Installing a home security camera system used to require a professional and many, many metres of cabling. But now, it’s as simple as connecting a set of wireless devices to your router and controlling them from an app.
Previously considered a lavish purchase only intended for high-end homes, security cameras now cost well under £100 in many cases. Most can also form parts of larger home security systems with spotlights, video doorbells, sensors, motion detectors, sirens and even professional monitoring.
No longer a closed, CCTV-style system, today’s security cameras connect to your wifi router. From there, they can be accessed in real-time from your smartphone. Many also have microphones and speakers for two-way audio. Some record footage to their own onboard storage, while others upload video to the cloud, where you can securely access it from anywhere.
Even more useful is how many outdoor security cameras can be powered with a solar panel. This enables a truly wireless, hands-off experience, with no need to ever interact with the camera once it’s been installed. Set-it-and-forget-it home security has never been so easy, or so affordable.
In this guide, we’ve included a broad range of the best home security cameras available today. They come from brands like Ring and Blink (both owned by Amazon), as well as tech brands like Nest, Eufy and Tapo, and security veterans like Yale.
How we tested
Each of the security cameras featured in this article was installed in my home and tested thoroughly. The testing process included exploring all of the camera’s features, assessing video quality, and timing how quickly alerts arrived on my phone after movement was detected.
I also looked at how each camera connects to wider security product platforms and smart home ecosystems, and how well they worked with voice commands. Battery life is also a key component of many security cameras, so this was tested too.
Why you can trust us
The Independent is committed to providing unbiased reviews and expert shopping advice across a range of home improvement products. Our team of experts has spent years testing and reviewing the latest smart home tech in our homes and gardens, and under real-world conditions, from security cameras to digital photo frames. As a result, you can be sure our verdicts are authentic and based on personal experience with each product featured. With security cameras, our expert testers consider everything from app features and ease of setup to video quality and ongoing subscription costs.
The best home security cameras for 2025 are:
Eufy S3 Pro kit
Best: Overall
Power source: Battery and solar
Resolution: 4K
Field-of-view: 135 degrees
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, full colour
Two-way audio: Yes, plus siren
Removable battery: No, charges with solar or USB-C
Local storage: Yes, 16GB in HomeBase (expandable to 16 TB)
Indoor or outdoor: Both, weatherproof
Why we love it
- Excellent 4K footage
- Incredible low-light performance
- Solar panels mean no charging
Take note
- App isn't the most intuitive
- Expensive
- Issues with naming Eufy, including cameras
The Eufy S3 Pro is currently my favourite security camera kit. While not cheap, the kit includes a pair of wireless, solar-powered, 4K cameras and Eufy’s third-generation HomeBase hub, which acts as a central storage centre and gives the cameras AI-powered abilities. These include being able to tell the difference between a person, a vehicle and a delivered package, but also means the cameras can learn familiar faces. Once set up and given some pointers, the system will know when it sees you, other members of your household, your neighbours, and even frequent visitors like couriers and the postman.
I found installation to be quick and easy, with both cameras quickly pairing to the HomeBase with minimal effort. I then fixed them to the outside walls of my house to cover both the garden and driveway, and that was it. They now alert me when movement is spotted, tell me if it’s a familiar face, and even stitch video together if someone is spotted moving from the view of one camera to another – this would be especially useful if a burglar was first seen on the driveway, then spotted in the garden.
The S3 Pro’s 4K video is fantastic in daylight, but is even more impressive at night, where Eufy’s take on colour night vision – called MaxColour Vision – needs to be seen to be believed. I genuinely had to check the timestamp on footage, since the quality was so good, and the colours so vibrant, that footage recorded in the dead of night appeared almost as if it was a sunny afternoon.
I also like how the HomeBase has 16GB of storage built in, but can be expanded by up to 16 TB with either an HDD or SSD, and how it doubles as a siren for Eufy’s home alarm system, and a chime for the company’s video doorbell.
Less impressive is Eufy’s smartphone app. It has all the features you’ll ever need, but it isn’t particularly intuitive – especially when it comes to setting how the cameras and other security devices respond when motion is detected or another alarm is triggered. I also found an issue where devices can’t be renamed, but Eufy tells me they are investigating. I’ll report back when I hear more. For now, though, the S3 Pro is still my favourite home security camera to date – and, as ever from Eufy, it works fully without a subscription.
