The Best Smart Indoor Security Cameras of 2021

Cync is the newly-rebranded smart home arm from GE Lighting. As part of the launch, Cync put out several new smart home devices including the Cync Indoor Smart Camera. The 1080p camera records clear video and there was no delay when we tested out the camera’s two-way talk capabilities. Like most smart security cameras, you can use Alexa or Google Assistant to stream the live feed to an Amazon Echo or Nest smart display, but you can’t communicate with the camera using either smart display (and it is not compatible with Apple HomeKit).

We like the built-in camera shutter for added privacy,but you can't toggle the shield from the app—you have to physically move the shutter, which really decreases the privacy value of the camera if you have it mounted in a hard-to-reach spot. However, the camera is quick to detect motion and alerts you immediately to events.

The camera comes with a 30-day free trial to Cam Cync, a paid subscription that gets you two weeks of unlimited clip storage. With the $3 monthly plan, you can also filter clips by motion, sound, or people, and download clips to share with friends and family as well. Account security features like end-to-end encryption for cloud storage and two-factor authentication are available with the Cync app. Local storage is also available using the camera’s microSD card slot.

During our testing, the companion app ran slower on iOS than Android, but once everything loaded it was easy to access all the camera has to offer. The slow app is a bit of a nuisance and we wish the shutter could be controlled remotely, but overall the camera performs well, offers features to keep your account secure, and integrates nicely with the Cync smart home ecosystem.

The Eufy Indoor Security Camera is a slick, modern-looking option that features 2K resolution and runs off of AC power. It also utilizes AI to detect people, animals, cars, or even a crying baby. Its motion detector is quite accurate, and since the camera itself is simple to install, you can put it just about anywhere in your home.

If it's easier for you to automate home security recordings, the camera can be set up with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. This way you can set up motion detection alerts with event-triggered monitoring that’s set off with special activity zones. For example, if something walks into said zone, your camera will send you an alert.

Eufy experienced a privacy breach that impacted 712 users in May. Since then, the company says it has upgraded its network architecture and upgraded it’s servers. Additionally, Eufy has added two-factor authentication, an important security feature, to the Eufy Security app.

The camera is easy to set up, with 2K quality video footage and the option to automatically issue commands. Unfortunately, the camera is a bit larger than most others on the market, and despite how competent the camera can be in some areas, the AI often has issues recognizing and differentiating between people or other types of motion. We also experienced multiple delays when using the app. If the camera suffered from less lag, it would be a much easier choice to recommend.

Swann is a security retailer that takes its hardware seriously. The company doesn't flaunt the same bells and whistles as other manufacturers, and as such you get a no-frills camera with the Swann Enforcer. It performs most of its duties well, and you can certainly count on it to take on the role of sole security system in your home.

The Enforcer camera itself looks great, and it packs an ear-piercing alarm to help deter intruders from coming into your home. You pay no monthly fees to keep the camera live, and you can even use it outside, thanks to weatherproofing and thermal sensors. Though there are no subscriptions, you can still count on 24/7 recording with wireless support via the cloud or local storage as well as night vision.

Unfortunately, though, the Swann Enforcer lacks a zoom feature. It's self-monitored (there is no 24/7 monitoring unless you watch it yourself), and we experienced instances when it failed to respond to motion or heat, which is a big demerit for a security system. Warm objects like people or cars should trip the Enforcer's lights, though it isn't meant to detect flames or anything of that nature. Still, detecting humans by way of warmth is a very interesting feature.
With all that in mind, it's good for a basic system, but you might want to opt for something with a more robust feature set, depending on your needs.

The Canary Pro is a stout home security camera that has an impressive 147-degree field of view and records in standard 1080p HD video. Overall, the setup is fairly simple, though creating your account and enabling two-factor authentication cannot be done from the app and must be done from a web browser instead. We were able to get the camera connected to Amazon Alexa and pull up a live stream on an Echo Show smart display, but we could not get it to integrate with Google Home. The 1080p video is clear both day and night, but we found the audio to be muffled and hard to understand.

A Canary Premium Subscription ($10/month) is required to access features like your 30-day video history (Canary offers end-to-end video encryption and encrypted cloud storage), two-way talk, and intelligent alerts like person detection. It’s one of the more expensive plans in our guide, but to help ease the cost, a free, one-year trial is included with your purchase, adding some extra value.

In addition to video, the camera can also keep tabs on the air quality inside of your home, sending alerts when the air quality is bad or the humidity is too high. There’s also a built-in siren and access to emergency services, giving this camera more of a DIY home security system feel than most indoor cameras.

If you need extra features like humidity and air quality monitoring, plus the capability to check-in and see what’s going on at home, the Canary Pro is worth a look.

If you need a simplistic indoor camera, the Alexa-only Blink Mini is a worthy contender. It doesn’t offer a continuous live stream or web viewing, but it reliably tracks motion and you can see all events in the Blink app. It lacks preview alerts, a convenient feature that allows you to quickly view the motion event without opening the companion app. It also doesn’t alert you to different types of motion events, like people or animals. The push notifications are sent as general motion alerts, so you have to open up the app for a better look at what’s going on.

