The Best Solar-Powered Security Camera

Ah, yes, the promise of a solar camera.

It’s a little taste of a hassle-free future. A glimpse of the world your grandchildren will live in, full of automations and the power of the sun. It says, “Someday, everything will be like me. Just set me up once, and so long as there’s sun in the sky, I’ll go on doing my job for the rest of time without any further effort from you.”

And that’s not to mention the placement convenience. Freed from the constraints of outlets and extension cords, you can screw these guys into anything from a fence post to a tree branch, and they’re good to go. No trips up the ladder every few months to swap batteries. Just a camera running itself on sunlight, indefinitely.

Well, that promise is mostly true. Solar cameras can be installed virtually anywhere with sunlight and afterward they really are low maintenance. Unfortunately, they’re not zero maintenance. Panel placement matters. Panel quality matters. A camera in partial shade charges slower than one in full sun. Shorter winter days mean less charging time. Dust and pollen on the panel can cut efficiency by 20%. You do need to pay attention. None of this is deal breaking. It's just worth knowing upfront. 

But once you know what you’re looking for, a well-placed solar camera really is a handy tool, and it really does mostly take care of itself.

If you’re looking for the short version, the Wyze Solar Cam Pan is the feature meets value winner, with 360° pan, 2K resolution, color night vision, and local storage for $80 bucks.

But, let’s see what’s available and help you find a good one. 

The Cameras

Here's how the field looks. And there’s a challenge here that we need to address.

If what you’re looking for is a true solar cam—i.e., one where the solar panel is built right into the camera, with no need to buy anything more—then it’s actually a two horse race. You’ve got the Wyze Solar Cam Pan and the Eufy SoloCam S340. That’s it. Those are solar cams, made to be solar cams, solar power built right into the camera itself.

But there are other options. 

Several companies make outdoor cameras that can be connected to a solar panel, sold separately, to achieve the same effect. You’ll need to buy the separate panel and know how to install everything, but the end result will be roughly the same. We thought it only fair to include the most popular of those cameras, as well.

Let’s see how they stack up.

As we said, the chart divides naturally into two categories: solar cams and regular outdoor cams with solar panels. Same result. Different ways of getting there. And different prices.

Ring's Spotlight Cam Pro is a capable camera. It’s got 2K HDR, color night vision, a solid spotlight, and good build quality. The solar panel runs about $60 separately, putting you at roughly $259 all-in (though Ring does sell a bundled Solar version for around $229 that will save you a bit). Always with Ring you have to remember that, whichever way you buy it, the camera will never save a frame of footage without a Ring subscription. No local storage, no exceptions, no workarounds. Wherever you’re planning to use this thing, it’s highly likely that you’re going to need to store footage so that you can review it later. That’s kind of the point. You cannot do that with Ring unless you give them more money and lock into subscription. Forever and always. Amen.

But follow your heart.

Arlo's Essential 2K with the solar panel runs about $120 all-in, which looks reasonable on paper. But again if you want local storage, you have to buy their hundred dollar SmartHub, which makes the price $220. Or, as with Ring, you can buy a subscription. Pass.

Reolink, as its price tag shows, is the high end option. But unlike Ring, Reolink actually earns the high price. The Argus 4 Pro is a great camera. It shoots 4K with a dual lens system, and can store footage locally, without a subscription, on a microSD card up to 512GB. It’s also got true color night vision, IP66 outdoor durability, and solar panel that’s included with the camera. At $189.99, it’s also got a whopping big price to go with its whopping great features, but a genuinely great camera.

The Eufy SoloCam S340 is interesting. It has some outstanding features. One of the only two on the board with solar built right in. Plus another dual-lens system (slightly less than Reolink’s 4K with a 3K wide-angle plus 2K telephoto) and free AI detection. Also, for the first time in this lineup, 360° pan-and-tilt capabilities, meaning the camera can look up and down and all around, and its AI can follow the action. Not even Reolink can do that. This is some genuinely impressive hardware, and again, that’s reflected in the higher price: $140. 

Our issue with Eufy is storage. It does have local storage, yes, which is nice. But it’s not coming by way of a microSD slot. It’s coming by way of an 8GB of fixed onboard memory, soldered into the unit. Shooting at 3K and 2K, eight gigs is going to be gone faster than you can say, “How does this supposedly fancy camera only have 8 gigs of storage when my keychain has 256?” And if you want any more than that you’re going to need either a HomeBase hub for around $150 or, you guessed it, a subscription. For a camera this capable, such a crappy storage situation really is kind of a head-scratcher.

And let’s be honest, it’s not a head scratcher at all. We know what they’re doing. They want to pretend to offer you local storage, but really they want the same thing the rest of these guys want: to bully you into giving them more money for storage. We don’t know whether to take their 8 gigs at face value and say, “Thanks for at least trying,” or see it for the head-fake it is, and say, “That’s actually even more offensive!” Either way, this camera ain’t the answer.

Which brings us to Wyze.

The Wyze Solar Cam Pan is $79.98, solar included, and it's the most versatile camera on this chart. It shoots 2K video with true color night vision that doesn’t require a spotlight and stores footage locally on a microSD card up to 512GB. No subscription, no hub, no extra purchase. It's also the cheapest camera on the chart despite being one of only two to include pan-and-tilt. Pan-and-tilt means the single camera can effectively cover an entire 360° space without blind spots. It also allows you to log in and adjust the view however you want from your phone. Plus, the camera has AI motion tracking that automatically follows the action. All that and built-in solar make this one the easy choice.

Conclusion

A person in the market for a solar camera has a clear set of needs. If the camera requires a separate hub to store footage, a separate subscription to do anything useful, or a solar panel that costs as much as the camera itself, it isn't really delivering on its promise. What you want is a camera that handles power and storage out of the box at a price that makes sense. 

The competition here ranged from silly to serious, but the winner is clear. Wyze Solar Cam Pan all the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my solar camera still work during a long stretch of cloudy days?
Yes. Solar cameras don't need direct, blazing sun to function; they can still trickle-charge on overcast days. As long as the battery had a decent head start, it should easily bridge the gap until the next sunny day.

Does "Pan-and-Tilt" use more battery than a fixed camera?
Motors do require energy, so if you’re constantly manually "driving" the camera from your phone or using aggressive AI tracking, you’ll see a faster drain. However, a well-placed solar panel is usually more than enough to keep up with standard daily use.

Can I use a solar camera indoors through a window?
Technically you can, but it’s a bad idea. Window glass (especially modern energy-efficient panes) filters out a massive amount of the solar energy the panel needs to charge. Plus, the glass will cause a "glare" reflection from the camera's IR lights at night, blinding the footage.