Best Home Security Cameras With Lights for 2024 - CNET

Article updated on September 10, 2024 at 2:38 AM PDT

Here are our top picks of the best combo security cameras and lights, including smart floodlight cameras and spotlights, to make your home safer.

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

What to consider

Lighting

Do you need a floodlight or a spotlight? How large do you want the LED panels? Is controlling brightness or color important to you?

Cost

How much are you willing to pay for a security camera with lighting? Are you willing to pay well over $200 for the best options, or do you want to save money?

Camera quality

Does the camera have a higher resolution to capture more details? Does it have a wide enough field of view to capture everything the lights illuminate?

Power

Do you need a wired or wireless model? Are you will to manage battery charging for a wireless model? Do you have a junction box or nearby outlet for a wired cam?

Object detection

Does the camera have the ability to identify humans from animals and ignore vehicles? Do these features cost extra?

Audio

Does the cam have two-way audio? Is it clear enough to be heard if the lighted cam is installed in a higher place?

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

What to consider

Lighting

Do you need a floodlight or a spotlight? How large do you want the LED panels? Is controlling brightness or color important to you?

Cost

How much are you willing to pay for a security camera with lighting? Are you willing to pay well over $200 for the best options, or do you want to save money?

Camera quality

Does the camera have a higher resolution to capture more details? Does it have a wide enough field of view to capture everything the lights illuminate?

Power

Do you need a wired or wireless model? Are you will to manage battery charging for a wireless model? Do you have a junction box or nearby outlet for a wired cam?

Object detection

Does the camera have the ability to identify humans from animals and ignore vehicles? Do these features cost extra?

Audio

Does the cam have two-way audio? Is it clear enough to be heard if the lighted cam is installed in a higher place?

If you're looking to add a security camera with a built-in light fixture, our top pick is the Lorex 2K floodlight cam, which costs around $250. It's one of the most powerful outdoor floodlight cameras with incredible light customization. We've made it our top pick after spending over 200 hours testing home security devices and smart lights at CNET. We can confidently say that we’ve rarely found this combination of features for controlling brightness, color temperature and floodlight angles, as well as local storage and free person detection. The Lorex camera is a bit pricey, but it's an excellent choice to light up a dark driveway or backyard.

Of course, we've included a bunch of other options as well. So if you're looking for a different kind of security light, check our full list below. Our picks include models from Eufy, Blink, Arlo and Ring for all sorts of lighting needs, ranging from a mini spotlight for a dark room to a decorative security cam light for a deck or patio. We have guides on outdoor security cameras and home security systems for even more information about what will work best for your home.

A floodlight cam has many jobs, but the most important is illuminating a large, dark space. Lorex’s cam makes this easier than any other cam we’ve reviewed, thanks to its fully customizable LED panels. You can adjust the brightness and color temperature of the lights to get the perfect shade or find the brightness that your neighbors can live with, as well as adjust the angle of the panels to help spread or focus the light where you want it most. Then you have the option to pick between modes like motion-activated, scheduled lighting and other choices to tweak on the lights work and if they're more permanent lighting or security-oriented. We haven’t found another floodlight model with quite so many options.

Beyond the lighting, Lorex’s cam offers several other desirable features including color night vision, a 2K resolution and free object detection to cut down on false alerts. Lorex also favors local storage so you can stay off the cloud and away from subscription fees, although the camera does support Alexa and Google Assistant.

If maximum brightness and coverage are your goals, you can’t go wrong with Eufy’s tri-panel floodlight camera, offering up to 3,000 lumens that pair nicely with the 2K resolution. It’s also a pan/tilt camera, a perfect fit for monitoring a very large open space and keeping an eye on the action in any kind of weather. The AI features not only identify humans but can track them as they move across a yard, court, driveway or field.

