery and/or solar powered, you can place it just about wherever you want.
You’ll need to buy a micro SD card (or use one you have) to capture video unless you instead spring for the Reolink Home Hub, so factor in that bit of added expense with this already pricey camera. But you’ll be getting a camera with a quality of image and a field of view that are hard to match.
Best for:
- Getting a solid camera for a good price
- Not worrying too often about changing batteries
- Getting crisp, clear audio in your video feeds
Skip if:
- You want minimal lag time
- You don’t want to pay for a subscription
If you want a good security camera at a great price, the Arlo Essential Outdoor XL (2nd Gen) is a fine choice. Truth be told, I’m not sure what the, “XL,” in the name is all about, as this is a fairly compact camera, but I have a few guesses. It might be about the extra long battery life, which can last for months, even as long as half a year. And that’s true even in cold climates; chilly weather seems to have little effect on the battery life.
Its resolution is 2K, which is sharp by day and night, and shows your feed in full color even after dark when its spotlight is on. It also offers noise-canceling audio that helps isolate the human voice from background noise so you can hear visitors, delivery people or prowlers with ease. The camera also costs less than $100 bucks, making it an affordable addition to your home’s security.
The Arlo Essential Outdoor XL (2nd Gen) camera is an affordable option, costing less than $100.
To make full use of its features, such as notifications and video storage, you have to get a paid subscription—that does mean the value is not quite as good as it first appears. The Arlo Secure subscription plan starts at $7.99 per month for a single camera (a $12.99 per month plan can support unlimited cameras), so that’s $95.88 per year.
Best for:
- A huge field of view
- Smart tracking
- Secure, private recording
Skip if:
- You want a battery cam
- You want a brighter light
There are smart cameras, and then there’s a GPT-enabled smart camera, called the Psync Cam Genie S, that uses artificial intelligence to identify what it’s seeing. At one point during my testing, I panned the camera around to face my son and got a notification that said (I’m paraphrasing), “Detected child sitting down using a blue laptop computer.” Now, while my son was actually using an iPad at the time, he was seated and the case was blue.
The GPT-enabled Psync Genie S can capture detailed images
The Psync Cam Genie S can detect people, pets, vehicles, deliveries and much more. As in the example above, it picks up on the specific details of what it’s seeing and reports them. This can be extra helpful when something out of the ordinary occurs—say, an adult enters your home when no one is supposed to be there.
And as you can make use of this smart camera in 350 degrees of panning and 135 degrees of vertical tilt, you can enjoy a clear view and AI-generated insights of almost the entirety of any room. The compact camera weighs in at all of 5.9 ounces and it tucks down into a little cube that’s less than three inches on a side when closed. Closing over the camera automatically shuts it off and ensures your privacy, by the way, while lifting the top turns it back on.
The Cam Genie S has an easy-to-use app and 32GB of local storage at no extra charge, but note that the maximum length of any video clip it saves is 12 seconds, which is somewhat limiting.
Best for:
- Reliable solar power, so no need to recharge every few months
- Crisp 3K video quality to see your yard clearly
Skip if:
- You need a wider viewing angle
- You need a better floodlight
There are many solar-powered security cameras out there, but there isn’t one quite like the Baseus S1 Pro Outdoor Security Camera. That’s because this camera’s built-in solar panel tracks the sun as it moves through the sky, ensuring maximum charging and battery storage performance all day long. Because it charges on its own, provided your property gets a decent amount of sunshine, you can keep it mounted for months, possibly years, without recharging: Just position it well and let solar power do the rest.
Position this camera where it will get good sunlight and it will work indefinitely.
This is a two-pack deal, with two cameras included. That’s a boon for most folks, especially given the price, though it might be a burden if you really just need one camera.
The camera comes with telephoto and wide angle lenses that give you a decent view of the space around the camera, though the 120-degree field of view of these cameras is a good deal narrower than that of others. The 3K resolution is good, though; it showed clear images and video when I checked feeds throughout the day and night. The native free 16GB of storage space can be expanded up to an astounding 16TB of storage, all with no long-term contract.
Intelligent notifications let you know if a person, vehicle or other motion source has been detected, and you can program different zones to be less or more sensitive to motion based on your preferences.
The spotlight on this camera is weaker at 100 lumens and the 85dB alarm isn’t all that powerful, but they’re still nice extras to have.
Other Home Security Cameras I Tested
If you haven’t quite found what you’re looking for in the home security cameras above, then read on to learn about others I tested that have their advantages. These are all excellent security cameras, and are also worthy of your consideration.