Buy now £499.00, Amazon
Ring Outdoor Camera Plus
Best: Outdoor Ring camera
Power source: Battery
Resolution: 2K (2560 x 1440)
Field-of-view: 160 degrees
HDR: Yes
Night vision: Yes, colour
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: Yes
Local storage: No
Indoor or outdoor: Both
Why we love it
- Improved resolution
- Smart object detection
- Designed for indoor and outdoor
Take note
- Many features require a subscription
- No internal storage
- 2K resolution only a small upgrade
New for 2025, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus is an intelligent home security camera that can be used inside or out. It has the familiar Ring design and is easy to set up and install, especially if you are already invested in the Ring ecosystem.
Ring has finally increased its standard video resolution from Full HD to 2K (2560 x 1440) with this camera. But, while welcome, the upgrade doesn’t make a night-and-day difference to recordings. Ring’s Low-Light Sight function is a form of colour night vision that can work well, but like with other cameras this feature is affected by ambient lighting, and works best when there’s no other light source nearby.
Motion alerts come through to the Ring smartphone app very quickly, and Ring’s software works well. It’s one of the better systems out there, but as ever you’ll have to pay for the privilege. Since there’s no local storage, video recording (and a bunch of other features) require a Ring Home subscription, which starts at £4.99 a month and rises to £7.99 if you have more than one Ring device, and hits £15.99 if you want 24/7 recording.
In summary, this is a great outdoor option if you’re already paying for a Ring subscription, but don’t expect a huge video upgrade with the switch to 2K.
Read the full Ring Outdoor Camera Plus review
Buy now £99.99, Amazon
Nest Cam (indoor, wired)
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Best: Indoor wired camera
Power source: Wired
Resolution: 1080p Full HD
Field-of-view: 135 degrees
HDR: Yes
Night vision: Yes
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: N/A
Local storage: No, cloud-based
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor only
Why we love it
- Great design
- Smart AI (subscription required)
- Good video quality
Take note
- Recordings only saved for three hours without subscription
- Limited adjustability
- Subscription prices can increase
Don’t let the cute Pixar looks fool you, because this is an indoor security camera with plenty of go to match the show. This particularly model of Nest Cam is the indoor, wired version which, while dependent on being placed close to a power socket, is small (since there’s no bulky battery) and, naturally, doesn’t need changing. The lack of a battery also means it can be used 24/7, if that’s what you need, although video is only stored in the cloud for three hours.
That should be enough for most occasions, since you’ll still be alerted as normal, then you can view live footage on your phone and download recordings in those three hours. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay for a Nest Aware subscription, which starts from £6 a month and enables 24/7 recording.
As well as the design, I like this camera for its good video quality (full HD resolution with HDR) and artificial intelligence, which helps it notify you to only certain types of movement, such as people. This is then made even smarter with a Nest Aware subscription, which enables facial recognition and helps the camera identify people, based on your Google contacts book.
Buy now £54.99, Amazon
Yale Smart Indoor Camera
Best: Subscription-free indoor camera
Power source: Wired
Resolution: Full HD, 1080p
Field-of-view: 110 degrees
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, infrared
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: No
Local storage: Yes, two-four days
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor only
Why we love it
- Great value
- Internal storage
- No subscription required
Take note
- Lens not so wide
- Storage can't be expanded
- Pet owners might need subscription
I was really impressed by Yale’s new range of smart security cameras when I first used them in 2024. Both the indoor and outdoor cameras are super simple to set up and use – and, best of all, they work without the need for an ongoing subscription fee. Add that to how this indoor camera sometimes falls to just £44, and it’s quite the bargain.
Instead of paying for costly cloud storage, as is required with Ring cameras, this Yale camera has enough internal storage to hold between two and four days’ worth of recordings. That should be plenty of time to access anything important (like footage taken during a burglary) and download it to your phone for safe keeping. Video quality is decent, the camera itself is nice and compact, and the Yale Home app is easy to use.
All that’s holding this camera back is the middling 110-degree lens (some cameras record a wider view), and how pet owners might need to pay for Yale’s £3.50 monthly subscription, since that unlocks pet detection, among other features. That’s a handy feature if your cat or dog might otherwise trip the camera every time they walk past.
Buy now £44.00, Amazon
Eufy SoloCam S340
Best: Motorised surveillance
Power source: Battery and solar
Resolution: 3K (2880 x 1620)
Field-of-view: 135 degrees (360 with motion)
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, colour optional
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: Yes
Local storage: Yes, 8GB
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor
Why we love it
- Two views at once
- Motorised pan and tilt
- Solar panel provides unlimited power
Take note
- Bulky
- Solar panel is location/weather dependent
- No Apple HomeKit support
The Eufy SoloCam S340 is among my favourite outdoor security cameras. It isn’t as compact as its rivals, and there are more affordable options. But the way it combines powered motion, a pair of lenses, high resolution, a solar panel and free location storage into one, subscription-free package makes it hard to beat.
