If anyone ever stole a package from your porch or broke into your car while it was in your driveway, the perpetrator likely disappeared long before you even knew you were a victim. You also likely never found out who committed the deed. If this sounds familiar, you should consider investing in an outdoor security camera.
These rugged smart home devices, designed to withstand rain, snow, and extreme temperatures, typically connect to your home Wi-Fi network and allow you to view live video footage of activities occurring outside your home. They can also send an alert to your phone when someone or something is out there, record video of the event, and, depending on features, let you speak with whomever is on your property, all without requiring you to open your door (or even be inside your house).
Read on to find out what features to consider when choosing an outdoor security camera, and check out our top picks. Note that several of the cameras on this list are suitable for use both indoors and outdoors. If you want a model specifically for keeping tabs on what goes on inside your home, head over to our list of the best indoor home security cameras.
Smart outdoor security cameras provide a safe way to see what's going on outside of your home without having to leave the comfort of your couch, but many models require a hub and wiring, making them somewhat difficult to install. The wireless Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera ($199.99), on the other hand, is a high-resolution, weather-resistant security camera that not only captures motion-triggered video, but casts a bright light on whatever is moving around on your property. It installs in minutes, delivers detailed 2K video with color night vision, and provides accurate and intelligent motion detection, making it our new Editors’ Choice award winner for outdoor security cameras.
The Wyze Cam V3 represents the third generation of the company’s line of affordable home security cameras, and as is the case with previous models, it offers a wealth of features for its low $35.98 price. In addition to sharp 1080p video, free cloud storage, local storage, and compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, this new version brings support for IFTTT, color night vision, intelligent motion detection, a faster frame rate, and more. It's an exceptional camera for monitoring the inside or outside of your home, and the fact that it costs less than $40 makes it easy to recommend as our new Editors' Choice award winner for affordable security cams.
The Bottom Line: Deep Sentinel's outdoor security cameras not only detect motion on your property, but use live guards to intervene and contact the authorities when there’s suspicious activity.
We’ve reviewed plenty of outdoor home security cameras that will alert you when motion is detected and offer theft deterrents such as warning lights and sirens, but Deep Sentinel is the first camera company we’ve seen that offers 24/7 monitoring using specially trained security guards who will intervene when they spot suspicious activity taking place on your property. The $699 Deep Sentinel Starter 3-Cam Kit doesn't come cheap, and its $100 per month professional monitoring fee is easily the most expensive service we’ve come across, but if you require real-time live remote monitoring from a smart DIY outdoor security camera system, Deep Sentinel is the only game in town, and our Editors’ Choice.
Whether you want to set up a trail cam or monitor a remote vacation house, the Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi Security Camera ($249.99) can help. This pricey wireless camera offers both a Wi-Fi radio for connecting to your local router, as well as a cellular radio for locations where Wi-Fi isn't an option. This, combined with support for voice commands, numerous third-party integrations, intelligent alerts, and flexible storage options, make the Arlo Go 2 more versatile than much of the competition and earn it our Editors’ Choice award for outdoor security cameras.
Designed for indoor or outdoor use, the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery ($179.99) joins the company's growing family of smart home security devices. As with the original Stick Up Cam we reviewed in 2016, this version is completely wireless, offers motion-triggered video, and works with other connected devices, but this time around you get 1080p video, support for Amazon Alexa voice commands, and a wider field of view. You have to pay to view recorded video, but if you're looking for a feature-rich security camera that can be used indoors and outdoors and is very easy to install, the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery delivers in spades and earns our Editors' Choice.
Floodlights illuminate your property so you can see your way around at night, as well as to alert you of any unexpected visitors. The $99.98 Wyze Cam Floodlight excels in this regard, and also as a security camera, thanks to its integration of the Editors' Choice award-winning Wyze Cam V3. When the device detects sound or motion, it starts a video recording and lights up your driveway, backyard, or any other area of your property with luminous LEDs. Although it doesn't support Apple HomeKit or work with Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands, it's still a fantastic value for the price, and worthy of our Editors’ Choice award. The Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight, another Editors' Choice winner, supports voice control as well as Homekit, but costs significantly more at $249.99.
