Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro vs. Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera: Which is right for you?

Lights, camera, action! How do these powerful, well-rounded floodlight security

Lights, camera, action! How do these powerful, well-rounded floodlight security cameras stack up?

The smoothest Amazon Alexa experience

Amazon packs a ton of powerful features into its Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro, along with seamless Alexa integration. The camera is paired with a well-rounded subscription service for storing and sharing your videos.

A sleek, powerful third-party option

The Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera offers high-definition video, extra-bright floodlights, a stylish design, and wireless installation. Its premium security subscription service is equally well-rounded, with a theft replacement feature.

Whether waiting for a package delivery or simply want to keep an eye on your front yard, you'll need a reliable outdoor security camera. There are plenty of great options on the market, and both the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro and Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera are among the best. Both ensure high-def footage, plenty of nice security features, and robust subscription plans that round out the cameras, making them even more powerful. However, each camera has a different approach to the process and its own unique set of features, so which one will be the best fit for your home?

Camera

Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro

Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera

Camera Resolution

1080p HDR

2K HDR (2560x1440p), 1080p, 720p

Field of View

140 degrees horizontal, 80 degrees vertical

160 degrees diagonal

Night Vision

Color

Power Source

Hardwired

Wireless rechargeable battery

Lighting Type

Dual 3000K LED floodlight

Single 4000K LED floodlight

Max brightness

2000 lumens

2000 lumens (3000 lumens with charging cable)

Siren volume

110dB

80dB

Two-way speaker

Yes, with noise/echo cancelation

Motion detection

270 degrees horizontal, with custom 3D 30-foot zones

Single sensor, 130 degrees

Subscription plans

Ring Protect, starts at $4/month

Arlo Secure, starts at $5/month

Subscription required?

Integrations

Alexa, IFTTT

Alexa, Google, HomeKit, IFTTT, SmartThings

Network Support

Dual-band

2.4Ghz band only

Dimensions

12.82 x 7.77 x 8.5 inches

7 x 6 x 2 inches

Price

$250

The Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro and the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera go for $250, and are available through Amazon, third-party retailers like Best Buy, or their manufacturer. For $20 more, you can grab the Ring camera in two Amazon-exclusive colors.

Also, there are myriad of bundles available that feature some combination of additional Ring accessories, like the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 or the Ring Indoor Cam. There are also a few options available to you if you'd like to bundle it with other products in the Arlo ecosystem, like its Essential Wireless Video Doorbell or additional Spotlight Cameras.

Camera design is one of the most important things to consider, both physically and visually. The Ring is available in Black, White, Dark Bronze, and Graphite, while the Arlo is available in just Black or White. Even though Amazon does charge a little more for the Dark Bronze and Graphite, it's nice to have a few extra colorways available.

Build-wise, the Ring camera is larger, thanks to its dual adjustable floodlights. While they do add a bit of bulk, the floodlights can be positioned independently, which is great. However, you need to have the space for it. Since this option is wired, you do have to jump through a few hoops to get it installed. If you are comfortable working with wires, the process is fairly simple; however, if you are not comfortable drilling holes in your home or wiring equipment, you may need to opt for a professional.

The Arlo camera has a much smaller design, with its floodlight integrated into the single-unit device. While its sleek looks are a bit more aesthetically pleasing, you don't get as much area coverage with its floodlight. The bonus here, though, is that it's a much better pick for smaller mounting areas or those wanting a minimal floodlight camera setup. Also, as far as instillation, you only need a flat surface and a good Wi-Fi connection. You can set it up pretty much anywhere using the wall-plate mount; no wiring required.

Unfortunately, though it is battery-powered, you have to actually remove and charge the camera itself. So, unless you purchase a solar panel charging system, or other accessories from Arlo, you might want to put it somewhere you have easy access. You'll need to regularly plug in Arlo's rechargeable battery, which takes approximately 6.5 hours. If you do decide to spring for the charger accessory, it can stay mounted and recharge in about 5 hours, but if you're looking for continuous coverage, this isn't exactly ideal.

Once everything's installed, you'll need to connect your camera to your home Wi-Fi network to view the feed on your compatible devices. The Ring cam supports dual-band networks for a fast and stable connection; Arlo's camera only supports the 2.4Ghz band, which is solid but likely not quite as fast.

Quality video and audio are the name of the game here, so they've got to be great. For no good reason, Amazon limits the Ring camera to just 1080p HD footage. While it also throws in HDR, that lack of resolution leaves quite a bit to be desired, especially if you want to zoom in. The Arlo camera, on the other hand, offers bold 2K HDR, meaning far more detail in your videos. It also captures footage in either 1080p or 720p, if desired.

The Ring camera offers 140-degree horizontal and 80-degree vertical fields-of-view, while the Arlo offers a comparable 160-degree diagonal field-of-view. To ensure you can properly see all of that space, the Ring features dual 2000-lumen floodlights.

Arlo makes things a little more difficult by also giving you a 2000-lumen floodlight that can be boosted to 3000 lumens if you attach its (separate and pricey) Outdoor Magnetic Charging Cable. The dual-floodlight design of Ring's lights allow you to manually position each independently for optimal coverage, while Arlo's limits you to a singular direction for the whole device. If you have a large yard, the two independent floodlights are hard to beat.

Both offer color infrared night vision, and have built-in motion detection sensors. The Ring's sensor can handle a truly impressive 270 degrees, while Arlo's limited 130-degree sensor will detect far less information. It's hard to argue with a larger sensor range overall, especially if you're mounting this at the front of your home, but a smaller detection range is all you need for smaller yards or for your backyard or garage.

As for audio, both cameras support two-way talking and block out the echoing effect. However, Arlo also blocks other unwanted noises, like whirring air conditioners or wind. Both have built-in alarm sirens, as well, which are great for scaring off potential thieves or intruders. The Ring camera can hit an impressively deafening 110dB (think a chainsaw or rock concert), while the Arlo is limited to just 80dB (comparable to city traffic).

The Ring knocks it out of the park with its dual adjustable floodlights, far-reaching motion detection sensor, and loud alarm siren. However, the Arlo's 2K HDR footage and boosted floodlight brightness capacity are unbeatable. High-quality footage is of the utmost importance, though, and any other shortcomings the Arlo has pale in comparison, especially since it still has those features but just to a lesser degree.

Being able to receive an instant alert and take action whenever your camera detects an event is precisely what makes these cameras so fantastic. Both the Ring Floodlight Cam Pro and Arlo Pro 3 send you immediate notifications when they detect motion or an object, but it's how each device does this that makes them unique.

The Ring camera sends you real-time event notifications on your mobile device, and you can also ask any of your compatible Amazon devices to show you a live view feed from anywhere. It uses 3D motion detection technology, which helps you know where and when a person enters your property (or a specific 30-foot customized Motion Zone you set up). And receive notifications only when it detects a person, and not just a leaf blows by.

The Arlo camera also sends instant alerts to your preferred device. However, it offers much wider compatibility — including Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit as well as Alexa — so you can view a live feed on many more devices. It also offers integration with IFTTT and SmartThings for those who need it. This camera also supports multiple custom zone setup, but you either need to be subscribed to a security plan or set up continuous AC power to do so.

Both cameras offer stellar notification options and on-demand live views via their mobile companion apps. From the app, you can access and adjust a variety of settings, like creating custom motion zones, turning on the floodlights, talking with visitors, and sharing past event video footage.

Although either camera will supply you with excellent notifications and a solid variety of customizable settings, the Ring camera is the only one that allows you to set up customized motion zones without paying for the add-on monthly subscription. However, the Arlo camera offers unrivaled integrations with other smart assistants as well as Alexa, which is great if you aren't all-in on Amazon's ecosystem. Plus, you can set up custom motion zones with Arlo's basic plan most users are likely to pay for anyway.

Both the Ring and Arlo offer multiple monthly subscription options. Neither camera requires a subscription to work, but many of the best features are kept behind this paywall. While it's somewhat annoying to have to pay for yet another monthly service, you're left with pretty limited features and usability without one.

Amazon's Ring Protect service is available with three tiers: the Basic plan for $4 per month, the Plus plan for $10 per month, and the Pro plan for $20 per month. The Basic plan covers a single doorbell or camera saving video history for up to 180 days.

Subscribers can save and share video clips, get motion-activated event snapshots and notifications, and a photo preview without opening the app. You can also download up to 50 videos at once. The Plus plan gets you all of that for unlimited Ring devices. Ring Protect's Pro plan unlocks a variety of great features, starting with 24/7 professional monitoring, which allows you to request dispatch of emergency responders if you have a break-in or other detected security threat.

The plan also gives you cellular backup to keep your system online, Alexa Guard Plus alerts, and 24/7 backup internet with 3GB of data so your system stays online even during an outage. Additionally, you get eero Secure online digital security, Ring Edge with local storage for your smart alerts, and a yearly home insurance discount up to $100.

Arlo Secure also offers three tiers. The basic Secure plan starts at $5 per month for a single device, or $13 per month for unlimited devices. The Secure Plus plan is $18 per month, and the Safe & Secure Pro plan is $25 per month. While this service is a little pricier, what it offers feels much more worth the cost.

The Secure plan allows recording up to 4K resolution, cloud footage storage for a rolling 30-day period, smart interactive notifications with animated previews, AI object detection (a person, animal, vehicle, or package), customizable smart activity zones, theft replacement, priority care and support, and discounts on other Arlo products. The Secure Plus plan gives you all of that plus 24/7 emergency response, for one-tap access to fire, police, or medical responders (only for those in the United States).

Arlo's Safe & Secure Pro plan is the priciest of the bunch, but an absolute steal for anyone who's into extended security features and coverage. This plan nets you everything the others cover, plus 24/7 professional monitoring, cellular and battery backup, video verification, and escalation. Walk With Me protection lets you hold down a safety button on the app until you're clear of a dangerous situation; releasing it sends emergency help to your location. Subscribers also get one-tap access to emergency services, alerts sent to emergency contacts, crash detection and response, recording of video and audio during emergency events, and family safety monitoring.

Arlo's artillery of features is hard to beat. Even though its plans are ever-so-slightly more expensive than Ring's, they offer superior and more extensive benefits like unlimited device coverage on the basic Secure plan, higher-resolution footage, theft replacement, better notifications, and complete security coverage for your family anywhere you go.

Amazon's hardwired Ring camera offers seamless Alexa integration, dual adjustable floodlights, loud sirens, and all the basic features you'd expect from such a device. It even offers tons of color options, dual-band connectivity, and puts some nice-to-have features in front of its subscription paywall. However, its low video resolution, limited integrations, and unremarkable security subscription features leave something to be desired by those who aren't die-hard Alexa fans.

The wireless Arlo camera is flush with tons of great features and backed by a jaw-droppingly powerful and useful security subscription service. It boasts 2K HDR video, a wider field-of-view, plentiful integration with other smart assistants, plus the ability to enhance many of those features (like floodlight brightness) by adding on a simple accessory. It does skip over dual-band network support, though, and its limited video history storage, underwhelming colorways, and slightly pricier monthly subscription might be off-putting for some.

The Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro and Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera are both solid home security camera systems for roughly the same price. If you're in Amazon's Alexa ecosystem and want a well-rounded hardwired camera and hefty video history storage, the Ring camera is a great pick. Alternatively, if you want higher-resolution footage, a sleek wireless design, and a security-rich subscription, the Arlo camera might be the best fit for you.

Suzanne has over seven years of experience researching, testing, writing, and editing articles about all kinds of tech, from smart home gadgets and EVs, to Android apps and nerdy media. She graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature and a minor in Professional and Technical Writing. Since then, she has spent her professional time writing and editing articles about consumer technology at publications like Top Ten Reviews, Active Junky, Review Geek, and LifeSavvy. When she's not working, Suzanne enjoys reading, gaming, cooking, hiking, and going on road trips.

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Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro vs. Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera: Which is right for you?