Best Deals on Smart Home Devices

The Arlo Essential 2K (VMC3050-100NAS) is one of Arlo’s newer, more budget-friendly security cameras. It performs well in our tests and features a built-in spotlight, a siren, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Additional features, such as activity zones, person detection, and cloud video storage, require an Arlo Secure subscription.

The TP-Link Tapo C225 offers a lot of value for its price. It’s a motorized pan-and-tilt camera with local video storage on a microSD card (not included) and a laundry list of features: person detection, pet detection, sound detection (for crying babies, glass breaking, dogs barking, cats meowing), color night vision, activity zones, motion tracking where the camera moves to follow the subject it’s recording, a privacy mode that covers the camera, a built-in siren, and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home. It even supports Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video system, so you can store footage with end-to-end encryption in iCloud.

Are you still with me? In our tests, this wired TP-Link camera receives high scores for video quality and response time, as well as strong scores for data security and smart features. Its only drawback is its lackluster data privacy, but that’s quite common with security cameras. This camera is on sale for about 25 percent off its usual list price.

The TP-Link Tapo MagCam C425 is a compact, battery-powered security camera that performs well in our tests. It offers local storage with up to a 512-gigabyte microSD card (sold separately) and features person detection, pet detection, vehicle detection, monitoring zones, and more. Best of all, you don’t need a subscription to use any of these features. TP-Link also sells a $40 solar panel that can be connected to the camera to keep its battery charged. This TP-Link security camera is still at its best price.

The TP-Link Tapo C120 is an affordable outdoor security camera that offers impeccable performance for its price. It also offers a ton of features and doesn’t require a subscription to take advantage of them. Those features include activity zones, AI alerts (for people, pets, and vehicles), color night vision, two-way audio, built-in spotlights, and local video storage using up to a 512GB microSD card (not included).

Google’s newest smart thermostat, the Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen, comes with a remote temperature sensor that you can place in another room to balance heating and cooling. It’s one of just a few Matter-compatible smart thermostats on the market, meaning it works with any major smart home system, including Apple Home.

The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim EP25 is one of the most versatile smart plugs on the market, offering energy monitoring and compatibility with all four major smart home systems: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. It’s also very easy to use and set up based on our expert evaluations, and it offers decent data security. This four-pack is down to the lowest price we’ve seen for it.

The TP-Link Tapo D210 is one of the most affordable doorbell cameras in our ratings and it performs better than many more expensive cameras. This doorbell is battery-powered, meaning you don’t have to mess with doorbell wires, and it comes with a plug-in doorbell chime in the box. Its features include activity zones, color night vision, local video storage on up to a 512GB microSD card (not included), person detection, pre-recorded responses to ask visitors to leave a message, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Best of all, none of these features require a subscription.

To make your light displays really pop at any time of the year, consider the Twinkly Strings. We tried out these lights a few years ago and found them to be a fun way to put on an elaborate light show. The lights connect to WiFi, so you can customize them from your smartphone, but they also work with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home. You can currently get a 200 LED color set for 49 percent off, or a 600 LED set that can display colors and pure white light for 12 percent off. The 200 LED set can display white light by blending its colors, but it can’t display pure white light as it lacks the dedicated white LEDs found in the other set.

The Airthings View Plus 2960 is a top performer in our tests. It’s very quick to set up, and you can easily view real-time readings through a smartphone app or a built-in display. The app also logs historical data from the monitor’s sensors. Unlike many other monitors, the Airthings claims to detect radon, a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that can seep from the ground into a home. (CR hasn’t tested this function.)

The Google Nest Cam with Floodlight offers impeccable video quality, strong data security, and speedy response times. Its features include activity zones to control what areas in front of the camera trigger recording, app/voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings), and free object detection for people, animals, and vehicles. That last feature is a big deal because most competitors charge you a subscription for it. Cloud video storage and additional features require a Nest Aware subscription.

In our survey-based owner satisfaction ratings of home security systems, SimpliSafe scores well both as a professionally monitored system and a self-monitored system. Our members report that SimpliSafe provides good value for the money, transparent prices, and great tech support.

The Meross MSG100 is the best smart garage door opener controller from our at-home evaluation. It’s relatively easy to set up and install, and it works flawlessly with all of the major smart-home systems (Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings).