TP-Link Tapo C225 Review

The TP-Link Tapo C225 is our budget pick for an indoor pan-and-tilt camera, and on many pages it is simply the pick. You get 2K, a motor, a physical privacy shutter, a starlight sensor for color at night, and a microSD slot. That is a complete home camera. The eufy S350 is what you buy when the room is large and the second lens will be used. The C225 is what you buy the rest of the time, including the second room beside an S350.

We like it in rentals because it leaves no holes, and in nurseries because the lens can close. We like it less in a house that has already standardized on Ring or Nest, where a second app is the tax. Even then, if you are refusing a new subscription, we would still rather see a C225 than a new Blink plan.

The wifi limit is the one to respect. This is a 2.4 GHz camera in TP-Link's description. Do not bury it in a metal entertainment unit at the far end of the flat and then blame the sensor. Put it in the room you are filming, within a reasonable shout of the router, with space for the head to turn.

C225 at a glance

Tapo Care exists and is optional if the card is in the slot.

Why it keeps winning the budget pages

The C225 shows up in our apartment, nursery, renter, night, and office guides because the same three features keep mattering: pan, a shutter, and night vision that does not require a white spotlight. 2K is enough when the telephoto of an S350 is unnecessary. The card means we can recommend it to people who searched no monthly fee.

Buy it over the older C210 unless the C210 is much cheaper. That comparison is short and it is here.

The limits that are fine

2.4 GHz only, as TP-Link lists this model, means a far corner of a busy apartment can stutter. Place it nearer the router or accept a dual-band camera. There is no HomeKit. There is no second lens. Digital zoom is a crop. None of those are surprises if you read the S350 comparison first.

Close the shutter and look at the lens. That ten-second test is the review. If the shutter does not cover the glass, you have a different model than the one we mean.

Where to check the current price

Street prices move with sales. These links search a major retailer for the model named in this review. Confirm the exact model number on the listing before you pay.

• See the Tapo C225

Questions people ask before they buy

Does the C225 need a hub?

No. It is a plug-in camera on your Wi-Fi.

Is starlight the same as a spotlight?

No. The point of the sensor is color in dim light without lighting the room. You may still have infrared modes. A spotlight camera is a different choice, and we say so in the night guide.

What card size?

TP-Link has listed large cards, up to 512 GB on C225 materials. Confirm the current manual and buy a reputable card, not the biggest number you see in a comment.