Powered motion means the camera can pan and tilt, either when you control it manually via the app, or automatically to follow motion. If it spots someone walking into your garden, for example, it’ll follow them as far as its movement will allow. On top of that, the dual lens means this camera records at 1x and 3x zoom simultaneously, showing you both video feeds at once and ensuring you can see the bigger picture and a zoomed-in shot of whatever’s going on.
Then there’s the solar panel, which can be fitted directly to the camera or to a nearby wall or fence. It then provides the S340 with unlimited power, and in our testing we found just a few hours of morning sunshine (or even grey cloud clover) was enough to keep the battery fully charged.
Finally, I love how Eufy doesn’t charge for cloud storage. Instead, recordings are stored in the camera itself, or can be sent to the company’s HomeBase hub, with no ongoing subscription fees. Cloud storage is available, but purely as an option.
Read the full Eufy SoloCam S340 review
Buy now £179.00, Amazon
EZVIZ H8x
Best: Motorised pan+tilt on a budget
Power source: Wired
Resolution: 2K (2560 x 1440)
Field-of-view: 108 degrees (340 with pan and tilt)
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, colour
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: N/A
Local storage: Yes, microSD up to 512GB
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor
Why we love it
- Near-360 degree coverage
- 2K resolution
- Good price
Take note
- App could be better
- Quite large
- Wired power limits installation options
Even at its usual retail price of £100 this motorised 2K camera represents good value for money. But when it’s reduced to just £70, as it is at the time of writing, the H8x is hard to ignore.
An outdoor camera that requires mains power, the H8x records in a higher resolution than many rivals at this price point, while also packing colour night vision, a microSD card slot for local storage (up to 512 GB is supported), and the intelligence to follow subjects as they move through the frame.
This is a great camera for monitoring large outside spaces, such as a driveway or garden, as the motorised tanning and tilting function means it can rotate almost 360 degrees and look up/down by 70 degrees. EZVIZ’s smartphone app isn’t the best, as I encountered some wording that seemed to be poorly translated into English. But once you’ve navigated the settings pages and configured the camera to suit your needs it all works well.
As it isn’t battery-powered, you’ll have to find a spot where the cable can be run safely to a mains socket.
Read the full Ezviz H8x review
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
Yale Smart Outdoor Camera
Best: For simplicity
Power source: Battery (solar optional)
Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
Field-of-view: 154 degrees
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, colour
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: No
Local storage: Yes, up to four days' worth
Indoor or outdoor: Both
Why we love it
- No storage subscription fee
- Simple setup and app
- Expandable security system
Take note
- Battery life varies by usage
- AI features require subscription
- Doesn’t have HDR
Yale is best known for its door locks, but it also produces a range of security cameras, alarm systems and a video doorbell. This is a weatherproof outdoor camera that is battery powered and benefits from colour night vision, Full HD video two-way audio and internal storage. The last point is crucial, since it means there is no ongoing cost for cloud storage. This makes the camera better value, on an ongoing basis, than rivals from Ring, since they use cloud storage which requires a subscription.
Yale doesn’t say exactly how much storage the Smart Outdoor Camera has, but claims it will hold between two and four days’ worth of recordings. This will depend on how the camera is set up (recording resolution and length), and how frequently it records motion-triggered footage. Clips can be downloaded onto your phone via the Yale Home app for future safekeeping.
Along with the subscription-free approach to storage, I liked how easy this camera was to set up and use. The Yale Home app is a big improvement over its predecessor. It’s simple to use and, in my experience, reliable too. Accessing the camera and charging the battery (via a USB-C cable) every few weeks is an obvious downside to wireless security cameras. To solve this, Yale sells a solar panel that keeps the battery topped-up.
Buy now £119.99, Amazon
Blink Mini 2
Best: Simple indoor camera
Power source: Wired
Resolution: Full HD 1080p
Field-of-view: 143 degrees
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, infrared
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: N/A
Local storage: Not as standard
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor only
Why we love it
- Low price
- Easy to use
- Weather resistant (with outdoor power cable, sold separately)
Take note
- Local storage requires extra expense
- No privacy cover
- Subscription required for some features
At just £30 – and sometimes reduced to under £20 – the Blink Mini 2 offers excellent value for money. It’s tiny, quick and easy to set up (although I encountered a couple of brief hiccups adding it to my wifi network), records in 1080p Full HD resolution, and even includes a spotlight.
