How do you think James Bond became such a badass? And how does he knows each and everything?
Well, the best possible explanation I could possibly think of is that James Bond uses highly advanced mini and hidden cameras to keep a track of everyone’s activities.
The hidden and mini spy cameras are not just some fictional spy gadgets from fictional movies. You can actually purchase them for the security of your loved ones and the surveillance of your office, cars, and home.
When someone breaks into your house for burglary and theft, they only look on the ceiling to check for the installed cameras.
But the mini spy camera we are gonna share in our list can be placed anywhere in the room unnoticed.
And coming to the hidden spy camera, they come pre-installed in the products like speakers, pens, and so on. So no one will ever be able to realize that the casual looking speaker, pen, and charger are actually recording their activities.
That’s why we have divided the list into 2 sections, one for the mini spy cameras and another for the hidden spy cameras.
So let’s dive deeper into the topic and get introduced to the best mini and hidden spy cameras that you can buy in 2020.
Use the below links to go to the specific section in the article:
- Spy Cameras Comparison Table
- Best Mini Spy Cameras
- Best Hidden Spy Cameras
- Hidden Spy Camera Or Mini Spy Camera: What Do You Need?
- Spy Camera Buying Guide
A Quick Time Saver Spy Cameras Comparison Table For You
IMAGE | PRODUCT | SPECIFICATIONS | VIEW ON AMAZON |
Best Overall Mini Spy Camera  | Blink XT 2 Smart Security Camera |
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Best Overall Hidden Spy Camera  | DZFtech Spy Pen Camera |
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Smallest Mini Spy Camera  | Goospy Wireless Spy Camera |
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Best In Budget  | Blink Mini - Compact Indoor Security Camera |
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Best Mini Spy Cameras
1. Blink Mini – Compact Indoor Smart Security Camera
If you are truly resolved to keep your house safe when no one’s home, why not do it with the best tiny sized camera in the market?
And that’s why we recommend Blink Mini – Compact Indoor Smart Security Camera. It’s a small size spy gadget that you can place anywhere and easily monitor every activity that happens under its 110-degree field of view.
Mini Blink records 1080 HD videos during the day time and with infrared HD night vision at night.
Simply place the camera on the bookshelf, dressing table, magazine rack, or any other flat surface where it remains unnoticed. Use the included stand to adjust the angles according to your need.
Nothing can be easier than using the Blink Mini Smart Security Camera.
Just plug in the camera, connect the mini spy camera to WiFi, install the Blink Home Monitor app on your smartphone, connect the camera to your account, and start monitoring.
Do you know what you’re gonna like the most about this compact spy camera? Its compatibility with Alexa.
Stream live videos, play recorded videos and enable and disable the camera using the voice commands. The Blink app also lets you talk to your family and visitors when you’re not at home.
The motion detectors of the camera immediately give alerts on your smartphone whenever any moment happens under the moment detection zone of the camera.
Blink Mini has its own Cloud storage as well where you can record and save the videos. But this feature of the app is not for free.
Though you can use the free trial of the Blink subscription plan till 31st December 2020, it will cost you $3/month/camera after that. And $10/month for unlimited devices at a single location.
The camera works with a 2 meter micro USB and power adaptor with electrical rating: 100-240V 50/60 HZ 0.15A.
This incredible mini spy camera for home, office, and the factory is the best spy camera overall, considering the features at such an affordable price.
2. FUVISION Mini Spy Camera
Is your purchase strongly focused on buying the smallest spy camera? If yes, then FUVISION Mini Spy Camera is a perfect choice for you.
It’s a camera, so small that it’s not visible to the naked eye. Just kidding, but it’s actually quite compact in size with a dimension of 2.52 x 1.81 x 1.93 inches. Basically, the camera is no taller than a AAA battery.
It’s a perfect piece of gadget to know how the nanny behaves with your little one when you’re not around.
Just place the camera where the nanny can’t notice it. And at the same time where the camera angle is covering the child perfectly.
Now you’ll be able to notice her activities and her conduct with the child in your absence.
FUVISION Mini Spy Camera lets you record the video in 1080p HD or 720p HD both at 30 frame rate per second for a crystal clear recording.
