Security cameras can be on the pricey side, but you don’t always have to fork out huge amounts; there are a handful of decent models for a reasonable price. Megan Wollerton put together a list of some of the best home security camera for less than $100 for cnet. There’s a big difference in what they can do, but they all come highly recommended.
Top Choice
ED I T O R S ’ C H O I C E
If you’re looking for a security camera that’s super affordable and reliable, you should be looking at the Wyze Cam. Here’s why:
- It’s only $20
- You get two weeks cloud storage of your recordings for free
- You can store recordings locally with a microSD slot built in
- There’s an option for a custom motion detection mode included
Add all of that together and it’s hard o beat the Wyze Cam. It does only work indoors, and the app isn’t great, but for a live streaming camera for cheap, you can’t complain. It’s Alexa compatible too, which is nice.
Great for facial recognition
Tend Secure Lynx/Indoor 2
The Tend Secure Lynx indoor camera, now known as the Indoor 2 camera, costs $60. For that, you get the standard features you’d expect from a home security camera – motion detection, live streaming, and motion detection. You also get seven days of clip storage and facial recognition included.
You can put together a personal database of family, friends, and regular visitors on your app for the facial recognition. The camera will assess the faces of any visitors and send you a notification with who’s calling round. The more you use the feature, the better the system will get ad recognizing people.
Best for outdoors use
The starter kit for the Blink XT2 includes a camera and the necessary WiFi module and comes in at $100. You can pick up extra XT2 cameras for another $90 each – it feels a little steep when you see the WiFi module is $50, but it’s still not a bad deal,
The camera runs off batteries – two AA lithium metal ones – that should last for up to two years. In tests carried out by Wollerton, the camera has been running without pause since July 2019, so far. There’s free clip storage, too, and you can access them on the Blink app.
The camera from Blink is designed to be weather resistant, meaning you can site it outside as long as it can still connect to your WiFi. It can survive temperatures over 100 degrees, snow, storms, and hail.
