Home Security Cameras and Networking Gear Under 100 Dollars

Skip the video doorbell subscription trap. For under $100 you can put a PoE camera on your porch, cut your router's monthly rental fee, and stop juggling four cables on your desk. Four in-stock pieces do the job without a single recurring charge.

The camera question: 3MP dome or 4MP eyeball

Amcrest sells two PoE cameras right now, and the difference isn't just resolution. The AMCREST 3MP POE Dome Camera IP3M-956EB at $79.99 is a vandal-resistant dome, the kind you mount under an eave or a covered porch where someone could reach it. Domes are harder to tell which direction they're pointed, which is a mild deterrent on its own. The Amcrest 4MP UltraHD POE Security Camera Outdoor Camera Eyeball Dome IP4M-1055EB at $99.99 bumps the sensor to 4MP and uses an eyeball-style housing, which points more obviously and is easier to aim by hand at a driveway or gate. Both need a PoE injector or a PoE switch if your router doesn't supply power over the ethernet line — factor that into your budget if you're starting from zero.

For license plates or package labels, the extra megapixel on the IP4M-1055EB is worth the $20. For a general porch or backyard view where you mainly want motion and a face, the IP3M-956EB is plenty and frees up $20 for cabling or a mount.

Replacing a rental modem with the NETGEAR C7000

Most cable companies charge 10 to 15 dollars a month to rent a modem-router combo. That's 120 to 180 dollars a year for a box that's usually three or four generations old. The NETGEAR Nighthawk C7000 Cable Modem and WiFi Router Combo, AC1900 at $69.99 pays for itself in six months against most rental fees and keeps running AC1900 wireless (600 Mbps on 2.4GHz, 1300 Mbps on 5GHz) well past that. It's DOCSIS 3.0, so check your ISP's supported modem list before buying — most major cable providers still support DOCSIS 3.0 gear for standard tiers, but gigabit plans on some networks now require DOCSIS 3.1.

Running your own cameras and your own modem on the same network also means you're not depending on the ISP's firmware for port forwarding or local storage access, which matters if you want to view camera footage without a cloud subscription.

One monitor, four computers, no more cable swapping

If your desk has a work laptop, a personal PC, and maybe a NAS or a Raspberry Pi all fighting for the same monitor, the 4K@144Hz DisplayPort KVM Switch, 4 Computers 1 Monitor, DP 1.4 with IR Remote at $86.99 solves it without a docking station. DisplayPort 1.4 means it can pass 4K at 144Hz to one machine or drop to 4K60 depending on what each source supports — check your monitor's actual refresh spec before assuming you'll see 144Hz on every input. The IR remote is the detail that makes this usable day to day: switching sources without reaching under the desk to press a physical button on the switch itself.

This isn't a security device, but it belongs in the same cart as the camera and router upgrade if you're rebuilding a home office from scratch — one order, one shipping charge, and you're not adding three separate small purchases over three separate weeks.

What this setup actually costs

Two Amcrest cameras plus the NETGEAR router runs 249.97 dollars before tax. Add the KVM switch and a full desk-and-perimeter refresh is 336.96 dollars. Compare that to a subscription camera system, which typically runs 10 to 20 dollars a month per camera for cloud storage on top of the hardware cost — two cameras on a subscription plan can cost more in eighteen months than these four items cost outright, with nothing to show for it if you cancel.

The tradeoff is setup time. A subscription camera syncs to an app in five minutes. A PoE camera needs a PoE source, a static IP or DHCP reservation, and usually a network video recorder or open-source software like Shinobi or Frigate if you want to review footage later instead of just watching live. If you're comfortable poking around your router's settings page, the ownership model wins on cost within the first year. If you're not, budget extra time or a friend who is.

Buy separately or together

Skip the KVM switch if you only run one computer at your desk — it's solving a problem you don't have. Skip the router if your ISP's rental modem already handles gigabit speeds you're actually using. But the two Amcrest cameras and the NETGEAR combo are a coherent starting point for anyone tired of camera subscriptions and modem rental fees showing up on the same monthly bill.