A home security camera will give you peace of mind, watching over your property, alerting you to any unusual happenings, and capturing video evidence. However, they can also be expensive to run; many systems require a monthly or annual subscription plan to store your video clips, and to unlock features like subject recognition.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Here at TechRadar we’ve tested dozens of security cameras, including lots without any extra fees. This is a great time to pick one up too, with lots of models likely to be discounted for Amazon Prime Day.
Here I’ve put together a list of the top five subscription-free home security cameras we recommend, with options for everything from apartments through to large detached properties and even small businesses.
1. Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K
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The Baseus Security S2 isn’t the only solar-powered security camera we’ve tested, but it’s the only one with a photovoltaic panel that rotates around its body to follow the sun, ensuring it captures as much light as possible throughout the day. It looks strange, but in our tests, we found worked brilliantly, noticeably extending battery life.
In addition, an SD card slot in the bottom means you can save your video recordings locally, without paying for cloud storage. However, the real standout feature in our view is the S2’s built-in facial-recognition, which can alert you if the camera spots familiar people nearby. Just upload their photos to the app, and it will keep an eye out for them. It’s the kind of advanced feature that would normally only be available as part of a premium subscription package, but here it’s thrown in.
During tests, the S2 produced very few false alerts. This not only prevents you from being bombarded with unnecessary phone notifications, it also means recording is triggered only by genuine events, extending the cam’s battery life. Images are superbly detailed during the day, and the spotlight is excellent for illuminating the garden at night to ensure high-quality footage in the dark, too.
The Baseus S2 is also one of the most affordable subscription-free security cameras we’ve tested. Yes, the up-front cost is more than you’d pay for a camera from Blink or Ring, for example, but the absence of fees for storage and advanced features mean it almost certainly works out cheaper overall.
If you’re on a strict budget, take a look at the Baseus Security S1 instead. It’s available for about half the price of the S2 and has the same rotating solar panel. However, it records at only 2K and has 8GB built-in storage rather than up to 256GB via a microSD card.
Read our full Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K review
2. Swann MaxRanger4K Solar
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Swann’s MaxRanger4K Solar cameras are sold in packs of two or three, bundled with a base station that provides 64GB local storage for your videos, and is expandable with an SD card if you need even more room. If that isn’t enough coverage, you can also pick up extra cams to connect to the station.
These high-definition cameras were seriously impressive – especially considering you don’t need to subscribe to get the most out of them. Each camera arrives with a tough weather-resistant chassis, and captures super-crisp 4K footage with a wide 105-degree viewing angle. That’s great for a camera without pan-and-tilt functionality.
That’s not all – the cameras also have a sensor that uses heat and motion to identify people, vehicles, and other disturbances, and labels them accordingly. It’s the kind of feature you’d usually only get with a paid security plan, but it’s bundled in here – and in our tests it worked brilliantly, accurately identifying triggers.
The app lets you tweak camera settings, including its sensitivity, which is a handy way to extend the battery life of the units. Each cam has a solar panel that allows it to last months between charges, but you’ll need to spend some time optimizing settings for maximum effect. The more frequently recordings are triggered, the faster the battery will drain.
Read our full Swann MaxRanger4K Solar review
3. Reolink Altas PT Ultra
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The Reolink Altas PT Ultra earned four stars in our review thanks to its crisp video recordings, pan-and-tilt functionality to cover an extra-wide area, and local storage for your video. Although it’s somewhat bulky, it looks smart and didn’t worry our neighbors unnecessarily (always a plus).
The camera can automatically track subjects such as people and animals, or you can pan and tilt it manually using the app, if there’s something in particular that you want to keep an eye on. There’s a pre-record option, too, similar to the one you’d get with a dash cam, which captures footage continuously in the background and saves the 10 seconds that were recorded before a trigger event.
Footage is super clear during the day, but we found that the Altas PT Ultra really excels at night. Most home security cameras produce pretty shoddy monochrome video after dark, but Reolink’s ColorX technology captures impressive color footage without a spotlight.
Storing your videos in the cloud costs extra, but there’s no need when you can save them to an SD card, or to an encrypted Reolink Home Hub. The Home Hub comes with 64GB storage, expandable with up to two 512GB SD cards, which should be more than enough.
Read our full Reolink Altas PT Ultra review
4. EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer
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If you like the idea of a security camera to cover the front of your home, but you don’t want to (or can’t) drill holes anywhere, the EZVIZ EP4 is an excellent option. It’s installed through the peephole in your front door, and has a wide field of view that gives great visibility in sharp 4K. I installed it in the front door of my apartment within 10 minutes, and was very impressed by the clarity of the picture on the internal display, and on my phone.
When the camera’s motion sensor is triggered, it will send a notification to your phone and record a 10-second video clip, which can be saved to a microSD card. You can choose to pay for cloud storage if you want, but there’s no need. You also don’t need to pay for EZVIZ’s facial recognition tool, which lets you upload photos of friends and members of your family, and then notifies you when they arrive. During my tests it worked very well, despite being in beta. The only downside that was you can’t yet choose not to receive these alerts, so you would only be notified if a stranger arrives.
The EP4 also functions as a video doorbell, and offers two-way talk, with two voice changing options for privacy. All in all, it’s an excellent option for renters and apartment-owners, and when you move out, you can simply take it with you.
Read my EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer hands-on
5. Eufy eufyCam 3 S330
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The eufyCam 3 S330 is a full security system designed for large properties, and even businesses. It consists of a set of cameras (the starter kit includes two, and additional ones are available to purchase separately) plus a HomeBase unit that connects them all to one another, and to your home Wi-Fi network.
Your videos are stored within the HomeBase unit, which comes with 16GB of storage that you can expand up to a colossal 16TB by plugging in an external hard drive, so you don’t need to pay for cloud storage and your data is safely saved indoors.
Although it’s a ‘prosumer’ system partially aimed at businesses, we found it easy to install and set up for the average user. Each camera has a 135-degree field of view, and a bright floodlight that can be triggered by motion at night for full-color footage, and a top-mounted solar panel so you don’t need to take them down for frequent charging.
Subject detection is excellent, though on the standard settings it proved so sensitive that it sometimes also mistook a person’s reflection for someone else in our tests, so it’s worth taking some time to tinker with the settings. It includes facial recognition as well, and unlike the EZVIZ camera above, this doesn’t rely on a set of photos and can ‘learn’ to identify individuals over time. The initial price isn’t cheap, but when you consider how much you’d need to pay for an equivalent subscription setup, it’s good value in the long term.
Read our full Eufy eufyCam 3 S330 review
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catherine.ellis@futurenet.com (Cat Ellis)
