Which Tapo camera should you buy? Quick picks
| Model | Best for | Price from | Placement | Night vision | Home Assistant / Frigate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tapo C120 | Porch or side passage, fixed view | £33 | Indoor/outdoor (IP66) | Colour via spotlights; IR fallback | RTSP/ONVIF; HACS Tapo Control |
| Tapo C210 | Cheapest pan/tilt for a nursery or pet room | £20 | Indoor | Infrared, black-and-white | RTSP/ONVIF; PTZ via HACS |
| Tapo C225 | Open-plan rooms, AI motion tracking | £42 | Indoor | Colour (starlight sensor) | RTSP/ONVIF; PTZ via HACS |
| Tapo C325WB | Front door needing sharp colour at night | £80 | Outdoor (IP66) | Full colour from the sensor | RTSP/ONVIF, Frigate/go2rtc |
| Tapo C500 | Cheapest outdoor pan/tilt, 1080p | £33 | Outdoor (IP65) | IR/colour up to 30m | RTSP/ONVIF; mains powered |
Browse every model, with Home Assistant integration notes, in our camera finder. The rest of this review covers the original C310 and C325WB in more detail.
Pros
- Low prices, from about £20 for the C210 to £80 for the C325WB
- Local microSD recording with no subscription
- RTSP/ONVIF streams for Home Assistant and Frigate
- Outdoor options with IP65/IP66 weatherproofing
Cons
- Mains power only on these models, so plan a cable route
- RTSP needs a manual camera account, and firmware updates can re-lock it
- Pan/tilt and spotlight control in Home Assistant needs the community HACS integration
- Weaker AI detection and ecosystem than Ring or Arlo
Do Tapo cameras work with Home Assistant and Frigate?
Yes, all five models in the table above stream locally over RTSP/ONVIF. Enable Third-Party Compatibility in the Tapo app, create a Camera Account under Advanced Settings, then add the stream to Home Assistant or Frigate. The built-in tplink integration exposes little beyond the stream, so pan/tilt, privacy mode and spotlights usually need the HACS Tapo Control component. Details for each model are in the camera finder.
TP-Link Tapo C310: Budget Outdoor Camera
Resolution and image quality. The C310 shoots at 3MP (2304×1296), which is noticeably sharper than older 1080p cameras. Daytime footage is crisp and well-exposed; objects at around 10 metres are easily identifiable. The standard infrared night vision switches on automatically at dusk and delivers a clear black-and-white image to roughly 8–10 metres — adequate for most drives and back gardens.
Build and weatherproofing. The C310 carries an IP66 rating, meaning it is fully protected against powerful water jets and dust. In practice, it survived several weeks of UK autumn rain without issue. The housing feels solid for the price, though the white finish does pick up grime over time.
Motion detection and alerts. Motion zones are configurable in the Tapo app, so you can mask out a busy road or swaying tree. Push notifications arrive within a couple of seconds of motion being detected. There is no person/vehicle detection on this model — every moving object triggers an alert — which can mean a busy inbox in a high-traffic location.
Local storage — no subscription needed. This is the C310's standout feature in the UK market. Insert a microSD card (up to 256 GB, sold separately) and the camera loops footage continuously with no monthly fee. Cloud backup is available via the Tapo Care subscription if you want off-site redundancy, but it is entirely optional. For a comparison of cameras that do require a cloud plan, see our Arlo security camera review.
Smart home compatibility. The C310 works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, so you can pull up a live feed on an Echo Show or Nest Hub with a voice command. There is no native Apple HomeKit support, though third-party workarounds exist.
TP-Link Tapo C325WB: Colour Night Vision Upgrade
StarLight sensor and colour night vision. The C325WB's headline feature is its StarLight sensor, which captures colour footage in very low light — moonlit scenes that the C310 would render in black and white. Reviewer footage from gardens lit only by ambient streetlight shows recognisable colour detail, which can be critical for identifying clothing or vehicle colours. Resolution steps up to 4MP (2560×1440).
Two-way audio. Both the C310 and C325WB include two-way audio via a built-in microphone and speaker. Audio quality is functional rather than hi-fi, but it is clear enough to deter a would-be intruder or talk to a delivery driver.
Same subscription-free storage. Like the C310, the C325WB records to a local microSD card (up to 256 GB) with no mandatory subscription. The same Tapo Care cloud option is available if you want it.
Price and value. At around £80 on recent Amazon UK listings, the C325WB costs roughly £60 more than the C310. If your camera covers an area that is only dimly lit at night — a side passage or rear garden with no security lighting — the colour night vision is worth the premium. For a brightly lit front drive, the C310 offers better value.
Tapo App: Setup and Daily Use
Both cameras are managed through the Tapo app (iOS and Android). Setup takes around five minutes: scan the QR code on the camera, connect to your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, and insert an SD card. The app is clean and responsive, with live view, event history, two-way talk, and camera settings all accessible from a single home screen. Multiple cameras appear in a grid, which works well if you are building out a multi-camera setup.
If you are considering a broader security overhaul, our best outdoor security cameras in the UK guide covers how the Tapo range compares to Ring, Eufy, and Arlo at various price points.
Verdict: Who Should Buy a Tapo Camera?
The TP-Link Tapo cameras are an excellent fit for budget-conscious UK buyers who want reliable outdoor monitoring without a subscription fee. The C310 is hard to beat at around £20 for a capable 3MP IP66 camera with local storage. The C325WB is the right choice if colour night vision matters more than cost. Neither camera matches the AI-powered person detection or the polished ecosystem of Ring or Arlo, but at these price points, the trade-off is very reasonable.
Both cameras are available from Amazon UK and from the TP-Link website. Always compare prices across retailers before buying, as prices vary.
Related: best outdoor security cameras UK, best smart CCTV systems UK, and Blink outdoor camera review, and our best pet camera UK roundup if you're specifically buying to monitor a dog or cat.
Looking at an older Kasa camera instead? TP-Link has published fixes for two flaws in the EC70 and EC71 v4, covered in our Kasa EC70 and EC71 vulnerabilities guide.
