The Best Wireless Security Cameras With No Subscription

When securing your property, wireless security cameras are a great deterrent of potential thieves, and can be vital in tracking down burglars if you ever need to do so. One of the big drawbacks of many major security brands is that they charge a subscription for you to actually be able to use the cameras how you want.

Today we will be looking at some of the best wireless security cameras that you don’t need to pay a subscription for. There are a range of options, from super affordable all the way up to top of the line technology, so I’m sure you’ll find one that suits you here.

Why Buy A Camera With No Subscription?

Buying security cameras with a subscription model means that you can potentially get locked into a single companies ecosystem, and over the years it can cost hundreds of pounds just for this, on top of the cameras! As an example, a full home coverage subscription with Ring costs £80 per year, which is £400 over 5 years. Although Ring home security systems are great, it’s not for everyone. In my opinion it’s definitely worth looking for options which are free once you’ve bought them.

If you don’t want to have to pay monthly on top of the price of the camera itself, there are still some really great options to choose from. Whether you’re after a great budget camera such as the ieGeek 2k or you’re looking for crystal clear HD recording like on the Reolink Argus 3 Pro, there are a ton of really fantastic picks.

So, what are the best subscription-free wireless security cameras you can buy in 2023?

The 5 Best No Subscription Wireless Security Cameras

Quick Summary

1. ieGeek 2K Wireless Security Camera – Best Affordable Option
2. DEKCO 2K Security Camera Outdoor – Best For Dark
3. Reolink Argus 3 Pro – Best Overall
4. Tenda Security Camera Indoor – Best Indoor Camera
5. Reolink Argus PT – Best Camera With Solar Panel

Personally, I think the Reolink Argus 3 Pro is probably the best option for a majority of use cases, which is why it’s taken our number one spot for the best overall wireless security camera with no subscription.

It easily competes with the competition, and although it isn’t the cheapest, a lot of its features are top quality, as we’ll get into in more detail in a moment.

ieGeek 2K Wireless Security Camera – Best Affordable Option

I’ve written a full in-depth review on this great little wireless camera, and it’s definitely the best affordable option out there. At around £50-60 at the time of writing, not a lot comes close to it in terms of features and recording quality.

It’s got a great lens capable of doing crystal clear 1440p recording, but lowering the resolution and increasing the smoothness of the video is a great option too. Pairing this camera to the app is a breeze and I was blown away by the sheer number of different modes and features the ieGeek offers for the price, all without a pesky monthly subscription unlike a lot of its competitors.

The camera has a decent battery life – expect it to last for around 2 weeks on a single charge, although this of course depends on the number of times it is triggered.

If you want to read a more detailed write up of the ieGeek ZS-GQ1, check out my review here.

DEKCO 2K Security Camera Outdoor – Best For Dark

The DEKCO 2K Security camera is very similar to the ieGeek, but has brighter LED lighting which is great for surveillance of darker places, such as the back garden. The lighting also doubles up as a great security light, so it’s almost a 2 in 1 since you can use it to illuminate your path when it’s dark too. At this price point it obviously doesn’t record in the same quality as some of the more premium picks on the list, but it still does the job.

It can record in infra-red night vision as well as full-colour night vision. I would definitely opting for full-colour if possible out of the two, since it’s generally clearer in most cases especially at a closer range.

The DEKCO even supports remote-controlled pan and zoom, just like the Reolink Argus PT which is a good bit more expensive, and it only offers 4x digital zoom unlike the 16x on the Argus PT. But hey, for the price it’s a great pick!

Reolink Argus 3 Pro – Best Overall

The Argus 3 Pro by Reolink is our pick for the best overall wireless security camera which doesn’t need a subscription to use. It’s relatively affordable, works on both 2.5GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, and has great quality 1440p/2k recording. It comes with a decent-sized rechargeable battery can has the option to be hooked up to a solar panel to save you needing to charge the battery manually.