On the upside, this camera is uber small and lightweight, making it easy to set up and install just about anywhere at home. You can pull up the camera’s live stream on an Echo Show display, but it doesn’t work with Google Home or Apple HomeKit. It’s got a 110-degree field of view, which is on the small side for a home security camera. But it offers desirable app security features, like two factor authentication and email alerts when a new login is made. A paid subscription plan starts at $3 per month, though a free trial is included with your purchase.

If you’re on a budget and need a cheap camera, the Blink Mini will suffice, but don’t expect anything luxurious.

The Swann Tracker includes plenty of features, but unfortunately also forces users to deal with some frustrating communication delay and issues with settings. Sometimes, the camera light refused to shut off when it was supposed to, and there was also some lag in terms of live viewing. During initial setup, the camera failed to make a connection until multiple restarts were performed.

On the plus side, the Tracker boasts excellent 1080p video, a 180-degree field of view, and an abundance of local storage (a whopping 2TB) to keep all the hours of footage that you need. It can't be used for outdoor surveillance, but using it inside will net you automatic pan and zoom features as well as two-way audio, night vision with infrared view, and automatic motion tracking.

The camera's design is intriguing, resembling something like a lollipop. Its app is easy to use, but the Tracker suffers significant lag in its two-way communication. When you go into your app to change up settings as well, sometimes your alterations aren't saved, which can lead to some serious frustrations.

Want a 360-degree view of what's going on at home? That's exactly what you'll get with the Kasa Spot Pan Tilt indoor security camera, which can be mounted to the ceiling or placed on a solid surface. Despite offering the same 1080p video resolution as most other indoor cameras, Kasa's motion-tracking camera offers a remarkably clear view during day and night. The remote pan/tilt function mostly works well, though it lags behind a bit when you're controlling the camera directly from the Kasa app.

Speaking of the app, it does not offer two-factor authentication—a basic security feature that alerts you to new logins. Since a security camera is privy to some of your most private moments, selecting a secure indoor camera is the best way to protect yourself from unwanted eyeballs.

Access to activity notifications, activity zones, two-way talk, and live streaming are free of charge. For $3/month, you can sign up for a Kasa Care plan that includes 30 days of video history, manual recording, activity notifications with snapshots, and video sharing. Kasa claims your video feed is secured with industry-standard 128-bit AES encryption with SSL/TLS directly from the camera.

Overall, this camera is one of the fastest at detecting motion alerts we’ve tested and the audio is among some of the best, too. We like the video preview alerts, which make it easy to see what’s happening without opening the app, but the lack of two-factor authentication makes it less appealing for everyday use.

The Kasa Spot KC400 is one of the latest models from TP-Link Kasa. It's one of the only models in our guide that records in 2K resolution instead of the standard 1080p. Though it doesn't have color night vision, the black and white view is incredibly sharp in the dark and can detect motion up to 30 feet away. It works well with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to pull up the livestream on a compatible smart display, but it lacks support for Apple’s Siri. The Kasa app is quick at loading the camera's live feed and sends smart alerts, like person detection with a paid Kasa Care plan, as soon as a motion event is detected. Another nice thing about the camera is that you can save your footage on a 256 GB microSD card instead of uploading it to the cloud. Though, cloud storage is available (and reliable) with a paid Kasa Care subscription plan.

However, the app lacks two-factor authentication and does not send email alerts when a new device logs into your account, which makes us feel a little uneasy about unwanted users accessing the account. For best practices, you should look for apps that offer 2FA to work with authentication apps to keep your smart home secure.

The Lorex Indoor/Outdoor Wi-Fi Security Camera has useful features like color night vision, smart motion detection, and smart deterrence capabilities like a remote-triggered siren and a motion-activated LED light. It captures easy-to-see 1080p video both day and night, quickly sends accurate smart alerts, and has stronger weather ratings for extreme heat and freezing cold temperatures than other outdoor security cameras we’ve tested.

The camera is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it can also be managed using the Lorex Home app. However, the app does not offer two-factor authentication, a security feature that helps protect your account from unwanted access. Continuous recording is available on the camera when using the included 256GB microSD card, and recording schedules can be set up within the app. Lorex cameras can also accurately differentiate between people and vehicles at close range and had no problem spotting someone 50 feet away.

The camera features a siren that can be triggered remotely from the Lorex Home app or automatically when motion is detected, but the siren is too soft to deter unwanted guests. The Lorex app also does not offer two-factor authentication, so consider other options in our guide.

The Nooie Cam 360 is a budget-friendly indoor home security camera that features motion tracking and, as the name implies, 360-degree rotation. The camera is equipped with a 1080p high-def lens and two 940nm infrared LEDs. It has other smart camera features like two-way audio functionality, night vision, and a status light indicator that can be toggled on or off.

The camera excels at tracking motion and detecting sound, but is sensitive on default settings. However, it’s easy to adjust the sensitivity of these alerts in the Nooie app. Push notifications come in a timely manner, but there are no photo or video preview options for you to quickly check and see what’s happening. Paid cloud storage is available if you don’t want to use a microSD card to back up your camera’s event history.

There’s no support for Apple’s Siri but the Nooie Cam 360 easily integrates with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. With a smart display like the Echo Show 5 or the Nest Hub Max, you can ask Google or Alexa to “view the [room Nooie camera” and a live stream with audio will appear on screen. The Nooie app lacks two-factor authentication, which caused it to rank lower on our list. For a smarter 360-degree camera that offers 1080p resolution and added security features, check out other options in our guide.