Best Outdoor Security Cameras

When looking for an outdoor camera, the top priority is weatherproofing. Only cameras marked explicitly as “outdoor” should go outside; indoor cameras are often cheaper but can’t withstand the weather. You'll want a camera that can handle the snow, sleet and rain, while functioning through different temperatures throughout the seasons.

After that, check for wireless capabilities. We recommend an outdoor wireless security camera system so you don't have to deal with plugs, or, worse, fish wire through your walls. In some cases, a plug-in or wired camera will be the best fit for you, but it's good to get wireless when you can.

You’ll also want a camera with decent resolution and night vision to easily see people and objects in clips. Built-in lights are also helpful.

Next, look for any features that help you detect visitors and deter intruders. We’re talking motion detection, people detection, package detection, facial recognition, two-way audio, sirens, stuff like that.

• Weatherproof builds so that your camera can actually work outdoors and withstand any type of weather
• High-resolution video of 1080p or higher so you can clearly see the footage
• Continuous video recording (also referred to as CVR.) Some cameras only take snapshots or start recording when motion is detected, CVR ensures you have audio and video recording 24/7.
• Night vision so you can see what happens in the dark—color or starlight night vision are the best
• Built-in lights to startle thieves and help with night vision
• Two-way audio/talk so you can both hear what’s happening and shout at passersby to get off your lawn
• Customizable motion zones so you can decide where on your property you want to detect motion
• Facial recognition so you know who’s frequently caught on camera

Apartment-dwellers may not benefit from outdoor cameras. You get the most bang for your buck when your outdoor camera is mounted in a private outdoor space (on porches, siding, fences, etc.).

If you decide to use an outdoor security camera with an apartment, you probably only need one camera. In contrast, if you live in a home, you’ll want an entire outdoor security camera system with multiple cameras.

Weatherproofing, typically. Not all indoor cameras can put up with rain, snow, sleet, hail, cold, and heat. All outdoor cameras can, to some degree. Check the weatherproof IP rating to know exactly how weatherproof your outdoor camera is.

Of course, just because a camera is weatherproofed doesn’t mean it needs to go outside. All outdoor cameras work indoors—but they tend to be more expensive than cameras specifically designed for indoor use.

Indoor cameras are the default, so they aren't usually labeled as such. For instance, the Blink Mini doesn't have "indoor" in its name, but the Blink Outdoor's name includes "outdoor."

Though they’re technically outdoor security cameras, doorbell cameras serve a different purpose than the cameras we’ve reviewed here. If you’re looking for a device to watch your packages and notify you of visitors, check out our review of the best video doorbell cameras.

Arlo Pro 4 is our top choice for an outdoor camera. It packs a punch with features and ease of use, and it’s wirefree.

The Arlo Pro 4 comes with color night vision, a built-in light, and 2K video quality, so you’ll never have a dark or blurry picture. 

This camera is also wirefree rather than wired, meaning, in this case, that it uses batteries and not a plug or electrical wiring. Without those constraints, you can put it anywhere you want: on your house, on a fence, in a tree, wherever.

Arlo also has advanced object detection, which means it can quickly tell you the difference between an animal, person, vehicle, and package. That might not sound that helpful, but trust us—it can save you a lot of unnecessary push notifications.

Finally, Arlo has geofencing, which allows your Pro 4 to turn itself on and off based on your location. Most folks who choose to use geofencing want their camera on only when they leave the house.

The only downside is that you have to pay to use object detection and geofencing as part of your Arlo storage subscription.

If you want your Arlo camera to record everything, not just motion-activated events, you can sign up for continuous video recording at $9.99 a month for 14 days or $19.99 for 30.

If you feel like your bank account is strained to the max, you will love the Blink Outdoor. It’s incredibly affordable. It even has a projected two-year battery life, so it will be a while before you have to buy more batteries.

Seriously, it’s rare to find a good 1080p outdoor camera that's affordable. Whenever we find one, we’re all, “Score!” especially when it’s from a critically acclaimed brand like Blink.

As a trade-off for the low price, the Blink Outdoor doesn’t have a lot of features. It’s missing the fancy motion-detection extras that you’ll see in most of our recommended cameras. But it has everything an outdoor camera really needs:

• IP65 weatherproofing
• Enhanced motion detection
• Infrared night vision
• Two-way audio

Alongside your super-affordable Blink camera, you’ll need a Blink subscription plan. Blink plans cost about as much as Arlo Secure, but they offer twice as much storage. That’s another way you can stretch your dollar with Blink.

You’ll also get an extended warranty with your Blink subscription plus 10% off other Blink equipment.

You can also use local storage with Blink through a USB flash drive.

Are you more interested in a complete security system than a single outdoor camera? We recommend the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro, a fancy high-tech camera that works with one of the fanciest, most high-tech security systems we recommend.

We've spent a lot of time with the 1080p Outdoor Camera Pro, and we prize its intruder deterrent features. On top of the typical features (night vision, two-way audio, a siren), this camera has Smart Sentry.

Smart Sentry scares off loiterers by lighting up and making a noise. But it doesn’t have facial recognition, so its alerts are indiscriminate. It might even try to scare you off when you’re working in your yard.

The camera also has a siren extender. If your alarm goes off, your camera will make noise too. It’s a handy way to scare off intruders while also alerting your neighbors.