Like Lorex, Eufy allows for helpful customization options like brightness and color temperature, as well as modes like automatic sunrise/sunset lighting and motion-only lighting. It’s also largely subscription free with 8GB of onboard storage. Finally, the S330 is one of the few cams to work with Apple Home and Siri, ideal for those who prefer staying within Apple’s ecosystem while still getting one of the best light cams available.

Spotlights are designed to shine a bright light in a smaller space, like an entryway or particularly dark yard zone that doesn’t need a big floodlight but benefits from direct illumination. Ring’s advanced HD version of its Spotlight cams is one of our favorites for this purpose. With the battery version, you can place the cam in all kinds of spaces where other light sources are lacking, and Ring's quick-release battery design is especially helpful when recharging without disturbing the spotlight angle.

The HD cam is compact enough with its built-in LED panels that it won’t take up too much space in a corner, and Ring’s highly customizable motion detection helps you conserve battery life, although you do need to pay a subscription fee (starting at $5) for object detection. The camera also includes two-way audio and a siren if you need to take additional steps. Since Ring is an Amazon brand, voice assistant compatibility is limited to Alexa.

SCORE

Blink's Mini 2 cam stays small but adds outdoor compatibility and more.

Floodlights and spotlights are primarily designed for outdoor spaces. If you’re interested in a smaller, more nimble lighting option, the Blink Mini 2 fits easily in your palm but includes a host of features. The HD cam supports indoor or (with the right power cable) outdoor placement, includes a surprisingly power mic for two-way audio and offers a brightness-adjustable mini LED.

At maximum settings, we were impressed by just how much light the Blink Mini 2 can produce. It’s a good fit for an entryway table or small patio where you want to keep watch and occasionally light the space up for a much better look (it greatly improves the night vision too). The smooth operation of the Blink app makes those steps easy even for new users.

Blink's Mini 2 cam stays small but adds outdoor compatibility and more.

A wireless floodlight cam is a risky bid for outdoor protection since large LED panels -- even as energy-efficient as they are -- can still drain battery life when used frequently. We walked away from our Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight testing deeply impressed with its battery and all-around usability. The 2K resolution with HDR is great, motion detection with activity zones is accurate and the pivoting mount makes it easy to angle the camera however you want.

Arlo’s cams ditch limitations to embrace a do-everything design and this particular model even works with Apple HomeKit if you purchase an additional Arlo hub. The brand does lock quite a few features, including object detection and video storage, behind a subscription fee starting at $8 per month.

If you’re dreaming of a sconce-like light cam that will be perfectly aesthetic beside the patio, walkway or deck decor, the svelte Eufy S100 was made with you in mind. It keeps excellent Eufy cam specs, including a 2K resolution, night vision and free object recognition. Here they’re housed in a graceful design with 1,200-lumen panels to keep dark parts around your home lit without blinding people or making guests feel like they're being watched.

You can adjust not only the lighting’s brightness but also its specific color to best suit the outdoor mood you’re seeking. Onboard storage means you don’t have to pay for cloud video, and two-way audio (along with a siren) waits if you need to take more direct measures. Despite the more decorative design, the camera still has IP65 weather resistance to stay ready in a wide range of climates.

The Nest Cam with Floodlight is the most expensive of the newly announced products at $280.

Google Nest Cam with Floodlight: We liked the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight in our review, but it’s a very expensive camera with fewer customization options than our top picks. It’s a good choice for those who want a few hours of free cloud storage for video download opportunities.

Arlo Pro 2K 5S: This Arlo cam is one of our favorite all-rounders, but it’s not the best choice if you want to focus on lighting up an area, although it does have a spotlight, among many other features.

Blink Floodlight Mount: We love the Blink Outdoor cam line, but don’t like the idea of purchasing an additional mount just to get a lighting option.

Ring Spotlight Cam: Ring’s Spotlight Cam is a bit more affordable but is ultimately outclassed by the Plus version of the camera. It's also so old that new versions are no longer sold, replaced by the Pro and Plus versions. The Pro version is another excellent pick, but much more expensive than the Plus and we preferred a more affordable option for a spotlight camera.

