Blink Security Camera Cost and Pricing

• Blink delivers high-quality security cameras at affordable prices, starting with the $35 Blink Mini.
• While budget-friendly, Blink doesn’t offer facial recognition or person detection. If you want those futuristic features (and who doesn’t?), check out our review of Google Nest Cams.
• Blink cloud storage is affordable, starting at $3 monthly per camera or $10 monthly for unlimited cameras.

Since Amazon acquired the company in 2017,1 Blink has become a favorite with their reputation for smaller, smarter, and cheaper equipment than their competitors were offering. While they’re not as budget friendly as we saw when we tested out YI’s cameras, Blink offers a great mix of affordability and functionality that will appeal to most everyone.

Blink Cameras

We recently took a handful of these cameras for a spin, and while we weren’t exactly blown away by any high-tech bells and whistles, what we did find was a really solid lineup of affordable cameras that do exactly what you need them to without a whole lot of fuss. You can read more about this in our hands-on Blink review, but we can certainly understand why they’re rated highly for effective apartment security as well as being a great solution for traditional homeowners.

Pivoting away from the features and tech, today we’re looking deeper into Blink the brand, and their equipment costs, plans, packages, and deals.

To start things off, let’s lay out some of our favorite Blink features:

• Fully Wireless Cameras
• Easy DIY Installation
• Lightweight, Minimalist Design
• Up to 1080p HD Video Resolution
• Two-Way Talk
• Infrared Night Vision
• Low-Cost Cloud Storage
• Local Video Storage
• Smart Home Integration with Alexa

A Look at Blink Pricing

Blink Mini Mounted

While there’s no one-size-fits-all security camera, Blink comes relatively close with their latest lineup.2 There are only five pieces of equipment here: The Blink Indoor, the Blink Outdoor, the Blink Mini, the Blink Floodlight, and the new Mini Pan-Tilt. Each camera brings its own set of basic but effective features, allowing us to check off all of the boxes of home security we’re looking for: An accurate motion sensor, easy everyday use, clear audio, a nice picture, durable equipment, and convenient storage.

Blink Indoor Equipment

Of course, if you’re leaning toward a brand with more selection, we’d invite you to check out our review of Reolink cameras, with prices ranging from $35 for a simple indoor device to $269 for a feature-heavy pan-and-tilt number. Those would all make a great alternative, or you could try Wyze Cams, another DIY brand with cameras even cheaper than Blink (but with a few minor drawbacks).

In our view, this makes Blink – with equipment priced from $34.99 for the Mini to $99.99 for Blink Outdoor – a worthwhile purchase for DIY home security.

But is Blink the brand for you? Let’s pause for a few quick stats on these cams:

Blink Camera Features

Now, we’ll dig into each camera a little more, starting with the pint-sized Blink Mini.

Blink Camera Options

Blink Mini

Blink Mini on Table

Retailing for about $35, Blink’s pint-sized camera is not going to knock your socks off in video resolution. But in our Blink Mini review, we noticed that it already has one thing over its bigger, bolder siblings – it doesn’t need a sync module. Blink Mini just works directly off our Wi-Fi, which is always a nice perk in the installation stage.

With this unassuming device, standing less than 2 inches top to bottom (not including the stand), we got clear 1080p video,3 two-way audio, motion zones, infrared night vision, and great customization via the Blink Home Monitoring app. And, storing video history with Blink is a breeze, with affordable monthly subscription plans (which we’ll cover in just a moment).

The only drawback to Mini is that it’s wired – it doesn’t contain batteries, so you’ll have that pesky power cord to reckon with. We tend to use cameras like this on a fireplace mantel, or a high bookshelf, to get a sweeping view of our space without having to drill any holes in our wall, and with a little wiggle room to obstruct the power cord from view.

This way, wired cameras look less messy in our home. But if you’d rather not deal with wires at all, we suggest taking a look at Arlo’s cameras and systems, many of which are wire-free and use rechargeable batteries.

Blink Indoor

Blink Indoor

Probably one of Blink’s most iconic cameras, the sleek, cube-shaped Blink Indoor was released in 2020 as an upgrade to the Blink XT2. With an outstanding two year battery life, this camera can go anywhere and do almost anything inside your home. You can read more in our review of the Blink Indoor security camera, but the long and short of it is this: For indoor security, you can’t go wrong here.

For a camera under $80, it feels like a luxury to have wire-free functionality. But keep in mind that it’s not the only wire-free camera out there that’s considered budget-friendly. We got a firsthand look at this setup when we tested Ring Stick Up Cam, an impressive wire-free camera for just under $100. It’s also worth noting that Ring and Blink offer identical cloud storage plans with their cameras, but we’ll dig deeper into that in a few.

