The best home security cameras have come a long way, with resolutions up to 4K, extra-long battery life, and smart object identification and tracking now all commonplace.
However, things aren’t always as simple as plugging in your camera and downloading the app. To unlock all features, you’ll likely need to sign up for a subscription plan as well, with monthly or annual payments that can quickly exceed the price of the hardware. Suddenly that budget camera doesn’t appear quite such good value.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We’ve tested more than 60 home security cameras here at TechRadar, and as the resident smart home expert, I’ve picked out three of the very best options – and all work perfectly, without the need to pay any extra fees. You won’t have to pay to save your videos in the cloud, either – all these cams offer local storage (so your footage is in your control), a 4K resolution, and even smart features such as person detection and recognition.
Best for facial recognition
Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K
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The Baseus Security S2 isn’t the only solar-powered security camera we’ve tested, but it’s the only one with a photovoltaic panel that rotates around its body to follow the sun, ensuring it captures as much light as possible throughout the day. It looks strange, but in our tests, we found worked brilliantly, noticeably extending battery life.
In addition, an SD card slot in the bottom means you can save your video recordings locally, without paying for cloud storage. However, the real standout feature in our view is the S2’s built-in facial-recognition, which can alert you if the camera spots familiar people nearby. Just upload their photos to the app, and it will keep an eye out for them. It’s the kind of advanced feature that would normally only be available as part of a premium subscription package, but here it’s thrown in.
During tests, the S2 produced very few false alerts. This not only prevents you from being bombarded with unnecessary phone notifications, it also means recording is triggered only by genuine events, extending the cam’s battery life. Images are superbly detailed during the day, and the spotlight is excellent for illuminating the garden at night to ensure high-quality footage in the dark, too.
The Baseus S2 is also one of the most affordable subscription-free security cameras we’ve tested. Yes, the up-front cost is more than you’d pay for a camera from Blink or Ring, for example, but the absence of fees for storage and advanced features mean it almost certainly works out cheaper overall.
If you’re on a strict budget, take a look at the Baseus Security S1 instead. It’s available for about half the price of the S2 and has the same rotating solar panel. However, it records at only 2K and has 8GB built-in storage rather than up to 256GB via a microSD card.
Read our full Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K review
Best for wide coverage
Swann MaxRanger4K Solar
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Swann’s MaxRanger4K Solar cameras are sold in packs of two or three, bundled with a base station that provides 64GB local storage for your videos, and is expandable with an SD card if you need even more room. If that isn’t enough coverage, you can also pick up extra cams to connect to the station.
These high-definition cameras were seriously impressive – especially considering you don’t need to subscribe to get the most out of them. Each camera arrives with a tough weather-resistant chassis, and captures super-crisp 4K footage with a wide 105-degree viewing angle. That’s great for a camera without pan-and-tilt functionality.
That’s not all – the cameras also have a sensor that uses heat and motion to identify people, vehicles, and other disturbances, and labels them accordingly. It’s the kind of feature you’d usually only get with a paid security plan, but it’s bundled in here – and in our tests it worked brilliantly, accurately identifying triggers.
The app lets you tweak camera settings, including its sensitivity, which is a handy way to extend the battery life of the units. Each cam has a solar panel that allows it to last months between charges, but you’ll need to spend some time optimizing settings for maximum effect. The more frequently recording is triggered, the faster the battery will drain.
Read our full Swann MaxRanger4K Solar review
Best for night vision
Reolink Altas PT Ultra
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The Reolink Altas PT Ultra earned four stars in our review thanks to its crisp video recordings, pan-and-tilt functionality to cover an extra-wide area, and local storage for your video. Although it’s somewhat bulky, it looks smart and didn’t worry our neighbors unnecessarily (always a plus).
The camera can automatically track subjects such as people and animals, or you can pan and tilt it manually using the app, if there’s something in particular that you want to keep an eye on. There’s a pre-record option, too, similar to the one you’d get with a dash cam, which captures footage continuously in the background and saves the 10 seconds that were recorded before a trigger event.
Footage is super clear during the day, but we found that the Altas PT Ultra really excels at night. Most home security cameras produce pretty shoddy monochrome video after dark, but Reolink’s ColorX technology captures impressive color footage without a spotlight.
Storing your videos in the cloud costs extra, but there’s no need when you can save them to an SD card, or to an encrypted Reolink Home Hub. The Home Hub comes with 64GB storage, expandable with up to two 512GB SD cards, which should be more than enough.
Read our full Reolink Altas PT Ultra review
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The best home security cameras
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