Best Deals on Smart Home Devices

The Eufy Indoor Cam E30 delivers a rich suite of features, including a 4K resolution camera that earns very good scores in our tests. It supports color night vision with an integrated spotlight to help with clarity. Its above-average score for smart features stems from a solid set of AI capabilities, including people, pet, and sound detection, as well as automated panning and tilting motors, which allow the E30 to track subjects around the scene. You can sound a siren and engage in two-way audio communication. Like most Eufy home security cameras, you can view live footage and store clips using a microSD card for no additional charge, connect it to a Eufy HomeBase S380 hub for storage on a hard drive, or pay for optional cloud storage. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home.

The Reolink E1 Pro is an inexpensive pan-and-tilt security camera that performs well in our tests, receiving excellent scores for video quality and response time, and a strong score for data security. This wired camera features local storage on a microSD card, 24/7 recording, people and pet detection, a siren, activity zones, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. In addition to microSD card storage, this camera can store videos on Reolink network video recorders.

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).

The TP-Link Tapo C325WB is an outdoor security cam that performs exceptionally well in our tests. Its 2K-equivalent camera offers top-notch video quality, and it aces CR’s response-time tests, delivering notifications quickly when it detects motion. You can monitor your home at night thanks to its color night vision, which is enhanced by a built-in spotlight that illuminates the area. You can also sound a siren and use the two-way intercom to communicate with visitors. The C325WB musters just a midlevel score in our test for smart features, which include the ability to detect people, pets, and vehicles; customizable activity zones; and support for Amazon Alexa and Google Home. 

The Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi S230 receives strong scores in our brute-force tests for kick-ins and picking, and manages a satisfactory rating for drilling despite not being a keyless model. The affordable lock also performs well in our tests for ease of remote access and connectivity. Its features include a fingerprint scanner for one-touch unlocking, a touchscreen keypad for PINs, auto-locking, an access log, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

If you’d prefer a smart lock that doesn’t connect to the internet, consider the Bluetooth-only version of this lock, the Eufy Smart Lock E130. It’s one of the best Bluetooth smart locks in our tests.

Interested in a smart lock but don’t like hubs and dongles? The August WiFi Smart Lock connects directly to WiFi, no hub needed. It’s also a retrofit model, meaning it replaces only the interior side of your deadbolt so you can keep your existing keys. It performs quite well in our tests, including those for ease of remote access and convenience. Features include auto-locking and unlocking, access logs, electronic keys, and a door sensor.

As the name suggests, the Yale Assure Lock 2 is the successor to the Yale Assure Lock SL. This keyless model performs well in our tests, holding up against kick-ins and attacks from a cordless drill. It’s very easy to set up, connect to WiFi, and control remotely when you’re not home. With the included Yale WiFi Smart Module (an $80 value) it also supports Amazon Alexa, Apple Home/Siri, Google Home/Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings.

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 Google Nest Video Doorbell (Battery) offers impressive data security, speedy response times, and decent video quality in our lab tests. It’s also one of few video doorbells to give you monitoring zones, object recognition (of people, packages, animals, and vehicles), and 3 free hours of cloud video storage without a monthly subscription. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as facial recognition) require a Google Nest Aware subscription.

The Ring Battery Doorbell (2024 Release) is Ring’s entry-level battery doorbell. It performs well in our tests, offering especially speedy response times for alerts and decent video quality. Its features include motion zones, schedules for alerts, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as person detection) require a Ring Home subscription.

One of the best (and least expensive!) doorbell cameras you can buy, the TP-Link Tapo D130 offers a bunch of features—even without a subscription. They include 24/7 recording with local video storage on a microSD card (up to 512 gigabytes, sold separately), AI object recognition (for people, vehicles, packages, and pets), activity zones, and color night vision. The model needs low-voltage doorbell wiring for power. Cloud video storage is available via subscription. This doorbell is 25 percent off its list price, and it’s such a great product that any discount is worth taking.

The Google Nest Cam with Floodlight, now nearly $50 less than its previous sale price, 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 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.)