Vivint subscription plans are expensive partly because you’re paying for home security monitoring plus camera storage. But TBH, compared to most other security systems, Vivint still costs a lot more.

If you want more than one Vivint camera, you’ll pay $5 per month for every extra camera you add to the system.

If you want to shed a little light on your yard, our favorite pick is the Arlo Essential Spotlight. It’s got a spotlight and all the fancy Arlo features at a lower price than the Arlo Pro 4.

Speaking of the Arlo Pro 4, the Arlo Essential Spotlight also has color night vision, two-way audio, and a spotlight. It's also wireless like the Arlo Pro 4. It uses the same advanced object detection to help you receive more accurate alerts and cut down on notifications. You can also use geofencing.

The main difference between the two cameras is the video quality. The Arlo Essential uses 1080p vs. 2K—but 1080p is more than adequate for viewing security camera footage in most cases.

Which may have you asking, what's the difference between 4K and 2K cameras? The higher the resolution, the sharper the videos will be. A camera with 4K resolution will offer better image quality.

A 2K camera will still get the job done, but the video quality will lack compared to 4K. Going with a 4K security camera is worth it if you can afford it, but it's not necessary unless you strongly feel you need to see potential intruders as clearly as you can. Most homes can get by just fine with 2K.

All Arlo cameras use the same plans at the same prices. (That includes the cost for upgrading to CVR.)

Is there a particular person that you’re trying to avoid? Do you just want to know who’s on your property? Sounds like you’re looking for facial recognition, and in that case, you probably want to try the Blurams Outdoor Pro.

The Blurams Outdoor Pro offers quite a few features:

• 1080p video quality
• Two-way audio
• Starlight night vision
• Motion detection
• Sound detection

It's also affordable. But the crowning jewel is the facial recognition.

Facial recognition is tricky. We have yet to test a camera with reliable, well-working facial recognition. Facial recognition software also tends to make cameras very expensive. But Blurams is a happy medium—if you don’t get what you need from your software, at least you spent only a modest sum (for an outdoor camera).

Blurams facial recognition will keep track of faces it sees more than once and allow you to put identifying names on them. This works best with people you know, but if strangers show up repeatedly on your camera feed, you can always assign them names. Like, “Bearded man with tattoos,” “Woman in pink tracksuit,” “Kid who stole all the candy from my Halloween bowl.”

The Outdoor Pro has local storage and 24 hours’ free cloud storage. But if you want the convenience of more cloud storage (and most people do), you’ll need to sign up for a Blurams subscription.

Blurams subscriptions are flexible—you can sign up for as few as three days’ storage and as many as 30. Most folks will want more storage, not less, but some choose to only opt into storage, say, when they’re on vacation.

We considered 51 different cameras when making this list. Here are a few that didn’t make the top five but that we still wanted to spotlight (ba dum ching! Get it? Like spotlight camera?):

• Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera at $249.99: If you want something extra bright, a floodlight cam ought to do the trick! You can even adjust the brightness up to 3000 lumens.
• Arlo Ultra 2 at $299.99: If you love the Arlo brand and want the ultimate experience it has to offer, try the crisp 4K vision of the Arlo Ultra 2. It even has a noise-canceling feature to block distracting background sounds.
• Eve Outdoor Cam at $249.95: Eve is the first camera brand designed exclusively for Apple fans. This camera uses Apple HomeKit Secure Video and all its footage is stored with iCloud+.
• Logitech Circle View at $159.95: The Circle View has been on and off our best camera lists for a while. It has an awesome tilt feature, and the latest version, like Eve, works with HomeKit and iCloud+.
• Ring Spotlight Cam Pro at $229.99: This camera is especially good for Ring brand evangelists. It's an updated version of a popular camera with all-improved audio capabilities.
• Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 at $80.83: Wyze wouldn’t you consider Wyze?! This incredibly affordable outdoor security camera packs a real punch with its six-month battery and starlight night vision.
• Wyze Cam v3 Pro at $59.00: If you don’t mind a wired camera, you can get another affordable Wyze option. The 2K video quality and spotlight set it apart from its predecessors.

We’ve previously featured Google Nest Cameras (like the Google Nest Cam and Nest Cam with Floodlight) as some of our best outdoor security cameras. But this time, we felt like they weren’t the best options.

Here’s why. Google Nest Cams have low weatherproof ratings: IP54 versus the typical IP6-something. Not having high weatherproofing kind of kills the purpose of having an outdoor camera security system.

And if that’s not enough, Google came right out and said that it can’t guarantee its cameras will work in super-cold weather. With that knowledge, we don't feel comfortable recommending Google Nest cameras for outdoor use. 

We weren’t joking when we said we researched 51 cameras before picking our top five. It sounds like a lot of work because it is, but we’re happy to do it so you don’t have to. Altogether, we spent about seven hours on camera comparison alone.

When comparing cameras, we consider multiple factors, such as:

• Price
• Features
• Subscription costs
• Power source
• Performance

And we don’t just read about the products we pick. Whenever possible, we spend several hours with the cameras we review. We test for video and audio quality, mess with the app and settings, critique user interface and ease of use, and take note of how each camera makes our lives easier and better (or harder and worse, if that’s the way things go).

For this review specifically, we looked for features that would make a camera suitable for easy outdoor use, including weatherproofing, installation options, night vision, and spotlights.