No more fiddling with wiring! These smart security camera systems can be installed anywhere your Wi-Fi reaches. They'll keep your property safe day and night, and even send alerts to your phone to report suspicious movement.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Vision Well - Best AI-Motion Detection
Highlight: Advanced AI motion detection.
Helpful review: "Over the years, I've bought various wireless cameras for myself, but this time I decided to gift these for my neighbors after reading some awesome reviews about this model. My neighbors had always talked about wanting some extra home security and I’m close with them after living here for the last six years, so I decided it would make a nice Xmas gift.
I can confirm that setting them up was incredibly easy! Unlike some other models, there was no hassle with scan codes. The setup process worked flawlessly for all four cameras, and within ten minutes, I had them up and running for Bob and Jo. The battery system is seriously a major plus! My own cameras require power, so these are really nice. Not needing to worry about a power source near the camera significantly increases your options when it comes to mounting
Bob and Jo freaking love these things. I'm the go to tech guy in the neighborhood, and usually, I'm called upon to fix laptops or deal with other tech issues. Since installing these cameras, they haven’t had a single problem that needed my attention. Which just goes to show you how great these things are.
These cameras are really well designed and you can tell they’re super high-quality. They're somewhat smaller than I expected but wow, do they deliver excellent camera resolution. From what I've heard, the battery life has been great as well, but time will really tell on that. The high ratings on these reviews are definitely deserved and why I’m throwing in my own five star ratings. This is a quality product with a super easy setup.
If you're looking for security cameras that you can quickly attach to your home network without needing nearby power sources, these are perfect.
These really are an amazing choice for anyone wanting some home security without paying forty bucks a month to a local security company. And you don’t even need to hire an electrician to run power lines. All you have to do is view them on your phone. Just awesome. Can’t recommend enough." — Tom L. Maack
Get it from Amazon now: $72.99 & FREE Returns
2. REOLINK Argus PT - Best Solar-Powered Security Camera
Highlight: Runs completely by solar energy.
Helpful review: "This is Karen's husband chiming in, as I'm the 'tech guy' in our home. I have to say, I'm really happy with how this camera is performing so far, and I’d say the average rating of just over four stars is pretty accurate. I had a couple doubts after reading some negative reviews, but I think some issues might be due to defective units or unclear instructions, because honestly, I loved this thing.
I did have a little trouble connecting the camera to my wifi, but then I realized I never entered the wifi password–whoops haha. Once I put in the password, it connected right away, so that was definitely on me. I keep the camera about a hundred feet away from the router, and even through two walls, the connection stays strong, so that’s cool.
I have an Alexa, and it was kinda tricky for the Alexa to recognize the camera, but I found a guide online that explained how to do it. With that I can view the live feed from the app on my iPhone and even on my TV with my Firestick. It’s cool cause I have a few different camera brands all connected to the Firestick, and I can actually use voice command to rotate through the different cameras. No extra downloads needed.
I already had cameras monitoring the perimeter of our home, but I wanted a wireless solar camera that could look back at the house and cover those little hidden areas of our property the main cameras don’t get. So, I mounted the camera on a thick PVC pipe, (yeah I’m handy like that) and attached it with the solar panel at the top. I used three hose clamps to attach the PVC pipe to a five foot metal post I stuck into the ground. A little trickery but not difficult. And so far, I love it. Works great.
I always research stuff before buying new gadgets, especially in the tech area, and let's be real, no product is perfect or has every feature you might want. But for the price, and the features this camera offers–the solar power, the Alexa–yeah, I really can't complain. It's a solid buy for what you get. Def recommend." — Karen Leight
Get it from Amazon now: $129.99 & FREE Returns
3. Arlo Essential - Best Wide 130º Viewing Angle
Highlight: Superb color night vision that hones in on details like faces and cars.
Helpful review: "I’m honestly amazed. I bought the Orbi 4G router for a non cable wifi and ended up pairing it with four Arlo Essential cameras. I wasn’t entirely sure it would work, but after connecting with a few support techs, they said it probably would. And guess what? It did! Keep in mind that the photo above is not of my barn. It's of my office where I also installed this Arlo cam.
Setting up this camera was a bit tricky, though. The Orbi app was temperamental, sometimes working, sometimes not, you know the type. The password for setting up my account wasn't the same as the one needed to activate the router for the wifi The correct password is printed on the label at the bottom of the unit but that wasn’t really.
