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Want to check on what the kids, pets, and babysitter are doing while you're away? With an indoor security camera, you can keep an eye on what's happening inside your home. And, if an intruder enters your empty home, you'll know right away
If that sounds appealing to you, read on for our indoor camera recommendations.
Model | Price | Video quality | Two-way audio | Learn more |
$68.99 | 1080p |  Yes | View on Amazon | |
$169.00 | 1080p | Yes
| View on Amazon | |
$369.99(pack of 2 cameras) | 1440p | Yes
| View on Amazon | |
$199.99 | 1080p | Yes | View on Amazon | |
$39.99 | 1080p | Yes | View on Amazon |
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 02/15/2023 2:45 MST) Full disclaimer
Want a security camera for less than $70? The Wyze Cam Pan not only fits the bill but also has features usually found in more expensive offerings.
This camera has all the basics (1080p, night vision, two-way audio, motion detection) plus some high-end features (person detection, sound detection, zoom).
If you have just one camera but multiple rooms in your house, sound detection could be important. When the camera can hear something but not see it, it will still alert you.
As the name suggests, the defining feature of the Wyze Cam Pan is its ability to pan and tilt. The camera can twist to capture its surroundings. That gives it a 360º horizontal view—perfect for keeping an eye on an active kid or pet.
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 08/24/2022 2:45 MST)
The camera also has a year of limited warranty. And you have your pick of cloud or local storage.
Finally, the Wyze Cam Pan has most major smart home integrations. (Apparently, it only works with Google Assistant through specific devices, though.)
Multiple accounts can use the same camera, making the Wyze a great fit for a home with a family or other multiple residents.
If you choose local video storage, you’ll need a microSD card. You can even buy a card straight from Wyze for $9.99 or in a bundle with the camera.
If you prefer cloud storage over local—which many people do—you get 14 days of free rolling storage. You can pay a small fee to upgrade your service, but you won’t get more storage days. Instead, you’ll get longer video captures when motion is detected.
Data effective 02/15/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Note that the people, package, vehicle, and pet detection feature isn’t available without the paid service.
Even when paying a monthly or annual fee, this camera is a steal of a deal. You can get a few Wyze Cams and pay for a subscription plan for each of them and still come under the initial cost of a more expensive camera.
Like a lot of indoor cameras, this one is plug-in only.
We understand why manufacturers make that decision. Plugs are much more readily available indoors than out. But sometimes, you just want to place a camera in a place that a plug can’t reach. It’s a real letdown when you can’t.
Also, this camera has no siren and no light. Again, we get that these features are more prevalent on outdoor cameras. But we’d like to see them on indoor cameras more often, just to give homeowners more security.
“All-in-one” isn’t just a name. The Canary All-in-One Indoor really has almost everything you could want in an indoor camera.
The Canary doesn’t skimp on features typically found in outdoor cameras, like a light and a siren.
It also has temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors so you know the exact conditions of your home. That makes it easy to figure out if you’re sniffly because you’re getting sick or because your house needs some environmental tweaks.
With Canary, you’ll also get integration with two of the top smart assistants.
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 02/15/2023 2:45 MST)
This camera doesn’t have a local storage option.
Data effective 02/15/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Apart from the storage upgrades, using the Premium Service gets you full-length motion-activated recordings instead of short clips. It also activates the two-way talk feature and doubles the length of your limited warranty.
Keep in mind that the Canary is a middling price for an indoor security camera, but signing up for the upgraded service quickly increases that price.
Your Arlo Pro 3 can connect with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and the IFTTT smart home platform. That makes it one of the best if not the best indoor camera for compatibility.
No matter how you’ve set up your smart home, your Arlo Pro 3 is likely to connect. If you don’t have an Amazon, Google, or Apple setup, there’s a good chance that you can still link everything together with IFTTT.
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 02/15/2023 2:45 MST)
The Arlo Pro 3 favors its users with colored night vision, zoom, a light, and a siren. Plus it’s battery-charged, so you aren’t as limited in its placement as you are with other indoor cameras.
It’s also rated for outdoor use, meaning that you can move it outside if you decide that’s a better place for it.
An Arlo Pro 3 comes with local storage capabilities if you want to use an SD card. Or you can always try the cloud storage option. But after your free three months expire, you do have to pay.
Data effective 02/15/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Some Arlo features aren’t available unless you have a paid subscription. For instance, you have to pay to get person and package detection.
We don’t love the price tag on the Arlo Pro 3, especially since you have to pay even more to access all your features. You also must get an Arlo base station or Smart Hub if you want to use the local storage.
This one doesn’t pan and tilt, either, which means its range is limited compared to the Wyze Cam Pan.
