Best PoE Security Cameras for Home, No Monthly Fees (2026)

Shop the Reolink RLC-811A →

The RLC-811A is a 4K bullet camera with a motorized 5x optical zoom, and the zoom is what sets it apart from cheaper 8MP cameras. With optical zoom, you can frame the street end of the driveway from your eave. Without it, you'd be cropping a wide shot later and getting mush. Reolink lists color night vision from built-in spotlights and infrared out to 100 ft.

It's our top pick because it meets all five criteria with no catch. Detection runs on the camera. Footage goes to a microSD card up to 256GB or a Reolink NVR, and power and video share one cable. It has 4.65 stars from 48 reviews on Reolink's site. At $17.50 per megapixel it costs $40 more than the 810A, and that $40 buys the zoom.

Best for: A driveway or front yard where the detail you care about is well back from the house, like a face at the curb or a plate in the street.

Skip if: You're covering a narrow side yard or a back door. Zoom adds nothing there, and the $99.99 RLC-810A or RLC-820A does the same job.

Honest caveat: It needs a PoE switch or injector for power, and neither comes in the box. Budget for one before you climb the ladder.

Shop the Reolink TrackMix PoE →

The TrackMix puts a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens in one 4K housing. It also pans and tilts on its own to follow a person, vehicle or pet across the yard, so one lens holds the whole scene while the other zooms in on whoever just walked through the gate. Spotlights give it color night vision, and infrared covers the rest.

At $169.99 and $21.25 per megapixel, it's the most expensive pick here. It also has the fewest ratings: 4.56 stars from 16 reviews. On a big lot, though, the math can still work. Two RLC-810As cost $199.98, and one TrackMix gives you both a wide and a tight view for $30 less, if the auto-tracking behaves on your property.

Best for: Long driveways or corner lots where you'd otherwise mount two cameras.

Skip if: You want to set it and forget it, or your switch only supports basic 802.3af PoE. PTZ cameras often need PoE+ (up to 30W per port), so check the power draw on the product page before you buy a switch.

Honest caveat: Independent reviewers say the auto-tracking isn't always consistent and depends on how you set it up. Plan on some trial and error with detection zones and mounting height.

Shop the Reolink RLC-810A →

This is the plain 4K bullet camera, and it's the one we'd put on most walls of a house. You get 8MP video and 18 infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision up to 100 ft. Detection happens on the camera. Recordings go to a microSD card up to 256GB, or record 24/7 to a Reolink NVR.

It ties for the lowest price per megapixel at $12.50. It also has the best rating and the most reviews of any pick: 4.69 stars from 121. That's a good sign for a camera you'll mount once and leave alone for years.

Best for: A first PoE setup, side yards, back doors, the garage, or filling out a four-camera system without blowing the budget.

Skip if: You need color at night, say to tell a navy hoodie from a black one. Spend the extra $40 on the RLC-811A.

Honest caveat: There's no color night vision. After dark, it only uses black-and-white infrared.

Shop the Reolink RLC-820A →

The RLC-820A matches the 810A on the specs that matter: 8MP, 18 infrared LEDs reaching 100 ft, and on-device detection. The difference is the housing. It's a dome rated IP67, which means it's fully dust-tight and can survive being submerged in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Domes sit flush under a porch ceiling or soffit and draw less attention than a bullet.

It's also $12.50 per megapixel, with 4.58 stars from 57 reviews. Choosing between this and the 810A comes down to where you're mounting it, not the spec sheet.

Best for: Covered porches and eaves, anywhere you'd rather the camera blend into the ceiling.

Skip if: You want a camera that looks like a camera, since a visible bullet says 'you're on video' more clearly. Also skip it if you need color night vision.

Honest caveat: Like the 811A, it needs a PoE switch or injector, and Reolink doesn't include one.

Shop the Reolink Video Doorbell PoE →

This doorbell brings the rest of your wired system to the front door. It records 5MP (2K+) video with a 180-degree diagonal field of view, so you see the visitor and the package on the mat. It has two-way audio, person detection and visit alerts handled on the device, a microSD slot up to 256GB, and it works with a Reolink NVR. It's rated 4.49 stars from 110 reviews.

At $24.00 per megapixel it ranks last on our metric, but you're not buying it for pixels. You're buying a front door that records to the same box as every other camera, with no doorbell subscription and no weak Wi-Fi signal at the door.

Best for: New builds and homes already wired for Ethernet. Front doors with weak Wi-Fi, too.

Skip if: You have no easy cable path to the door and don't want to fish one through a finished wall.

Honest caveat: Running Ethernet to the door can be hard in an existing home. The page also lists hardwiring to existing 12-24VAC doorbell wiring as a power option. Check how the doorbell connects to your network in that setup before you buy.

Each pick's price, price per megapixel, the spec that decides it, and who it's for.

Are PoE cameras better than Wi-Fi cameras?

For a permanent home system, usually yes. One Ethernet cable carries power and data, so you don't charge batteries and you don't lose signal at the far corner of the yard. The tradeoff is installation: you're running cable, up to 328 ft per run without an extender. If you rent and can't drill, a no-drill upgrade like the smart locks we picked for renters is a more realistic place to start.

Do PoE cameras need the internet?

No. All five picks record to a microSD card or a Reolink NVR on your home network, and they handle detection on the device. You only need internet to watch live or get app alerts when you're away from home. If your internet goes down, recording keeps going.

Do PoE cameras work during a power outage?

Only if whatever powers them stays on. PoE cameras draw power from the switch or NVR, so when that goes dark, every camera does too. Put the switch, NVR and router on a UPS or a portable power station. Our guide to home backup power stations covers sizes that can keep a small network running.

How many PoE cameras can I add to a system?

Switch ports and NVR channels set the limit, along with the switch's total power budget. Standard 802.3af PoE supplies up to 15.4W per port, and PoE+ up to 30W. But the switch has a total budget too. Put four 20W cameras on a 60W switch and the fourth one won't power on, so add up each camera's maximum draw before you buy.

Can I use any PoE switch for IP cameras?

Use a switch that follows the IEEE standard your cameras need (802.3af or 802.3at) and has enough total budget. Run solid copper Cat5e or Cat6, not copper-clad aluminum, which has higher resistance and can overheat. Cat6's thicker 23 AWG wire also loses less voltage on long runs. If you plan to mix brands or use third-party software, check for ONVIF Profile S and Profile T support, which cover basic streaming and H.265.

How much storage do I need for 24/7 recording?

Western Digital's capacity calculator puts a four-camera 4K system recording 24/7 at 15 FPS with H.265 at about 2TB to 3TB for seven days. That works out to roughly 500GB to 750GB per camera per week. So a 256GB microSD card holds about two and a half to three and a half days of nonstop 4K. A card is fine for recording events, but for continuous recording you want an NVR.