Reolink Duo 3 PoE ($180 at Amazon): The Reolink Duo 3 PoE has a pair of stunning 16MP UHD cameras that work in tandem to give you a broad, seamless 180-degree field of view. That range is all but impossible to beat except in a tracking camera; but when a camera is tracking, it invariably leaves another area unmonitored, whereas this one keeps a constant watch over its full field of view. Were this camera battery-powered rather than powered over ethernet, it would be higher up in the list. As a wired camera that’s pretty large and clunky, albeit smooth in operation, it didn’t quite make the cut.
Reolink Argus 3 Ultra ($99 at Amazon): The Reolink Argus 3 Ultra’s battery is not removable, which has both an up- and a downside. The upside is that this camera is well-sealed against weather and water, which should prolong its operating life. The downside is that you have to get a USB cable up to the camera or remove it from its base and bring it inside to recharge the internal battery if the solar panel isn’t cutting it (or if you don’t use it with solar power). You can also read more about in my full Reolink Argus 3 Ultra review.
Blink Wired Floodlight Camera ($90 at Amazon): This camera would have been my pick for the camera with the best lighting, thanks to its 2,600-lumen output, but the camera itself is 1080p. That’s good enough for most needs but when you need finer details for a feed, it’s not enough. Affordable and durable, the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera has customizable motion detection zones, a loud 105dB siren and two-way audio. To store recorded clips, you need a subscription or a Sync Module that’s sold separately—another drawback here.
Imilab EC6 Dual 2K Camera ($160 at Imilab): The Imilab EC6 Dual 2K Spotlight Camera is two cameras in one, so it can view two completely different angles of your property simultaneously. The top camera is fixed in place, so train it on the door, driveway or other important area, while the bottom camera can pan and tilt. Both are 2K in quality and both have bright lights. That said, it requires wired installation and the app is a bit finicky to use.
Ring Stick Up Cam ($100 at Amazon): There is so much to like about this camera that I wish its one glaring omission wasn’t so: It doesn’t have a built-in light. The price is great; it has audio that’s clear both ways; and it has privacy zones that are easy to manage, customizable notifications and many mounting options (including no installation at all, just perching it upright on a table or wall). It just doesn’t have a light, and the feeds, unlike the Reolink Argus 4 Pro Ultra, are in black-and-white, not color. If you already have a built-in floodlight in your yard, it serves just fine, but others who need that feature should look at other options.
Arlo Essential Indoor 2K Security Camera ($30 at Amazon): The Arlo Essential Indoor 2K Security Camera has 2K resolution, a decent 130-degree field of view and smart object detection abilities that identify whether it’s seeing a person, pet or other moving object. It also has a clever privacy shield that you can pop in front of the lens, physically blocking the camera’s view when you don’t want even a chance of monitoring to take place. The only problem with this capable little indoor camera is that when it’s not on sale, it costs twice as much as the Roku Indoor Camera SE, which is comparable, save for its resolution.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The tech team at Forbes Vetted has years of experience testing and reviewing tech hardware ranging from 65-inch TVs to smart lights to iPads and much more. We bring the same rigor and professionalism to every article we publish.
- Forbes Vetted staff writer Steven John took the lead on product testing and writing for this article. Even before he was tasked with an in-depth review of security cameras, he already had extensive experience with these products, having used a video doorbell for years, for example. He has also tested well over two dozen baby monitors in his time, many of which share similar features to dedicated security cameras.
- In addition to his own expertise, John interviewed four unbiased experts who spend a good deal of time focused on property security concerns. In particular, John spoke with K. Campbell, a security consultant and risk assessment professional who is a principal at Blue Glacier Security & Intelligence; David Ciccarelli, the founder and CEO of property rental company Lake; Mark Buskuhl, the founder and CEO of the Texas-based real estate firm Ninebird Properties; and James Koskela, the founder of lock security specialty company Zero Day Gear.
- We know that new and improved products hit the market with frequency, so we will work to keep this article updated and accurate. We updated this story in May 2025 to include two new picks and add new FAQs.
How I Tested The Best Home Security Cameras
To determine the best home security cameras, I comprehensively tested devices over the course of six months. Working in my basement home lab with my son, I evaluated various aspects of each camera’s performance, from ease of use to camera resolution and more. Initial research involved delving into buyer reviews, manufacturer claims and technical specs to narrow the list of brands and models for consideration.
Working away in our camera testing headquarters.
Each camera underwent rigorous testing across multiple criteria, including resolution, battery life, night vision, ease of use and more. To test each camera’s resolution quality, I captured images of various objects with distinct sizes, colors and detailing. Battery life, a crucial factor for outdoor cameras, was regularly monitored, with each camera’s performance tracked over time to ensure consistency and accuracy.
Each camera’s night vision capabilities were also put to the test in varying light conditions, simulating real-world scenarios to check how well they worked in dark environments to simulate night-time. Finally, ease of use was evaluated through app setup, connectivity and control options, ensuring that each home security camera on this list offered intuitive interfaces and straightforward installation.
The camera testing continues.