To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED network camera lens 1
Complete security systems are expensive, but it has become affordable and easy to install a couple of security cameras outside your home. Cover the exterior and you’ll know whenever there’s an intruder. Outdoor security cameras can deter burglaries, home invasions, and porch pirates; they’re also great for keeping an eye on the comings and goings of your family and pets.
The potential security benefits are attractive, but there is a trade-off in privacy, and you can expect some ongoing costs and maintenance. After months of rigorous testing, we’ve identified the best outdoor security cameras. We also highlight what should be top of mind when buying an internet-connected device, as well as installation options. Want more monitoring options? Our Best Indoor Security Cameras, Best Video Doorbell Cameras, and Best Pet Camera guides can help.
Updated April 2024: We added cameras from TP-Link, Eufy, Philips Hue, Arlo, Alfred, and Ezviz, updated existing entries, and refreshed prices.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Crystal-clear footage day or night, speedy load times for the live feed, and a smart notification system make the Arlo Pro 5 our favorite outdoor security camera. It connects directly to Wi-Fi, has a wide 160-degree field of view, and records at up to 2K resolution with HDR. (Your feed won't look blown out when there's a light source in the frame.) There’s also a choice of color night vision or spotlight, which uses an integrated light to illuminate the scene. Two-way audio is clear and relatively lag-free, and there’s a built-in siren. Over months of testing, it has mostly proven to be consistent and reliable. I very occasionally observed long loading times and a slight lag (two to three seconds) on the live feed. Arlo technical support was unable to help. The first issue seemed to resolve itself (possibly a firmware upgrade), but the lag comes and goes. Arlo claims up to eight months of battery life, but this depends entirely on how busy it is; mine needed a charge after less than four months.
It has an easy-to-use app, and the camera filters motion alerts by people, animals, vehicles, and packages. The notification system is swift and accurate, offering animated previews and screenshots with highlighted subjects that are easy to read even on a smartwatch screen. The catch? You need an Arlo Secure plan ($8 per month for a single camera, $13 per month for unlimited cameras) to make the most of these features, and it also gets you 30 days of cloud video history. HomeKit support requires an Arlo Base Station and an Apple Home Hub.
Supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and IFTTT.
★ An alternative: If you want the best picture quality possible, the Arlo Ultra 2 ($250) is a 4K camera that offers everything the Pro 5 does but boasts a wider 180-degree field of view and a higher resolution. While 4K footage is incredibly crisp and HDR ensures a balanced picture, you must subscribe to an Arlo Secure plan to unlock this camera’s full potential, and 4K streams require a lot of bandwidth (you need fast internet service and a good router).
Considering the much lower cost and the option to record locally on a microSD card, the Tapo C425 comes surprisingly close to matching our top pick on features. It connects directly to Wi-Fi, has a 150-degree field of view, and can record video at up to 2K and 30 frames per second, but you must change the default settings in the app. Even at the highest quality setting, it doesn’t match our top pick, and the lack of HDR is noticeable when the sun shines, as bright areas can become blown out. Higher-quality footage impacts battery life, too, and my C425 is on course to last between three and four months. You can also get this camera bundled with a solar panel for an extra $20. The magnetic base makes it easy to fit and remove to recharge. It has a built-in spotlight for color night vision, though it doesn’t penetrate far into the gloom, and I got better results with the black-and-white night vision.
The Tapo app is solid, with the ability to categorize motion (person, pet, vehicle), activity zones you can filter by detection type, and privacy zones. The two-way audio is passable, and there’s a built-in alarm. Notifications came through swiftly, and the live feed usually loaded within three or four seconds but occasionally took longer. A Tapo Care subscription (starting from $3.50 per month or $35 per year for one camera) gets you cloud storage (30-day video history), rich notifications with snapshots in them, and video filtering. It supports various smart home platforms, and the camera feed loaded quickly on my Nest Hub.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
If you'd rather avoid cloud services, consider the impressive Tapo C420S2 system. You get two cameras with a small hub that plugs into your router via Ethernet, and it takes microSD cards up to 256 GB (sold separately). Video resolution goes up to 2K, and the footage is crisp and detailed. I was especially impressed by the nighttime performance. Testing on a long, dark side passage, where most cameras fail to penetrate to the gate at the end, the Tapo picked out every detail. The Starlight sensor enables color night vision, and there are two built-in spotlights.
The Tapo app has a wealth of options, including privacy zones, sensitivity sliders, scheduling, privacy mode, and smart detection for people, pets, and vehicles. This works well, but I got a few false positives in stormy weather. When my cat jumped up to climb the fence right next to the camera, it kept flagging him as a person. There is a siren, and the two-way audio is passable, though it often sounds distorted. Thankfully, the live feed and playback videos are consistently quick to load on my iPhone and on my Nest Hub Max. TP-Link optimistically says you can expect up to six months of battery life (mine are at 70 and 51 percent after 27 days). Since you get all these features without a subscription, this is our top pick if you want to keep things local. These cameras are similar to our runner-up, the C425 above, but the indoor hub is a more secure option for local storage. If you do need cloud storage, Tapo Care costs $7 per month for two cameras.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
If you're willing to spend more, the EufyCam 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is an impressive system that boasts on-device AI detection for people, pets, and vehicles, as well as face recognition. While it's not as accurate as Google Nest's Familiar Faces feature, it works on-device and does a reasonably good job of identifying faces you've tagged. Video resolution goes up to 4K, and these cameras have built-in solar panels to keep their batteries topped up. There's also 16 GB of local storage (expandable up to 16 TB) on the connected HomeBase 3 hub. Footage is extremely detailed at the highest resolution, and the app is feature-packed, enabling you to set detection zones, tweak sensitivity, and have two-way conversations.
This is an expensive system, and it might be overkill for some people. Just bear in mind that you do need a fast and reliable internet connection for the cameras if you want to record in 4K. I also found the nighttime performance disappointing, and the low frame rate can lead to blurring and choppiness. I wish Eufy would up the frame rate on its cameras (they are generally limited to 15 fps). You can have motion trigger the spotlight, but it’s not very powerful, and the night vision is nowhere near as good as on the Tapo system above. The face recognition is the real attraction that you won’t find elsewhere without cloud processing, and it does cut down on the need to review videos when you get an alert. If you do want cloud storage, it starts at $3 per month for a single camera.
Note: After a security researcher identified cloud uploads from a supposedly local-only device and a report warned of video streaming without encryption, following a bug in May 2021 that exposed some camera feeds to other Eufy users, we stopped recommending the brand. After initial denials, parent company Anker acknowledged and fixed the issues, overhauled its policies, and instituted a bug bounty program. We spoke with third-party security researcher Ralph Echemendia, who was hired to conduct an audit, and have decided to start testing Eufy cameras again.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Provided you can run a power cable without too much trouble, a wired security camera can be a better choice than a battery-powered one for a back or side entrance. Some of our favorite Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems come from TP-Link, and its Tapo camera line is generally affordable and reliable, if a bit basic. The C325WB hits a new high with a large aperture and image sensor that enables color nighttime footage without a spotlight, making it ideal for dark corridors and side passages. It does also have a motion-triggered spotlight. You can also filter for people, pets, or vehicles, and set up private zones in the Tapo app. This camera is weatherproof with an IP66 rating and can take up to 512-GB microSD cards for local recordings.
By default, the camera mostly records at 720p, so you must dig into the settings to push the resolution to 2K and turn on HDR, or you can expect choppy, overexposed video. I also had to reduce the motion-detection sensitivity to prevent false positives, and the onboard AI is flaky, frequently identifying my cat as a person. While the feed was mostly quick to load in the Tapo app, it was sometimes slow or failed to load on my Nest Hub. There’s an Ethernet port here too, but sadly, no PoE (power over Ethernet) support. Cloud storage is an option with Tapo Care (from $3.50 monthly for a single camera). Minor issues aside, this camera is excellent for the money, and it has the best color night vision I’ve seen.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
This versatile outdoor security camera combines many of our favorite features into a single set-and-forget device. The main lens has a 135-degree field of view, and records crisp, clear video at 2,880 x 1,620. It is paired with a telephoto lens that gives you 3x zoom in the center of the frame (it goes up to 8x hybrid zoom). This is also a pan-and-tilt camera, so you can pan through 360 degrees and tilt through 70 degrees. The battery is good for up to three months, but it also comes with a solar panel you can fit to the top of the camera or locate nearby. It even has 8 GB of storage built in for local recordings.
Eufy’s app and alerts are quite good, though I sometimes found it took a few seconds to load the live feed. There is onboard AI for human and vehicle detection, and this camera can track subjects and return to fixed preset positions. I found it worked fairly well, but it does identify my cat as a human quite often. The default video frame rate is 15, which can lead to blurring and choppiness, especially for fast-moving subjects. Configurable activity zones and detection sensitivity allow you to reduce false positives. It also has a spotlight and two-way audio, though the sound quality is not great. This camera can be hooked up to Eufy’s HomeBase 3 (sold separately) for up to 16 TB of storage, and you can get cloud storage starting from $3 per month for a single camera.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
You may need several security cameras to cover an area, but the Ezviz H8 Pro offers an alternative solution. It can pan 340 degrees horizontally and tilt 80 degrees vertically. The H8 Pro is an imposing, sphere-shaped camera that connects via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and the versatile L-shaped bracket lets you attach it to an overhanging portion of the roof or to a wall. It can handle bad weather, but you must run a cable to a power outlet, as it has no battery. Screw open the panel to reveal the microSD card slot for cards up to 512 GB in size (sold separately), enabling you to keep recordings local.
The Ezviz app is a little clunky but loads the end-to-end encrypted feed quickly. The video resolution is 2K and captures plenty of detail. The on-device person detection is consistently accurate. There’s two-way audio, though it can sound quite distorted. The black-and-white night vision is crisp, and it switches on two spotlights for color footage when it detects motion. Sadly, there’s no HDR, so it struggles with mixed lighting, but at up to 30 frames per second, it captures moving subjects clearly. Cloud storage with Ezviz CloudPlay is optional but pricey, starting at $4 monthly for a single camera and just seven days of video. Annoyingly, you must set the camera position back on the view you want after panning around, but you can save several preset locations as shortcuts. It can also track moving subjects and will return to the last used preset when the subject moves out of frame. The H8 Pro is almost identical to the C8W Pro ($130), which it replaces here. If 1080p footage is enough for you, we also tested and liked the cheaper C8C ($70), though it lacks the tracking capability.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
If you need a security camera in an area with patchy or no Wi-Fi, go with the Arlo Go 2. It boasts 4G LTE support, and in the US, you can get service from T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Cellcom, or UScellular. You can take it camping, use it with your RV, or install it in another remote spot you want to keep an eye on. Video quality is solid but limited to 1080p to keep the data requirements under control. There’s also two-way audio, a siren, a spotlight for color night vision, and optional local storage with a microSD card (sold separately). The camera is IP65-rated and completely wireless, with a hefty battery inside (mine is at 39 percent after two months). If you’re worried about charging it, you can buy a solar panel ($60) accessory.
The Arlo Go 2 employs the same excellent app as our top pick, with smart alerts and rich notifications, so you can filter for people, animals, vehicles, and packages. Alerts are swift and accurate in my testing, but your mileage will vary based on local signal strength. You will need an Arlo Secure plan ($8 per month for one camera, $13 per month for unlimited) and a data plan on top, which can get expensive. Video recorded on the microSD card cannot be accessed remotely; it’s more of a backup that you can check later if required. One thing that elevates this camera over many other LTE cameras is that it supports Wi-Fi and automatically connects where it’s available, which is ideal for RV owners.
Supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT.
While spotlights on outdoor security cameras are common now, they rarely provide enough illumination to light up a driveway or backyard. For that, you need a floodlight camera. I'm currently testing a few floodlight security cameras, but the Eufy E340 has emerged as an early favorite. Like the S340 above, the E340 is a dual-lens camera, comprising a 3K wide angle lens and a 2K telephoto lens that offers up to 8x zoom to capture details up to 50 feet away. It also has two adjustable light panels capable of putting out up to 2,000 lumens. There are some brighter options you might want to consider for larger areas, but I think this will be enough for most folks. It can pan 360 degrees and tilt 120 degrees, and you can wall or ceiling mount, making it ideal for under your eaves. To record locally, you can insert a microSD card up to 128 GB or connect to a HomeBase 3 (sold separately). Cloud storage is optional, starting from $3 per month for a single camera for 30-day event history. Another big pro for this camera is the support for continuous recording.
