Need An Affordable Home Security Setup? These 5 Gadgets Can Help

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It's easy enough to walk out the door without remembering to lock up, and package theft is something every homeowner and even apartment renters deal with daily. If you want a digital concierge to help you with securing your home, there are a bunch of smart home gadgets that can be worth considering.

Security is a big part of the smart home tech market. Devices like video doorbells and smart locks have been around for some time, and more traditional security measures like floodlights now come outfitted with motion sensors and other deterrents. If you are new to this kind of tech, there are plenty of smart home upgrades you can make in one weekend, and even your home's network security can be strengthened somewhat easily. Gadgets that can improve home security don't have to break the bank either. Not only are there numerous ways to make your home more secure from a capability standpoint, but from an affordability standpoint as well. Let's explore smart home security tech that you can buy when on a budget.

Video doorbells are among the most popular pieces of home security tech, in part because they act as deterrents, but also because they give homeowners a sense of what's going on around the house throughout the day. Listed at $50 and frequently discounted at Amazon to around $40, the Tapo D205 is one of the more affordable options on the market. Moreover, the D205 video doorbell works without a subscription, which makes it even more affordable in the long run. With no additional monthly cost, this wireless video doorbell provides 2K video resolution, a 160-degree ultra-wide view, a built-in battery with up to 180 days of use between charges, and easy, wireless installation.

Brands like Ring, Google, and Blink are more recognizable in the video doorbell market, but Tapo is known as an affordable alternative within the broader smart home security space. The D205 itself has amassed a 4.3-star overall rating at Amazon. Several customers there call out the video doorbell's value through the combination of its affordability and wide feature set. Its subscription-free access to those features is also a popular draw among Amazon reviewers, as it eliminates the monthly cost that many other video doorbells require and also keeps data from the device in your own hands.

While the front door is one of the most obvious points of entry to keep secured in a home, it often gets overlooked. It can be easy to forget to lock up on busy days or if your home has multiple family members coming and going throughout the day. A smart lock is a near-essential piece of smart home security tech, and the Veise VE017 has a lot of capability for its $70 price point. Smart locks generally start in the $100 price range, but the VE017 has been priced as little as $50 in previous Amazon sales. It can be unlocked by fingerprint, key, or passcode.

While the VE017 misses some features of the more expensive smart locks on the market, customers at Amazon speak highly of it. It has a 4.3-star overall rating, with 83% of reviewers giving it a favorable rating. In addition to the smart lock's AI capabilities, it can be controlled through an accompanying mobile app, which provides you with a record of entries, user credentials, and fingerprints used to unlock the door. All of the data is encrypted and stored directly on the lock, keeping it out of the hands of cloud services and big tech companies. The Veise VE017 runs on four AA batteries, with Veise claiming it can go about 12 months between replacements.

Homeowners who place as much importance on network security as they do physical security are going to need the proper router. Security features are among the top things to look for in a router, and the Asus RT-AX1800S has a lot to offer in that regard. With Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, it delivers fast internet speeds, but it also comes with a built-in VPN through Asus Instant Guard.

Also onboard this router is AiProtection Classic. With Asus integrating it into many of its newest routers, this is a network security solution that comes with no need for a subscription. Listed at $70, the RT-AX1800S offers additional savings through its subscription-free model, and the router itself is often discounted to about $60.

A gadget like this might take a little more technical know-how to get set up properly than other smart home security devices. Routers can be somewhat simple to get going in a general sense, but there's no telling what bumps can arise in the process depending on your internet service provider. Overall, the RT-AX1800S and the Wi-Fi network it creates can be worth switching all of your devices over to. It's received a 4.3-star overall rating from Amazon customers, and users praise its long range, fast internet speeds, and security features.

Lighting is one of the most affordable deterrents in a home security setup. Where a video doorbell can take care of things around doors, a set of lights attached to a motion sensor can handle larger areas around yards, garages, and driveways. The Lutec 72W security lights go for just $40 (available for $34 at the time of writing), and the setup includes a three-head set of lights. They have a brightness of 7500 lumens and four different lighting modes. These include a test mode, a security mode, a dusk-to-dawn mode, and a customizable manual override mode. The lights have a rotatable design that can be utilized for proper alignment on garages, fences, decks, and other mountable places around the house.

Security lights like this can act as a quality deterrent, but they aren't necessarily the most feature-packed on the market. Functionality is often one of the tradeoffs to affordability, and while more expensive options can come with a built-in siren or other audio deterrent, these security lights do not. But they're well-priced for those who can benefit from a set of motion-sensor lights around the house, and customers at Amazon usually praise the high brightness of these lights. The Lutec 72W security lights have received an overall 4.6-star rating from Amazon customers, with 91% of reviewers giving the setup a favorable rating.

Some additional security can come through door and window sensors. These are some of the most affordable smart home security gadgets on the market, and they're particularly helpful for those looking to extend deterrence beyond the front door. The Tapo Door Sensor Starter Kit comes with three smart sensors and one smart hub with a built-in chime. The sensors themselves can be used on either doors or windows, and the system is capable of notifying you when such entry points are opened and closed. It does so through the Tapo App, which can also sync up with any Tapo cameras a homeowner may have set up throughout the house.

This starter kit is listed at $60, and these are often discounted to around $50 at Amazon. The sensors don't have motion sensors and are only capable of sensing contact. When they do so, a customizable 90-decibel alarm is triggered. The included hub can also be configured with additional sensors, as well as other smart home tech from Tapo. This starter kit is one of the most well-regarded by Amazon customers, having received an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Several customers there praise Tapo as a quality budget brand and even note the affordability of this starter kit as one of their top reasons for making a purchase.

We leaned heavily on the writer's expertise in smart home devices to first determine which categories are best to pull from when putting together a home security setup. With products such as security lights, video doorbells, and network security devices at the top of the list, we sorted through the marketplace, singling out specific gadgets that are well-rated by users and that come in on the more affordable side of the pricing scale. Hands-on feedback from verified purchasers at Amazon also played a part in singling out these gadgets.