When we reviewed the original Blink Home Security Camera system back in 2016, we gave it high marks for its reasonable price, sharp 720p video quality, and free cloud storage, but dinged it for its lack of integrations and inability to provide on-demand video and two-way audio. The company is now owned by Amazon, and its new Blink Outdoor ($99.99) is a weatherproof camera that is once again reasonably priced, but this time around offers 1080p video and works with Alexa voice commands and IFTTT applets. Cloud storage requires a subscription, but you can store video locally, view video on demand, and use two-way audio to talk to visitors. It’s a solid deal, but our Editors’ Choice, the Wyze Cam Outdoor, is half the price and offers more features.
The latest addition to the Google's family of home security cameras, the $179.99 Nest Cam (Outdoor or Indoor, Battery), is also its most versatile. As the name implies, you can use this weatherproof camera indoors or outdoors and power it using the built-in rechargeable battery or the included USB cable and AC power adapter. The Nest Cam performed well in testing, capturing sharp 1080p video and identifying motion caused by people and animals, but it requires a Nest Aware subscription to view recorded video that is more than three hours old and to use its face detection feature. For $20 more, our Editors’ Choice winner, the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera, offers 2K video and more features, and it works with a much larger selection of third-party devices.
If you want a sweeping 360-degree view of your yard or driveway, the Reolink E1 Outdoor security camera brings mechanical pan and tilt controls to the great outdoors for a surprisingly affordable $119.99. It also offers color night vision, motion tracking, dual-band Wi-Fi, and time-lapse recording. It delivered sharp video in testing and its mechanical maneuvers work well, but it doesn’t support the Alexa, HomeKit, or IFTTT platforms. If you need greater support for third-party services, you have to spend a bit more for the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera ($199.99), our Editors’ Choice winner in the category, but it doesn't pan and tilt, so you're limited to a fixed field of view.
The Ring Floodlight Cam impressed us back in 2017 with its sharp image quality and ability to work with other smart devices, but at the time, its companion app was a bit buggy. With the Floodlight Cam Wired Pro ($249.99), the app is no longer a hindrance and Ring has enhanced the camera with welcome features such as HDR video, dual-band Wi-Fi, 3D motion detection, and a bird’s-eye view of motion events. The $199.99 Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera remains our Editors' Choice winner thanks to even sharper 2K video and greater third-party compatibility, though the Ring is good alternative if you're looking to illuminate your entire yard.
Most smart outdoor security cameras use a Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home network, enabling you to access them from anywhere via mobile app. Some models even use Ethernet, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, or a proprietary wireless technology to connect to a mobile app or a dedicated hub.
Wi-Fi cameras are easier to install than their wired counterparts because you don't have to place them near an Ethernet port or set up any wiring. Battery-powered Wi-Fi cameras are the easiest to install because you can put them just about anywhere (as long as they can connect to your router) without having to snake a power cable around your home to plug into an outlet. These types of cameras typically use batteries that you can easily pop out and recharge with a USB cable, but they tend to drain quickly in colder weather. Bluetooth cameras are also simple to install, but you have to stay within 30 feet or so to connect to them via your phone.
Look for an outdoor Wi-Fi camera that can connect to either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz radio band to alleviate network congestion. If you have trouble getting a good signal outside, try boosting it with a wireless range extender.
Any outdoor camera worth its salt must be able to withstand exposure to the elements and should carry an Ingress Protection (IP) rating. IP ratings contain two digits that tell you just how well the camera holds up under most weather conditions. The first digit following the IP prefix tells you how resistant the camera is to the ingress of solid objects such as wind-blown dust and ranges from 0 (no protection) to 6 (total protection against dust and dirt). The second describes how resistant the camera is to moisture and ranges from 0 (no protection) to 9 (protected against close-range, high-pressure sprays from all angles).