PureTalk (essentially ATT) claimed they covered my barn’s zip, and then later said they didn’t know if the sim card for the Orbi would work. Not very reassuring, but that’s ATT for you. Either way, I just went ahead and bought the sim card and data plan needed for the Pure Talk software.
When everything arrived, I tried to connect everything as instructed. No luck at first. After several attempts, the app asked for the APN number of my Internet provider. I had no idea what that was so ended up having to do some googling on my own and found that the Pure Talk APB was ‘reseller’ and then added in my phone number and password. Nope. Nada. Yeah, so I just ended up calling support and after being transferred through five different tech help associates, I got the information I needed: APN equals RESELLER, user ID = Not set up yet, Password = Not set up yet. Essentially I just entered the word RESELLER without a user ID or password and somehow that worked lol. Success! I got Internet access! No password needed in this case. With the correct APN, the Orbi activated as promised. A lot of work, and definitely feel like it could have been clearer, but hopefully this will help someone. Support tech was nice though.
The Arlo app was necessary to get the cameras going and have them work more reliably than the Orbi app. It ended up working, one by one, the cameras started up and I could see my home office on all of them. Felt a little surreal watching myself on all the cameras, but this was what I wanted. I ended up buying a couple antennas just to help capture the wireless signal since I live in the rural Midwest.
My house worked great, but the real test was seeing how the cameras did at my barn. I unplugged everything and brought it over and woooo! The happiness when I saw the instant internet connection. It all connected, just like it did at home. Seriously incredible!
Jury’s still out on the battery life for each camera. I fully charged the cameras yesterday, and today they’re at just a little over ninety percent, so not sure if that’s normal or not. Time will tell, I guess. My barn is wood frame with steel siding and two of the cameras show four bars, while the other two show two bars, soooo yeah, I guess we’ll find out. I may just need to reposition the cameras. Everything is still new, so we’ll see how it goes and I’ll update with time, but yeah, took the long route to get here and blabbered a lot but you get the point! I like it, it works!" — Lawrence C. Cooper
Get it from Amazon now: $189.99 & FREE Returns
4. Blink Outdoor - Best Battery-Powered Security Camera
Highlight: Two included double A batteries.
Helpful review: "My wife and I don’t live in the best neighborhood and we really wanted a camera to help keep us safe at night. We also suspected someone was trying to steal our car, and our last camera just wasn’t cutting it. When this security camera came out, my wife and I knew we had to try it. I mean could you blame us with the promise of a battery that lasts two years? Even if it doesn't last that long, it's a serious upgrade from the last one we owned that needed new batteries every other week.
Setting it up was easier than I expected. While there's no printed manual, scanning the QR code took us to their website full of tips, info, and setup videos. Just remember to scan the QR code before you put in the batteries and close up the whole unit. Setting it up took less than fifteen minutes, and that included the sign up for a new account with Blink which actually came with several weeks of free cloud storage, which was great.
I wasn’t sure where to install it but ended up putting it in a tree across from our house. In the past when we put it by our door, it picked up every car and person that went by. I mainly wanted to be able to catch people who tried to steal my packages. The HD quality is so crisp, and the camera connects from about thirty feet away without any issues. I was actually shocked with how powerful the speaker was, and you could even yell at someone if you wanted to haha.
The live view feature was a letdown since you have to keep clicking the app to continue viewing for more than about ten seconds. Not really the best for monitoring a baby, but works for catching thieves for sure.
Also, the default recording time is only five seconds, which is probably meant to save battery, but you can change it. We adjusted ours to twenty seconds. There's also a battery pack you can add to it to make the battery live longer. I live in Florida, so not really sure on how it will withstand the rainy weather, no less a hurricane, but guess we’ll find out!
Overall, I love it. It’s a solid upgrade from my last one, and hopefully will withstand the crazy hot weather out here... and hopefully the battery will last!" — Caleb & Lisa Hayes
Get it from Amazon now: $214.99 & FREE Returns
5. Wansview Q5 - Best Baby-Nanny Security Camera
Highlight: Uses encryption technology for its cloud storage, giving you the highest data protection on the market.
