Best Home Security Cameras of 2024

Our Experience with SimpliSafe Security Cameras

Camera Options

SimpliSafe doesn’t offer dozens of options like our 2nd (Lorex) and 3rd (Ring) picks do. Most homeowners don’t need that many choices. They need reliable indoor and outdoor cameras with features that make it easy to safeguard their homes. SimpliSafe fits the bill.

Inside, you can go with either a wired camera or the new wireless model. Out-of-doors, the SimpliSafe wireless outdoor camera runs on a rechargeable battery, so you never have to worry about tracking down an outside outlet or running an extension cord from inside.

A SimpliSafe indoor SimpliCam

You also have options in terms of how you use these cameras. SimpliSafe began life as a DIY monitoring company, and it’s still committed to giving homeowners who want to self-monitor excellent features like real-time alerts and live video feeds. More recently, though, the company has been revolutionizing professional monitoring. Sign up for Active Guard Outdoor Protection, and professional monitors protect the entire perimeter of your home 24/7. Here’s how that feature worked in our testing:

1. The camera detected movement
2. It used A.I. to verify it was human movement
3. The camera alerted SimpliSafe and opened a live video and two-way audio link
4. A security professional assessed the situation (and would use two-way talk to attempt to scare away a burglar if there were a break-in in progress)
5. The agent can also report the incident to law enforcement, providing all relevant information

The only other brand we tested that offered live monitoring was Ring. The SimpliSafe Fast Protect plan costs around $10 per month more than Ring’s monitoring plan, but SimpliSafe’s professional monitors can actually see what’s happening in your home and respond to it. We’d say that’s well worth $10 more each month. LiveGuard uses video verification to ensure emergency personnel are on site fast, and monitoring personnel are specially trained to try and drive burglars away themselves in the meantime.

You do need one of the new Wireless Indoor Cams to take advantage of all LiveGuard features. The SimpliCam allows for professional live video monitoring, including video verification, but it doesn’t include an audio link.

>> Read More: SimpliCam Hands-On Test and Review

Equipment and Subscription Costs

You can purchase a Wired Indoor Camera from SimpliSafe for just $99. That’s comparable with brands like Ring and even comes close to Arlo cameras we’ve reviewed. Bear in mind, though, that this camera doesn’t include features like two-way audio and video verification and its field of view is just 120 degrees. If you want extras like 10x video zoom and HD infrared night vision, you’ll want to invest in the SimpliSafe Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera or their Outdoor Camera. Those are priced a bit higher.

Here’s a complete breakdown of SimpliSafe’s three camera offerings.

SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera on Garage

As for subscriptions, SimpliSafe actually allows you to monitor any cameras yourself for free. You get real-time alerts and access to live footage. If you’re looking to save footage, though, you’ll have to invest in a cloud storage plan, which costs $9.99 per month. Or, take our advice, and sign up for professional monitoring. SimpliSafe’s unique Fast Protect plan with Live Guard Protection and video verification costs just $30 per month.

Again, here are the details:

Home Security Compatibility

We were intrigued by the fact that SimpliSafe cameras come from a well-established security system brand, unlike options like Lorex and Swann that solely offer security cameras. But that aspect proved to be a double-edged sword.

There are serious advantages to using a camera as part of a home security system, and SimpliSafe isn’t just any system. It’s one of our top-rated security systems. That means we didn’t just have video feeds. We had a network of sensors and detectors that created a net of security around our home. Components worked in sync to keep us more protected than cameras alone.

SimpliSafe’s Outdoor Camera video on the app

On the other hand, you can certainly save money with systems that let you buy cameras and don’t require you buy sensors and hubs. We should point out that you can use the SimpliCam as a standalone system with SimpliSafe’s Smart Alarm service. If you’re interested in an outdoor camera, though, you’re sort of locked into Live Guard Protection and that means you have to buy an entire system.

Still, it was well worth it. SimpliSafe’s security system is a great pick for home security. When you supplement it with SimpliSafe cameras – our top picks overall – you get a pretty impressive security outfit for your home.

Our Experience with Lorex Security Cameras

Camera Options

It’s no easy task picking a security camera from Lorex. You don’t just have to decide between indoor and outdoor models. You have dozens of camera options – bullet cameras and dome cameras; cameras that utilize DVR recording, and cameras that include onboard recording options; wired cameras, wireless cameras, and even PoE cameras. It’s always good to have options, but there’s such a thing as too much choice sometimes.

Lorex cameras

We chose from Lorex’s Fusion Collection, and we weren’t disappointed. The available NVR system from that line works with both wired and wireless cameras, which gave us more versatility in how we set up our system. We chose one wireless outdoor camera and one wireless indoor camera, but the Fusion line has lots of additional options. You can read more about our experience in our Lorex review, but here’s a quick specs highlight:

Later on, we also purchased two Lorex 4K outdoor cameras. Those made our list of the best 4K cameras because they came with a unique feature called Smart Deterrence, which highlights Lorex’s ability to deter burglars. Here’s how it worked:

1. Motion detection and person detection combined to detect human movement
2. Once the camera verified there was someone approaching, it turned on its built-in spotlights to warn the intruder
3. The camera sent an alert to our phone
4. When we opened the Lorex app, we had the option to trigger the built-in siren. We could also customize the siren’s volume, intensity, and tone depending on the situation.

You’ll still need to trigger the siren manually. That’s why we think Lorex’s Smart Deterrence isn’t as great as SimpliSafe’s Live Guard Protection. It’s just not as proactive at deterring crime as SimpliSafe. But if you’re looking for security cameras that can deter criminals, Lorex is definitely a better pick than most other camera options.

