Keep a watchful eye on your home with our buying guide and reviews of the best home security cameras
It doesn’t matter whether you live in a single-room flat or a country estate: everyone wants to know their home is safe and sound whilst they’re away. It could be to watch out for potential intruders or just to keep tabs on that party your teenage children aren’t meant to be having. Whatever it is, knowing what’s going on in your house is great peace of mind for everyone. Here you’ll find our pick of the best home security cameras IP cameras, along with a quick guide to help you decide which one is right for you.
Unlike IP cameras designed for businesses and warehouses, home devices are usually much smaller, and often have mobile apps that let you keep tabs on home whenever and wherever you have an internet connection. They can feed back live video of your home wherever you are, capture video recordings when they detect movement, and even let you talk to people in your home – whether they’re meant to be there or not.
In this round-up, we’re going to guide you through what things you need to consider, explain some of the features to look out for and reveal our pick of the five best IP cameras available right now.
Best home security cameras: How to buy the best home security camera for you
What is an IP camera?
An IP camera is simply a device which can transmit video data via any internet or data connection. This means you can use them to live stream whatever they’re seeing via a laptop, smartphone or pretty much any other internet-connected device with a browser, and even if you’re on the other side of the globe. There’s no complicated installation process or expensive wiring costs like there would be with a CCTV camera.
Where do you want to place your camera?
There are two limitations when it comes to where you want to place your indoor security camera. The first thing to consider is whether the camera’s power runs off the mains. All of them on this list do – apart from the NetGear Arlo – so you’ll either need a plug nearby or have to wrangle with some extension cables. The other consideration is what field of view the camera’s lens has – this is expressed in degrees, and the higher the number the larger an area the camera can effectively ‘see’. Before reaching for the drill, make sure to find the best position for the camera you’re installing; you want it to see as much of the intended area as possible.
How is the video stored?
Most of the cameras on this list provide cloud storage options so that you don’t have to rely on storing the video on a memory card, or on a local computer. You’ll generally get a variable amount of free storage bundled as part of the package, but will then have to pay a monthly subscription charge for extra space. Most devices only record video when they detect movement, or body heat if they have infra-red sensing, but some such as the Nest Cam, record constantly – as you can imagine, days and days of video takes up a lot of storage space. Others use an in-built microSD card or allow you to send footage to a network-attached storage drive. You shouldn’t rely on locally-stored footage, however, as a savvy thief could just physically remove the camera or the microSD card, or steal your NAS drive.
What type of resolution do you want from your camera?
The cameras here have sensors which range from 720p to 1080p resolution. As you’d expect, a higher number normally results in clearer, crisper images. Not all lenses are made equal though, of course, and some cameras give the option to use a less aggressive video compression to maximise image quality. As higher quality video takes up more storage space, it’s about finding a happy compromise. Clearly the better the image the easier it’s going to be to make out the faces of any intruders or see what the kids are up to while you’re gone.
What other features should I look out for?
If you want usable video footage day or night, then look for cameras which have a Night Vision mode. And if you want to be able to communicate through the camera, then think about one with in-built microphone and speaker functions.
Best home security cameras to buy
1. Netgear Arlo: The best overall indoor security camera
- Price: £195
Netgear’s weatherproof Arlo is one of the most flexible security cameras you can buy. The wireless, battery-powered design makes it easy to position discreetly, and it’s small enough to hide away easily, too – the magnetic base for sticking on to metal surfaces is a masterstroke. The 130-degree field of view is impressively wide, and the 720p image resolution delivers great image quality. The camera automatically turns on when it detects motion and the batteries should last up to six months.
If there’s a downside to the completely wireless approach it’s the need for a base station to upload your footage on to the cloud – but we think this is a small price to pay for such a brilliant home security network.
