Field of view
Find a view that suits the unique needs of your space and Where you plan to place the camera. Most quality indoor cameras have a viewing angle of around 130 degrees (some of our top picks are even higher), so there’s no need to get out your protractor. You can place it in a corner of a room or centered on the far wall and still get a good field of view. To get the best viewing angle or cover multiple angles from the center, you’ll need a PTZ camera instead.
Affordable
One advantage of smart indoor cameras is that they are significantly cheaper than rugged outdoor versions, while still offering many of the same features. If you want to save money, consider products under $30 from name brands. We have some examples on our list. Generally, there’s no need to pay over $100 for an indoor camera unless you’re getting a ton of extra benefits and features.
Night Vision
Indoor security cameras are unlikely to have their own lights or other light sources nearby, except for dim night lights. If you want to monitor your home at night when the lights are off, you’ll need good night vision. Look for one with multiple infrared LEDs, and use the color night feature if it’s available.
Motion Detection
Motion detection is a necessary feature, especially since it only turns on the camera when it detects human movement, saving video storage space and battery life. Motion detection works well with notifying your phone when you’re away, but you’ll want smart alerts that can recognize people or specific situations, like an alarm or a pet barking.
Smart Home Compatible
Indoor cameras work especially well with voice commands like “Turn off the camera” or “Show me the living room camera footage.” The good cameras work with both Google Home/Assistant and Alexa, but they can be hard to find, and the Apple Home models are even harder to find.
Matter (smart home standard) compatibility is also important; check out our guide for more details. However, it doesn’t apply to security cameras at the moment as the protocol hasn’t yet been extended to video footage, so stay tuned for updates on this. If you already have a home security system from a brand like Abode, ADT, or Frontpoint, you’ll need to look for an indoor camera that’s compatible with its app or control panel.
Additional Features
Depending on your security needs, you’ll want to look for features like two-way audio so you can talk to your babysitter or housekeeper or say hi to your pets. Others will want features like intelligent tracking, lots of zoom options, and a built-in siren. While these aren’t necessarily necessary, our top picks above include these extras if you think they’d be worth it.
Video Storage
Video storage is more useful outside the home where it’s important to catch video of porch pirates, potential burglars, and funny animals. Many people also want to record video inside the home if they’re worried about break-ins or general misbehavior (or, then again, if you want to capture video of your cute pets).
Cloud storage automatically backs up your videos to a cloud service. With rare exceptions like Google Nest, you’ll have to pay a subscription fee to use this feature. Local storage uploads your videos to a hub or microSD card (usually purchased separately). If you fill up on space, you may need to connect to a computer for additional management, but there’s no ongoing fee.
Privacy and Security
Look out for brands that have a good track record of privacy protection and that take the necessary steps to secure their networks and remove vulnerabilities immediately. You don’t want your privacy to be compromised by a data leak or worse, a bug like a video caching issue. Wyze user accidentally spies on other people’s camerasWe will continue to strive to keep you up to date on the latest privacy issues and what you need to know when purchasing such security devices.
