Best Security Camera for Apartments in 2025

The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) is our top pick for the best security camera for apartments — it’s affordable at $59.99, sets up in under 5 minutes with no drilling required, and delivers sharp 1080p video with color night vision that actually works in dimly-lit hallways. If you’re a renter who wants peace of mind without permanent modifications, this is the camera to get.

We spent three months testing 20+ indoor security cameras in real apartment settings — small studios, mid-size one-bedrooms, and larger two-bedroom units. We evaluated video quality, ease of setup (no drilling is non-negotiable for renters), smart home integration, night vision performance, and the total cost of ownership including subscriptions.

What to Look for in an Apartment Security Camera

Not every security camera makes sense for apartment living. Here’s what actually matters:

No-Drill Installation

This is the single most important factor for renters. You need a camera that plugs into a power outlet or uses a battery with a magnetic mount. Any camera requiring screws or mounting brackets is a dealbreaker unless your landlord approves modifications.

Wide Field of View

Apartments are tight spaces. A narrow 90° field of view might miss the edges of a room. Look for cameras with at least 130° diagonal coverage — this ensures you can capture an entire living room or entry hallway from a single camera placement.

Reliable Night Vision

Most break-ins happen when you’re away or asleep. Color night vision is a game-changer compared to the grainy black-and-white footage of older cameras. Both the Ring Indoor Cam and Wyze Cam v3 deliver usable color footage in low light conditions.

Storage Without Breaking the Bank

Cloud storage subscriptions add up. At $3-4/month per camera, you could spend $36-48/year just to save your footage. If cost is a concern, look for cameras with free cloud tiers or local microSD storage as a fallback.

Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) — Best Overall for Apartments

The Ring Indoor Cam nails the apartment use case. It’s a compact, plug-in camera that sits on any flat surface or mounts with the included adhesive bracket — zero holes in your walls. The 140° field of view is the widest in our test at this price point, easily covering a standard apartment living room from one corner.

Video quality is excellent for 1080p. The color night vision uses an ambient light sensor to switch between full-color and enhanced infrared modes automatically. In our testing, it captured clear facial details in a dimly-lit entryway with just the hallway light seeping under the door.

The Alexa integration is where Ring really shines. If you have an Echo Show, you can pull up a live feed with a voice command. Motion alerts are fast — typically under 10 seconds from detection to phone notification in our tests.

Who it’s for: Renters who use Alexa and want a reliable, simple setup. Who should skip it: Google Home users (it’s Alexa-only) or anyone who refuses to pay for cloud storage.

Wyze Cam v3 — Best Budget Option

At $35.98, the Wyze Cam v3 is essentially half the price of the Ring Indoor Cam and still delivers surprisingly good performance. The headline feature for budget-conscious renters: free local storage via a microSD card slot. No subscription required to save and review footage.

The Starlight Sensor technology produces impressive color night vision — in our side-by-side tests, it was nearly as good as the Ring’s night footage and noticeably better than the Blink Mini 2. The 130° field of view is slightly narrower than the Ring but still adequate for most apartment rooms.

One downside is the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi limitation. In apartment buildings with dozens of competing networks on the 2.4GHz band, you may experience occasional connectivity drops. We saw this happen twice during our three-month test in a dense apartment building.

Who it’s for: Budget shoppers who want local storage and dual-platform support. Who should skip it: Anyone in a Wi-Fi-congested building who needs rock-solid connectivity.

Blink Mini 2 — Cheapest Name-Brand Option

At just $29.99, the Blink Mini 2 is the cheapest security camera we’d actually recommend. It includes a built-in spotlight — a rarity at this price — and supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, which is a meaningful advantage over the Wyze in crowded apartment buildings.

The 143° field of view is actually the widest in our budget roundup. Person detection is included without a subscription, which helps reduce false alerts from pets or passing cars visible through windows.

However, all video storage requires a Blink Subscription Plan at $3/month per camera. There’s no microSD slot and no free cloud tier. If you’re okay with only live viewing and motion alerts (no saved clips), you can use it without paying anything extra.

Who it’s for: Alexa users who want the cheapest possible camera with a spotlight. Who should skip it: Anyone who wants to save video clips without a subscription.

Google Nest Cam (Battery) — Best for Google Homes

The Nest Cam stands out for renters deeply invested in the Google ecosystem. The magnetic mount is genuinely brilliant — you stick the metal plate to any surface with adhesive, and the camera snaps on magnetically. Repositioning takes two seconds.

Google’s on-device AI processing means the camera can distinguish between people, animals, and vehicles without sending footage to the cloud. You get 3 hours of free event history — enough to catch anything important if you check regularly.

At $179.99, it’s the most expensive option in our roundup by a significant margin. The 1080p resolution feels dated compared to the Arlo Pro 5’s 2K, but for apartment-distance viewing (typically under 20 feet), it’s perfectly adequate.

Who it’s for: Google Home users willing to pay a premium for seamless integration. Who should skip it: Budget shoppers or anyone who wants more than 3 hours of free storage.

How We Tested

We installed each camera in three different apartment configurations over a 90-day testing period. We evaluated daytime and nighttime video quality, measured notification latency, stress-tested Wi-Fi reliability by running concurrent devices on the same network, and tracked false alert rates. Storage costs were calculated based on 12 months of the cheapest plan that includes video history. Setup time was measured from unboxing to first live view.

Bottom Line

The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) is the best security camera for most apartment renters. It combines hassle-free setup, excellent video quality, and reliable Alexa integration at a fair $59.99 price point. If you’re on a tight budget, the Wyze Cam v3 at $35.98 with free local storage is a remarkable value — just be prepared for occasional Wi-Fi hiccups in dense buildings.