Arlo Go 2 or Eufy 4G Starlight: which is the best cellular security camera?

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Two new 4GLTE smart security cameras, The Arlo Go 2 and the Eufy 4G Starlight, are capable of streaming or sending footage over a cellular data connection. They are one of the few solutions for monitoring places where wi-fi may be unreliable or unavailable: a cabin in the woods, a construction site, or a storage facility.

It is possible to keep an eye on your RV, camper van, or tent site when you are camping. If you want a camera that will stay up even if the power is out, a cellular security camera is a good choice. Maybe you travel a lot and don't use public wi-fi in your hotel room, so you want to keep an eye on it.

Overpriced trail cams used to be the only option for a truly wireless camera setup like this, and it is exciting to see more tailored options to security. The Arlo and Eufy models look the same as the company's standard outdoor smart home security cameras, just with bigger batteries and a cellular radio on board. They don't need a wi-fi connection to use the camera, but you will need to pay for cellular data to use the camera, which can be an expensive add-on.

The Eufy is at my in-laws' off-grid cabin in Alaska, while the Arlo is at the bottom of my garden in South Carolina. On only one to two bars of cellular service, both did what they said they would do. There are some differences between them.

The Eufy does not require a cloud subscription to view or save video. The Eufy uses edge computing to process the data on the camera, and all the footage lives on the camera's 8 gigabytes of local storage. You can connect directly to the camera when viewing video in the app. If your camera is destroyed, you won't have access to footage.

You have to pay for the Arlo Secure service to view motion-activated recordings in the Arlo app. The option of a microSD card is only available in the local area. The Eufy doesn't support a wider range of smart alert, but the second-gen of the Arlo Go does.

Eufy 4G Starlight versus Arlo Go 2: specs and setup

Both cameras have sleek white oblong bodies and stark black faces. The black version of the Arlo would be more discreet outdoors. The company plans to sell a camouflage skin.

The Eufy Starlight and the Arlo Go 2 are both waterproof to a maximum of 65 degrees. The Eufy can survive underwater for a bit and against higher pressure water jets, but they won't stand up to heavy rain and storms. The Arlo Go 2 has a rating of up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and the Starlight has a rating of 131 degrees.

Two-way audio, spotlights and sirens, and color night vision are standard features on both security cameras. As the name suggests, the Eufy has a starlight sensor for better night vision in low light. If you forget where you put the camera, you can use the built-in gps to find it.

Eufy is capable of 2K, but the Arlo can record and livestream in up to1080p HD. With the higher resolution of the Eufy, this difference isn't as large as on paper. The Eufy is smaller and lighter, but they both have the same large battery capacity, and both have optional solar panels to keep the batteries topped up.

If you don't want to pay for cellular data, the Arlo can double as a standard security camera. As a fail-safe option in a home security camera setup, you will still have at least one camera you can access remotely in the event of a power failure. The Eufy doesn't work on computers.

The setup was easy. It is the same as installing any of their wi-fi counterparts, just with the addition of a sim card. Neither of them works with their respective brand's hub. You can use them to stream footage to a smart display. Arlo works with a bunch of different things.

The cameras need a data plan and a data card to work. The camera can be purchased directly from compatible carriers through the website of the company. It works with all of them except T-Mobile, which costs $20 per month for 5 gigabytes. You can spread the cost of the device out over two to three years if you choose to do so. European carriers work with the Arlo.

In my testing, I used an AT&T sim to connect to the Eiot club. The AT&T and T-Mobile networks are used by this virtual operator, which offers a $10 a month plan with 2 gigabytes of data. You can use an AT&T sim to use a device. The AT&T data plan has a pre-paid option. Even though it supports T-Mobile's 4G bands, you can't use a T-Mobile sim card. In the UK, the Eufy works with these carriers. You can get a discount if you are an existing customer of the carrier.

If you access the live view 10 times a day for 10 seconds each, you will be able to record 25 events for 10 seconds each. The Go 2 will use between 700MB and 2GB a month, depending on the number of motions and recordings. The Eufy only uses data when you access the camera, while the Arlo uploads automatically to the cloud.

Eufy 4G Starlight versus Arlo Go 2: performance and features

Video quality is the most important feature of a security camera. The Eufy gives a clearer, crisper image in daylight, with more detail in the background than the Arlo, which makes it less clear. The Eufy caught a young bull moose in all his glory at the Alaska cabin, and the Arlo showed my dog prowling around the backyard, although he was slightly blown out.

The Eufy has starlight night vision that uses a starlight sensor to pick up more detail in the darkness. Any color night vision is dependent on the spotlight being activated. The Eufy can be set to turn on the spotlight at night based on motion.

I don't think it's necessary to see what color T-shirt an invader has on unless you want to know more about the person. The Eufy was better at capturing more detail and decent distance than the other camera, thanks to its star light sensor. The Eufy's starlight-only night vision option was difficult to use, the picture was very dark and not clear. In my previous experience with starlight night vision, it worked best in the dark in Alaska.