On paper, it’s a very strong offering for the price, but I found video quality to be fairly average and the lack of a privacy lens cover might be a concern for some users.
Blink is owned by Amazon, so like Ring devices this Blink camera can be controlled by speaking to Alexa, and show a live video stream on the retailer’s Echo Show smart displays. Although not as packed with features as some pricier security cameras, the Blink Mini 2 still includes the option to create activity zones and privacy zones, and there’s a new person-detection function, too.
However, that particular feature requires a subscription. This costs £2.50 a month for one Blink camera, or £8 for an unlimited number of Blink devices, and also includes cloud storage for video recordings, and lets you stream live video for up to 90 minutes at a time. The camera still works without a subscription, but only two hours of footage is saved before the oldest recordings start to be overwritten.
Local storage is an option, negating the need for the monthly fee, but that requires the purchase of Blink’s £40 Sync Module 2 and a compatible USB drive.
Buy now £29.99, Amazon
Eufy Dual Indoor Cam S350
Best: 360-degree indoor camera
Power source: Wired
Resolution: 2K and 4K, dual lens
Field-of-view: 130 degrees (360 with pan and tilt)
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: N/A
Local storage: Yes, microSD (up to 128GB)
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor only
Why we love it
- Two high-res imaging sensors
- Motorised pan and tilt
- No subscription fee
Take note
- Expensive for an indoor camera
- No Apple HomeKit support
The Eufy S350 stands out from the crowd thanks to its dual-lens setup, which can record 4K video through a wide-angle lens, then switch to 2K through a zoomed-in telephoto lens for a closer look.
That way, when movement is spotted with the wide-angle lens, the camera can zoom in and switch to the 2K telephoto lens. The combination of lenses means an 8x optical zoom with no loss in image quality.
What’s more, the S350 is a camera with motorised tilt and pan, so it can rotate and move up and down, giving you a 360-degree view. It can even use artificial intelligence to spot a target, like an intruder, from up to 30 feet away then zoom in for a closer look and follow them around the room.
As with other Eufy cameras, I love how the S350 has a microSD card slot for internal storage – this means there’s no ongoing storage subscription fee, as employed by Ring.
Buy now £129.99, Amazon
Ring Outdoor Camera Pro Battery
Best: Value outdoor camera
Power source: Battery (wired version and solar panel optional)
Resolution: 1080p Full HD
Field-of-view: 155 degrees
HDR: Yes
Night vision: Yes, colour
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: Yes
Local storage: No, cloud storage requires subscription
Indoor or outdoor: Both
Why we love it
- Clever use of radar
- Long battery life
- Lots of configurability
Take note
- Limited functionality without subscription
- Probably overkill for some customers
This outdoor camera with weather protection from Ring records in Full HD with HDR. It has a 155-degree lens and benefits from colour night vision and a clever use of radar technology that helps it track objects as they move through its view. This enables 3D motion detection and a bird’s-eye view function that shows the route visitors (and trespassers) took across your path, garden or drive.
It integrates neatly into the rest of the Ring ecosystem, including Alexa smart speakers and display, and the app works well, with near-instant notifications when movement is detected, and a good interface for viewing footage saved on Ring’s cloud storage service.
However, as with all other Ring products, you need to factor in the ongoing cost of a Ring Home subscription. The camera still works without this, but no footage is saved and video can only be viewed live through the app. Some alternatives, like Eufy and Yale, offer local storage without subscription, but if you are happy to pay for Ring Home (or already do so), this camera is a great addition to your smart security system.
As of April 2025, this camera has had its price halved from £160 to £80. This suggests Ring is about to replace it with a new model, but also means a camera that previously felt expensive is now excellent value for money.
Read the full Ring Outdoor Camera Pro review
Buy now £79.99, Amazon
Tapo C410 Kit
Best: Budget solar power
Power source: Battery (solar panel included)
Resolution: 2K (2560 x 1440)
Field-of-view: 125 degrees
HDR: No
Night vision: Yes, colour
Two-way audio: Yes
Removable battery: Yes
Local storage: Yes, microSD card up to 512 GB
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor only
Why we love it
- Included solar panel
- 2K video
- Local, no-fee storage
Take note
- Solar performance is location dependent
- AI features require subscription
- Setup can require some trial and error
The Tapo C410 kit by TP-Link is our favourite outside security camera for solar power on a budget. The panel can either share the same wall mount as the camera, or be fixed further away to gain better exposure to the sun. Even on cloudy days I found the panel generated enough electricity to keep the C410’s battery topped-up indefinitely.