Motion Events on the Lorex app

Equipment and Subscription Cost

It’s hard to talk about Lorex prices since there’s such an incredible variety of camera options to choose from. For the most part, though, most models cost somewhere between $80 and $150.That said, we’ve found a few cameras under $50 on the Lorex site, like the $39.99 Smart Wi-Fi Indoor Camera. That’s right down there with the affordable Blink Mini we tested ($35) and most of Wyze’s low-cost cameras ($20-$30). At the other end of the spectrum, Lorex’s new 4K Dual Lens Wi-Fi cameras cost in the neighborhood of $200, and the company offers more expensive models as well.

We recommend buying a Lorex package instead of going a la carte. Package deals are cheaper. They include an NVR and at least two cameras, usually starting at around $300. Here are a couple of examples:

Keep in mind that whatever you pay for your Lorex camera, you won’t have to worry about any additional costs. Installation is entirely DIY. So is monitoring. That’ll save money for sure, but we always recommend professional monitoring, and that’s just not an option with Lorex. The good news is, Lorex makes it easy to record video which takes some of the sting out of self-monitoring. Many cameras rely on micro-SD storage. Lorex also offers DVR and NVR storage options. Or, for just $3 a month, you can get cloud storage.

Home Security Compatibility

Unlike SimpliSafe and Ring that both offer security systems, Lorex is solely focused on cameras. But that doesn’t mean you can’t integrate it with other security equipment you own. Some Lorex NVRs – particularly those under the Fusion Collection – are compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. That means you’ll be able to control them with your voice.

Fortunately, our NVR was compatible with Alexa, so we got to test it with our Echo Show 8. Here’s a list of commands we tested:

• “Talk to the front porch”: Initiated a two-way audio link between our Echo Show 8 and the wireless outdoor camera.
• “Turn off front porch light”: Turned off the spotlight after Smart Deterrence was triggered.
• “Show me the backyard”: Streamed live footage from the 4K camera in our backyard on our Echo Show 8’s screen. (The video quality was fuzzy due to our Echo Show 8’s screen resolution – 1280*800 pixels.)

We’d like to note that while those voice commands worked the majority of the time, they didn’t always fire up instantaneously. There was about a five- to 10-second delay between us giving the command and Alexa responding. So while we’re thrilled that Lorex works with smart home platforms, we’re not big fans of how well those integrations work.

Our Experience with Ring Security Cameras

Camera Options

Ring’s Spotlight Cam, Stick Up Cam, and Indoor Cam

In contrast to Lorex cameras, the Ring security cameras we tested were a cinch to set up and even easier to use. All of them connected via Wi-Fi and except the Indoor Cam, all came with different power options.

Ring doesn’t offer 2K and 4K cameras like Lorex does. The truth is, it doesn’t need to. Ring cameras provide 1080p HD resolution and HDR processing that removes glare. That made it easy enough to capture everything from the neighbor’s dog nosing around our front porch to the license plate on the Dodge Charger that insists on speeding through our quiet neighborhood.

All four of the Ring cameras we reviewed came with two-way audio, though Ring doesn’t offer the sort of live guard protection available from SimpliSafe. These cameras compensate with built-in sirens you can trigger manually using the Ring app. You can also count us fans of Ring’s Spotlight and Floodlight Cams, both of which provide enough light to make even the bravest burglar reconsider their plans.

Ring Spotlight Cam Video Quality

Compared to SimpliSafe’s Live Guard Protection feature, though, Ring isn’t as proactive in deterring crime. The Spotlight Cam and Floodlight Cam have motion-activated lights, but none of Ring’s cameras trigger the available siren. The only way to do that is to pull up the Ring app on your mobile device and activate it manually. That’s maybe not the best setup in a crisis.

Equipment and Subscription Cost

Overall, we’d put Ring’s equipment pricing pretty much in the middle of the industry – not overly pricey, but not cheap either. Ultimately, though, Ring pricing is really dependent on just what kind of camera you’re looking for. On the one hand, you can get a very basic Ring Indoor Cam for just $59.00. That’s $40 cheaper than SimpliSafe Wired Indoor Camera. On the other hand, a Floodlight Cam from Ring can run you as much as $269.99. Here’s a general overview:

Ring Floodlight

One of the nice things about Ring is that you get what you pay for. You can get most camera models for a competitive price, but if you want to add extras like solar power, you’re going to pay a more premium price.
As for monitoring options, Ring – like SimpliSafe – lets you choose between self-monitoring and professional monitoring. Complete self-monitoring, without recording, won’t cost you a dime. Cloud storage for a single camera costs $5 a month, or you can store footage from an unlimited number of cameras for $10 a month. Ring’s professional monitoring is a full $10 cheaper per month than SimpliSafe’s, $12 per month if you sign up for a year-long subscription. Keep in mind, though, that these two companies offer different features with their monitoring plans.

Home Security Compatibility

You should know, though, that Ring’s basic professional monitoring plan doesn’t include video verification the way SimpliSafe’s Live Guard Protection does. Monitors don’t have eyes on your property under this plan. That means the system is prone to more false alerts. At the same time, it can take longer to get emergency personnel to your home since Ring calls you to verify there’s a true emergency.

If you want video monitoring with Ring, you have to sign up for an additional subscription to Virtual Security Guard. Be prepared for sticker shock, though. That service costs $99 a month, some three times what SimpliSafe charges.

And you can’t just buy a camera and sign up. Here’s what you need to activate the plan:

• A Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro security system
• At least one compatible Ring security camera (most are compatible)
• A Ring Protect Pro professional monitoring subscription ($20 per month)
• A Virtual Security Guard subscription ($99 per month)

That’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of money. Suffice to say that if you’re in the market for live professional camera monitoring, SimpliSafe is definitely the better option. If you don’t mind monitoring your own cameras, though, or you’re interested in professional monitoring that doesn’t rely on video feeds, Ring makes for an excellent option.