Blink Outdoor

Blink Outdoor

As the priciest of Blink cameras, Blink Outdoor offers a decent package for just under $100 for the camera and sync module. It pulls together several key upgrades over previous models, including some handy ways to customize the camera’s motion sensor. We paid particular attention in our review of Blink Outdoor to all the ways we could tinker with the camera’s features to get a better picture, like adding or removing activity zones, adjusting video resolution and sensitivity, and setting alert schedules.

We do want to note that Blink Outdoor couldn’t quite match the competition in night vision, which is important in outdoor cameras; in our tests of this feature, the camera delivered a decent picture in black and white, but not nearly the quality we saw when we tried out Nest for our Nest Cam review, Google’s original security camera.

But beyond all that, you’re still looking at a pretty reasonably priced camera when it comes to upfront costs. If you need more proof, consider that the aforementioned Nest Cam is double the price of Blink Outdoor. Just something to consider as you narrow down your options.

Blink’s Latest Pricing Overview

Blink Video Storage Options

Blink Outdoor – Installed

In the past, Blink came with a free basic cloud storage plan for your video history, but unfortunately that plan no longer exists. That said, their basic plan only costs $30 per month, or $30 for the year. It’s not free, but it’s close to it. For this price, you’re going to get a lot of features to help optimize your cameras like live video recording, rapid video access, and smart detections, so we’d say it’s a fair trade off.

Blink Sync Module

With the Basic and Plus plans, you can record and save all video clips and photos to the cloud and view them in the Blink app anytime and from anywhere. Also note that going with the Plus plan gets you a 10% discount on all future purchases of Blink devices and an extended warranty.

As you can see, despite the loss of free cloud storage, Blink still presents a viable option for a decent amount of storage without a huge financial commitment. See below for our breakdown of Blink’s cloud storage plans.

Blink Cloud Subscriptions

Blink Cameras: Standout Features and Tech

In the last couple of years, we’ve seen a shift in camera design trends4 to a more minimalistic style and away from bulky, heavy builds. With its unassuming look and lightweight construction, we see why Blink cameras are a big hit with apartment dwellers. After all, if you really don’t have the extra space for bulky gadgets and all the extras and add-ons needed to power them, Blink presents a viable option.

Breakdown of Blink Camera Features and Tech

1080p HD Resolution	Every Blink camera supports video up to 1080p resolution, the standard for HD. But it’s important to remember that these are Wi-Fi cameras, so the camera’s technology allows it to dip down into lower resolutions so it will run smoother and avoid connection interruptions.
Wire-Free Installation	With the exception of the Blink Mini, all Blink cameras run on two AA batteries, making them wire-free for easy, flexible installation. This means that, with average use, we can go up to two years without having to change the batteries in our Blink cameras.
Smart Home Integration	Since they have the same parent company, Blink makes it easy to use their cameras as part of a smart home setup, but only if that setup happens to be Amazon. The brand still hasn’t added this feature for non-Amazon devices, like Google Home and Nest Hub.
Two-Way Talk	Two-way talk is a great tool for spooking criminals, which is why we think it’s also an essential tool in any security camera. Blink cameras have both a built-in speaker and microphone, allowing us to speak to whomever is at the other end – possibly breaking up a crime in progress.
Weatherproof Hardware	Blink Outdoor, with an official IP65 weather rating, gets high marks for durability from us. In the peak of Ohio winters, temperatures can dip dangerously low, but our Blink Outdoor camera held up through it all. This means a great deal to us, as we like to use a couple of cameras outside the perimeter of our home to check for errant critters or porch pirates.
Night Vision	Blink cameras have infrared night vision, which records video in black and white. In our tests, it did a good job detecting activity in dimly lit areas and sending us prompt alerts, but we didn’t see the fine-tuned details of our space that we’d get in a color night vision camera.

Current Deals on Blink Cameras

This might sound obvious, but we thought it was pretty neat that buying Blink cameras is literally as easy as buying any random product on Amazon. Which is, you know, the easiest way to buy anything ever. (We see you, Prime members.)

That said, Blink offers discounted packages that include 2, 3, or 5 cameras and a Sync Module 2, with prices starting at $139.99 and going all the way up to $379.99. We always look for packages like this when researching a brand, as it can be helpful in saving money on buying multiple cameras at once. For more tips on buying Blink cameras, check out our guide to Blink’s deals, discounts, and sales.

Final Thoughts on Blink Cameras

Whether you’re looking to fill an entire home with wireless security cameras5 or just purchase one or two as add-ons, finding the perfect fit can be quite challenging. Blink’s cameras offer a truly hassle-free option, right down to the two AA extended-life batteries that let these cameras run for up to two years.

As far as value, we continue to score Blink high. We’re not talking about rock-bottom prices here; we’d put Blink cameras in or around the mid-range category in terms of pricing. But for what these cameras gave us – a truly hassle-free experience – we wholeheartedly recommend adding Blink cameras to your home.

Frequently Asked Questions