As well as unlimited power, the C410 benefits from sharp 2K video recording, colour night vision, support for the Google Home and Alexa smart home platforms, and person detection.
I also particularly like how this camera has a microSD card slot for up to 512 GB of internal storage. This means there’s no need to pay a subscription for cloud storage – although the option is there if you want to create a back-up of your recordings, and paying also unlocks AI-powered person detection.
Buy now £62.08, Amazon
Home security camera FAQs
Is it better to have a wired or wireless security camera?
Wired and wireless security cameras both produce the same result – video recordings accessible from your computer or smartphone – but each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
Wireless cameras can be installed almost anywhere, so long as they are within reach of your Wi-Fi network, whereas wired cameras also need to be within reach of a power socket. If you can’t take advantage of existing wiring (from an old CCTV installation, for example), you might need to drill through a wall, run a cable through a window, or hire a professional to do the work for you.
Most wireless cameras are battery-powered, so you’ll need to install the camera where it’s easy to access, since the battery will need charging or swapping for a spare every few weeks or so. Wired cameras don’t have this drawback, and can also be set to record more frequently, or even capture video 24/7, since there’s no battery to run flat.
Simply put, if you need constant recording, a wired camera is the way to go. If you want a camera that responds to specific, occasional movement (such as a person in the garden at night), a wireless, battery-powered option might be more convenient. Some wireless cameras can also be solar-powered, so you might never need to charge the battery yourself.
Do I need to pay a subscription?
Strictly speaking, no. All of the home security cameras we’ve featured in this article work without a subscription. But that’s only half the story, because in some cases, how much they work is dictated by whether or not you pay a monthly or annual fee.
For example, without paying for a subscription, Ring cameras and doorbells will alert you to movement via the smartphone app. You can then open the app and see a live stream from the camera. Or, you can open the app at any time and see what’s going on. However, no footage is saved anywhere to view later. So if the camera spots something and notifies you, but you miss the notification – perhaps because you’re asleep – there’s no way to view recorded footage later.
Paying for a subscription changes all this, since that unlocks Ring’s cloud storage service. You can now view and download past recordings or, if you pay for the most expensive tier, set certain wired Ring cameras to record 24/7. Every moment is then saved in the cloud, ready to be viewed later.
Other security camera systems, like Eufy, record locally to either a microSD card in the camera itself or to a central hub inside your home (which connects to your cameras wirelessly). Eufy does offer a cloud storage service, paid for via a subscription, but this is an optional extra. If you’re happy with recordings being saved locally, there are no ongoing fees.
If you want to upgrade to a whole-home security system, some subscriptions from the likes of Simplisafe and Yale include professional monitoring.
What is the downside of wireless security cameras?
As alluded to earlier, replacing and charging the batteries of wireless security cameras can be a chore. How long the battery lasts per charge will depend on how much the camera is used. If you set a garden camera only to record when human movement is detected late at night, then the battery should last a very long time. But if a driveway camera is triggered every time someone walks along the pavement, the battery will deplete much more quickly (and you’ll be bombarded by unhelpful notifications).
A great fix for battery drain is fitting a solar panel. This isn’t an option for all wireless security cameras, but several companies make panels that connect to some of their models. In my experience, just a few hours of sunlight per day is enough to keep the battery topped up and completely removes the need to ever charge the camera again. That’s why the Eufy S3 Pro is currently my favourite home security camera.
Excessive battery drain can be fixed by adjusting where the camera is pointing and setting up a detection zone that tells it to ignore movement in high-traffic areas like pavements.
Another consideration is Wi-Fi signal strength. You’ll need to make sure the camera can comfortably connect to your network from its location – which could be far from the router if installed in the garden – and stream video smoothly. Installing a wireless camera usually includes some trial-and-error and might require a better router or a network extender.
The verdict: Best home security camera
The Eufy S3 Pro is currently my favourite home security camera. Being a three-piece kit, it isn’t the cheapest surveillance option around, but I like how it combines 4K video with easy installation, local storage, excellent low-light performance and a solar panel for unlimited power. I’m also a big fan of the Eufy home security ecosystem more generally, since it has local storage with no subscription fee.
Another good camera is the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus. New for 2025, this is a wireless and weatherproof camera that records 2K video and is a strong option to consider if you already have a Ring security system and are paying for a multi-device subscription.
Lastly, I like Yale’s recently revamped range of home security products. Both the indoor and outdoor cameras included in this guide performed well and are very easy to set up and install, with no ongoing subscription fee.