Eufy's cam settings, once found, provide many different ways to customize the camera.

At CNET we spend hours with every camera, carefully testing its quality and smart features. That includes testing how well it can detect people and ignore cars, what the resolution really looks like and how well the app performs. We also test in a variety of low-light conditions to get a good idea of how night functions and how well those lights actually illuminate. For more on how we install and test cameras (and occasionally cosplay as burglars), take a look at our full testing guide.

Eufy's cam can keep an eye on large spaces.

What sort of lighting do you want? We prefer to see long-lasting LEDs (a norm in home security these days), and broader panels or bright spotlights with well over 1,000 combined lumens to really light an area up. Some may prefer a more direct light for a particularly dark corner or porch. We also prefer lots of control over brightness, light scheduling and colors, which is a significant reason the Lorex floodlight cam made it to our top spot.

Security cameras with big, bright lights tend to be much more expensive than the average cam. The best models tend to go above $200, but we look for cost-saving options where possible. Ultimately, we don’t think it’s worth sacrificing quality for a lower price: Having a light panel go dark after a year of use feels bad no matter how much money you saved.

Lights pair well with high-quality camera resolution and fields of view over 130 degrees if possible. You’ll notice many of our picks offer a 2K resolution, which is excellent for grabbing more details when a camera is positioned high over a wide area, which is a common case for cams with lighting.

Consider whether you want a battery-powered cam or a wired option. When it comes to spotlight or floodlight cams, wired versions are common. A battery option may be more versatile, but bright lights can run down batteries quickly and floodlight cams are often placed in areas where retrieving the battery for charging could be difficult.

You don’t want your lighting to switch on every time a leaf blows by. Object detection that can ignore cars and animals and focus on people is a great asset for cams with lights. We prefer to see object detection available for free, but it’s often locked behind a subscription fee (along with cloud video storage). Consider if you want to pay ongoing costs for your camera.

If the light catches something unexpected, it’s nice to have an audio option so that you can hold a conversation or at least use your best shouty voice. This goes hand-in-hand with a high-quality app that’s easy to understand and use, letting you access microphone features in seconds when necessary.

Typically, you have many choices for placing a security camera, especially if it’s wireless. For cameras with lighting, you’ll want to pick a spot where they can best beat back the shadows. Common outdoor choices include over a garage or patio or above a porch or front door. Inside, you may want to choose areas where a camera can light up an entryway or hallway that doesn’t have much access to light. See our guide on the best spots for security cameras to learn more.

Lumens (lm) are a way to measure the brightness of light. There are different types of lumen measurements, but the most common and most useful here are light source lumens. One lumen is about equal to one candela of brightness cast across a squared radian, which essentially means it’s a tiny bit of brightness visible to the human eye. More lumens equals more brightness. Don’t try to compare watts and lumens directly, especially with LED lights, which use much less power.

It can certainly help. Motion detection lights can both light up intruders and let them see that they are being recorded by a camera. Burglaries tend to be crimes of opportunity. Unless you are in a very, very affluent neighborhood, burglars will just ignore any home that shows signs of a security system.

Usually. Cameras differ in their ability to adjust features like brightness, color and color temperature (how cool or warm a light source looks). Most modern LED floodlights at least allow you to control brightness. Almost all the security cams with spotlights we’ve tested also let you control brightness, but spotlight features tend to be slightly more limited.

Several things can help. First, look in the app to see if you can set motion or privacy zones to focus on what the camera’s sensors are watching. Second, look for motion detection sensitivity settings, which you can often decrease to avoid frequent triggers. Third, look for ways to increase the mandatory pause before triggers so the same thing doesn’t trigger the camera multiple times. Finally, see if there is a way you can get or improve object detection so the cam ignores vehicles and other types of movements.

Not usually. Video doorbells typically come with night vision, but their lower positioning makes them a poor choice for lighting, and porches tend to have additional sources of lighting anyway.