The Best Local Storage Security Cameras For Locking Down Your Recordings

Catching intruders in the act is one of the many specialties of today’s best security cameras. While catching them on video certainly helps, just having a security camera up and visible is a preventative measure that could dissuade potential criminals.

Video doorbells are perfect examples of this, which not only keep an eye out on your delivery packages, but they’re good deterrents against possible porch pirates contemplating their next move. Whenever they catch recordings, the clips are then uploaded to the cloud where they’ll be stored for an indefinite period of time.

While this approach has been common for many security and surveillance devices, it also opens up the potential of those clips being compromised. That’s why local storage security cameras are valuable, since they store captured content locally. You’ll still be able to access them through apps, but these security cameras with local storage options give people a degree of privacy and control.

Even better, these local storage security cams are often accompanied by added features as the ability to create time lapse clips, continuous 24/7 recording, and more.

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What Experts Say

“Our house already had a Ring doorbell when we purchased the home. It has been helpful keeping an eye on the front porch when we get packages or those unwanted solicitors ,” said Cameron Richter, a sales representative for AvantGuard Monitoring Centers, an industry leader in wholesale security monitoring. 

But while the footage of these events is typically stored in the cloud, some people may not feel too enthused about their clips saved elsewhere. There have been many stories around unauthorized access to servers and accounts due to hackers, so it comes as no shock why some people are hesitant about cloud storage. On the subject of privacy, Richter said, “Privacy is everything. Aside from what you see in the news, in the security industry, you hear even more horror stories of people hacking into cameras. That’s why I’m not a big fan of that kind of storage.” 

Head of Sales for Sunflower Labs, Jeff Dickerson, shares the same sentiment about the importance of privacy.  I have only one camera inside my house and it is not connected to Wi-Fi.” Dickerson continued,  “When I was first learning about cameras that connected to the internet, the craziest memory I have was when a security researcher published a list (millions of lines long) with the MAC addresses of publicly accessible cameras. It was a shocking discovery.”

This is especially true for indoor cameras that have eyes inside of your home, where privacy needs to be taken more seriously. We’ve discussed the tell-tale signs when you’ve been hacked (as well as how to prevent being hacked), but it’s worth mentioning the value of security cameras with local storage.

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Best Indoor Security Cameras with Local Storage

Why We Chose It: It’s a great combination of features and price.

Reolink’s E1 Zoom is one versatile indoor camera with local storage. Not only can it save all video events onto a microSD card for convenience, but it’s one of the few cameras that can pan and tilt. This certainly helps give it more coverage, especially when its field of view is narrower than most static indoor cameras.

“I like Reolink’s cameras, like the little circle ones because I could tie them with Alexa,” explained Gregory Hanis, who is the Global Security Architect with Signode. He knows a lot about cybersecurity since he’s often referred to as Mobman, the original author of the Trojan horse program called Sub7 that was widely used by hackers in the 2000s.

“I could write my own servers, I could store my own stuff, not use their cloud crap or whatever, and pay $50 a month or whatever it is.” He agreed that security cameras like the ones from Reolink give people a bit more security in the sense that clips aren’t stored in the cloud — where there’s always a possibility of some kind of vulnerability.

Why We Chose It: We like the addition of a privacy shutter for extra peace of mind. 

Sure, you wouldn’t think of GE as one of the prominent players in the security camera space, but the company has been investing a lot in the last couple of years with its Cync portfolio of smart home gadgets. One of them is the GE Cync Indoor Camera, which can save 1080p footage directly to a microSD card through a slot on the side of the camera. It’s a convenient way of accessing the footage if you don’t want cloud storage, plus it has a manual privacy shutter that can cover the camera’s view.

Why We Chose It: We like the strong AI and that it works without internet.

In addition to offering a proper outdoor camera, the Google Nest Cam Wired actually doesn’t use a microSD slot for saving clips. Instead, it relies on its own built-in storage to save its 1080p HDR videos.

With this implementation, the only way to pull footage out of the camera is through the Google Home app, but we really love that it can still continue to monitor and save clips even when the internet goes offline because it offers up to three hours of event video history for free.

What’s really impressive about the Google Nest Cam Wired was its spot-on detection. It proved to be extremely reliable at discerning pets resting on a couch versus an actual person coming into frame. Richter said, “I think the most important feature of the camera is the power of the analytics.” And Google Nest provides some of the best analytical prowess available.

Why We Chose It: It works on both Wi-Fi and LTE connection.

