The 10 Best Wireless Security Cameras of 2021

We love the convenience and flexibility of wireless home security cameras. One of our favorites, the Arlo Pro 4, is 100% wire-free. Its Wi-Fi connection and battery make it easy to install practically anywhere a ladder can reach. At $200, this is an expensive security camera (still much cheaper than its predecessor, Arlo Pro 3), but we think it's worth the investment.

Find out which cameras on our list are truly wireless, which ones you can use indoors and outdoors, and what smart features each one offers in our comparison table and security camera reviews below.

We think the Arlo Pro 4 is an excellent choice for a battery-powered camera, especially if you want a quick setup, multiple cameras, and outstanding video quality. Its 2K video captures more detail than 1080p outdoor cameras and records clear video any time of day thanks to infrared night vision and a built-in spotlight.

A helpful tutorial in the Arlo app makes it a breeze to set up. And the magnetic wall mount makes it easy to install anywhere. While you have to pay for cloud video storage on the Arlo Pro 4, it's one of the more affordable subscriptions out there at $2.99 a month.

Arlo 4 fixes the biggest drawback of Arlo Pro 3 in that it no longer requires a base station, which was available only when buying two or more cameras. This makes it a more affordable choice, though it's still more expensive than the average wireless camera (including some Arlo cameras). Read our full Arlo camera review.

We think the Stick Up Cam Battery is best for people that need a wireless outdoor camera on a budget. Ring also has one of the most competitive cloud storage plans on the market, costing just $3 a month for 60 days of storage. It's an ideal wireless camera for an Alexa smart home, though we'd like it better if it supported Google Assistant and HomeKit like Arlo does.

We've seen reports of short battery life on Ring products (some say it lasts about a month), and recharging the Stick Up Cam is a tedious process since you need to remove the battery each time. While there's a wired option for this camera—Stick Up Cam Plug-In—you lose the flexibility of installing it anywhere.

You can get a solar panel accessory so you don’t need to remove the battery as often, but it’ll cost you extra. Read our Ring Alarm review to see how Ring products all work together.

Plus, you can pick up the Wyze Cam Pan for under $40, making it one of the best values in security cameras. We're especially big fans of Wyze's free cloud storage that saves small 12-second clips for up to 14 days.

The Wyze Cam Plus paid cloud storage plan allows for full-length video clips and is better for folks wanting better video recording without buying a microSD card. It's also one of the cheapest plans from any security camera company—costing just $2 a month or $15 for an annual plan.

One of the only things we don’t like is that you need a power cord, which limits placement options. Read our full Wyze Cam review.

We love the Climate Monitor sensors since they allow Canary to track the humidity, temperature, and air quality in your home. This means that the camera can sense if the fireplace isn’t fully out or let you know if someone left the tub running.

If you subscribe to the Canary Premium Service plan (about $10 a month), the camera gains access to 30 days of cloud video storage instead of the single day included with the free plan. You can also download videos and unlock two-way audio, though these are often a free features with other brands. Overall, the premium plan is good but a bit too pricey for the added benefits.

We wish it had a little more power when it comes to night vision—it only sees about 20 feet in the dark. But the rest of its superpowers still make this little camera a strong contender. Read our full Canary review.

For some, that may be worth the $300 price tag. But while we like the smart functions and home automation compatibility of the Nest Cam IQ, many of the cameras we looked at offer the same perks at a more reasonable price.

The fact that you can’t use many of the best features (including video recording) unless you sign up for a monthly subscription is a big downer. But at least the monthly subscription is a lot cheaper and gives more storage than in the past. We especially like that you don't need to pay a separate fee for each camera in your home.

Read more in our review of the Nest cameras suite and our Nest Cam IQ review.

There are so many wireless security cameras to choose from—we barely scratched the surface of what kinds of cameras are out there. Still, we think that the Arlo Pro 4 is a standout product with its 100% wire-free operation.

Its impressive video quality makes it hard for the competition to keep up. While it's more expensive than most cameras on our list, the overall quality of the Arlo Pro 4 helps make up the difference in price.

For more information about wireless security cameras, check out our list of frequently asked questions below. If you're looking for a wireless camera that works with a security system, you can start with recommendations from our best home security systems.

To find the best wireless security cameras, we looked at price, image quality, reliability, ease of setup, smart features, night vision, and customer satisfaction.

Battery-powered cameras that fall into that wire-free category, like the Arlo Pro 4 and the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery, got extra credit when it came to ranking the top wireless security cameras this year.

But we couldn’t dismiss high-quality cameras like the Amcrest 4MP UltraHD, Wyze Cam Pan, and Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor just because of a compulsory power cord.

We tested several cameras in our homes, read expert reviews, researched industry standards and camera specs, and consulted thousands of customer reviews. Find out more about how we rank and review products in our full methodology.

• 65+ hours of research and testing
• 15 in-home tests
• 32 products considered
• 1,300+ customer reviews read
• 10 coffees consumed

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Unfortunately, yes, security cameras can be vulnerable to hacking—but we have a handful of protective tips for you.

Nearly every security camera we looked at supports encryption. This protects the camera’s data stream (like videos of your kids after school) from prying eyes.

No matter what security features come with your camera, these tips can help you maximize the privacy of your security cameras:

• Buy a camera with a recognizable name and purchase it from a trustworthy seller.
• Make sure your home Wi-Fi network is secure.
• Create unique, strong passwords for your camera and any apps you use to access it.
• Keep firmware up to date on your camera and your Wi-Fi router.
• Turn off remote viewing when you don’t need it.
• Block the lens of your camera when you’re not using it—a post-it or a piece of painters tape will work.

We’ve learned that many people want a wireless security camera to keep an eye on the people and pets they love. If this is your goal, here are some things to consider:

• Two-way communication: This lets you listen in and talk to the pets or people at home.
• Night vision: Clear images in low light are especially important if you want to use the camera as a baby monitor.
• Field of view: Most security cameras use a wide-angle lens, while baby monitors and nanny cams often use a more narrow range of vision to focus on the baby.
• Pan and tilt: If you’re viewing pets or older kids remotely from the office or on a beach, you may want to be able to move the camera angle.

Wireless cameras can’t have it all. It would be great if they could watch things inside by day, and keep an eye on what’s going on outside after dark, right? But it rarely works.

Most indoor security cameras will pick up glares and reflections when aimed out a window. This obscures the outside view, making it useless.

If security both outdoors and indoors is a priority for you, we recommend getting the right type of camera for each area. You may be able to find an indoor camera that claims to be specifically designed to minimize the glare and reflection of a window, but be sure to read a lot of customer reviews to back the claim up.

If your goal is to protect against intruders, we recommend an outdoor camera first and foremost.

Outdoor security cameras can deter criminals and provide an early warning before someone enters your home. While indoor security cameras often help people catch a burglar after the fact, you have a better chance of sending a thief running with an outdoor camera.

And if you want to be connected to the police, you should look into security cameras that come with an option to add professional monitoring.

Contributing writer: John Carlsen

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