Key specs – Camera Size: 7.2cm x 4.4cm x 6.6cm; Weight: 123g; Field of View: 110 degrees; Video resolution: 1,280 x 720; Night Vision: Up to 8m; Motion Detection: Yes (with adjustable sensitivity)
2. Ring Video Doorbell 2: The best video doorbell
- Price: £179
Gone are the days of actually having to open the door to see who’s outside. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 allows you to monitor the front of your house, alerting you when motion is detected and enables you to speak to a visitor via an integrated speaker/microphone whether you’re in the house or not. It’s brilliant for talking to couriers and telling them where to leave your packages.
In fact, Ring markets the device more as a security camera; a deterrent to would-be burglars – rather than a smart doorbell. It records footage at 1080p, meaning you’ll be able to see faces clearly, and has LEDs for night vision. Its fisheye lens gives you a 160-degree field of view, which is wider than many of its standalone security camera rivals.
Unlike the Nest Hello doorbell cameras, it’s not recording all of the time. Instead, it starts up when it detects motion – you can even set “zones” so recordings aren’t triggered when you don’t want them to be – or when someone presses the doorbell. In our tests, the image was crisp and clear, with excellent audio quality when speaking to visitors.
In short, the Ring Video Doorbell 2 is the best video doorbell you can buy and makes a good exterior security camera, too. It’s incredibly easy to set up (a screwdriver is even included in the box), doesn’t need to be wired into the mains as its battery powered, the footage is crisp and the price is reasonable. What’s not to like?
Key specs – Camera size (WDH): 60 x 30 x 130mm; Weight: 998g; Field of view: 160 degrees; Video resolution: 1080p; Night Vision: Yes; Motion Detection: Yes
3. Netgear Arlo Q: The easiest camera to use
- Price: £120
The Arlo Q is the only standalone camera in Netgear’s excellent home security camera range. It’s a mains-powered camera and isn’t weatherproof so it isn’t as flexible as its battery-powered Arlo and Arlo Pro cousins, but it’s a camera that’s well worth considering.
It doesn’t require a special Netgear hub for connection like the other Arlo cameras do; you simply hook it up directly to your home network. And yet it still benefits from Netgear’s generous free cloud storage offering, which allows you to access motion- and sound-triggered recordings up to a week in the past. Plus, it has most of the core features you need from a home security camera: night vision, 1080p resolution video and two-way audio.
Those with stricter security requirements, meanwhile, can even upgrade the camera to provide 24/7 continuous video recording just like the Nest cam, from £6.99 per month for 14-days worth of storage.
The Arlo Q might not be the cleverest or most sophisticated of home security cameras. It can’t differentiate between people or recognise faces, and isn’t battery-powered or weatherproof, but it’s easy to use, good value for money and a great choice if you only need one camera.
Key specs – Camera Size: 71mm x 71cm x 114cm; Weight: 168g; Field of View: 130 degrees; Video resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Night Vision: Up to 7.6m; Motion Detection: Yes
4. Logitech Circle 2: The best value security camera
- Price: £122
Logitech’s Circle 2 is an innovative take on the home security camera genre that’s worth a look at if Netgear and Google’s alternatives are too expensive. It costs £169 – less than stumping up for a full set of Arlo cameras and nearly half the price of the Nest IQ camera – yet boasts a raft of innovative features, most notably mounting options, which including a battery-powered base for those who want to site the camera away from a plug socket.
Elsewhere, the Circle 2 has all the core features you need: 1080p video capture, two-way audio that works, weatherproofing, night vision and video footage that’s accessible via the cloud. Image quality is excellent and another notable feature is that the camera has an incredibly wide 180-degree field of view.
The software is great, too. It automatically recognises motion, can differentiate between general movement and people, highlighting these ‘events’ on a timeline view that runs alongside the video feed and it allows you to generate time-lapse movies events of a set period.
You get access to 24 hours of footage free, but if you want to keep the person recognition, motion zone and custom time-lapse features you have to pay for a subscription, which starts at a rather pricey £7.99 per month. That’s the only disappointment in what is otherwise a cracking home security camera.
