You can skip monthly fees with a camera that records to a microSD card or home recorder; Lorex is our top pick for that, with cameras from $29.99 and no required subscription. Wyze has the cheapest cloud plan at $2.99 a month per camera, and Ring keeps the longest history (up to 180 days) but agreed to an FTC order in 2023 over employee access to private videos. Choose by where your video is stored, the 3-year cost of the plan, and the company's privacy record.
This guide is for anyone adding a camera or two to a house or apartment. Most cameras now cost under $100, so the bigger decision is how you save video: on a card or recorder you own, or in the company's cloud for a monthly fee.
Privacy matters too. Cameras record inside your home, and some companies have let the wrong people see that video. We list each pick's regulator record and known incidents.
Below are our picks, a cost table, a checklist for choosing, and the privacy actions you should know about.
Company reviews
Homeowners and small businesses who want a wired or Wi-Fi camera system that records locally with no monthly fee.: Lorex
Why we picked it. Lorex sells DIY cameras and recorders that save video locally with no required plan. It's owned by Taiwan's Skywatch, but Texas sued in 2026 over ongoing Dahua ties and an FCC rule now limits some legacy models.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No subscription needed to record and keep video
- Wide choice of 4K wired systems, Wi-Fi, battery, doorbell and floodlight cameras
- Optional cloud plan is cheap per camera on the 10-camera tier
- A+ BBB rating and accreditation
Cons
- Former Dahua subsidiary; Texas lawsuit alleges ongoing Dahua involvement
- Some legacy products restricted under a 2026 FCC rule, and not for federal or federally funded use
- Only a 1-year standard warranty
- Several apps (Connect, Classic, Pro, Cloud) can confuse buyers, and some rate poorly
- No professional monitoring option listed
Apple and smart home users who want a contract-free alarm that ties into HomeKit, Alexa or Z-Wave and can run with no monthly fee.: Abode
Why we picked it. Abode is a DIY alarm system you can run free or monitor for $26.99 a month, with no contract. Kits list from $150 to $399, and half off requires the monthly Pro plan. Its BBB rating has dropped to C-.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Native Apple HomeKit on the Iota and Smart Security Kit hubs, plus Alexa, Google Home, Zigbee and Z-Wave
- Free self-monitoring plan with live video and alerts
- Professional monitoring with no contract, changeable in the app
- Half-price kits when you start on a monthly Pro plan
- App rated 4.2 out of 5 from 4,878 App Store ratings
Cons
- BBB ratings of C- and C, not accredited
- Trustpilot TrustScore of 2.2, with complaints about hardware and support
- Only 30 days to return equipment, and you pay shipping
- The base Abode Security Kit doesn't support HomeKit
- On the free and Standard plans, no one calls police or fire for you
Amazon and Alexa households that want a doorbell, a few cameras and an optional monitored alarm on one low-cost plan, and are comfortable with Ring's privacy record.: Ring
Why we picked it. Ring plans now run $4.99 (Solo), $9.99 (Multi) and $19.99 a month (Pro, with professional monitoring). Ring paid $5.8 million in a 2023 FTC privacy case and still lets police request video.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Wide range of doorbells, cameras, floodlights and alarm kits from one brand
- Low plan prices: $4.99 for one device or $9.99 for every device at your address
- Professional monitoring for $19.99 a month with no contract
- Up to 180 days of saved video on paid plans
- 45-day refund window on Ring.com orders
Cons
- 2023 FTC order over employee access to private videos and hacked accounts
- Police can request your footage through Community Requests, and sharing also sends your address and email
- No refund when you cancel a plan, and saved videos are lost
- 1.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot and 940 BBB complaints in three years
- No local storage except Alarm Pro with a microSD card
Renters and homeowners who want to install their own system and pay for monitoring month to month.: Simplisafe
Why we picked it. SimpliSafe is a DIY home security system with no-contract monitoring, priced from 33 cents to $2.66 a day. Private equity firm GTCR bought the company in November 2025.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No long-term contract and no cancellation fee
- 60-day full-refund trial with free return shipping
- Lifetime equipment replacement while you keep Core, Pro or Pro Plus
- Battery and network backup keep it running in power or Wi-Fi outages
- Highly rated app (4.8 from about 323,000 App Store ratings)
Cons
- Equipment is paid upfront
- No Apple HomeKit support; smart home links are limited to Alexa, Google Assistant and August locks
- Camera recordings and video verification need Core ($1.10 a day) or higher
- 573 BBB complaints in three years, often about billing, cancellation and equipment
- Outdoor camera battery life is a common complaint
Free and no-subscription options
You do not have to pay every month to see what is happening at home.
