6 Of The Best Nanny Cams You Can Buy In 2024

Setting up a sophisticated home security system is as easy as it's ever been, to the point that it's no longer the exclusive domain of specialized companies with professional installers like ADT. You can go to a home improvement or electronics store and pick up a wide array of easy to use, networked cameras that help keep an eye on your home, record what they catch for posterity, and even answer the door when you're not actually home. Ring, for example, extended its video doorbell product into a wider suite of home security products. Networking companies like TP-Link are in on the act as well. And if you're particularly handy, there's a lot that you can do with single board computers like Raspberry Pi, their associated camera kits, and freely available open-source home security software.

When most people think of "home security," they might think of break-ins, package thieves, vandals, and the like. However, security inside the home can be just as important, especially if you're hiring strangers to work in the home to do housework or help you take care of your children. This is where a "nanny cam" comes in: A camera or set of cameras specifically designed to keep an eye on those you've let into your home. For any parent needing help, and especially new parents or a parent returning to work, they can provide a lot of peace of mind. Let's take a look at the best-reviewed on the market right now.

One nanny cam from a reputable brand that is available for a particularly reasonable price is the Tapo C210 2K Pan Tilt Security Camera from home networking company TP-Link. Retailing for just $34.99 for one camera or $54.99 for two, with even better prices often available, it's a well-reviewed camera that ticks a lot of different boxes for its incredibly low price point. The Wirecutter, for example, selected it as its runner-up for best indoor security camera, praising its image quality while lamenting its lack of pet detection.

PC Mag gave the C210 three and a half stars out of five, singling out its low price, full-HD picture quality, mechanical pan and tilt, voice command support, and various storage options as positives while taking issue with the lack of HomeKit support and some features needing a paid subscription to be used to their full potential. NextPit, meanwhile, gave it four and a half stars out of five, highlighting similar pros to the PC Mag review while taking issue with the camera's "weak" AI object detection, excessively low downward tilt angle, and lack of a battery-powered option. In a May 2021 review, BlackTubi named it the best budget IP camera of the year, giving it an 8.6 rating out of 10 while echoing the other reviews' raves about the camera's image quality.  It's not perfect, but at this low price point, it seems like the TP-Link Tapo C210 is very difficult to beat.

Another well-reviewed budget option is the Wyze Cam Pan, which is currently available in its third edition, the Cam Pan v3. It retails for $39.98 but is, of course, often available for less. Though similar to other budget cameras in some ways, the Cam Pan boasts of color night vision recording and weather-proofing features, which help it stand out from the pack. On that latter point, the Cam Pan has an IP65 weather resistance rating, meaning that it's dust tight while also protecting the device from water jets at all angles.

Professional reviews for the Wyze Cam Pan have been particularly strong. Tom's Guide gave it four stars out of five, singling out its low price, even with a subscription for premium features (without one, storage will be limited by the microSD card you use, and you won't get features like person/pet detection), as well as how flexible the 360 degree physical panning was. Security.org hailed the video, audio, and night vision quality as "excellent," while PC Mag gave the Cam Pan a 4.5 out of five rating and an Editor's Choice recommendation badge. The latter review seconded the praise for the well-executed pan and tilt, mix of storage options, and color night vision implementation while also praising the budget price, weatherproofing, AI alerts, and integration with third-party devices IFTTT standard. Between the price, feature set, and even the premium subscription option being inexpensive, this looks like a great choice for a budget home security camera.

Another budget-priced indoor security camera that gets consistently high marks is the Eufy Indoor Cam C120, which retails for $42.99 but, like its various direct competitors, can usually be found on sale for less. One point in its favor relative to the competition is that outside of cloud storage, none of its features require a paid subscription. If you're content with the camera not automatically backing up your security footage to the cloud, then this is a one-time fee. With how often the competition also bundles other features into the cloud storage plan, this alone makes a pretty compelling case for the Indoor Cam 210.

