1080p: Good Enough for Most Indoor Cameras

1080p (1920x1080) is 2 megapixels. At close range (under 15 feet), you can identify faces and read text on packages. For a doorbell camera or a living room camera, this is plenty. The Ring Video Doorbell and most Wyze cameras are 1080p and they work fine for their intended purpose.

The advantage: lower bandwidth and storage requirements. A 1080p camera uses 2-4 Mbps of upload. You can run 3-4 of them on a typical home internet connection without issues. Cloud storage costs less because the files are smaller.

2K: The Right Choice for Most Outdoor Cameras

2K (2560x1440) is about 3.7 megapixels. The jump from 1080p is significant. At 25 feet you can identify faces. At 20 feet you can read license plates. This is the range where most outdoor security scenarios happen - someone approaching your driveway, walking through the yard, or standing at the front door.

Most cameras marketed as "2K" in 2026 cost $40-80. The Reolink RLC-810A ($55) and Eufy S330 ($60) are solid picks. The price premium over 1080p is minimal.

4K: Specialized Use Only

4K (3840x2160) is 8.3 megapixels. You can read a license plate at 40 feet and identify a face at 50+. Sounds great, but the trade-offs are real.

A 4K camera uses 8-15 Mbps of upload bandwidth. Two 4K cameras can saturate a typical home internet connection. Cloud storage for 4K footage is 4x the cost of 1080p. Local storage fills up 4x faster. And most people cannot tell the difference between 2K and 4K at the distances where home security cameras operate.

  • 4K makes sense: large properties, parking lots, long driveways where subjects are 30-50 feet from the camera.
  • 4K is overkill: doorbell cameras, indoor cameras, cameras covering a small porch or patio.
  • If you need to read plates, 2K with a camera positioned within 20 feet of the road is cheaper and more reliable than 4K at 40 feet.

The Bandwidth Math

Check your internet upload speed at speedtest.net before buying cameras. Then do the math. Most cable internet plans have 10-15 Mbps upload. That supports 3-4 cameras at 2K or 6-8 at 1080p. Going all 4K means 1-2 cameras max before your internet slows down for everything else.

If you want more cameras than your upload supports, switch some to local recording (SD card or NVR) instead of cloud.