The Eufy is capable of going up to 2K, but you can choose to record in lower resolution. If you have a limited data plan, you might want to stick with a higher resolution screen. Arlo has a better zoom at 12 times, but it gets very small very quickly, making it less useful than on the 4K cameras. There is a slight difference in the field of view between the two, but it isn't noticeable in practice.

The Eufy uses half-duplex audio, which is similar to using a walkie-talkie, whereas the Arlo uses full-duplex audio, which is similar to having a phone conversation. It can be hard to talk through the camera. The audio was loud and clear.

The cameras had a problem with motion-activated, battery-powered cameras. Once the motion sensor is triggered, the camera needs to wake up. I had a lot of test videos in the back of my mind.

Rich notifications with a snapshot were delivered by both of them. You can long press the notification on the Arlo and see a preview of the recording, as well as access a shortcut to call or use the sirens. This isn't offered by Eufy. You can only get these features if you pay for a three-month trial of the Arlo secure subscription.

You can tailor your alerts to only tell you about people, animals, and/or vehicles, with an Arlo secure subscription. Activity zones can be added to focus the camera on certain areas. People detection and activity zones are free, but there are no animal or vehicle notifications. If you make a call from another location, you'll be connected to emergency dispatch at your camera's location, not yours. If you set up the camera somewhere other than your home, you will need to pay for a second subscription for this feature.

Eufy doesn't charge for access to its features and doesn't offer a cloud storage service for the Starlight. The app doesn't look at the footage from the camera. Eufy says it can hold up to six months of events based on the number of movement events per day. After testing the camera for a month, all the videos were still in the app. The live view was easy to pull up and the notifications for the camera were fast.

You can store up to 30 days of videos in the cloud. The app requires two-factor verification to use, as well as the use ofAES encryption to secure recordings from and to the camera. The Go 2 has a slot for a microSD card that you can use to record videos. You have to physically be at the camera to see the footage, because it can only be viewed on a computer.

If the Eufy camera were destroyed, you wouldn't be able to view previous footage unless you manually downloaded it to your phone's camera roll from the Eufy. All the clips disappeared from the Eufy app because the pre-installed sim ran out of data. They came back when the camera came back to the internet.

The battery life was not much different. There are two cameras on the board. The Eufy was at 65 percent in three weeks and was on track for two months. Eufy thinks it will last three months, but the camera is in a poor service area and the app warns that it will reduce battery life. The Arlo was at 89 percent in my one week of testing. I tested the battery life of the camera and it didn't hold up.

You can have a spare battery on hand if you buy the extra batteries. Pair a cellular camera with a solar panel to keep it charged. Both companies have compatible ones for sale. The Eufy can be purchased in a bundle for $2499.99.

The Eufy solar panel was easy to install and it was able to keep the camera close to 100 percent. The higher-end cameras of the Arlo use a magnetic cable to charge, whereas the Eufy uses ausb-c cable. If you want to use both the solar panel and the outdoor charging cable at the same time, you have to buy the same one.

Anti-theft features are important for a camera that is left out in the woods. The cameras have built in gps to track them. The Eufy has an Anti-Theft Detection Mode that will sound an alarm if the camera is moved. If your camera is stolen, you can get a Theft Replacement Program that will replace the camera if you buy a new one.

The apps are another point of comparison. The Eufy app has too many pop-up ads, and a whole tab devoted to selling you more products, which makes Arlo's experience superior. The experience of the Arlo is very clean. Both work well for viewing a video from a camera. The Eufy is slightly faster than the other one as it doesn't need to go through the cloud. You can use the Library view to see when the recording was made and the type of motion.

Both apps have the option of tweaking settings to save battery life. You can schedule it to turn on or off based on your location on either camera.

Eufy 4G Starlight versus Arlo Go 2: which should you buy?

The freedom from hanging on to a weak wi-fi connection was wonderful. I was able to keep an eye on my chickens from the bottom of my garden thanks to the digital eye I got. My in-laws use a cellular trail cam to keep an eye on their cabin, but they were very impressed with the quality of the Eufy camera. If you need a security camera that isn't dependent on wi-fi, either of these cameras would be a good choice.

It's cheaper to buy and run the Eufy 4G. There isn't a monthly fee for cloud storage, smart alert, or activity zones. The Eufy has better night vision and a higher video quality. If you are leery about storing your video on another person's server, you will want this camera. The tradeoff is that if the camera is destroyed, you can't access any footage you haven't manually downloaded. The local-only storage at the Eufy may give you pause if that is a scenario you worry about.

The Eufy has a cellular-only option, but the Arlo has a wi-fi radio that you can use as a backup. A better monitoring experience is provided by the smart alert and interactive notifications that Arlo has to offer. Two-way audio is easier to use than the digital zoom.

Outside of Eufy and Arlo, there are limited options. One of the cellular models that Reolink has is a tilt and pan model. I haven't tested any Reolink cameras, but I've tested both Eufy's and Arlo's cameras, and I'm comfortable with both of them.

I would go with the road already traveled if I were you. If you put the Go 2 in a different location, you may need to get a second subscription to Arlo. The Arlo Go 2 is an excellent choice if you want to add this to an existing system. If you're looking for a deal-breaker, the Eufy 4G Starlight will fit the bill.

The photo was taken by Tuohy.