Having said that, the Eufy camera also has plenty of very positive professional reviews. The Wirecutter named it the best indoor security camera for daily use, singling out its ability to detect different types of motions and sounds, as well as how it actually offers four storage options: Eufy's paid cloud storage, Apple HomeKit Secure Video, microSD cards, and network-attached storage. That last one might be the sweet spot for some users, as it adds some of the functionality of cloud storage without requiring a subscription. PC Mag, Apple Insider, and Digital Camera World, meanwhile, all gave the Indoor Cam 210 the same four stars out of five rating. PC Mag was impressed by its motion and sound detection, to the point it can distinguish the sound of a baby crying and send a notification to your phone when that happens.

Once you get past the entry level, budget-priced indoor security cameras, the most obvious choice is arguably a big name-brand option in the form of the indoor, wired model of the Google Nest Cam. Retailing for $99.99 but often discounted, it sets itself apart by offering not just various types of motion detection, but also a free cloud storage tier, with the paid tier adding advanced features like facial recognition and 24/7 recording. Those features compelled The Wirecutter to name the Nest Cam its upgrade pick over the budget models from Eufy and TP-Link, which it classifies as the best cameras for daily use for most people.

As a Google product, there are, of course, numerous professional reviews for the Nest Cam, and the vast majority of them are strongly positive. For starters, PC Mag, Tech Radar, Tom's Guide, Tech Advisor, and Tech Hive all gave it an identical four stars out of five ratings. PC Mag liked the intelligent alerts being bundled without a paid subscription, Google Assistant integration, and dual-band Wi-Fi, while Tech Radar really liked the picture quality regardless of lighting conditions. Tom's Guide praised the 3-hour event history buffer, 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and well-designed app, while Tech Hive singled out the person, pet, and vehicle detection being on-device. Most praised the facial recognition but bemoaned that the feature required a subscription. Digital Trends also gave the Nest Cam a Recommended Product badge alongside a 3.5 stars out of five review, largely echoing the other reviews.

Another option in the mid-priced range that his been widely praised in numerous professional reviews is the Arlo Essential Indoor Wired Security Camera, which is currently on its second generation model. Retailing for $78.99, it comes highly recommended by plenty of reviewers who know what they're talking about; the question is just how well it outperforms less expensive models. Still, in terms of raw numbers of positive reviews that are out there, it's clearly a strong contender.

Tech Hive, Trusted Reviews, and MakeUseOf all gave the current generation Arlo Essential their respective recommendation badges to top off reviews where they all gave the camera a rating of four stars out of five or an equivalent eight out of 10. Tech Hive praised the range of AI detection abilities, customization features, and price, but took issue with the lack of local storage and the need for a subscription to unlock the more "intelligent" motion detection. Trusted Reviews seconded the plaudits for the price point in addition to touting the image quality and integration with other Arlo products, and otherwise only had minor complaints about the device feeling "a bit cheap." MakeUseOf, meanwhile, singled out the device's automated privacy shield, picture quality, integration with other smart home devices, customization features, night vision, digital zoom performance, and two-way audio, while having similar complaints to the others about the subscription hurdle for advanced features and lack of a local storage option. Overall, it seems like a solid performer for this price range.

If you want an indoor security camera that you can watch on a smart TV, then there's an interesting option from a familiar name. Though not nearly as prominent as the company's smart TV operating system, streaming sticks, and soundbars, Roku has its own smart home division, including cameras. The standout is a budget priced model, the Roku Indoor Camera, which retails for $34.99 but is often available for less, and is also available in a "Roku Indoor Camera SE" model from Walmart that retails for $26.88 but is, again, generally easy to find for less. It's not super clear what the difference between the two is, and Roku's website only lists the non-SE version, but the positive professional reviews we've seen for it single out the SE, like The Wirecutter's endorsement. 

The most detailed professional review of the Roku Indoor Camera SE comes from Tom's Guide, which gave it a very positive rating of four stars out of five. That review singled out the Roku integration, color night vision performance, and ease of setup as particular strong points. It's further noted that the camera bears a very strong resemblance to a similar camera from Wyze, who made the Roku cameras as part of a partnership between the two companies, but the Wyze version lacks the defining feature that is the ability to watch live feeds of the cameras on Roku devices. If you're already in the Roku ecosystem, it's a very attractive choice of camera.