Best Wireless Security Cameras of 2023

We love the convenience and flexibility of wireless home security cameras, and the Reolink Argus 3 Pro holds onto its post as the top pick around these parts. Reolink sports 2K video quality, a bright spotlight, and a wire-free design—features it shares with Arlo Pro 4, our previous winner. But Reolink offers a smaller price tag.

Although Arlo offers more advanced features like motion zones and better smart home compatibility, Reolink offers local storage, a longer warranty, and a very affordable solar panel add-on. These small improvements make a huge difference when the best wireless security cameras are so similar.

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

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We highly recommend the Reolink Argus 3 Pro over the normal Reolink Argus 3. Its 2K video resolution, larger battery, and support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi give the Arlo Pro 4 a run for its money. This camera uses a rechargeable battery or solar power, so you have a lot of flexibility for camera placement. Still, it lacks a removable battery like Arlo Pro 4 and Ring Stick Up Cam—you can't quickly swap in a spare.

It outlasted Arlo Pro 4 in long-term battery tests, which is another notch in Reolink's belt. The local storage helps reduce the camera's Wi-Fi usage (which chews through batteries) for better performance overall. This contrasts with our experience of batteries draining fairly quickly if you record or view video often without a solar panel accessory. Our test wasn't exactly taxing on the cameras, so you can expect to drain the battery in a month or two under normal conditions.

During our tests, we noticed that this camera lacks motion zones and has a narrower field of view (122º) than average, but it's still one of the best choices for most folks. It even boasts compatibility with smart home platforms like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Its starlight night vision gives you clear images up to 33 feet without extra ambient light. Overall we found setup easy, and the camera outperformed our expectations, so we're enormous fans of Reolink.

Read our in-depth review of the Reolink Argus 3 Pro to learn more.

• Reolink Cameras Review
• YouTube: Reolink Argus 3 Pro Review

Wyze Cam v3's night vision is noteworthy because it uses a starlight sensor with two types of infrared LEDs to produce color video at night. This is also one of the first Wyze cameras to record videos at 20 frames per second (fps) during the day, which gives it smoother video playback and live viewing than Wyze's older cameras.

We're 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 full-length video clips and is great for folks who want 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.

A window mount, spotlight kit, and floodlight mount are three compelling accessories for the v3. The window mount improves recording video through a window—typically a no-no with indoor cameras. The LED spotlight kit brings Wyze Cam v3 closer to Arlo Pro 4 in nighttime functionality, while the floodlight camera mount offers the best lighting experience for this cam.

One of the only things we don't like is that you need a power cord, which limits placement options. To make matters worse, outdoor operation requires a special cord.

See footage in our full Wyze Cam v3 review.

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The Arlo Pro 4 is an excellent 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.

It's a breeze to set up, thanks to a helpful tutorial in the Arlo app. 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). The price plays a major role in the Reolink Argus 3 Pro claiming the top spot on our list—something Arlo held for many years.

Read our full Arlo Pro 4 review to learn more.

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• YouTube: ​​A Quick Look at the Arlo Pro 4 Wireless Security Camera

This is Google's first battery-powered security camera, and we're pleased to say its battery holds up well in tests. Still, Google says the battery won't charge in freezing temperatures, so you may need to bring it inside to warm up during the winter charging sessions. This isn't unique to Google—many wireless outdoor cameras like Arlo and Reolink have similar limitations.

There's even free cloud storage now, making Nest a lot more viable for folks on a budget. It stores only three hours of video clips, but that's better than Arlo and Ring's complete lack of free storage. As a bonus, built-in video storage keeps the camera recording up to a week's worth of clips when the internet drops.

Among the smart alerts you can use for free are person, animal, and vehicle detection, along with motion zones. Using so many features without a monthly subscription is a big improvement. You still need to pay to use the facial recognition, but we're not as excited about that. We especially like that you don't need to pay a separate fee for each IP camera in your home.

Check out our full Nest Cam Battery review for more info.

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Eufy comes with a microSD card slot for local video storage—just like Wyze. This means you don't pay anything after buying a memory card. Eufy has a paid cloud storage plan, but it doesn't really add any features to the camera beyond storing your video remotely, making the added features and discounts of Nest, Arlo, Ring, and Wyze more appealing.

It's one of the best options for smart home compatibility compared to Arlo, our smart home pick. We love that it's compatible with Apple HomeKit, which is less common than the Google Home and Alexa options available on most home security cams. (Eufy also works with those two platforms.)

It's indoor-only, making it one of few cameras on our lineup without weatherproofing to watch your yard. There's also no battery power option for this model, though Eufy makes some excellent battery-powered models like the EufyCam 3.

Overall, we think that the Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24 is worth it for Apple HomeKit fans or if you want a budget indoor camera with outstanding video quality.

Learn more in our Eufy cameras review.

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There are so many wireless home security cameras to choose from—we barely scratched the surface of what kinds of cameras are out there. Still, the Reolink Argus 3 Pro is a standout option with 100% wire-free operation, local storage, included solar panel, and impressive video quality.

It's not a perfect home security camera, especially since it lacks the motion zones you can find on most competitors, but it's a refreshing change from cloud-centric brands like Arlo and Ring.

See our list of frequently asked questions below for more information about residential security cameras. 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.

• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Cheap Security Cameras under $50
• Best Outdoor Security Cameras
• Best Solar-Powered Security Cameras
• ​​Best Multi-Camera Security Systems
• Best Weatherproof Security Cameras

Contributing writers: Rebecca Edwards, Alina Bradford

Battery-powered cameras that fall entirely into the wire-free category, like Reolink and Arlo, got extra credit when it came to ranking the best home security cameras this year. But we couldn't dismiss high-quality Wi-Fi cameras from Wyze and Eufy just because of a compulsory power cord.

Find out more about how we rank and review products in our full methodology.

We cover a lot of security cameras on SafeWise, so it's impossible to talk about everything in a single article. Here's where you can find our reviews of other popular security camera brands: