Best Motion Sensor Security Cameras

SimpliSafe doesn’t offer professional installation, but its systems are so easy to set up that anyone can do it. During our SimpliSafe tests, we managed to get everything up in less than 30 minutes. It helped that the Wireless Indoor Camera is, well, wireless. Installation was basically just setting it on our mantle.

The outdoor camera wasn’t quite so easy to install, but SimpliSafe has been at this for a long time, and with a basic mounting kit and clear instructions, the whole process was fast and easy.

Setting up Activity Zones was just as easy with the SimpliSafe app. Perfect, since this feature helped us significantly reduce false alerts. We live on a busy street, so we excluded everything outside of our front fence. By default, the camera ignores pets, and you can add regular guests to a facial recognition library, which cuts down even further on notifications.

Our Wireless Indoor Camera knows who we are which is why the privacy shutter is closed.

You need a SimpliSafe professional monitoring plan to access these features, though, and to set up Intruder Intervention and Active Guard Outdoor Protection. The Core Plan, just $31.99 a month, includes Intruder Intervention plus cellular backup and 30 days of cloud storage.

For Active Guard Outdoor Protection, you need the Pro Plan, which is $49.99. That’s on par with ADT’s Complete package for professionally installed systems. However, we think you get a better bang for your buck with SimpliSafe. Their agents are actually trained to deal with intruders while contacting authorities. ADT only dispatches authorities.

>> Keep Reading: SimpliSafe 2025 Packages and Pricing

The Google Nest Cams we bought with our ADT security system sent us alerts telling us who they saw.

ADT is becoming more DIY all the time. All of the company’s equipment can be self-installed, for instance, and the process is almost as easy as that of SimpliSafe. All in all, the ADT system we tested took about 45 minutes to install. We should point out that we didn’t purchase a Google Nest Cam with floodlight. That’s the one ADT device that requires an electrician.

While other cameras on this list offer facial recognition, no one makes better use of it than ADT. The company’s Trusted Neighbor program lets you automate your home security system to let in recognized friends and family. When we had a false alarm while we were at work, one of the neighbors popped over and checked things out. And we set our system up to let our dog walker in every Thursday at 10:30 AM. No wonder ADT sits at the top of our list of the best smart home security systems.

>> Learn About: ADT Self Setup Review and Pricing Plans in 2025

We could write a book about Lorex and still not mention all of their camera models. Even though all of Lorex’s cameras offer motion detection, our favorite are its active deterrence cameras, such as the H30. They incorporate facial recognition to identify potential threats and then activate their siren and built-in spotlight to scare them away.

Both of our Lorex cameras feature motion detection, but we preferred the outdoor camera with active deterrence.

Even if you just limit yourself to its active deterrence cameras, Lorex still offers dozens of options. While that might seem like overkill, we like the choices as you can fine-tune your security. For instance, you could opt for a single standalone camera that’s cloud-compatible or a commercial-grade camera security system.

Plus, Lorex makes it easy to self-monitor your system. During our testing, we got real-time alerts as well as access to both live footage and recorded footage. That’s right, we had playback options without having to sign up for a cloud storage plan. Lorex actually offers several different local storage systems, including DVR, NVR, and microSD cards.

With such an extensive inventory, you can always find a Lorex camera that suits your price range. For more, check out our list of Lorex’s prices and products.

Google Nest impressed us with its many high-tech features. The company sells just three cameras — the wired indoor Nest Cam, the battery-powered indoor/outdoor Nest Cam, and the wired Nest Cam with Floodlight – but all three come loaded with sophisticated AI that not only makes you safer but makes home security easier.

Of course, all three cameras include motion detection, and all three can tell the difference between people and other types of objects. As we mentioned earlier, that cuts down on false alerts, and fewer false alerts makes you more likely to pay attention when your system contacts you. Person detection is so last year, though. Google Nest Cams also come with facial recognition. No, they’re not connected to an FBI database or anything like that, but we were able to teach our Cam with Floodlight to recognize our friends and neighbors.