Most outdoor security cameras have an IP66 rating, which means they offer complete protection from dust ingress and can handle water jets from any direction. Although you shouldn't submerge them in water, they are typically safe from rain, snow, heat, and cold.
An outdoor security camera isn't very useful if you can't recognize who or what the camera captures. A 720p camera typically offers a fairly sharp picture, but 1080p video offers more detail and is the most popular resolution for these devices; 1080p recordings don't require a lot of storage and are viewable on nearly every phone, tablet, and PC.
Cameras that capture 4K (Ultra HD) video are also available, but you need a very strong network connection to stream such high-res video without choppiness or lag, plus lots of room to store recordings; that last requirement may result in expensive cloud storage fees.
No matter the resolution, try to choose a camera with a relatively wide field of view and make sure it can capture clear night-vision video. Most cameras use IR (infrared) LEDs to deliver black-and-white night video, but a few use white light to deliver full-color night video. Look for a camera with a night vision range of at least 30 feet.
Nearly all outdoor security cameras feature a sensor that triggers the camera to record video when it detects motion. Most sensors can also send a push alert to your phone (or an email) when the activity occurs. For an extra layer of security, look for a camera that can detect sound; those cameras can alert you if somebody is out there even if they're out of range of the camera lens and the motion sensor. Fair warning: You probably have to tweak the sound sensitivity settings to avoid alerts from barking dogs, loud cars, and other random noises.
Some security cameras include a floodlight, automatically lighting up driveways, pools, and other parts of your property when they detect motion. Some floodlight models are included in this roundup, but check out our story on the best floodlight cameras for a wider selection.
If the camera has a microphone for sound detection, it likely has a speaker with two-way audio capabilities that lets you speak with (and listen to) whomever is outside. This is useful for dealing with annoying solicitors as well as scaring off porch pirates and other unwanted visitors. For more ways to see and communicate directly with the person at your door, check out our list of the best video doorbells.
Cameras store video recordings in several ways. Many cameras offer free cloud storage for a limited number of days (typically seven) before it is overwritten or deleted, while others are strictly subscription-based. If you require more than a week's worth of video storage, you can subscribe to a 30-day plan to avoid worrying about losing important footage before you get to review and download it.
If you're concerned about privacy and would rather not store your video in the cloud, look for a camera that offers a local storage option via a microSD card slot. A few cameras let you save video recordings to a portable USB or NAS drive, but these devices are rare.
And if you want the ability to go back and see everything, look for a camera that offers a CVR (Continuous Video Recording) plan. With this option, the camera records continuously and stores up to 30 days of 24/7 video in the cloud.
Many outdoor cameras do more than just record video and send alerts; they also integrate with other smart devices. Many recent outdoor Wi-Fi cameras support IFTTT, an internet service that lets you create applets that link the camera with other IFTTT-enabled devices. For example, you can configure a smart plug to turn on a lamp indoors or activate an external siren when the camera detects motion.
Support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands is also increasingly common. These integrations allow you to, for example, display video from the camera on a compatible smart display. If you have a home automation hub, look for a camera that works with your existing setup. That way you can integrate your security camera with even more smart devices like door locks.
Outdoor security cameras are generally more expensive than their indoor counterparts. They can range in price from around $50 up to a few hundred dollars or more depending on features. Plenty of affordable cameras offer good video performance, but, as with just about any smart device, you typically pay more for features such as motion-tracking, facial recognition, cellular connectivity, time-lapse recording, additional storage options, and rechargeable battery power.
Check out our Readers' Choice Awards to see which security cameras and brands other PCMag readers trust most. Once you find the camera for your home, check out our tips for setting it up.
For an even more advanced way to keep a set of eyes on your home, both indoors and out, explore our picks for the best smart home security systems. And if you prefer to go the DIY route, check out our tips for building your own home security system.
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