Eufy’s alerts are swift and fairly accurate (it sometimes flags my big cat as a human), with onboard AI capable of detecting humans, pets, and vehicles. The live feed is usually quick but sometimes takes a few seconds to load. You get all the usual extras, including activity and privacy zones, black-and-white night vision, and two-way audio. There is also a 95-decibel siren. I like that I can pick preset positions for the camera to patrol, and schedule and tweak the intensity of the light. The AI tracking is quite good at following subjects, and the camera returns to your preferred position when the subjects leave the frame. The main weakness is the frame rate (15 fps), which means fast-moving subjects can appear blurry. You may also need an electrician to install it.
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The Nest Cam (Outdoor) works best for anyone with Google Assistant running the show in the home. It's battery-powered and easy enough for renters to install, with a simple mounting plate and a proprietary magnetic mount that makes it easy to customize the angle. The 130-degree field of view encompassed my driveway, front door, and most of my front yard. It captures sharp 1080p video with HDR and night vision, and it has a clear speaker and microphone. The alerts are seamless, and the motion detector was accurate and sensitive enough to tell that the slight whisk of a passing ponytail was a person.
You need a Google account and the Google Home app to use it. You don't need the $8 per month or $80 per year Nest Aware subscription, but most people buying Google devices are probably not afraid of storing data on the cloud or of machine learning. It's worth it to have features like the camera's ability to learn faces and 30-day event history, and even more so if you're bundling it with your Nest Doorbell. The battery needs charging after a little more than a month.
There are some big caveats to this Logitech security camera. First, it has a permanently attached 10-foot power cord that's not weatherproof, so you'll need to be careful when you route it to an indoor outlet. It also requires a HomeKit hub, such as HomePod Mini or Apple TV, and while you can record 10 days of video events to your iCloud account, it's only worthwhile if you cough up for an iCloud storage plan. There's also zero compatibility with Android, so it might be useless for anyone in the household without an Apple gadget. There are pros and cons to Apple's HomeKit Secure Video.
If none of that fazes you, then it's a solid outdoor camera for privacy-minded folks. It doesn't have a separate app of its own. Instead, you add it directly in Apple's Home app by scanning a QR code. It captures Full HD video and boasts an extremely wide 180-degree field of view, though there's a bit of a fish-eye effect here. (The lack of HDR also means areas are sometimes too dark or blown out.) There's motion detection, two-way audio, and decent night vision, and you can ask Siri to display the live feed, which loads quickly. The camera can differentiate between people, animals, or vehicles, and rich notifications let you play video clips right from your iPhone's lock screen.
If your home is kitted out with Philips Hue smart lights, you may find its security camera range interesting. The Philips Hue Secure Wired Camera (7/10, WIRED Recommends) and the Philips Hue Secure Battery Camera are quick and easy to add to the Hue app, offer crisp 1080p video, and are both weatherproof, with an IP65 rating. They offer a fairly expansive 140-degree field of view, two-way audio, and a siren, and are quick to send motion alerts. They are quite big and come with a magnetic mount for easy installation (the wired version has a 10-foot cable). The live feed loads swiftly in the Hue app. But, to get the most from them, you need to subscribe from $4 per month ($40/year) for a single camera, which gives you 30 days of cloud storage and unlocks smart detection features.
custom optical lens You can set up privacy and activity zones, and filter by person, animal, vehicle, and package. The AI performed well for me, and all video is end-to-end encrypted (there’s no local storage option). The real attraction is the integration with Hue lights. If you have a Hue Bridge, you can have the cameras trigger your indoor or outdoor lighting. I set up the Battery Camera to trigger a Discover Outdoor Floodlight ($140), and it works great (no more stubbed toes when I take the trash out after night has fallen). I like that you can have different light settings based on the time of day. Putting cameras and lights together with Hue contact or motion sensors, you can create your own security system. The Battery camera drained by only 12 percent in the first two weeks (on course for between three and four months), but then it seemed to die overnight. I have since recharged (which took more than eight hours), and it seems to be working normally. Ultimately, the wired camera works well, but I'm concerned about the battery version suddenly draining, and both are overpriced, so they're only worth considering for Hue fans.