Taking colour video in the night time is such a great advantage of the Reolink and anyone who has seen blurry CCTV footage at night will know exactly why. High Definition colour video recordings make identifying suspects, should you ever need to, a lot more straightforward.

As with some of the other options on this list, it has good quality motion detection and two way audio, allowing you to speak to people outside and hear them speaking back to you, since it’s fitted with a decent speaker and microphone.

It can store video through local SD storage, supporting up to 128GB, which is more than enough for most homeowners.

At around £120 at the time of reviewing, it isn’t the cheapest option out there but the quality of this camera speaks for itself. It’s reliable, with great audio and video recording quality, all with the benefit of not forcing you to use a subscription to get all the features you want out of it.

Tenda Security Camera Indoor – Best Indoor Camera

The Tenda wireless indoor security camera is our top pick if you’re looking for an affordable indoor-only option. These things are a fair bit cheaper and ideal for hooking up in a house, office or garage. 360 degree tracking is a great feature and means you can pop a single camera in a large room and still get really good coverage.

The camera quality leaves a little to be desired when compared to some of the more premium outdoor camera options, but it serves its purpose well. They offer both a 1080p and 1440p version, with the 2k version costing a little more. For most households I would just recommend the cheaper option.

It’s night vision recording isn’t the best, but infra-red recording is definitely a nice extra feature. The Tenda is intended for use with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, which is worth bearing in mind too.

Reolink Argus PT – Best Camera With Solar Panel

The Reolink Argus PT can be purchased with a solar panel kit for a good price, and is the best option on the list if you are looking for a no-subscription solar outdoor wireless security camera. it does also have a rechargeable battery, so it can be used in the same way as the others if you need to give it some extra charge.

Like the Reolink Argus 3 Pro, the Argus PT supports 2.4/5GHz WiFi, with the main difference being that the Argus PT offers great pan, tilt and zoom features which is ideal for covering a wider area such as a large garden.

The camera can be remotely controlled via the app, which is really cool and definitely makes you feel like you’re a part of some super-secret spy film, except the surveillance footage is probably quite mundane. Reolink does offer a cloud storage service, but this isn’t completely necessary if you would prefer to store the footage yourself.

As with the Argus 3 Pro, the Argus PT works great with Alexa, which is obviously a great luxury if you already have one in your home.

FAQs

Do Ring Doorbells Need a Subscription?

To use a lot of features you would want on a Ring Doorbell or smart camera, you will probably need to pay a subscription. For features you would most definitely want for normal surveillance use, such as person alerts, downloading recordings and video storage.

How Much Does a Ring Doorbell Subscription Cost?

According to Ring, a subscription for a single device starts from £34.99 per year, whilst whole home coverage across multiple devices costs £80 per year.

Is it worth getting a security camera subscription?

If you already have a few Ring devices in your home, it may still make sense to pay for a Ring subscription as opposed to buying new devices just to save money on the subscription cost. On the other hand, if you don’t already have devices from brands which charge by the month, then it might be worth buying one of our recommended devices to avoid having to pay monthly on top of paying for the cameras.

Are Security Cameras With subscriptions better?

Security cameras which charge a subscription aren’t always better and often make you locked into one particular ecosystem. There are some extra features that may be easier to use through a premium subscription such as Ring, but generally it isn’t completely necessary to get cameras which require one unless you have specific needs that only certain companies offer.

Can I Use My Wireless Security Camera With Alexa?

It depends on the device you buy, but many of the picks on our top list are very well integrated with Alexa, such as both of the Reolink Smart Cameras. It’s become a standard for most premium wireless cameras, but not all of them have it as standard so it’s worth checking the product page on Amazon just to make sure.

Conclusion

There are a wide range of subscription-free security cameras for sale on a wide range of sites such as Amazon. It absolutely isn’t necessary for a vast majority of households to pay a camera subscription as cameras which use free software can be just as good, if not better. Some of these cameras feature the highest level of tech available on the market, so don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to shell out for a premium service every month if you want to secure your home.