Key specs – Camera Size: 71mm x 67mm x 86mm; Weight: 207g; Field of View: 180 degrees; Video resolution: 1,920 x 1,080p; Night Vision: Up to 4.6m; Motion Detection: Yes (person and general)
5. Nest Cam: The best for live streaming
- Price: £145
The Nest Cam is a sleek and easy to use indoor security camera – we gave it four stars when we reviewed it. Setup is done completely through the iOS and Android apps, and the 1080p sensor provides great image quality. You get 24/7 live streaming via your smartphone or tablet, and the integrated speaker and microphone are a welcome addition.
The only downside? If you want to save footage, or take advantage of the advanced features such as face-detection and motion sensing, you have to shell out for a yearly subscription. These start at £80/year for 10 days of retention and go up to £240/year for 30 days of retention. Without a subscription, you’re limited to viewing live feeds and motion-triggered events up to three hours in the past, which is a bit stingy. If you can live with that, though, then this is a slick, easy to use home security option.
Key specs – Camera Size: 16.8cm x 16.8cm x 10.9cm; Weight: 762kg; Field of View: 130 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,280 x 1,080; Night Vision: Up to 6m; Motion Detection; Microphone & Speaker
6. Canary All-in-One: A home security camera that also monitors air quality
- Price: £190
Canary’s All-in-One is a feature-packed home security camera. The 1080p sensor is partnered with a wide-angle lens that provides a generous 147-degree field of view as well as night vision capabilities, and image quality is very good, too.
As its name suggests, the Canary also relays air quality reports, monitoring the amount of carbon monoxide and cigarette smoke it detects. The easy-to-use smartphone app makes setup an absolute doddle, and the alarm function automatically recognises when you’ve left the house with your phone and enters ‘Armed’ mode – if it detects motion or smoke it starts recording video and sends a notification. With just a press of a button you can ward off any intruders by setting off its 90 decibel alarm.
The fly in the ointment here is the extra subscription costs for storage: the free option only saves the last 12 hours of footage; two days of video storage costs £8 per month; and 30 days of video storage costs an additional £25 per month.
Key specs – Camera Size: 7.6cm x 7.6cm x 15.2cm; Weight: 1kg; Field of View: 147 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,280 x 1,080; Night Vision: Distance not specified; Motion Detection; Microphone & Speaker
7. Y-Cam Evo: Compact, effective, and cloud storage options are cheap
- Price: £330 for three
Don’t let the size of this indoor security camera from Y-Cam fool you. It may be able to fit into the palm of your hand, but it still offers all the features of its bigger rivals. There’s a 720p camera as well as an infrared LED for night time viewing. The 100-degree field of view should be able to capture the whole room if it’s nestled away in a corner, but you will have to make sure a mains supply isn’t too far away (or find a suitable extension cable) as it’s powered via a micro-USB cable.
The image quality may not be quite as good as the Nest Cam or Arlo, but where this really comes into its own is that it comes with 7-days of unlimited video storage for free. You can upgrade to 30 days of retention for £3.99 per month, but for many people, the free allocation may be enough.
Key specs – Camera Size: 0.5cm x 0.3cm x 0.5cm; Weight: 96g; Field of View: 100 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,280 x 720; Night Vision: Up to 8m; Motion Detection; Microphone & Speaker
8. Nest Cam IQ: The best home security camera for facial recognition
- Price: £299
Despite looking like something out of Wall-E, the indoor Nest Cam IQ is incredibly easy to set up and use. It also has an impressive party trick: near-faultless facial recognition.
In terms of the basics, it has everything covered: it captures 1080p video at 30fps, has a 130-degree field of view, packs a pair of infrared LEDs for night vision and a triple microphone/speaker array for two-way communication. Setup is as simple as plugging in the camera, downloading the app and connecting the device to your Wi-Fi network.
