Free video storage: Yes, on up to a 512-gigabyte microSD card (sold separately).
Optional subscription costs: Through a Tapo Care Premium plan, you get 30 days of cloud video storage, starting at $3.49 per month (or $35 per year) for one camera and going up to $12 per month (or $120 per year) for 10 cameras. For Apple Home users, an Apple iCloud+ storage plan gives you a rolling 10 days of storage for one camera for $1 per month, up to five cameras for $3 per month, or unlimited cameras for $10 per month.
The TP-Link Tapo C225 offers a lot of value, given its low $50 price. It’s a motorized pan-and-tilt camera with local video storage on a microSD card (sold separately) and a laundry list of features: person detection, pet detection, vehicle detection, sound detection (for crying babies, glass breaking, dogs barking, cats meowing), color night vision, monitoring zones, motion tracking where the camera moves to follow the subject it’s recording, a privacy mode that covers the camera, a built-in siren, and voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant.
The camera also works with Apple HomeKit Secure Video, which uses end-to-end encryption and processes motion alerts for people, animals, and vehicles locally on an Apple home hub (either a HomePod smart speaker or an Apple TV streaming box). Your videos can also be stored on Apple’s servers with an iCloud subscription.
Are you still with me? In our tests, this wired TP-Link camera receives top scores for video quality and response time, as well as strong scores for data security and smart features. Its only drawback is its lackluster data privacy, but that’s quite common with security cameras.
For a stationary Tapo camera that supports Apple HomeKit Secure Video, see our test results for the TP-Link Tapo C125.
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