Nest Cam with floodlight (wired)

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

If you want a single outdoor cam to protect your yard, consider what features you actually need. Do you want a spotlight to scare off people? Do you mean wired, battery-powered, or solar power? Is there enough resolution? Is one security brand better than the rest? We can help you decide, starting with the best outdoor security cameras on the market right now.

Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro Underside

(Image credit: Nick Sutrich / Android Central)

When choosing the best outdoor security cameras for protecting your home, make sure you know where you want to place them and whether or not you have the money to make them more intimidating. A spotlight camera can alert someone that they are being recorded and hopefully drive them off, but it can also help the invader.

So you want a camera that can be mounted high enough so that the robbers can't reach it. For wired cameras, you will need to hardwire them to a junction box or find a nearby outlet that someone can easily access to plug the camera in.

The Eufy Floodlight Camera is our favorite because it can replace most outdoor light fixture and will add an excellent camera to keep an eye on your property. The purchase price of the camera is a one-time deal, unlike many other popular smart camera brands.

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If you can't hardwire the camera to your position of choice, both Arlo and Blink offer battery-powered alternatives that will get the job done and last a long time on a single charge. If you have a Ring camera system already, it is always best to stick to the Ring app and routines for maximum compatibility.

If you plan to buy some of the best indoor security cameras or a smart video doorbell, you will want to buy all of them from a single brand. You can check all of the footage from the same app, and a single subscription would give you cloud storage and detection for all of them.

Wyze cameras were removed from our recommended list of best outdoor security cameras because of security issues that were recently found. The company's deceptive practices over a period of three years have caused us to lose trust in its products.