Helpful review: "Let’s start with the obvious! No one can access your information without your permission, and that’s why I got these. Privacy is seriously everything these days. I’m writing this having used several IP cameras from different brands over the past five years, and I can say with confidence that this Wansview performs better than expected.
The initial setup and install is super quick and easy, too. Unlike some of my other cameras, which took hours or even days to set up, the Q5 was so much easier than I expected. It also feels like a nice upgrade from the 3, and you can tell that it’s quality, just well built and durable enough to last for a few years, I think. While the phone software could use some enhancements that other IP cameras have, for the most part it’s intuitive and I didn’t have any issues using it.
PROS:
– Super Fast Setup: The first time setup is so fast, I was shocked. Only took about five minutes for both software and hardware and instructions were clear and easy which was great.
– Hardware is Well Built: The camera is durable, but also attractive, and compact, which doesn’t make it stand out too obnoxiously at home.
– Wide Angle Lens: The lens offers exceptional clarity and the coverage is so wide, I can see more on this camera than I ever have before.
– Clear Images and Videos: Provides crisp and clear images and videos, both day and night.
– Excellent Audio & Mic: Despite its small size, the audio quality is excellent, better than their Q3 and K3 cameras and definitely better than other brands of cameras I’ve owned in the past.
– User-Friendly App: The Wansview cloud app is so easy to set up, use, and I had zero issues trying to configure it.
– Motion Alerts: When it picks up motion, the camera sends notifications to my phone and with it, ten second video clips. Love this.
Cons:
– No Audio Detection Alert: The camera only has motion detection alerts, it doesn’t pick it up if there’s sound elsewhere in the house, so that’s kind of annoying and definitely not great. Kinda forces you to buy more than one to cover your whole house.
– Image Viewing: Saved images don’t auto rotate when the phone is turned horizontally which just seems like a design flaw.
– Multi Camera View: The multi camera screen doesn’t give you the option of loading as the default when logging in, you have to click an extra option, so that’s annoying.
Despite these negatives, the good definitely outweighs the buy. I’ve owned a lot of cameras out there, and these are just the best. I love them so much. Especially if you have a little one, you know for sure that this is definitely going to be the kind to make sure your little ones are watched when you need them taken care of. Def recommend." — Joseph Wright
Get it from Amazon now: $26.99 & FREE Returns
6. REOLINK 2K - Best Free Cloud Storage
Highlight: Built in mic and speaker for two way talking.
Helpful review: "I've had this solar powered camera for some time now to monitor the little animals that like to call home under my deck. Yeah, they essentially tunnel under my sunroom. I use the built in siren to scream at raccoons, possums, and even the groundhogs. It somehow works. They end up turning around and walking away, more annoyed than scared, which is what I wanted.
When I planned an extended vacation to the beach with some friends, I needed some DIY security. Hiding a few valuables is fine, but if someone broke in and stayed long enough, they'd find and take whatever they wanted. I watch enough true crime shows to know that. And yeah, replacing things isn't the end of the world, but c’mon, losing a computer or special jewelry that my granny got me, would be really upsetting. I decided to get this camera after comparing its features and price with others, and knew it would get what I needed done.
I love how I can pan and tilt this camera. It’s freaking awesome. Especially if you wanna look around beyond the wide angle view. I've been super happy with the camera's performance and the iPhone app. The siren and the custom audio also sends notifications straight to my phone which is cool. When I leave the house, the siren goes off, so if someone were to break in, I would get altered within seconds and the siren would even go off. I also tested it just to make sure it works and it does so that’s cool.
The free cloud storage (that comes with just the one camera) captures video triggered by motion, even if someone tries to disable the camera. Besides the cloud, it also saves videos to an SD card.
I had a couple questions about setting options and activating features using iPhone shortcuts, and I ended up contacting support. They got back to me a couple hours later and essentially explained that I could use something called ‘scenes.’ One scene armed the motion sensor and siren and one disarmed them. I do think that an iPhone shortcut would make that easier and when I suggested that to them they were very receptive and even said they’d pass it to their development team. Nice to see a company wanting to learn directly from their users!
Overall, if you're looking for a reliable camera with a range of useful features, you really can’t beat Reolink, and for this price, it’s a no brainer." — Mark Strickland
Get it from Amazon now: $74.99 & FREE Returns