Best wireless security cameras, according to realworld testing

Score: 90/100

The Ring PanTilt Indoor Cam earned the highest score in our latest round of testing, thanks to its flexibility, ease of use and overall performance. It offers directional control from your smartphone, so you’re not limited to only one view. That means you can adjust it to see exactly what you need to, whether that’s coverage of a larger room or an area with multiple vantage points.

The system puts you in full control, although we’d note that it doesn’t offer the autotracking you’ll find in some models. The manual pan and tilt functionality means you get to explore your space remotely, though, which could be the best balance between coverage and control for most of us.

On test, we found setup to be straightforward. The camera integrates seamlessly with the Ring app and the rest of the Ring ecosystem, so it’s perfect if you already own other devices from the brand. As an indoor camera, it’s designed to stand on its base, although it comes with a mount, so it can be wall or ceiling mounted. To get recorded video or AI detection, you’ll need a subscription (from £4.99 a month). As mentioned, if you have other Ring cameras, this will fit right in.

Video quality is a solid 1080p HD, delivering clear and consistent footage both day and night. A builtin privacy shutter offers peace of mind when you want to physically block the lens, providing complete protection. The Ring Indoor Cam delivers excellent performance too, but the panandtilt model brings an added layer of versatility that we appreciate.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: From £4.99 a month

Score: 88/100

Ring is one of the biggest names in the business, and if you already have a Ring Doorbell, it makes sense to opt for Ring cameras, so you can just have one app and one subscription.

The Stick Up Cam Battery is versatile, offering easy installation, either freestanding indoors, or using the stand for mounting outdoors. Setup took us about five minutes, and the connection was strong. Of all the brands on this list, Ring’s app is the easiest to use, whether you’re viewing captured footage or changing the settings.

The quality of the captured footage is good, whether captured during the day or at night, and we found it one of the fastest to detect motion and send out alerts. The Stick Up Camera Battery only offers 1080p HD video, though, which means there’s less detail and fewer options for zooming than some of the 2K models on this list.

You will need a subscription if you want to enable cloud storage and the person and package alerts (from £4.99 a month, you get a 30day trial with the camera), but there’s a full feature set offered by Ring and this model is versatile and easy to use.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: From £4.99 a month

Score: 85/100

Arlo has two families of wifi cameras, the Essential (reviewed here) and the Pro. The Essential is more affordable, with the biggest difference being the builtin battery that means you need to remove the camera to charge it. The battery can last up to four months, but that depends on how much use it gets.

Setup is simple, with the Arlo app guiding you through the process. We had no problem connecting it to a home wifi network and we liked that a compact and adjustable wall mount is provided, with screws and plugs supplied. It only took us five minutes to get this camera mounted.

The 2K resolution means you’ll see plenty of detail, with an LED illuminator for nighttime colour viewing, or infrared illumination for night vision in black and white. Motion was accurately detected, but you’ll need a subscription to get cloud storage, which starts from £5.49 a month (for a single camera). It helps that a 30day trial comes with the camera, but you should factor this subscription into the overall cost.

The Arlo app provides a lot of customisation for detection modes, and all the options can be a little confusing at first. Notifications with video thumbnails are a nice touch, though, so you can glance at your phone to see what’s been happening.

The video is high quality both during the day and at night, but the sensitivity was a little high initially – it responds to branches moving in the wind, for example. However, you can make adjustments to the motion detection so it’s more accurate; person, package, vehicle and animal detection are available as part of the Arlo Secure subscription.

Local video storage is possible if you have a compatible Arlo Hub, but removing the subscription limits the functions you get.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: From £5.49 a month

Score: 81/100

Tapo is well known for its affordable connected devices, and the Tapo C310 is no exception, offering a generous range of features for a budgetfriendly price. With 2K resolution, you get sharper detail than standard HD, and it has flexible storage options – via a microSD or the cloud, wired or wireless – that make it a versatile pick.

As a mainspowered camera, it does need to be installed near a plug socket, but it’s wellequipped for setup, with mounting screws and waterproofing grommets included. A wired connection to your router also ensures a strong and stable feed without relying on wifi.

The Tapo app also controls the brand’s other smart home devices and offers powerful control – once you get used to it. While it’s not quite as intuitive as the Ring or Arlo apps and takes a little time to explore, the depth of features is impressive for the price.

The performance of this camera is good. The daylight video is solid, if a little washed out, while the monochrome night vision is really impressive. The design may be a little chunky and the app a touch less polished but, for the money, this camera delivers a lot.

Video storage: Local or cloud

Subscription cost: From £2.49 a month (optional)

Score: 78/100

The Nest Cam Battery is easy to set up and install, working through Google Home. That gives this camera a seamless, integrated feel, which is great if you’re a user of the Google platform. The cameras are designed for indoor or outdoor use, and come with a cable for indoor use, or internal batteries. If you want it wired outdoors, you’ll have to buy a weatherproofed cable separately.

The camera’s strongest feature is face recognition – once recognised, you’ll be notified whenever it sees that person, which feels like a clever use of AI. This can be integrated with announcements through Nest devices too. While the video footage is only 1080p HD (so not as detailed and lacking the zoom that some rivals offer), the HDR quality means it’s great in daylight.

There’s no spotlight, so also no colour night vision, but the IR illumination for night vision produces some of the best low light footage in a camera of this type. It will also record footage when offline for up to an hour, which is rare.

There aren’t any distinct controls for arming and disarming, as Google intends for it to run all the time. Disabling the camera means turning it off, and there are some customisations are missing. Given the price, it feels like you miss out on a few basic features in Nest Cam Battery, even if the performance is generally very good.