Technology isn’t cheap, and Nest charges about twice what you’d pay for comparable Ring cameras. The Nest Indoor, for example, is $99, while the Nest Floodlight we tested was $279. In addition, you’ll need a Nest Aware monthly subscription if you want to unlock advanced features like facial recognition. Nest’s lowest-priced plan is $8 a month. You’re never going to get something for nothing, though, and Nest’s value more than justifies its prices.

Check out our Google Nest Cam review to get the full scoop on our live Nest tests.

Ring cameras don’t include facial recognition software, but they do come equipped with People Only Mode, and that’s really more important to your security. Without that, we’d get alerts every thirty seconds or so, all triggered by our neighbor’s cat who likes to lounge on our front porch. At some point, we’d just start ignoring them, and that would put our home’s security at risk. When you only get alerts that matter, you’re going to be safer.

In fact, Ring’s motion detection also includes customized motion zones, so they don’t pick up activity in your neighbor’s yard. And, with customized scheduling, you can make sure motion detection is off at 5 am when the street sweeper comes by. Ring’s cameras are also smart enough to trim video footage for you automatically, so you don’t have to scroll through video to find out what happened. All of these features improved our overall security, and after all, that’s why we buy home security systems in the first place.

Want to know more? Check out our Ring Cam analysis for a complete review.

Computer vision motion detection, which is what Arlo uses, works best with high resolution. That gives the algorithms the most data to work with when deciding if the moving object is a person or a pet. At a minimum, Arlo offers a 2K variant of all its cameras, and we recommend them for more accurate alerts. Our Arlo price guide covers all the prices of the 2K versions.

As a bonus, Arlo’s cameras are stylish. Of course, security is the priority. Style matters, though. Nobody wants a huge, ugly security camera right in front of their house. That might be the best spot for it, though. With a stylish camera, you can put it there without ruining your home’s curb appeal.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the amazing high-tech that’s making its way into the home security industry these days. We confess, we’re sometimes guilty of focusing on facial recognition software and geographic triggers to the exclusion of more important camera features like field-of-view and resolution. Reviewing Blink always reminds us that a security camera’s first job is to provide clear images of what’s going on at your home. Blink does that amazingly well, and it does it at a price that makes home security affordable for any family.

Make no mistake: Blink cameras come with sophisticated dual-zone motion detection, and they’re smart enough to know when they’re looking at a person. That can cut down enormously on false alerts, and in the end, that’s always going to keep you safer. Too many false alerts can numb you to alerts altogether.

With Blink, though, you get features like enhanced motion detection at an affordable price. No camera in Blink’s inventory costs more than $140. And sure fancy features are nice, and they can make life more convenient, but as long as our cameras protect us, trading extras for money isn’t necessarily a bad deal. Here’s the breakdown:

Like most of the cameras on this list, Kuna cameras know the difference between human and other types of movement, which means you have fewer false alerts to deal with. In addition, they’re smart enough to differentiate between people, pets, vehicles, and packages. This means you can set them to screen out movement that’s less important to you. We get a lot of packages, so we don’t want to know every single time one arrives. On the other hand, if you’re expecting an expensive laptop, you probably want a notification the very instant it arrives on your porch.

Kuna claims that its cameras will eventually be able to recognize burglars solely based on their physical movements. Apparently, thieves move differently from the rest of us. We’ve seen AI do some pretty amazing things, so maybe? The important point is that you won’t have to purchase a new Kuna camera to take advantage of evolutions like these. According to Kuna, your cameras should grow and develop over time. The longer you have them, the more they improve – pretty unusual in the home security market.

We don’t mind Kuna’s unique approach to home security, but we do wish the company offered a few more options. Two models isn’t a lot to choose from, and Kuna doesn’t make any indoor cameras at all. Still, during our Kuna camera live testing, we were impressed by just how many features the company includes in these devices. When our camera picked up motion on the front porch at 2 am, for example, we had the option to shine a light on the situation. Turns out, a neighborhood possum was making its rounds, but once our light came on, it sauntered on its way. Alternatively, we could have kept things on the DL and simply checked out the footage. We like a home security company that lets us decide how to respond to events.