Definitely on the higher end of the price spectrum, but for good reason — there are lots of great features in this indoor security camera. For starters, even when you don’t have WiFi, you can use LTE to still see your camera footage wherever you are. Dickerson mentioned, “I love to get alerts and see who’s there. It can make it easy for me to unlock my front door or open the garage for friends and family even when I’m not home.”  And the footage will be crystal clear in 1080p. Speaking of, it also has an integrated spotlight and color night vision so you can see clearly even when the sun goes down.

Why We Chose It: The magnetic mount along with rechargeable battery makes it ideal for moving the camera around to new locations. 

Similarly, the Swan Wire-Free 1080p Security Camera is a wire-free indoor camera that can be positioned on tabletops or on the wall with its included magnetic mount. Clips are stored internally and can be accessed through the Swann app, but it’s worth mentioning that its rechargeable 6,000 mAh battery allows for more versatility since it’s not being tied down by a charging wire.

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Best Video Doorbell With Local Storage

Why We Chose It: The AI is great at being able to recognize the different between people, animals and when a package has been taken. 

Reilly Johnson, Senior UX Manager at Becklar, an industry leader in connected-safety solutions, said, “I’ve ditched video doorbells before because they opened too slow. I look for apps and connectivity that is speedy so I don’t miss anything.” Google Nest Doorbell opens quickly so you don’t miss a thing. Also, if you’re not looking to add to your monthly costs, the Google Nest Doorbell has the ability to save its 960 x 1280 HDR clips internally without forcing users to sign up for a subscription. While Google’s Nest Aware subscription adds many more benefits, the Nest Doorbell offers up to three hours of video history for free out of the box.

Why We Chose It: We liked that the installation and setup is easy and only takes about 10 minutes to complete. 

SPY Reviewer William Goodman explained that the installation from unboxing to having the doorbell operational on his door took only about 10 minutes. That’s about as quick and easy as installing a tech gadget can get. For extra convenience, the battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell saves 1080p clips to a USB flash drive via the Blink Sync Module 2. It’s a tiny hub that’s kept indoors so that the clips are always in your possession.

Why We Chose It: We like that you get a ton of internal storage and great encryption to protect your data. 

Going above and beyond most models, the Eufy Security Video Doorbell offers 2K resolution for even more detail with captured clips than your traditional 1080p camera. It saves them to the included HomeBase, which packs 16GB of internal storage and features military-grade encryption. You might think that capacity is on the leaner side, but you can always delete clips if you want to free up space.

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Best Outdoor Security Cameras With Local Storage

Why We Chose It: Not only is this camera decently priced, it’s also one of the most versatile available. 

The Wyze Cam Outdoor is one of the most versatile cameras with local storage. This 1080p capable security camera can work indoors and outdoors since it’s battery-powered and saves clips via its built-in microSD slot. We really love the fact that it can also operate offline. Meaning, it can still work to detect motion when you’re not around — and then save those clips to a microSD card, all without any internet connection whatsoever.

Why We Chose It: We like the lengthy battery life that lasts up to two years.

No one has time to constantly recharge wireless cameras. Luckily, the Blink Outdoor can operate for upwards of two years before its batteries need to be replaced. Just know that it takes two AA lithium batteries for the best results. More importantly, though, is that it can save 1080p video clips to a USB flash drive through the Blink Sync Module 2. Pop one into the port and then conveniently preview the footage on a computer.

Why We Chose It: For $100, we like all the features including 8GB of storage and a siren for added home defense.

When everything is done on-device, you can rest easy knowing that your clips won’t be accessible from outside sources. The Eufy Solocam E20 has no hidden cost or subscription, so storing its 1080p clips is done internally with its 8GB capacity. That means when you buy it, you’ll not only have access to local storage, but also to advanced features like people detection, 90 dB siren, and smart home control with support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

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How We Chose the Best Local Storage Security Cameras

For this roundup, we tested over 20 security cameras consisting of video doorbells, outdoor security cameras, and indoor models. We’ve spent at least a week testing them out, with some over a period of months to really get a feel of how they work. Additionally, we made sure to test out models from a wide range of brands — from established makers like Ring and Google, to security camera makers like Swann and Reolink.

There are some major benefits to owning a local storage security camera, the main one being to truly own the footage that is captured and be able to view it whenever you want. All the models we’ve listed offer local storage by either saving clips internally, onto a hub, or to a microSD card.  Beyond that, here are some other criteria we used to choose the best local storage security cameras:

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Benefits of a Security Camera With Local Storage

All of the above is straight to the point when it comes to pointing out the benefits of the best security cameras with local storage. Ideally, you’ll want to find a security camera that saves clips onto a microSD card, which comes in handy for the convenience of quickly popping them into your computer to review the footage. However, not all cameras save footage this way. In fact, some models require a separate hub to do this, while others just have internal local storage.