Video storage: Cloud or shortterm local

Subscription cost: £6 a month

Score: 78/100

The Eufycam 2C Pro isn’t a standalone camera; instead, it uses a hub that needs to be connected to your router. This provides the connection for the camera, while also storing the video captured. It’s a twocamera kit, with the option to add more cameras (for £99.99 each) but, thanks to the hub, we found it had a good range.

The Eufycam 2C Pro doesn’t need a subscription, as it stores local video instead. This can still be accessed via your smartphone, but it’s a little slower than cloudbased systems. It offers the full range of detection functions, though, rivalling the experience from the likes of Ring or Arlo.

We found the setup a little complicated, taking several attempts, and the app isn’t as clear as the topperforming rivals. That means it takes a little longer to find various settings, but there are plenty of features packed in.

On test, the quality of the video was good, whether in the day or at night. Its motion detection takes a little longer to be triggered than its rivals, though, so it would often miss the first couple of seconds of the activity. The outdated Micro USB connector for charging is also a little annoying, as it means using a different cable to the rest of your devices.

Video storage: Local hard drive or cloud

Subscription cost: From £3.49 a month (optional)

Score: 76/100

Google’s Nest Cam with Floodlight builds on the features of the Nest Cam, but adds an integrated floodlight. This provides huge illumination (which can be adjusted) to create more of a deterrent. The regular Nest Cam has no lighting, so this is a useful addition. On test, we were impressed by the highquality daytime video capture, boosted by HDR, while the night capture in full colour is superb too. If you choose not to use the floodlight, the black and white night vision remains detailed.

As a wired floodlight, there’s no battery to think about, but it needs professional installation. Without the battery, though, it’s great for 24/7 video capture. Just note that you’ll need a Nest Aware Plus subscription (at £12 a month) for that option.

Just like on the Nest Cam, face recognition is a highlight of Google’s cameras – recognised people are announced if you have a compatible Nest Hub in your home. Overall, this camera is an expensive pick, and the controls offered through the Google Home app aren’t as intuitive or featurerich as some rivals. But, as a permanently installed camera and security light, that’s perhaps less of a problem than it is for the Nest Cam Battery.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: From £6 a month

Score: 75/100

Blink’s aim is to offer value for money, and the Blink Mini 2 is certainly cheap. There’s a reason for that, though, as several of the functions you’ll find elsewhere aren’t here: there’s no siren, for example, and no video thumbnails in notifications, so it’s a little less capable than many of its rivals.

On test, we found setup fairly simple, although the password requirements stated by Blink in the instructions were incorrect, so creating our account took a couple of tries. The Blink Mini 2 comes with a builtin stand, so once plugged in, you’re good to go.

The Mini 2 can be used indoors or outdoors, but if you want to use it outdoors you’ll need a separate power cable that’s weatherproof (it costs £8.99). To capture video and view online, you’ll need a subscription, but at £2.50 a month it’s one of the cheapest options you’ll find. Alternatively, the Sync Module 2 (£39.99) allows local storage of video on a USB drive to save the ongoing subscription costs.

The quality of the video captured is good, even if it’s only 1080p HD. There’s an LED for colour night vision with good motion detection, but it only recognises people and the lack of thumbnails means it takes a little more effort to see what’s actually happening. However, this is a versatile camera, offering good performance that’s wellsuited to indoor use thanks to its wired arrangement and really wideangle lens. It’s a good buy, even if it lacks some features.

Read our Blink Mini 2 review.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: £2.50 a month

Score: 74/100

The EZVIZ CB8 Lite is a great option for flexibility, because it has a pan and tilt capabilities, so you can move it around from your phone and it has automatic tracking. It supports alwayson video recording and comes bundled with a solar panel for continuous power, though it’s also available without it if you prefer.

In testing, setup was smooth and connecting to wifi was straightforward. While the app isn’t quite as intuitive as some competitors — with fiddly menus and settings a little scattered — it does offer a wide range of customisation once you’re familiar with it. We did also notice it was prone to occasionally flagging up a poor wifi connection (when rival cameras were completely fine), while control of the tilt and pan function has a small delay.

Its narrow field of view makes it wellsuited to corner placements, and its motion tracking performed well overall, keeping up with movement both during the day and at night. Its closerange detection wasn’t flawless, but it still proved effective in many scenarios. One downside is that the AI person detection sometimes misidentified animals as people!

Overall, though, it packs in a lot of features with solar charging, flexible positioning, autotracking, full remote control and a great price. It offers a lot of value if you want a versatile solution.

Video storage: Cloud or microSD

Subscription cost: From £5.99 a month (optional)

Score: 72/100

The Hue Secure Battery Camera is designed to work seamlessly with the Philips Hue ecosystem, offering deep integration with your smart lighting setup. That means you control it with the Hue app, and if you have a Hue Hub, the camera can automate responses from the Hue smart lights in your home. You can trigger lights to flash alongside the siren, turn on lights with motion, or run “mimic” routines to make it look like someone’s home when you’re away.

Setting it up is easy using the app, and the camera’s design fits well with Hue’s premium aesthetic. While we experienced some inconsistency in connectivity that required a factory reset during testing, it operated as intended once properly set up, and this may have been an issue with our review unit.

The picture quality was solid, but motion detection performance was mixed. It sometimes missed a person clearly standing in view of the camera. You may also feel that the 1080p HD resolution feels underwhelming at this price point, while night vision is black and white only, and less sharp than many competitors.

A subscription is needed for cloud storage (£34.99 a year), but it does include a generous 60 days of event history. The strength of this camera is in its smart home interactions, though. For that reason, we’d probably only recommend this one for those in the Philips Hue ecosystem, where it can add value to existing routines and automations.

Video storage: Cloud

Subscription cost: £34.99 a year