Choose whether you want to record the videos continuously or in a loop. If you choose to record in the loop then the new videos will overwrite the previous videos. This can save you space on your memory card and you can record videos without bothering about storage.
Time and date stamps are attached to the videos for the proper management of the recordings.
I liked the fact that the camera works both ways, with a chargeable battery and a plug-in USB wire as well.
The chargeable battery working makes the device portable and you can record the videos from different areas of the house just by picking up the camera and placing it somewhere else.
Just charge the device fully and record continuously for 90 minutes in 1080p HD quality and up to 100 minutes while recording in 720p HD.
Want to record only a specific section of your house 24/7? Just plug in the FUVISION Mini Spy Camera to a socket and record videos while continuously charging the camera.
Motion detector makes the camera even more reliable and favorable for those who feel worried about leaving their home empty.
This mini spy camera supports up to 64 GB SD card. So you can record the video all day and connect with your Windows or Mac device to watch the recordings.
It is suggested to watch the videos on a VLC player as the recordings are done in AVI format which is not supported by many media players.
3. Rettru Small Spy Camera
With a weight of 0.63 ounces and the dimensions of 9.5 x 2.8 x 0.5 inches, this is another smallest spy camera in the market today.
With the 1080p recording quality, make sure the kids are safe with the caretaker or your pet is not misbehaving in your absence.
Also, make sure that the employees do not perform such activities behind your back that betray your trust in them.
If you want to purchase the camera especially to monitor the activities at night, then we recommend you not to buy this camera.
Rettru Mini Small Spy Camera doesn’t support night vision, making the recordings done at night completely dark and unuseful.
No extra wire, no need for a holder, just a simple camera to monitor your house or your office. This makes the camera easy to carry as well.
The adjustable metal hose of the Rettru Mini Hidden Spy Camera makes it even more impressive. Simply turn the face of the camera to the place where you want to keep your eye.
This camera supports a minimum 8GB SD card and a maximum of 32 GB SD card. Worried about the space on your SD card while continuously recording the video?
You can enable the motion detection on the camera to only record the video when the spy camera detects any kind of motion.
The motion detector will allow the camera to record only the valid video, saving a huge space on the SD card.
Just plug in the Rettru Spy Camera to an adaptor, plug in the adaptor to a power switch, and your camera is all set to spy.
4. Blink XT 2 Smart Security Camera
Here’s another mini smart security camera from Blink, with HD quality 1080p video recording at day time and infrared HD night vision when it’s dark.
With dimensions of 2.8 x 2.8 x 1.4 inches and a weight of 3.15 ounces, Blink XT 2 is the best wireless mini spy camera.
Just like the previous Blink mini camera, this one also allows 2-way audio for talking to the visitors. It also supports the storing of videos on Cloud up to a year with no monthly fee.
And all this can be done once you have the Blink app installed on your iOS, Android, or Fire OS smartphone.
This Blink camera can be your best buy as it’s quite tiny in size and the black color makes it even more unnoticeable.
The wireless nature of the camera makes it easy for you to place it wherever you feel like.
Camera’s support for Alexa opens the gate for various other amazing features.
Easily view the live streaming of the recording, watch clips recorded in motion, arm and disarm the camera remotely, and also set the order for the new battery.
No doubt it’s a perfect tool for spying the inside activities of the house like keeping a watch on the nanny, kids, flatmate, and pets.
But it’s a perfect gadget for viewing activities on the main gate as well because the IP65 rating makes the product completely dustproof and enough to bear the water projected from a nozzle.
The 110-degree wide viewing angle and immediate alerts on detection of motion make the tiny spy camera completely reliable.
Blink XT 2 saves you from the mess of charging the device every day. It supports the AA lithium batteries that work for 2 years.
5. Goospy Wireless Spy Camera
Secure your house and office with the HD 1080p video quality of Goospy Wireless Spy Camera while the other person being completely unaware of your spying.
With 7.1 x 4.4 x 2.4 inches dimensions, this is the smallest spy camera on our list. Now it’s hard to believe that it’s the smallest camera taking its dimensions into consideration.
But the dimensions given include the length of the long stick that attaches to the camera. The actual size of the camera is so small that it’s hard to notice it.
Due to its small size, you can comfortably fit it in your coat and pant pocket. And you can easily record the office meetings and lectures with its 90 degrees wide viewing angle without getting caught.
It can be a perfect tool to catch your child red-handed who denies their misconduct in your absence but you know they are not so innocent.
To unleash the full features of the camera, you need to download the HomeEye app on your iOS or Android smartphone.
After you install the app it becomes possible to remotely view the live streaming of the video recording once you connect the mini spy camera with WiFi to your smartphone.
HomeEye app also lets you delete playback, and download the video files in your SD card.
The moment the camera detects motion, a 30-second video will be recorded and stored in the memory card. Not only this but at the same time, a photo will also be taken that is uploaded to the app which you can see from your smartphone.
The 300 mAh battery allows you to continuously record the video for 60 minutes. In my opinion, it should have been a little more.
But you can also record the video 24/7. Just plug the camera USB cable to an adapter and power the camera with a switchboard.
Goospy camera supports up to 128 GB SD cards which is enough to store all the videos you make in a day without going out of space.
Best Hidden Spy Cameras
In this list, we are gonna share with you the list of cameras that come embedded in other useful products.
So let’s check out the list.
1. Lawmate Car Charger Hidden Camera
Installing a camera in a car sounds a little uncustomary, but at times it becomes necessary due to certain circumstances.
What if you live at a place where the car lifting is a mundane affair? Or what if you have gifted a personal car to your kid but you’re always worried about their safety?
Don’t these situations call for the hidden cameras to be installed in your car?
Taking these circumstances into consideration, Lawmate came up with a car charger that comes with a pre-installed hidden camera.
The Lawmate Car Charger Hidden Camera works like a normal car charger while it discreetly records the video.
The video is recorded in full HD 1080p and the night vision ensures a clear recording at night.
With the support of up to 32 GB SD card, you can record videos for a long time, without any concern about space.
With the rotating head of the charger, you can shoot the video from different angles in the car.
From the driver to the passenger seat adjacent to the driver, to the back seat of the car, this spy charger camera can record videos from all the angles in the car.
The recording automatically starts when the driver starts the car and the recordings get automatically stopped and the files get saved in the SD card, the moment car engine stops.
Along with the high-quality video recording, there will be time and date stamps attached to the saved files.
This hidden spy camera for your car is a bit expensive though.
2. FUVISION Speaker Spy Camera
Bombard your apartment with high-quality sound and rich bass of the FUVISION Speaker Spy Camera when you want to party. And keep a close eye on your kids or your pets when you are not at home.
This amazing hidden speaker camera by FUVISION is completely wireless so you can monitor the desired area of your house.
The lightweight (1.54 pounds) and the compact size (3.9 x 3.9 x 3.9 inches) of the speaker makes it even more portable and spy friendly.
The aluminum-alloy body and touch-activated control panel make the speaker look classy. 3 brightness levels of the panel display let you get sound sleep while recording everything at night.
The 1080p video quality will record high-quality videos in the day time and the night vision ensures clear recordings up to 30-40 feet in the complete darkness.
Other amazing features of this wireless spy speakers include FM Radio, alarm clock, and fast USB charging.
You get to choose from the three modes of recording. Continuous recording helps you record video continuously until the speaker goes out of battery.
Loop recording helps you save from the problem of space getting filled due to the continuous recording by overwriting the previous files.
The motion recording feature activates the recording on the spy speaker camera when it detects some kind of motion.
With the assistance from CamHipro app, you can live stream the videos from your Android and iOS devices. Get alerts immediately on your smartphone when the camera detects some motion.
And the app also lets you share the recorded videos with other people.
No WiFi? No problem. The camera lets you record to the external memory without any need for the WiFi.
3. FUVISION Photo Frame Security Camera
Here’s another fabulous hidden spy cam from FUVISION where they converted a photo frame into a spy camera.
How can someone even guess that a casual looking photo frame is actually a tool with a preinstalled camera keeping an eye on all their activities?
This photo frame security camera has normal dimensions of 11.3 x 9.2 x 1.4 inches and only a weight of 1.6 pounds, which makes it look no less than a normal photo frame, hence saving you from all the suspicions.
Just hang it on the wall or leave it on the shelf, and keep the nanny always under your surveillance with the 65-degree viewing angle of the camera. The complete wireless nature of the frame makes it an even more reliable camera.
The 1080p recording quality gives a crisp clear quality video at the day time and the night vision feature makes it possible to capture a decent quality video till 8 meters at night.
With the support of up to 64 GB memory card, you can easily record videos all day and transfer them to your PC or laptop at the end of the day.
Now, battery backup is what makes this product more remarkable. The 10000 mAh rechargeable battery can provide continuous recording for 30 hours in a single charge or you can keep the frame on standby mode for 365 days.
The smart motion detector of the hidden spy security camera only records the video when it notices some movements under is viewing angle.
This prevents your SD card from going out of storage and the frame from running out of battery.
Just download the YI Eye app on your iOS or Android smartphone and get introduced to other features of the hidden spy photo frame.
After you connect the YI Eye app to your cell phone using WiFi, you can get the live view of the recording remotely. Also, get the alerts on your phone when motion gets detected by the frame.
It’s a hidden spy camera embedded in a normal photo frame, so it’s definitely gonna be a little expensive than your normal photo frames. But still, it’s not that expensive.
4. DZFtech Hidden Spy Pen Camera
No one can even guess that your normal writing tool is actually recording their activities unless it’s the owner of the pen company itself who is being recorded.
You might be thinking that what if someone claps eyes on the tiny camera on the body of the pen?
The pen is so carefully designed that no one can get to know about the actual use of the pen. How? Well, there’s a very tiny slider given just to cover the camera part of the pen.
So there’s no way someone can get to know about the true quality of the pen just by looking at it.
Maybe for that, they need to hold the pen in their hand, carefully examine the pen, open it, and maybe then they could know for what purpose the pen is actually used for.
Coming to the dimensions and weight, the pen measures 6.9 x 3.5 x 0.7 inches and weighs 6.4 ounces. This makes the pen look more casual and a product to be used for only writing purposes.
Don’t go on its size, the pen has a 140-degree viewing angle and the 1080p recording quality that will blow your mind.
If you don’t want to record the videos, the pen will let you simply capture the photos as well.
Be it for recording lectures, office meetings, casual conversation, or for capturing a beautiful moment, this pen can be used for any purpose.
Using this hidden spy camera pen is really easy. You just need to charge the pen, insert an SD card, and switch on the button to start recording.
You’ll be amazed to know that this mini spy pen comes with a year warranty and free technical support for a lifetime. So you don’t need to worry if the product doesn’t work for you or you face some problem using it.
Still not convinced by the product? Well, you can’t stop yourself from buying it if we tell you that you get a 32 GB SD card absolutely free with the pen.
Wanna get more convinced? You also get a card reader for absolutely free with it. And yes, a total of 4 refills are given to enjoy not only the photos and videos but the writing part too.
With 200mAh rechargeable battery, the pen can continuously record the videos for 70 minutes which is enough to record 2-3 lectures and complete office meetings.
You don’t need to stop recording if you’re going out of battery, just plug in and charge the pen while recording is still being done.
You don’t even need to worry about the space on your SD card, the loop recording feature is there to help you out. It will overwrite the previous files and make the space for the fresh ones. The pen is small in size but features are equally great, isn’t it?
5. Hidden Spy Camera Charger
Unless you need it, how many of you pay attention to the phone charger when its plugged on the switchboard?
I guess no one of you pays attention, right?
Taking advantage of this human behavior, here’s a spy camera to keep track of the nanny, maids, kids, pets, employers, office, factory, and everything else.
Even if the nanny does get suspicious that she is being recorded, she can’t even think that the charger’s the one creating a problem for them.
This spy charger has a casual size of 1.2 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches and normal weight of 4.8 ounces, which makes it a completely unfishy product.
With the 1080p full HD video quality and 90-degree viewing angle, you can always know what’s going around in your office or at your home.
And all your worries related to the space in the SD card are solved by the loop recording feature of this charger.
When even the slightest movement takes place, the camera detects the motion and starts recording the video. So you can absolutely depend on the camera for any activity that takes place in the spy camera charger viewing angle.
With this amazing hidden spy camera charger, you get a 32 GB SD card completely for free and also a card reader that lets you quickly transfer the recorded files into your PC or laptops.
You also get a 2-year manufacturer warranty with the product as well, and 24/7 customer support.
Don’t worry about your SD cards getting corrupted due to voltage spikes. This charger comes with built-in surge protection to save your SD card from such mishappenings.
You don’t need any WiFi connections and apps to use the camera charger, it’s more than easy to use it. Just plug in the charger to a power bank or switchboard and record.
It looks like a completely normal charger with no sounds or unusual behavior, so it can never be detected by scanners as well.
Hidden Spy Camera Or Mini Spy Camera: What Do You Need?
Till now you must have become aware of the basic difference between the mini and hidden spy cameras.
The mini spy cameras are those products that actually look like a camera but they are compact in size than your casual surveillance cameras.
But that’s not the case with hidden spy cameras. They look like normal use products like a pen, speaker, or a power bank, and so on. But discreetly they will be recording the activities of the other users while the other person will be thinking that it’s a casual pen or a speaker.
If you’re ok with the fact that the other person might notice the camera recording their activities, then you should definitely go for the mini spy camera. They provide a wide variety of features and some also give remote access to the user.
But if you can’t compromise on the discreet working of the camera, hop on to the hidden spy camera. The list of features is definitely limited as compared to mini spy cameras, but it’s a hundred times hard to detect their true purpose.
Mini Spy Camera And Hidden Spy Camera Buying Guide
The factors that we going to discuss here might not be available in all the spy cameras.
But most of them need to be there to make it a worthy hidden or mini spy camera. So let’s see what all things you should look for in a spy camera before you buy one.
1. Size
Even the title of this blog includes the words “hidden “and “mini” which means that the spy camera should definitely be compact in size.
If a spy camera will be larger in dimension, just like our normal surveillance cameras, then they will obviously be noticeable.
So there will be no point in buying a spy camera as the only reason we want to purchase a spy camera is that it needs to be completely hidden or at least hard to notice.
2. Video Quality And Night Vision
Imagine you go to a stationary shop and ask the shopkeeper to show you some good pens. The shopkeeper shows you a very attractive and expensive-looking pen and tells you that this pen has a sleek design and the body is made of high-quality metal.
Finally, he tells you that the pen is absolutely amazing and the only downside of this pen is that it has poor ink quality.
The moment you hear that you drop the idea of purchasing it because that’s the key feature of the pen and you can’t compromise on the ink quality.
The same goes for the video quality when we talk about any camera, be it for normal use or for monitoring someone.
We would only be able to keep a watch on other’s activities properly if the video quality is good and their actions are completely visible.
Most of us purchase spy cameras especially to monitor our house at night. So we can categorize a spy camera as good if it offers the night vision as well.
3. Motion Detection
Unlike the normal camera that you use to click photos once in a while, spying cameras are used to monitor our apartment, and offices 24/7, especially the mini spy cameras.
But the space on your SD card is limited and it’s not possible to store continuous recordings. So to tackle this problem, spy cameras are built with motion detection technology.
Motion detection keeps the recording on standby and activates it the moment there’s some kind of motion in the viewing angle of the camera.
So it’s a great way to stop your SD card from going out of storage.
4. Wireless
In the case of both mini and hidden spy cameras, going wireless is a necessity, not an option. And if a spy camera is not wireless then there are almost all chances that it will come into notice.
So it would be better if the tracking camera you are thinking to go for works wirelessly.
5. App Support
If you have gone through the details of the products we mentioned above, you might know that when a spy camera is supported by an app, it unleashes various amazing features.
These features assist you in monitoring your house, office, and, factories in a far better way.
It becomes possible to view the live streaming of the videos that the camera is currently recording. And some apps also make it possible for you to have a 2-way conversation with the visitors as well.
Along with that, you will be able to playback the recorded videos, and download them offline too.
A few selected cameras get the support from Alexa also. With Alexa, you can control the camera with voice commands, and it also makes it possible to preorder batteries.
6. No Unusual Behavior
Now this one is really really important in order to always keep your spying discreet. If your spying camera behaves strangely, then there are all the chances that you’ll get busted soon.
Especially in the case of hidden spy cameras that come embedded in other objects like speakers, pens, and chargers, you can’t take the risk of these gadgets behaving abruptly.
This strange behavior can be anything like occasional beeping sounds, or flashlights, or maybe the unnecessary heating of the device.
