Eufy Indoor Cam 2K Pan & Tilt vs. Wyze Cam Pan: Which should you buy?

Eufy 2K Indoor Cam

Eufy offers two bargain camera models, one model with pan/tilt tech and one static model with the same specs. Either camera gets you 2304x1296 resolution, reliable AI to recognize humans or pets, and plenty of local storage for 24/7 recording.

Wyze Cam Pan

The Wyze Cam Pan does more than spin — it lets you set up a surveillance routine to comprehensively guard the most important parts of a room. The devs also added person recognition software this year, as well as new IFTTT statements to incorporate your camera into your smart home ecosystem.

Indoor cameras that can pan and tilt are no longer a luxury. Wyze and Eufy created similar entry-level indoor cameras that, despite their reasonable prices, have excellent security features to go with decent internal specs. With AI-based detection and categorization, motion scanning, local storage of recorded events, two-way audio, and voice commands, your home will become more secure with either device. Yet despite their similarities, the Eufy Indoor Cam 2K and Wyze Cam both surpass the other in several key areas.

Two solid cameras with some drawbacks

With similar list prices, it's unsurprising that neither the Eufy Indoor Cam 2K nor the Wyze Cam Pan blow the other away in terms of tech and specs. Both offer solid visual quality, impressive security features, and compatibility with various devices. Where one surpasses the other, you can hopefully determine which device best fits your need.

Visually, Eufy gets a leg up on Wyze with its 2K recording resolution. Wyze Cam offers the more industry-standard 1080p, which will be clear and visible but not quite as bright and crisp. In other areas, the visual battle is relatively even. Eufy Cam just barely wins by five degrees in the field of view (FOV), but considering both cameras can rotate a full 360 degrees, this difference is minor. Both devices only hit a somewhat disappointing 15 FPS, and both use a 1/2.7" CMOS camera sensor.

If you plan on recording at night, Eufy does also get a slight edge on Wyze in this area. The Eufy Cam uses eight infrared LEDs to light the way for its Night Mode, which lets it capture objects up to 32 feet away. The Wyze Cam only uses six LEDs, which lets it reach just under 30 feet away.

However your security footage turns out, the most important issue is how each camera stores the information, and how much it'll cost you. Both devices have microSD storage slots, but no included microSD cards. However, the Wyze Cam only can fit an SD card sized 32GB or smaller, while the Eufy Cam supports up to 128GB cards.

As for cloud storage, Wyze offers free 14-day storage of all triggered "events" when it registers movement. Eufy offers no free cloud storage, but for $30 annually per camera, you can subscribe to save the last 30 days of videos.

When it comes to connectivity, both devices can be controlled using Alexa or Google Assistant commands. Eufy Indoor Cam 2K also works with Apple HomeKit and HomeKit Secure Video, the latter of which gives you more options for recording and storing your security videos. Wyze Cam Pan won't give you that Apple option, but instead works with IFTTT, which opens up several options depending on what other devices you own. For example, you can program your camera to turn on or off depending on if you're registered at home, or make your smart bulbs turn on if your cam registers an intruder.

Don't miss any threats

For this section, we'll be comparing the Wyze Cam Pan against the Pan & Tilt version of the Eufy Cam. However, keep in mind that there is a base Eufy Indoor Cam 2K that cannot turn at all, but otherwise has the same specs as its sibling camera.

Our two cam rivals both rotate a full 360 degrees. Using their respective apps, you can manually move the camera from one position to the next. You can also set either camera on alert. They can both use motion tracking to follow any moving person or object, then send an alert to your phone with recorded event footage of whatever triggered the recording. These cams also have some limited vertical mobility, with the Eufy cam reaching 96 degrees and the Wyze cam just behind at 93 degrees. Yet despite these similarities, each cam has particular areas where its panning tech stands above the other.

To Eufy's credit, its AI categorization tech far exceeds Wyze, which only just created a Person Detection beta in June 2020. Because of this, you can program your Eufy app to ignore object or pet motion, and only track and warn about unexpected human movement. You can also create pre-recordings or warnings that trigger when your pet or child enters a certain zone of the house; for example, it can shout "Off" if your dog goes on the couch, or notify you if your young child goes somewhere dangerous.

In Wyze's favor, its app allows you to calibrate the speed at which your cam turns. More importantly, it comes with an optional Pan Scan mode: your Wyze Cam will continuously turn its gaze across the room, pausing for 10 seconds at up to four user-added waypoints before restarting the loop. This lets you keep an eye on an entire space and take full advantage of its 360-degree tech, while the Eufy model stays put unless it detects movement.

Ultimately, you should make your choice based on how much visual space you want to guard, or whether you have pets. Both devices only sport 15 FPS, so moving footage is going to be a bit blurry regardless of whether the resolution is 2K or 1080p.

Which should you buy?

You can make a strong case for either model. Wyze Cam Pan buyers can pair your new camera with your other smart devices, to add special functions based on the time of day, whether you are home, or if any suspicious motion is detected. The video quality is merely average, but its panning mode works well to maximize its coverage of your home. It secures your data with 2FA, and offers free (if limited) cloud storage.

Eufy Indoor Cam 2K buyers will benefit from clearer video, especially helpful if you ever plan on sharing this footage. You can easily store 24/7 footage locally without paying for cloud storage. You will rarely have false positive alerts from your pets or random objects, thanks to Eufy's excellent AI. Apple users will benefit in particular from its HomeKit functionality. If you need to record at night, you'll have good visibility of any threats.