It’s the facial recognition technology that really makes the Nest stand out from the crowd, however. The app will alert you every time it picks up an unfamiliar face and ask you whether you know the person or not and, as time goes by, it puts together a database of known people only notifying you if a stranger comes into view.
The Nest Cam IQ is a brilliant security camera, but it’s let down by the subscription price. After the 30-day, 24/7 free trial has ended, the Nest will only store footage three hours into the past. So, after spending nearly £300 on the camera itself, you’ll then need to fork out a minimum of £40 per year for five days of continuous video storage and “person recognition”, which is a little on the pricey side.
Key specs – Camera size: 7.4 x 12.4 7.4cm; Weight: 360g; Field of View: 130 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,280 x 1,080; Night Vision: Yes; Motion Detection; Microphone and Speaker
9. PowerLead Csaf PL-S366: The best budget home security camera
- Price: £79
For just under £80 you can get this all-purpose security camera from PowerLead. Its 720p HD sensor has a night-vision mode which automatically enables in night-time conditions, and the motion detection alarm sends alerts straight to your smartphone. Video footage is stored on an internal microSD card, but you can view and screenshot the feed using the mobile app.
One big bonus is that the motorised mount allows you to remotely swivel the camera around 320 degrees, and tilt it up and down, too. There’s a two-way audio system which allows for voice communication and a 12-month warranty for some extra peace of mind.
One final niggle is that the short 75cm power cable limits where you can place it, but for the money, this is a good basic option.
Key specs – Camera Size: 13.2cm x 11.9cm x 11.4cm; Weight: 950g; Field of View: 55 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,280 x 720; Night Vision: Up to 10m; Motion Detection; Microphone & Speaker
10. Cocoon Security: The best security camera for detecting sound
- Price: £159
While some security cameras are fiddly to set up, simplicity is the name of the game with the Cocoon Security: just create a user account, enter your network details and then tap the button to transmit the details to the Cocoon.
Once the camera is connected to your home network, you can start taking advantage of what makes it stand out from the crowd: a built-in HD microphone. Using its machine learning algorithms, Cocoon builds an audio picture of how your house works so, when it detects an unusual noise, it will send an alert to your smartphone.
In our tests, we found that, for example, dropping a hardback book on to the floor made the camera send us an audio alert, which is impressive and a lot smarter than other systems.
At the heart of the Cocoon is a 1080p sensor, but the camera records at 720p in order to keep bandwidth to a minimum. The quality, both during the day and at night using IR LEDs, was more than detailed enough to see exactly what was going on and we could spot individuals easily.
There’s a lot to like about the Cocoon Security camera and, if you’re looking for something simple to protect your home, it’s an excellent choice.
Key specs – Camera Size: 7.5 x 7.5 x 8.5cm; Weight: 213g; Field of View: 120 degrees; Video Resolution: 1,080 x 720; Night Vision: Yes; Motion Detection; Microphone & Speaker
11. Hive View: The best-looking security camera
- Price: £189
The Hive View is a beautiful piece of kit. Available in black with a brushed copper stand or white with a champagne gold stand, it’s a cut above the normal small plastic boxes, plus it can be disconnected from its stand and the mains and positioned wherever you want – to watch over, for example, your kids or pets.
It also includes the full range of standard features such as night vision, 1080p recording and the ability to receive smartphone alerts when motion, audio or people are detected in your home. Hive also throws in 24-hour cloud recording for free and you can now store recordings on your phone (although only in 720p).
It’s let down by a few negatives. You can’t access the camera via the Hive web portal on a computer and most motion detection isn’t the most reliable. Although the Hive View won’t win any prizes for features or accuracy, though, it’s still one of the best-looking cameras on the market and one of the most flexible.
Key specs – Camera size (WDH): 88 x 88 x 138mm; Weight: 450g; Field of view: 130 degrees; Video resolution: 1080p; Night Vision: Yes; Motion Detection: Yes
Source: expertreviews.co.uk
