I Was Tired of Paying Monthly Fees on Home Security, so I Bought This Game-Changing $29 eufy Camera – Now at Its Lowest Price Ever

I hate subscription-based services. Call me old-fashioned, but when I spend money on a product, I expect to be able to use it without an extra monthly fee. Nowhere do I feel more passionately about this than home security, and more specifically, my CCTV cameras.

As bills rise across the board, I finally decided to break free from the old subscription camera that I never really liked anyway and upgraded to the eufy Security Indoor Cam, from Amazon, now discounted to just $29.99 for Black Friday.

I wish I had made the switch sooner. Not only does it have twice the functionality of my old camera, but there is a fantastic subscription-free option that doesn't limit the functionality. It is an absolute home security must-have for the dark winter nights, especially while it is on sale for its lowest price ever – here's why.

This $29 Camera Elevated My Home Security Without Monthly Fees

Security cameras are one of the best security measures for a house, especially if, like me, you need renter-friendly home security options that don't require hard wiring or damage to the property.

Having grown up with a military father obsessed with home security picks, I am far more comfortable leaving the house for prolonged periods of time when I know I can regularly check in on the property. This is especially true in winter when the days are darker and potential thieves eye up homes with lush Christmas tree ideas in windows for the gifts that lie beneath.

So, when organizing my home before going on vacation last week, I decided to pick up the eufy Indoor Cam E220, also at Best Buy, to replace my monthly-subscription Blink camera. We have tested and reviewed several eufy products on Solved, including the eufy E340 video doorbell and the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro, and we have yet to be disappointed by their home tech, ease of setup, or app functionality, so I had high hopes.

I am thrilled to say the Eufy Security Indoor Cam E220 has met all of my expectations. Not only does the eufy camera offer a fully functional, subscription-free model, but it also provides full viewing control of my rooms, allowing for panning 360° horizontally and tilting 96° vertically through the easy-to-use app controls.

When securing your home without a security system, adding a mandatory monthly fee to record any activity in your home can be a serious roadblock to effectively protecting your property.

With the eufy pan and tilt camera, however, I had the option to subscribe monthly to store recordings in the cloud (with a 30-day free trial) or install a micro SD card, such as the Amazon Basics 128GB Micro SD Memory Card, to store recordings locally, which can then be manually transferred to a computer.

The eufy E220 box arrived with the camera, plug-in cable, quick start guide, and a wall mounting unit; however, I opted to set the camera on a table in the center of my open-plan living space for a damage-free setup.

From there, it was as easy as plugging it in, scanning the QR code on the base of the camera with the eufy home app, and entering my home WiFi password. It took me less than 10 minutes to set up, including downloading the app and making an account. You can also pair it with Apple and Alexa systems when setting up a smart home for easy control.

The camera also features an AI system that can detect what is in shot. For example, once set up, the camera picked up that I was walking around my home, and a notification was sent to my phone to tell me a person was in my living room. The camera can then follow that person around the room automatically, so no action is missed.

I don't have any pets to test this feature, but the E220 promises to distinguish between people and pets for accurate security notifications, and has a built-in microphone and speaker for easy communication, making it an ideal deterrent to prevent burglary, or talk to your pets when you are out.

My only gripe is that it was so eager to detect potential threats that while I was on holiday, it picked up a coat hanging by its hood on my entryway coat rack as a person several times. Luckily, panning the camera remotely through the app cut this coat from view, stopping the false alert notifications. There is also an option to set 'blind' spots – areas you do not want the camera to record – to eliminate these false alerts, too.

All in all, however, I love this new security camera so much that I am buying one for my security-mad dad as a Christmas present while it is on sale. It gets a certified 10/10 from me.

My Home Security Picks

There are several other smart home must-haves I recommend picking up to help secure your home – I wouldn't live without them.

All prices correct at time of publication.

If you are also going away on winter vacation, check out the things to clean before winter vacation and what temperature to set your thermostat on winter vacation to come back to a perfect home.