Skip to main content

Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE vs. Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera: which is the best indoor camera?

The Blink Mini installed in the Pan-Tilt Mount.
Blink

As far as affordable indoor cameras go, it’s hard to beat the Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera. Both cameras cost less than $60 (and are often on sale for much less), can swivel to provide a 360-degree perspective of your home, and offer tons of additional functionality when opting for a premium monthly subscription.

If you’re trying to decide between the Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera, here’s a comparison of the two popular products to help you figure out which is best for your smart home.

Recommended Videos

Video quality and cost

The Roku Camera on a white background.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE costs $40 and films in 1080p. It also offers color night vision for crisp footage when the lights are turned off. The Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera costs $60, films in 1080p, and uses infrared HD at night.

Amazon loves to discount the Blink Mini far below its $60 price tag — but if it’s not on sale, the cheaper Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE wins this category.

Winner: Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE

Feature and spec list

The Blink Mini Pan Tilt mount on a wooden table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Despite its low price, Roku packed a bunch of great features into the Indoor Camera 360 SE. This includes a design that can swivel 360 degrees horizontally while offering a 93-degree vertical field of view. It also includes customizable motion zones, instant smartphone notifications, two-way audio, Alexa and Google Assistant support, and the option to stream content to your Roku TV or Roku Player.

The Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera does much of the same. This includes support for Alexa, two-way audio, smartphone alerts, and complete 360-degree coverage thanks to a design that can both swivel sideways and rotate vertically to capture every inch of your home.

Winner: Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera

Monthly fees and what you get

A split image showing the Roku camera on top and its wide FOV on bottom.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Most indoor cameras require a monthly subscription to unlock all their features — and that holds true for the Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera. A Roku Camera Subscription costs $4 per month for a single camera or $10 per month for multiple cameras. You can save a bit by opting for a yearly payment, bringing the total to $40 per year for one camera or $100 per year for multiple cameras. A subscription gets you person detection, package detection, vehicle detection, pet detection, event filtering, and no delay between event recordings (free users will see a five-minute delay.

Two Blink subscriptions are available — Basic and Plus. Basic costs $3 per month or $30 per year and supports a single device. However, it gives you up to 90 minutes of live view streaming, motion detection video recording, live view recording, rapid video access, video sharing, person detection, and a few other miscellaneous perks.

The Blink Plus Plan costs $10 per month or $100 per year and supports unlimited devices. It also gives you 10% off Blink devices on Amazon, extended warranties, and the option to enable a Custom Snooze mode that pauses motion alerts.

Winner: Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera

Ease of use

The Blink Mini installed in the Pan-Tilt Mount.
Blink

Developed by Roku and Amazon — both of which have reputations for creating user-friendly products — it should come as no surprise that the Indoor Camera 360 SE and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt are simple to install and operate. Both provide you with step-by-step instructions that’ll guide you through the entire process, and both also support voice assistants for easy access and customization.

Winner: Tie

Which is best?

The Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera is the better indoor camera for most smart homes. Offering a design that can pivot vertically and horizontally allows it to capture more square footage than the Roku camera. The Blink camera is typically more expensive than Roku’s product, although frequent price cuts from Amazon allow you to pick it up for as little as $30. If you can snag it for that price, it’s without a doubt the better option.

However, the Roku Indoor Camera 360 SE is a solid alternative. Not only is it always budget-priced at $40, but it integrates nicely with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. It can even sync with your Roku TV to give you alerts. It can’t pivot vertically like the Blink camera, but it does rotate horizontally — which might be good enough for some setups.

Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…
Best Buy Labor Day sale: Chamberlain MyQ smart indoor security camera is $35 today
Chamberlain MyQ smart indoor home security camera deal at Best Buy -- on shelf

As part of Best Buy's Labor Day sale, there are several smart home security devices discounted, making it one of the best times to outfit and protect your home with modern surveillance gear. The Chamberlain MyQ smart indoor home security camera, for example, is down to $35 today -- saving you $5. You'll save even more with a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership. It's a hard-wired smart security camera with crystal-clear 1080P full HD viewing, wide-angle vision, motion detection features, and two-way audio support -- so you can communicate with anyone in your home. Pair it with some of the other home security devices and you'll have a full system up and running in no time.

 
Why you should shop the Chamberlain MyQ smart indoor home security camera at Best Buy

Read more
Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) vs. Amazon Smart Thermostat: Which is best for your home?
The Amazon Smart Thermostat.

Smart thermostats are an easy way to upgrade your home's heating and cooling skills, and few products are as popular as the Amazon Smart Thermostat and Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen). The two offer many of the same basic features, though you'll find a handful of drastic differences between the devices -- starting with their price tag.

From pricing and design to installation and available features, here's a closer look at the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) and Amazon Smart Thermostat to help you decide which is better for your smart home.
Pricing and design

Read more
The Blink security camera 5-pack is over 40% off today
The Blink Outdoor Camera 4 mounted on a brick wall.

Placing security cameras around your home is one of the simplest ways of protecting your family, but the costs will add up if you're planning to install a whole system of them. Fortunately, there are security camera deals that will let you enjoy huge savings, such as Amazon's 42% discount for a five-pack of the Blink Outdoor 4. From the bundle's original price of $400, it's down to only $232 in a limited-time offer. We're not sure how much time is remaining for this chance at $168 off, so you should complete your purchase immediately if you don't want to miss out.

Why you should buy the Blink Outdoor 4 security camera
The Blink Outdoor 4 is one of the best home security cameras that you can buy right now, as it offers a wide range of features that will provide safety to your family. After an easy installation process, as the security camera is battery-powered so there's no need to deal with wires, you'll be able to watch 1080p live streams, activate night vision, and speak to people with two-way audio through the Blink app. You'll also be able to access these features through smart displays that are powered by Amazon's Alexa.

Read more