Friday, March 29, 2024

No need to spend $200 on a Nest cam with these affordable alternatives

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Nest makes great Wi-Fi-connected security cameras, but they can get expensive, starting at $200 for the Nest Cam Indoor and reaching all the way up to $350 for the Cam IQ. The Logitech Circle 2 is a great security camera for a little less than a Nest Cam, but there are cheaper options out there as well. Here are some of our favaorite alternatives.

Best overall

Logitech Circle 2

Staff favorite

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The Circle 2 is an excellent 1080p security camera with a wide-angle lens and night vision that’s rated for visibility up to 15 feet. Like Nest’s cameras, you get two-way audio and person detection. There’s also a convenient day brief feature that condenses the last 24 hours into a 30-second time lapse so you don’t have to scrub through hours of footage.

$180 at Amazon

Best for Alexa

Amazon Cloud Cam

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Like other cameras on this list, Amazon’s Cloud Cam captures 1080p video with customizable motion zones, night vision, and two-way audio. You can stream your video feed directly on an Alexa-powered smart display like the Echo Show, and the Cloud Cam has smart alerts that notify you when it detects certain sounds like broken glass or smoke alarms.

$120 at Amazon

Best free service

Arlo Q

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The Arlo Q is yet another 1080p security camera with motion alerts and night vision. It’s compatibile with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and has two-way audio. It has the option to record continuous 24/7 video with a paid subscription, but the real highlight feature is the free Arlo Basic service, which saves a full week’s worth of footage for up to five cameras.

$133 at Amazon

Most affordable camera

Wyze Cam

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Wyze doesn’t offer fancy features like facial recognition or two-way audio (at least, not without having to toggle the microphone on and off for each participant), but that’s easy to look past given the ridiculously low price. The Wyze Cam still offers 1080p video, works with Google Assistant and Alexa, and even gives you 14 days of cloud storage for free.

$26 at Amazon

Another affordable option

Canary View

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Canary makes higher-end cameras, but the View is easily affordable and feature-packed enough for most homes. The wide-angle lens covers all but the largest rooms, and you of course get 1080p video with night vision. The built-in speaker sounds great for two-way audio (though you’ll need a premium subscription to use it), and the Emergency Call button in the app immediately calls the local police.

$49 at Amazon

Close Nest competitor

Ring Stick Up Cam

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Ring is well-regarded in the smart doorbell space, and its Stick Up Cam gives Nest’s connected cameras some competition, as well. It can be used indoors or outdoors, thanks to the optional rechargeable battery, but it works just as well plugged into the wall or even Power over Ethernet. You can mount the Stick Up Cam anywhere, and stream the 1080p video on an Alexa smart display.

$150 at Amazon

There are plenty of great options

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The market for connected security cameras has become saturated over the years, and that means you have a wide selection of cameras to choose from. Most options these days offer features like night vision, two-way audio, customizable motion zones, and smart alerts for triggers like people or certain sounds.

Nest has become one of the leaders in the space thanks to some of its feature-heavy products, but they tend to be on the pricier side. Luckily there are plenty of more affordable options available./

If you already own other products from a certain brand — say, you already have a Ring Doorbell — it might be convenient to buy that company’s camera so your smart home can stay centralized to one app. For anyone else, the Logitech Circle 2 is an excellent choice. The ability to condense an entire day down to a 30-second time lapse is hugely convenient, and its combination of water resistance and compatibility with a wide variety of services like Google Assistant and HomeKit makes it one of the best security cameras around — all for less than the Nest Cam Indoor.

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