Opinions on affordable connected security camera systems

Mattman said:

I share a duplex with my aging parents and we've been discussing getting some security cameras. Given the myriad of options, and a limited budget, I was hoping to get some help with selecting a system that gives us the best bang for our buck.
I've looked at Eufy, Blink, Arlo, Ring, and a few others, but it can be hard to separate hype from reality.
Also, something that works with Apple's HomeKit would be preferred.
My preference is not to have a service, but to have the video stored on my network.
Any advice offered would be appreciated!

Matt

Hey @mattman.  You basically have 2 options here.

First option is a subscription service.  I think this would be the less expensive option.  I personally use Ring and have been very satisfied with it.  We're paying about $100 a year, currently for 4 devices, but I can add as many more devices as I want for no additional cost.  Although I don't have it, the Ring alarm system would also be included in that yearly fee.

The second option would be to purchase security cameras along with an NVR (network video recorder).  This would give you 24/7 recording that would be stored on the NVR at your location.  However, this would be the more expensive option BUT there would be no yearly fees unless you decided to have the NVR backed up to a cloud service.

Mattman said:

Thanks @Lee_Bo!

I'll look at Ring again, but I was under the impression there was an upfront cost for the hardware. Some of the cameras I've looked at offer the ability to offload the recordings to storage you have on your site, somewhat like the NVR, but not as expensive. Those are the options I've been leaning towards, but I'm trying to sort out the reviews and marketing data and get to the details.

The help is much appreciated!

Yes, with Ring you buy the cameras, so there is an "up front" cost involved.