The Best Wireless Security Cameras of 2023

1. Lorex - Best for Night Vision

Editors Rating:

9.6 /10

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High-Quality Equipment

Lorex has a vast selection of high-quality security cameras, and while not all of them are wireless, you’ll find a rich catalog of Wi-Fi and battery-powered cameras from this brand. We especially liked Lorex because it offers features beyond what most wireless cameras provide. For example, there are wireless Lorex cameras with up to 4K HD resolution and color night vision aided by built-in smart lights. Those are particularly handy in an outdoor setting, as you need outdoor cameras that can capture great detail day or night.

Lorex security cameras are also tough. We’re talking about water-proof, dust-proof cameras that can operate in the coldest of winters and hottest of summers. Plus, there’s no need to worry about your video recordings getting corrupted. Most Lorex cameras transmit videos to a DVR or NVR, so your footage is stored safely inside while your cameras brave the elements.

No Monthly Fees

The local DVR or NVR recording of Lorex is one aspect we really like because aside from keeping your recordings safely indoors, they keep the usage cost down. Without need for a cloud subscription, Lorex doesn’t require monthly fees.

Now, you will have to be mindful of where you place your DVR relative to your wireless cameras. Be careful not to place your DVR and cameras too far apart, as that may affect their wireless synchronization, but if you install Lorex right, you’ll have a reliable system that can record 24/7 weeks at a time. In our experience a 1 TB DVR can store up to two weeks of rolling videos from four 1080p HD cameras. That’s more than enough for us, but if you need more, Lorex DVRs can accommodate additional storage through disk drives.

Smart Home Integration

Smart home integration isn’t Lorex’s strong suit, but some of its cameras, especially the wireless ones, can connect with Alexa and Google Assistant. With that, you can tell your cameras to arm or disarm through a smart speaker, or even livestream footage through a smart display.

If you’re looking for Alexa or Google Assistant-integrated Lorex cameras, we suggest looking for DVR and NVR systems labeled to work with either or both voice assistants. Otherwise, go with a Wi-Fi or wireless camera, as they most commonly support integrations.

Here’s a sampler of Lorex wireless cameras and their costs:

2. eufyCam E - Best for Local Storage

Editors Rating:

9.2 /10

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Wireless Local Storage

Eufy takes a page from Lorex when it comes to local storage, but rather than a boxy DVR or NVR, the eufyCam E uses a stylish base station. The eufyCam E is a wire-free camera – it runs on batteries and connects wirelessly to the base station. It uses a wireless standard that requires less power than Wi-Fi, giving it extended battery life.

Another aspect we liked about the eufyCam E and its base station was the easy setup process. We plugged in the base unit, connected it to Wi-Fi, set up the Eufy Security app, and then paired the camera. It took us less than 20 minutes to set up this battery-powered camera, and after running a firmware upgrade, it was up and ready to protect our front door.

Discounted Packages Available

If you’re looking to put up multiple eufyCam E cameras, you can save by buying multi-camera packs. One HomeBase can accommodate up to four cameras, and there are discounted options if you buy more than one eufyCam E.

It’s also relatively easy to buy and add more cameras as you see fit. Eufy offers add-on cameras and base stations, with deep discounts for existing customers. Plus, around special holidays and during sale events like Black Friday, you can expect lots of discounts and freebies from Eufy.

Two-Way Audio

This may sound hard to believe, but lots of wire-free cameras don’t have audio. That’s likely because they want to save battery power, but it’s just not the same when your security camera footage is lacking sound.

The eufyCam E makes sure you get audio with your video, and on top of that, you can speak through your camera using two-way audio. With this feature, you can yell at trespassers to shoo them away, or greet guests as they approach your front door. You can also use two-way audio to instruct delivery drivers when leaving packages at your door.

3. Ring Spotlight Cam Battery - Best Outdoor Wireless Camera

Editors Rating:

9.5 /10

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Pros and Cons

Security by Lights

Making sure your home is safe requires a concerted effort from you and a dozen other devices. With the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery, you hit two birds with one stone. It is, of course, a security camera that can alert you to movement, stream live video, and record important clips. It’s also a spotlight. Coupled with the camera’s built-in motion sensor, the spotlight turns on automatically when it detects movement. That’s a great way to scare away would-be intruders.

The spotlight serves another purpose. Most security cameras use Infrared night vision to see at night. While effective and discreet, this turns your footage into black-and-white, which not everybody likes. If you prefer color night vision, the spotlight can illuminate the Ring camera’ surroundings at night, giving it 24/7 color video.

