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Check the plan before you buy the camera
Every outdoor camera will show you a live view and send a motion alert. The split comes after that. Some cameras save video to a memory card and spot people with no paid plan. Others save nothing until you pay each month. The listing tells you which kind it is, but you have to read the small words: "sold separately" and "with a subscription".
How many days of video fit?
This is an estimate. We assume 1 Mbps for 1080p, 2 Mbps for 2K and 4 Mbps for 4K. Real cameras vary with the scene, the settings and the video format. When storage is full, most cameras record over the oldest video.
Ask three things about any camera. What does it do with no plan? Where is the video saved? How does it get power? The guides below take them one at a time.
See the 6 cameras we'd shortlist
Guides
- The 6 best outdoor security cameras in 2026
Six outdoor security cameras for homeowners: solar, battery and wired. See which ones save video with no paid plan and what owners complain about.
- What works free and what needs a paid plan
Live view and alerts are usually free. Saved video and person detection often are not. How to read a camera listing for plan limits.
- Local storage: how many days of video fit?
microSD, built-in storage or a hub: where security camera video is saved, plus a calculator for how many days fit in nonstop or motion-only mode.
- Battery life and 4K claims, and what changes them
Battery life claims assume a quiet spot, and more pixels do not fix night video or weak WiFi. How to read the big numbers on a camera listing.