- Record locally. Lorex says its cameras and systems can store video on a microSD card or recorder with no required subscription. Wyze Cam v4 has a microSD slot up to 256 GB.
- Live view only. Ring and Abode cameras show live video without a plan, but saved clips need a subscription.
- Count the long-term cost. A $4.99 a month plan is about $60 a year per camera, more than the price of many cameras.
If you also want an alarm system, see our home security reviews of SimpliSafe, Abode and Cove.
What security cameras and plans cost
| Company |
Camera price |
Cheapest plan with saved video |
Days of history |
| Lorex |
From $29.99 |
None required; Cloud+ $5.99 a month |
60 (cloud) |
| Abode |
$34.99 |
$3.99 a month per camera |
Not published for camera-only plan |
| Wyze |
$44.98 |
$2.99 a month per camera |
14 |
| Ring |
$59.99 |
$4.99 a month per device |
Up to 180 |
| SimpliSafe |
$149.99 |
33 cents a day |
30 |
Prices as listed October 2026. Several brands also sell multi-camera plans that cost less per camera once you have three or more.
How to choose a home security camera
- Decide where video lives. Local storage (microSD or a recorder) keeps footage at home and avoids fees. Cloud storage survives if a thief takes the camera.
- Price the plan for 3 years. Add the camera cost to 36 months of the plan for every camera you need.
- Check history length. Plans keep video for 14 to 180 days among our picks.
- Check the privacy record. Look for regulator orders and security incidents, and turn on two-factor login.
- Match your power and Wi-Fi. Battery cameras are easy to place but need charging; wired cameras record more reliably.
Privacy and regulator actions
A camera inside your home is only as private as the company’s security. Recent actions:
- Ring (FTC, 2023): the FTC said Ring let employees and contractors view customers’ private videos and failed to stop hackers who reached about 55,000 U.S. customers’ accounts. The order required Ring to pay $5.8 million, delete some data and use multi-factor authentication.
- Wyze (2024): Wyze said about 13,000 users received thumbnails from other people’s cameras after an outage, and 1,504 tapped on them.
- eufy (New York Attorney General, 2025): three companies that sell eufy cameras paid $450,000 after the state found some video streams were not securely encrypted and could be reached without logging in. Cove sells eufy-made cameras with its system.
Whatever you buy, use a unique password, turn on two-factor login, and keep firmware updated.
Red flags when buying a camera
- A low camera price that hides a required plan for saved video.
- No stated history length, or history that depends on a paid tier.
- No two-factor login option.
- Indoor cameras pointed at bedrooms or bathrooms. Even with a good company, keep cameras out of private spaces.
Other options we compared
Cove sells a monitored alarm system with cameras. Its plans page lists Cove Basic at $0.67 a day, Cove+ at $1.00 a day with 7 days of cloud video and Cove Premium at $1.33 a day with 30 days (about $20, $30 and $40 a month), as listed October 2026. Cove’s help center FAQ still shows $22.99, $32.99 and $42.99 a month, so confirm the rate at checkout. Its outdoor camera supports a microSD card up to 256 GB, but Cove’s product page did not show a camera price when we checked, so we left it out of the ranked list. See our Cove review.
Terms to know
- Local storage
- Saving video on a microSD card or recorder at home instead of on the company's servers.
- Cloud storage
- Saving video on the company's servers, usually for a monthly fee.
- NVR
- A network video recorder that stores footage from wired cameras on a hard drive.
- Event history
- Saved clips of motion or other events, kept for a set number of days.
- Continuous recording
- Recording around the clock rather than only when motion is detected.
- Two-factor authentication
- A login step that needs a second code, so a stolen password alone cannot open your account.