If you’re going to have a camera inside your house with your framed prints and floral chintz curtains, why shouldn’t it look nice? With Netatmo, you get the looks and neat functions that set it apart from other indoor cameras.
This camera is stunning. Its sleek, bronzed exterior makes it look more like a coveted award than a security camera. It’s good security and a good knickknack.
The Netatmo has motion detection, which is a basic expectation, and sound detection, which is nice to have in an indoor camera. But it also has a unique feature that rarely pops up: facial recognition. Your camera will track the home’s regular residents and let you know if someone unfamiliar appears.
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 02/15/2023 2:45 MST)
Most cameras are compatible with Alexa, or Google, or both. The Netatmo is one of the few that works with Apple HomeKit’s Siri.
Finally, the Netatmo has a few features that are normally found in a full security suite. It listens for smoke and CO detectors and then lets you know when it goes off. It’s also compatible with Netatmo sensors. The camera app will give you push notifications when your doors and windows open and close.
At this time, Netatmo doesn’t offer cloud storage. Instead, your videos save to a microSD card (included).
If you want your saved videos more easily accessible, you can use an FTP server or Dropbox account as added storage.¹
The Netatmo Smart Indoor Camera doesn’t have two-way audio, which is a pretty standard feature. And it doesn’t have some nice-to-haves, like pan and tilt, zoom, and person detection.
This inexpensive dome camera tells you when your little one is crying, making it a possible baby monitor. But even if you don’t have a baby, this is a good deal for the price.
The YI Dome is cheap and pretty basic, but it has a few surprising features at the low cost. It has pan and tilt, sound detection, and zoom—features lots of cameras don’t have.
This camera also has a couple of pluses we rarely see. For one thing, it has a panoramic photo capture. And it can sense a baby’s cry. This potentially makes the YI Dome Camera a good baby monitor as well as a security camera.
Amazon.com List Prices (as of 02/15/2023 2:45 MST)
Like many manufacturers, YI provides the choice of local or cloud storage to camera users.
Data effective 02/15/2023. Offers are subject to change.
With YI, you don’t get a discount if you opt to pay annually. Still, paying all at once can be more convenient if you choose to go that route.
YI also owns Kami. Sometimes you’ll see the names used in connection or interchangeably.
With YI, it’s the usual complaints. This indoor camera has no light, siren, or batteries. And there’s no option for person detection, even with the paid subscription service.
We like all five of the cameras we spoke of in this review, just for different reasons. As a reminder, here’s what we think.
Wyze Cam Pan: Best value—Wyze doesn’t cost much even though it has pan and tilt, zoom, and three kinds of detection.
Canary All-in-One Indoor: Best features—Canary helps hone your inside space by measuring the quality of your home’s environment.
Arlo Pro 3: Best compatibility—Arlo connects with four major smart home hubs and protocols.
Netatmo Smart Indoor Camera: Best look—This stunning Netatmo camera won’t stick out in your beautifully decorated home.
YI Dome Camera 1080p: Doubles as baby monitor—The YI will sense a baby’s cry and send a notification to your phone.
If you’d like a camera manufactured by a home security company, we suggest checking out the best home security. We can also help if you’re leaning towards an outdoor camera.
Functionwise, an outdoor security camera is usually used to deter burglars and other intruders. An indoor security camera is often used to watch kids or pets when the homeowner is gone.
Featurewise, outdoor security cameras are rated for weather resistance. They also tend to have more security-focused features, like lights, sirens, and package detection.
Indoor security cameras typically aren’t rated for outdoor use, and the features are usually more basic.
Legally, in most places in the United States, you can have a hidden camera in your house. But you can’t record audio and don’t put the camera in place with a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Like the bathroom, for instance.²
Check your state’s laws to know the exact legal limitations for your location.
Unless the camera is part of a company’s smart home suite, there’s no guarantee that your smart indoor security camera will work with your security system.
You might be able to connect them both to a hub or assistant like the Amazon Echo. But they likely won’t communicate directly with each other.
Yes. Although neither the Google Nest Cam Indoor nor Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor made the cut this time, they’re both good indoor cameras.
Nest Cams have some of the leading cameras and advanced features like facial recognition. But you need to get a Nest Aware subscription to take full advantage of a Nest camera.
There are plenty of indoor security cameras that you can use without a subscription. Some features you can use without a subscription for most cameras include push notifications, live video streaming and two-way audio. You'll miss out on additional services like professional monitoring without a subscription plan.
Companies like Arlo, Ring, and Nest generally require monthly fees for cloud and security features. But brands like Reolink and Eufy don't require a subscription.
Sources
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