There are a lot of security cameras out there today, including video doorbells, outdoor cameras and advanced options like facial recognition. Indoor security cameras keep watch when you’re away, looking after your valuables — or just keeping tabs on a mischievous pet.
They range in price from 20 bucks up to several hundreds of dollars and offer a variety of features and specs. I’ve highlighted three of my favorite models below to help guide your decision for the best indoor security camera for your needs.
Wyze
In a sea of costly security cameras, the $20 Wyze Cam v3 offers a killer value. Couple that with its straightforward app, easy installation and solid performance — and this excellent home security camera is our favorite indoor cam (and it’s weatherproof so you can use it outside too).
The thing that sets this security camera apart even more is its free two-week cloud storage and built-in microSD card slot for local storage. You have to buy a microSD card separately, but that’s standard for most cams with local storage. This smart camera supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and has a motion-detection zone feature.
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The $200 Netatmo Smart Indoor Camera, previously called the Netatmo Welcome, is one of the few indoor security cameras that works with HomeKit Secure Video. HomeKit Secure Video is a service that works with the iOS-only Home app. It offers 10 days of free event-based video history, stored in iCloud.
Few security camera companies offer free cloud storage anymore (ahem, Arlo) — and even fewer offer 10 full days of free cloud storage. Wyze is an exception with this indoor security camera’s two weeks of free storage, which is one reason why it’s my current favorite indoor cam.
The Smart Indoor Camera from Netatmo has 1080p HD live streaming, a 130-degree field of view, night vision and local storage with an included microSD card. This security camera also has facial recognition capabilities when you create a database of friends and family members. In addition to working with HomeKit, the Smart Indoor Camera also supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.
Read more: Our favorite DIY home security systems of 2020
Chris Monroe/CNET
At $299, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is definitely pricey for a security camera. But it also happens to have a ton of high-end features with a lot of appeal. First, it has 1080p HD live streaming, free person alerts and 4K image sensor. That 4K image sensor allows for a feature called “Supersight” that zooms in on a person and tracks them within the camera’s field of view.
If you pay for a Nest Aware subscription, which starts at $5 per month, you get access to the facial recognition feature. With facial recognition, you can create a database of friends and family in the app and then receive custom alerts when the camera recognizes “Dave” or “Molly.”
The Nest Cam IQ Indoor also has a built-in Google Assistant speaker for general or smart-home-specific voice commands.
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The Nest Cam IQ brings 4K for a high price
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