Buying guides
Home security buying guides: which one, for the job you actually have
A hub compares everything in a family. A guide answers one question — a budget, a first camera for someone who has never owned one, a system that will still work when the internet is down — with a ranked shortlist and a reason for the order.
Getting started
Choosing a device
- Buying
Outdoor cameras that record without a monthly plan
Four outdoor cameras that record to a card or a drive you own, with the three-year arithmetic that usually decides the purchase.
- Buying
Cameras for an apartment: what a tenant can actually fit
Three devices that need no drilling, alter nothing permanently, and can come away when you leave — with a note on filming a shared corridor.
- Buying
Battery cameras: four that survive the second winter
Four battery cameras chosen on what keeps them working: a swappable pack, a published runtime range, dual-band Wi-Fi and a solar option.
- Buying
Driveway cameras: four that show which car, and who
Four cameras for a driveway, chosen on the two things that decide whether footage is usable at that distance — optical zoom and the illuminator.
- Buying
Parcels on the step: the doorbell shape that shows them
Four doorbells chosen on the specification that decides whether you see a delivery — the shape of the image, not the resolution.
- Buying
Smart locks for renters: three that change nothing permanent
Retrofit smart locks for renters: Nuki Smart Lock Pro, Aqara U200 and Signstek, fitted over the thumbturn or inside key, no drilling and no new cylinder.
- Buying
Alarm kits: four, judged on what fails
Four wireless alarm kits judged on backup battery, cellular backup, sensor supervision and a keypad: SimpliSafe, D1D9 4G, eufy and Ring Alarm.
- Buying
Self-monitored alarms: four with no monthly fee
Four alarm kits with no monthly fee that alert your phone instead of a monitoring center: D1D9 4G, Rensecum A107F, eufy and HOAYVKJ, with their limits.
- Buying
Documents: four boxes, and the two different jobs
Fire box or safe for documents: BURG-WÄCHTER FP 22 K, Amazon Basics FP1401M, HMF and 25EI, and why none of the four does both jobs.
- Buying
Letting somebody in: four key safes and where to put one
Four key safes for a carer, a cleaner or a vacation rental, with the placement and code discipline that decides whether the trade is sound.
- Buying
Water damage: four sensors and where they go
Water leak detectors for the home: the GOMETY 3-pack, the X-Sense SWS54 with phone alerts, SEBSON and ABUS, and the three places to put them.
- Buying
Security lights: four, and the three dials that matter
Four motion-sensor floodlights, Philips, Steinel, Brennenstuhl and GRIFEMA, compared on detection range, beam angle, on-time and color temperature.
- Buying
Trackers: four, and what none of them does
Four Bluetooth trackers compared on the only thing that matters — the finding network — with a plain statement of why they do not recover stolen property.
- Buying
Wired PoE camera systems: four kits and how to size one
Four PoE camera kits compared on channels, drive capacity and what actually survives an internet outage — with the arithmetic for retention.
By budget
- Budget
Under a hundred dollars: five things that actually change something
Five purchases under a hundred dollars in total, chosen because each one prevents or reports something rather than because it is cheap.
- Budget
Deterrence: four cheap things, honestly rated
What actually deters at low cost — signage, light, visible hardware and, with reservations, a dummy camera that records nothing.
Deciding between two options
- Choosing
Wired or wireless: the honest comparison
Wired or wireless cameras: the battery Tapo C425, the C520WS on Wi-Fi or Ethernet, Reolink and Loocam PoE kits, and how each one actually fails.
- Choosing
No Wi-Fi at the site: three cameras that manage anyway
Cameras with no Wi-Fi for a plot or a barn: the Xega S20 on its own 4G SIM, the Mucxtaim H3W trail camera, and the ieGeek ZY-C2 where Wi-Fi barely reaches.
- Choosing
After dark: four cameras and what makes their image
Color or infrared night vision cameras: Tapo C520WS and C51A, Reolink E1 Outdoor Pro and RLC-510WA, and what actually makes their image after dark.
- Choosing
Local recording: four cameras and where the footage lives
Cameras that record locally to a card, a recorder or an FTP server: Reolink RLC-510WA, TrackMix and RLK8 kit, Tapo C500, and what survives a theft.
By situation
- Situations
A rented apartment: five things you are allowed to fit
Five products that improve a rented apartment without drilling, altering the door, or leaving anything behind when the lease ends.
- Situations
A front door: four changes in order of effect
Upgrading a front door by effect: an ABUS D6XNP cylinder, an ABUS 2110 rim lock, Prmape flush bolts and long screws, then a door chain.
- Situations
Ground floor windows: four locks and where each belongs
Securing ground-floor windows: keyless BASI locks, a BURG-WÄCHTER WinSafe, the ABUS FAS101 for the hinge side and a no-drill SCHMIDT window bar.
- Situations
Sheds and garages: five things, none of them needing power
Securing a shed or garage with no power: a shrouded KOTARBAU padlock, a NovLock combination lock, an ABUS Titalium, a TECKNET alarm and a trail camera.
- Situations
No mains, no network: five ways to watch anyway
Five products for an allotment, a barn, a plot or an outbuilding with neither electricity nor broadband — and the figures that decide which one suits.
- Situations
A holiday absence: five things worth doing first
Home security while on vacation: an X-Sense leak detector, a SONE Wi-Fi door sensor, a Tapo C500 camera, and what makes an empty house look lived in.
- Situations
After a break-in: five things, in this order
After a break-in, what to change first and in what order: the cylinder, a second lock, the hinge side, an alarm, and the camera only at the end.
- Situations
Side gates: four things, and the one people often forget
Securing a side gate: a shrouded KOTARBAU or ABUS Titalium padlock, a TECKNET driveway alarm, a GRIFEMA floodlight, and the hinge people forget.