Blink Cameras Review

Blink cameras are for people who want high-quality video in an affordable, minimalist package. All three of Blink’s current camera models are small, powerful, and easy on your wallet. Plus, they have long battery lives that don’t require much maintenance.

The most expensive Blink camera costs less than $100 and lasts two years on a couple of AA batteries.

The best home security cameras are easy to install, affordable, and delivers a clear video picture.

• A good balance of cost to features
• Requires simple and easy installation
• Provides clear, high-quality video
• Has a great battery life

To get the most out of your money, the cameras must have features to match the price. If you want a "cheap camera", you might get 1080p picture and a small storage. But if you get a quality camera, expect to get HD video and backup storage. 

A good security camera will only require a simple and easy install. And no matter what video quality resolution your camera might have, it should still provide you with a clear picture. 

Lastly, no one wants to recharge their camera once per week. At least every other month is manageable, and every few months is even better.

Blink’s big claim to fame is its impressively long, two-year battery life. With just two AA batteries (you probably have them somewhere in your house right now), you can power a Blink camera till the mid-2020s.

With such a long battery life, you might expect Blink cameras to be, well, kind of crummy. But, amazingly, they’re not!

Despite their long battery life and low price point, Blink cameras produce high-quality video, clear audio, and customizable settings that will make it easier to watch your property. Plus, all of Blink’s cameras work with Amazon Alexa (but not much else).

All three of Blink’s cameras are a piece of cake to set up. The Blink Outdoor and the Blink Indoor don’t have any wires or plugs to worry about, so you can put them just about anywhere. And the Blink Mini uses an optional swivel stand for easy positioning.

Blink’s cameras are also uniformly lightweight and pretty small in size, so you can hide them easily if you don’t want potential thieves to spot your spy.

We’ve spent enough time talking about the Blink cameras’ battery lives and not enough talking about Blink’s low price point. Security cameras are much more affordable than they used to be, but we’d still expect to pay more than Blink asks for.

The Blink Outdoor is the highest-priced model at about $100 for the starter kit, and the Blink Mini is a wallet-dropping $35.

The Blink Outdoor is the model you want for backyard/front yard/driveway monitoring. This wire-free camera can go on a wall, ceiling, or even in a tree, so you can get the positioning just right. The Blink Outdoor comes with a swivel mount you can use to put the thing on a wall and an extension you can use to hang it from a ceiling.

Blink Outdoor cam features:

• Wire-free design
• IP65 weather rating
• -4º to 113º F (-20° to 45° C) operating temperature
• 110º field of vision
• 2-year battery life
• AA battery-powered
• Cloud storage and local storage
• 1080p HD resolution with 30 fps
• Night vision
• Two-way audio
• Adjustable motion zones
• Up to two privacy zones
• Amazon Alexa integration
• 2.4 GHz network compatibility
• 1-year limited warranty

The Blink Outdoor is really similar to Blink’s indoor camera, except for weatherproofing. While the Blink Indoor doesn’t offer much protection from the elements, the Blink Outdoor comes with an IP65 rating that will keep this little beauty safe from rain, snow, and dust.

While the Blink Outdoor’s operating temperature makes it suitable for most snowy or sunny locales, people who live in extreme environments might want to check the numbers. If your town regularly gets colder than -4º Fahrenheit or hotter than 113º Fahrenheit, then you’ll need a hardier outdoor camera.

The Blink Outdoor lets you set up custom temperature alerts, so it can tell you if the backyard is getting too hot for one little cam to take. Temperature alerts are also handy if you have a pet you need to bring inside during the heat (or cold) of the day.

Two-way audio lets you talk to people in your yard and hear what they say back to you. The Blink Outdoor’s two-way audio is decent—it doesn’t sound like a robot is speaking to you through a tin can.

But, if it’s windy outside, the Blink Outdoor’s incoming audio suffers. This camera doesn’t have noise cancellation, so you’ll hear every gust of the wind running across the microphone.

The Blink Outdoor records in 1080p HD resolution, which is high enough to show you crisp details on your neighbor’s shirt or the expressions on your kids’ faces. Its night vision, on the other hand, is not so great.

This camera has a bad habit of washing out faces in night vision mode, so you can’t tell your spouse from a burglar. The Blink Outdoor’s night vision also doesn’t stretch very far. Everything starts to look extra fuzzy when it’s more than about 10 feet away from the camera.

The Blink Indoor camera is a lot like the Blink Outdoor but without the weatherproofing. This camera is a bit cheaper than the Outdoor, but it’s meant to stay inside.

Other than that, you’ll have a very similar experience with both. Both the Blink Indoor and the Blink Outdoor record in the same resolution, offer the same app settings, and have the same battery life.

Blink Indoor camera features:

• Wire-free design
• 110º field of vision
• 2-year-battery life
• AA battery-powered
• Cloud storage and local storage
• 1080p HD resolution with 30 fps
• Night vision
• Two-way audio
• Adjustable motion zones
• Up to two privacy zones
• Amazon Alexa integration
• 2.4 GHz network compatibility
• 1-year limited warranty
• 32º to 95º F (0º to 35º C)

Just like the Blink Outdoor, the Blink Indoor has no wires to speak of. That’s especially great for an indoor camera because it means you can put it on any flat surface (or wall or ceiling) you want, without worrying about power cords.

Set the Blink Indoor on a bookshelf, mount it above a doorway, put it in a toy box—take your pick.

The Blink Indoor works with your favorite Amazon Echo device to let you view the arm and disarm the camera, as well as view the livestream. If you don’t want to pick up your phone and open the app, then your Alexa Show can give you an inside view.

View Product | View Blink Indoor Camera Review

The Blink Mini uses the same app and recording functionality as the Blink Indoor and Blink Outdoor cameras, but it comes in a smaller package, and it doesn’t need any batteries.

Blink Mini features:

• Camera removable from swivel stand
• 110º field of vision
• Cloud storage and local storage
• 1080p HD resolution with 30 fps
• Night vision
• Two-way audio
• Adjustable motion zones
• Up to two privacy zones
• Amazon Alexa integration
• 2.4 GHz network compatibility
• 1-year limited warranty
• 32º to 95º F (0º to 35º C)

The snack-sized Blink Mini camera has a power cord, which is a plus if you don’t want to change batteries. It’s also detachable from its included swivel stand, which effectively gives you a mini version of the regular Blink cameras (hence the name).

On the flip side, that power cord has some drawbacks. While the cord means you don’t have to go searching for extra AA’s, it also means you can’t put this camera anywhere you want. It has to be within reach of a power outlet, and you might have to awkwardly string the cord up a bookcase or across a room.

All of Blink’s cameras work with Amazon Alexa, but none of them work with Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit, including the Blink Mini. That’s because Amazon owns Blink, and Amazon and Google sometimes refuse to play nice.

The Blink Mini doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit either, but Apple fans are pretty used to that. But if you want a security camera that works with your Google Home, there are tons of other options out there. In the meantime, we’ll keep pleading with Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai to kiss and make up.

View Product | View Blink Mini Camera Review

Blink only has three cameras, but it does have one other device you might want: the Blink Sync Module 2.

This little square is the thing that lets you store footage on a flash drive instead of paying for Blink’s cloud-subscription plan.

The Sync Module 2 comes included if you buy a Blink “camera kit.” Without a kit, you’ll pay around $35 to buy the module separately.

All three of Blink’s cameras are pretty good. They’re cheap and discreet, they don’t use a lot of energy, and they’re easy to install. Whichever model you choose, you’ll get a decent camera for not a lot of money.

• Blink Outdoor: The Blink Outdoor camera runs for two years off two AA lithium batteries, and you don’t have to string a single wire. This Outdoor camera is weatherproof and easy to position on a wall, ceiling, or flat surface.
• Blink Indoor: The Blink Indoor is basically the Outdoor camera minus the weatherproofing. You’ll have the same HD recording, night vision, and two-way audio, but this model stays inside. Just like the Outdoor, it’s easy to install and has a two-year-long battery life.
• Blink Mini: The Blink Mini is the little sibling of the other two cameras. It has most of the same features, including 1080p resolution, night vision, and motion detection—but the Mini uses a power cord instead of batteries.

If you want a discreet, low-maintenance security camera that won’t cost an arm and a leg, then it doesn’t get much better than Blink. Blink cameras bring new meaning to the phrase “set it and forget it.”

We research, test, and compare home security cameras based on these two categories: price and features.

To decide which home security camera is the best, we looked at a balance of cost to features, innovative technology, smart home integrations, reliable video, and professional monitoring.