Solar Option

Battery-powered cameras are convenient, except of course when it’s time to recharge or replace their batteries. Depending on how much you use your Spotlight Cam Battery, you could be doing that every couple of months to every six months.

Ring made it a little easier by making the batteries rechargeable so you don’t have to buy new batteries every time, but if you’d rather not recharge the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery at all, there’s another option: A solar panel.

You can purchase a solar panel from Ring and keep the battery charged all-year long. Ring’s solar panels aren’t over-the-top expensive. You can get one for $60 if you purchase it separately, but if you buy the solar panel and the camera together, the panel costs only $30. Check out Ring’s pricing to learn more.

Rechargeable Battery

On the bright side of Ring’s battery-powered Spotlight Cam, the built-in batteries are rechargeable. While that means having to take down the camera every once in a while to recharge, you won’t need to purchase batteries everytime it runs out of juice.

We recommend buying a second battery pack for the Ring Spotlight Cam, though. Since the battery takes time to charge (about a few hours), you can use a backup battery pack to keep the camera always powered. Just make sure to keep the spare fully charged.

You can even purchase a solar panel and charge the camera continuously. By doing so, you can make sure the camera always has enough juice without having to go up and down a ladder to recharge the camera’s battery pack.

LifeTime Theft Protection

We’d also like to just throw it out there that Ring cameras come with Lifetime Theft Protection. This means if your camera ever gets stolen, Ring will replace it for you for free.

That is especially great for wireless cameras, as their wireless setup often makes them easier to steal. With Ring’s theft protection guarantee, you’re not just ensuring your home’s safety from burglars, but also your camera’s safety from theft.

4. Arlo Pro 4 - Best for Video

Editors Rating:

9.0 /10

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2K HDR Video

The Arlo Pro 4 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Arlo Pro 3, in terms of video quality. It records in high-definition 2560p resolution, which is higher than the industry standard 1080p. Plus, the Arlo Pro 4 has HDR or high-dynamic range, which is an effective feature to keep outdoor videos glare-free.

Night Vision Options

Due to the camera’s spotlight, our night vision was in color, although when we wanted to be less conspicuous, we opted to turn the spotlight off and depend on the infrared LED sensors. Either way, we could see clearly at night, whether it was in full color to greet our friends or in black and white to give directions to the takeout delivery men.

Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Watch

There were a bunch of ways to control the Arlo Pro 4 aside from using the Arlo app. If we were feeling particularly lazy, we did voice commands through Alexa or Google Assistant, pretty common integrations when it comes to smart security cameras. However, Arlo took it a step further than most. It also worked with our Apple Watch, so whenever the Arlo Pro 4 detected motion, we got alerted and could even speak through the camera right from our wrist. And during our three month trial of Arlo Smart Home, we made it so we only got alerts when the camera detected people or packages, making for less checking of our Apple Watch throughout the day.

5. Ring Stick Up Cam Battery - Best Wireless Camera with Alexa

Editors Rating:

9.5 /10

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How We Review

Pros and Cons

Smart Platform Integrations

Amazon owns Ring, so it’s not exactly shocking that the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery works with Alexa, their voice assistant. Using Alexa, we had our footage shown on our Echo Show 8 along with our Fire TV, even speaking through the devices. Whenever our Stick Up Cam detected movement, Alexa let us know along with our app notification. But the Stick Up Cam also works with Google Assistant, for those in the Google smart home ecosystem, as well as a bunch of other connected devices from brands like Dome and Geolink. All in all, we love how seamlessly the Stick Up Cam Battery fits into our larger smart home.

Privacy

If you’ve turned on the news in the past few years, then you’ve probably noticed that Ring has its fair share of security breaches, and they can be downright creepy. Fortunately, Ring has created a couple of privacy features in response that definitely made us feel better about the whole situation. For example, with privacy zones, we could block our bathroom from the camera’s vision so it wouldn’t detect any motion within the area. On top of that, we also had the ability to completely disable motion recording, audio and alerts, which was really good for those private nights at home watching movies. While Ring certainly has a long way to go to gain back customers’ trust, this is a step in the right direction.

Two-Way Audio with Noise Cancellation

Two-way audio is a feature we’ve come to expect from smart security cameras, but Ring takes it a step further with noise cancellation. When we used the Stick Up Cam Battery outside, we noticed that when talking to our visitors, we couldn’t hear the background traffic noise as much, making for more distinct and easy to understand audio. In New York City, there’s always something going on in the background, so we loved that the Stick Up Cam Battery had that in mind when it came to audio.