9 Best Home Security Cameras (2024): Home and Room

The C120 can stream and record video up to 2K resolution, supports two-way audio (slightly slower), and has a slot for up to 512-GB microSD cards to store recordings locally. This affordable security camera has a star detector that provides excellent night vision, smart detection (people, pets, and vehicles) without registration, and IP66 ratingwhich means you can also use it outdoors (if you can run the power cord). The base is easy to mount on the wall, can be placed on a shelf, and is magnetic. There is no need to spend more than this to look at a door or another room in your home.

Motion detection is reliable, and you can also adjust the focus and adjust the notifications you receive. The video is sharp, but the framerate is limited to 20fps, so fast-moving stories sometimes look blurry. You can set up zones and privacy in the Tapo app, and there’s AI detection to detect people, pets, cars, and even the sound of a baby crying. Unfortunately, rich notifications, including snapshots, are included with a Tapo Care subscription, as well as 30 days of cloud storage for photos, and are expensive at $3.50 per month for one camera or $12 per month for up to 10 cameras. There’s no HomeKit or IFTTT support, but it works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, although it was slow to stream on my Nest Hub. This camera also supports the open source Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

If your budget is tight, that is It turned out to be C110 ($16) it’s cheap at least a little (low frame rate, no pet or car, microSD limited to 256 GB).