Blink Security Camera Review 2025: Affordable, But Is It Reliable?

An Overview of Blink’s Camera Options

Currently, Blink primarily offers three different cameras; one indoor camera and two outdoor options. However, with the amount of accessories that Blink offers, it feels like they offer a lot more.

Blink Mini

https://youtu.be/I-yLoALp9oA

Check out our Blink Mini 2 video review to see if it’s the right choice for you.

There are two different versions of the Blink Mini, with the latest being the Blink Mini 2. Both are standalone indoor cameras you plug in with a USB cable for power. They feature 1080p HD resolution, motion-triggered recording, and two-way audio.

The Mini 2 adds a wider field of view, a spotlight for full color night vision, and person detection with a cloud storage plan. It’s also weatherproof enough for outdoor use. We see it as a direct competition to the $35 Wyze Cam we tested.

Blink Outdoor 4

Blink’s main outdoor camera is the Outdoor 4. It’s battery-powered and can stand up to the elements. The big selling point for us is the two-year battery life with just two AA batteries. It also has local storage through the Sync Module 2 or XR, which is a required peripheral. The Sync Module 2 can connect up to 10 Blink cameras.

Blink Wired Floodlight Cam

The Wired Floodlight Cam essentially attaches a floodlight to the Outdoor 4. Except, with this camera, there are no batteries. Instead, it needs to be hardwired. You can replace an existing floodlight with it, so the installation was easier than we thought it’d be.

Now that we covered the basics, let’s dig into the details.

Blink Camera Pricing

We’ve mentioned that Blink’s cameras are affordable. But, how affordable are they really? Here’s a breakdown of Blink’s pricing:

>> Learn More: Blink Camera Black Friday Sales & Cyber Monday Deals in 2025

Key Similarities

We discovered a lot of key similarities between each Blink camera during our tests. In fact, we find their models have more in common with each other than differences. Here are the key features you can expect from every Blink camera.

Video Quality

Unlike Blink’s sister brand, Ring, that now offers a 2K outdoor camera, all Blink cameras are still 1080p HD. That’s the industry standard. We made a head-to-head comparison guide of Blink and Ring if you want to see how they fare against each other.

We were actually impressed with Blink’s image quality. Other cameras we’ve tested in this price range left us feeling like the colors didn’t pop enough even though they advertise HD quality. With Blink’s cameras, it was easy to distinguish a person’s face or attire if we needed to provide police with evidence.

That said, the first version of the Mini left us wanting a wider field of view. When we placed it on the end table in our living room, it couldn’t quite see wall-to-wall leaving a blind spot a burglar could take advantage of. We didn’t have that issue with the Mini 2’s 143-degree field of view.

>> Related Camera: Defender Security Cameras Review and Costs in 2025

Local or Cloud Storage

If you want to avoid monthly fees, Blink’s cameras are a great choice. Although their Mini cameras don’t require the Sync Module, every camera works with it and can use it for local storage. That means you can still record all of your motion-triggered clips without a continuous cost. All you’ll need is the Sync Module 2, which costs $49.99, and a USB drive for storage. That’s what we opted for since we already had to buy the Sync Module 2 with the Outdoor 4 we tested.

That’s not the only option, though. Blink also offers cloud storage plans that start at $2.50 per month. Any camera that supports person detection requires a cloud storage plan for the feature to work.

Two-Way Audio

This has become a staple feature for almost every home security camera, but we still don’t take it for granted. Thankfully, all Blink cameras feature two-way audio. The audio for all their models is surprisingly clear, too. As long as the surroundings were relatively quiet, the audio came through clearer than a Facetime call.

Alexa Integration

A lot of home security companies make you pay a subscription to integrate your components with smart home ecosystems. Since Blink’s owned by Amazon, their cameras integrate with any Alexa devices for free. The integration was comprehensive, too. We could even set actions for other smart devices in our Alexa system when our Blink cameras detect motion or people.

Easy Installation

All of Blink’s cameras, even the Hardwired Floodlight Cam, were exceptionally easy to install. We spent more time figuring out where we wanted each camera than actually installing and setting it up. Each camera has a little QR code printed on it that you scan to connect it to the app. Then, it provides a step-by-step guide for installing it.

Key Differences

Of course, each Blink camera isn’t identical. We recommend using them together to create an overall security camera system for your home’s protection. That way, you can take advantage of these differences.

Wireless, Plug-In, or Hardwired

Here’s our Blink Outdoor 4 mounted on our backyard fence.

Unlike when we tested Arlo, which has almost entirely wireless security cameras, all three of Blink’s models use a different approach for power. The only wireless option is the Outdoor 4. It uses two AA batteries for power that last up to two years. Most other security cameras we test only have a three to six month battery life, so this impressed us.

While not wireless, Blink’s Mini lineup of cameras are just as easy to install. They just need to plug into a USB port for power, so you don’t need to set them up right next to an outlet. It could be next to your computer or a power bank, instead. When testing the Blink Mini 2, we plugged it right into our desktop in our office.

The Wired Floodlight Camera is a bit more complicated. It connects to the same wiring as a standard floodlight, so if you don’t already have a floodlight in your home, we’d recommend getting some help from an electrician. We already have a floodlight above our garage, so we were able to easily swap it out with the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera.

>> Check Out: Best Wireless Cameras 2025: Expert-Tested & Reviewed

Night Vision

Unlike the Blink Outdoor 4, the Blink Mini 2 features a built-in spotlight for full color night vision.

Don’t worry, every Blink camera has night vision. It’s just a matter of what type of night vision. They all support infrared night vision which gives black-and-white footage, but the Mini 2 and Wired Floodlight Camera have full-color night vision thanks to built-in lighting.

Person Detection

Blink’s app provided us with basic notification customizations.

We wish this was a standard feature on all Blink cameras and they seem to be moving in that direction. However, the older camera models that they still sell (looking at you, Blink Mini) can’t differentiate between different types of motion. That means, instead of a notification telling you your camera saw a person, it’ll only tell you that motion was detected.

All of Blink’s most recent cameras feature person detection. That includes the Blink Mini 2, Outdoor 4, and Wired Floodlight Camera. It’s a built-in feature, but it requires a cloud storage plan to access since all processing is done on the cloud. If you’d rather use cameras that process videos locally and don’t need a subscription to access person detection, take a look at our review of Google Nest cameras from ADT.

>> Read More: The Best Indoor Cameras With Artificial Intelligence

Requires Sync Module

We only needed a screwdriver to mount our Blink Outdoor 4 above our garage door.

Surprisingly, only the Blink Outdoor 4 requires a Sync Module. The other cameras can work with one for storing clips, but they don’t need it. That’s because they don’t use batteries.

The Outdoor 4’s impressive two-year battery life is largely thanks to the Sync Module. It allows the Outdoor 4 to connect to the internet in a more energy-efficient way through a streamlined connection to the Sync Module that connects to your Wi-Fi.

Blink’s Storage Options

To store clips from your Blink cameras, you’ll either need a cloud subscription or a Sync Module. None of the cameras offer internal storage.

Blink’s Cloud Storage Subscriptions

Compared to the rest of the industry, Blink offers cost-effective cloud storage plans. For example, SimpliSafe prices their cloud storage plan at $10 per month, the same rate as the Blink Plus plan, except SimpliSafe’s plan only supports up to ten cameras instead of unlimited cameras. SimpliSafe also only stores clips for up to 30 days instead of 60 days.

And that’s all before even mentioning Blink’s discount on their annual plan. You can actually get that same plan for $8.33 per month if you pay for a year upfront. Even better, you can cancel at any time and get refunded for all of your unused months. That’s why we always recommend Blink’s annual plans.

Anyways, here’s a comparison between Blink’s cloud storage subscriptions:

Blink’s Sync Modules

If you’re buying Blink cameras, there’s a good chance it’s because you’re trying to save some money. And a monthly subscription goes against that ethos. Thankfully, Blink understands that so they offer the Sync Module 2 which supports up to 10 cameras. Just plug a USB storage device into it and you can store all of your motion-recorded clips there. Accessing them works the same way as with a cloud storage plan, with a direct connection to the app.

Blink also offers another Sync Module called the Sync Module XR. It supports up to 10 cameras just like the Sync Module 2. Its special feature is the extended range for up to two Outdoor 4 cameras. It extends the wireless connection range from about 100 feet to about 400 feet. It only costs an extra $20, so we think it’s well worth the price.

Here’s a comparison between Blink’s Sync Module 2 and Sync Module XR:

Blink Home Monitor App

We found the Blink Home app to be pretty powerful and easy to use. It includes intuitive controls that didn’t require us to go digging for an instruction manual. We found it easy to lay out privacy zones, set motion sensitivity,  configure clip length, fine-tune notifications, and set motion recording, audio, and night vision controls.

Our biggest issue was the need to keep tapping the screen every 30 seconds while live streaming. While it makes sense for saving battery, it was particularly annoying when we were trying to converse with the mainman. On the other hand, our favorite feature was managing and sharing recorded clips, which was really easy and fun.

Can Blink stand toe-to-toe with other brands?

It’s good to have options. See how Blink compares to these top security camera picks.

• Arlo Pro 3 vs. Nest Cam IQ Outdoor vs. Blink XT2
• SimpliSafe vs. Blink: Comparing Two Contract-Free Security Systems
• Arlo Pro 2 vs Blink XT
• Blink vs Ring
• Arlo vs Blink