Best webcams 2023: Top picks and expert buying advice

The Logitech C920e is the most recent version of the venerable Logitech C920, probably the most iconic webcam of the last few years. Confused about whether you should buy the C920e or the C920s? Logitech describes the C920e as a business camera, and the C920s as the consumer version—they’re otherwise identical, save that the C920e has a three-year warranty versus a two-year warranty, while costing the same. The C920e reportedly offers lighting and color controls that the C920s does not, as well.

Both cameras use a narrower 78.5-degree viewing angle, which focuses on your face better than webcams that use a 90-degree viewing angle. It’s also an autofocus camera, which helps justify its higher price. Aside from a lack of 60fps support, this is still a great webcam. We prefer it, in fact, to Logitech’s most recent webcam, the Logitech Brio 305, which is slightly more expensive and lacks the 1.2X zoom the C920e offers.

A number of Asian companies are starting to match what the C920e offers on paper, but its superb video quality could be harder to mimic. You can refer to our Logitech C920 review for more information.

The Razer Kiyo Pro is an improvement over the original Kiyo in almost every way. It’s a fantastic, autofocusing 1080p webcam that captures at 60 frames per second, rather than the default 30fps of its competitors. The result will be a noticeable visual improvement compared with the others on your video call. It does struggle a bit with autofocus, but the image performance is otherwise top-notch.

The Kiyo Pro webcam ships with a 1.5-meter braided USB cable, and includes a USB-A connection. Our review below includes a video shot under natural lighting, so you can see how well the Kiyo shines.

The price tag on Anker’s premium B600 video bar may cause double-takes. But this webcam packs in the features. Inside is a 2K resolution camera, four-microphone array, speaker, and built-in light that also serves as a privacy guard—and you get a high level of control over all the hardware.

Capacitive buttons on the device let you mute the mic, adjust the intensity of the light, and turn the light on and off. Though a bit fiddly, they work and solidly cover the basics. There’s an LED light that indicates the mic’s status, too.

The companion AnkerWork app expands your settings. Choosing between viewing angles of 65, 78, and 95 degrees is fast, as is downscaling the default resolution from 2K to 1080p, 720p, or 360p. You can also tune the brightness, sharpness, saturation, and contrast of your video feed, alter the light bar’s color temperature, and set the light’s brightness to auto adjust based on ambient conditions.

This webcam is an extremely nice all-in-one solution, so long as you’re parked at a desk. (This video bar and its swiveling mount require a monitor for proper support.) The camera is clear and crisp, the speaker gets plenty loud, the mic holds its own against many laptops and earbuds, and the light is handy in dark rooms or for balancing out harsh backlighting. You can use the B600 as a speakerphone, too, eliminating problems with other callers hearing themselves as they speak.

If you want to pay extra for a 4K webcam—to show yourself off at an ultra-high-resolution—we recommend this Dell UltraSharp webcam. Save for a ring light, this webcam ships with all of the bells and whistles. The 3.5-inch-long webcam mounts either on a laptop/display or via a tripod; Dell includes both. There’s a 2-meter (over 6 feet) cable, terminating in a USB Type A interface with your PC.

There’s an intriguing mix of features: HDR, autofocusing, digital zoom (up to 5X), framing, brightness, saturation, and more. Unusually, the WB7022 is neither fixed-focus nor does it offer a fixed field-of-view (FOV). Dell’s AI framing crops the image to keep your face centered, and you have the option of configuring the field of view from 90 degrees, to 78 degrees, and down to a narrow 65 degrees. Dell applies HDR, temporal, and spatial noise reduction to help you look your best. There’s even Windows Hello.

There are a few oddities: The privacy shutter doesn’t flip down; it’s a separate piece that magnetically connects to the front of the lens. There’s no mic, either, so you’ll have to use a headset or just your laptop’s mic. You’re also trading high resolution for an otherwise standard 30fps frame rate.

This 1080p webcam also has a wide-angle 90-degree viewing angle, which might be a little wide for a single person. It perches on the back of a laptop or flat-panel display. Don’t be fooled by the image; there’s no privacy shutter, though you drape a cloth over the webcam when not in use.

Reviews of this camera seem to be almost universally good, though you’ll need to make sure that you’re well lit. If you need extra light, eMeet also sells a version of the webcam with a ring light for $59.99.

This 30fps 1080 webcam is optimized more for group calls, as its 110-degree viewing angle will pick up more of the scene than rival webcams.

This webcam also clips onto a laptop or monitor. One of the nicer touches is a small LED alerting you when the camera is powered on and connected.

I bought this webcam for my son during the pandemic, and he used it everyday to connect to his classes via Zoom. He didn’t have any complaints about picture quality, and we haven’t seen any from other buyers, either. NexiGo provides some basic software controls to help adjust color and contrast, too. The mics seem to do quite a good job picking up your voice and filtering out any ambient noise.

This fixed-focus 1080p webcam captures frames at a smooth 60 frames per second, as opposed to the more standard 30fps. You’ll look smoother and more lifelike as a result. The camera also captures at a 120-degree angle, which might not be ideal for a home user but can work quite well in a living room or conference room. This webcam is very highly reviewed on Amazon, with reviewers praising it for its color balance but criticizing it for its inability to be finely adjusted.

It’s still a fixed-focus camera though—if you want an autofocusing model we’d recommend you pay about $100 for the upgraded NexiGo N680p instead.

If we’re being honest (and price is no object) the Dell UltraSharp webcam above would be our top pick for a Windows Hello webcam. But Logitech’s also feeling the heat, and it has lowered the price of its Brio 4K as a result. We can’t help but recommend it.

It still ranks highly among premium webcams, primarily because it’s one of the few autofocusing webcams that captures in 4K resolution. The Brio includes a ton of features to make you look great, and its Windows Hello support will log you in in a snap.

Our separate story on Windows Hello webcams offers cheaper options than the MouseComputer webcam, but the image quality of the webcam itself appears to be better—or, conversely, the competition is fudging on whether they offer true 1080p resolution. In any event, this $65 or so webcam seems to offer what you’ll need, plus Windows Hello functionality.

Users have complained that you’ll need to make sure Windows is up to date and that your webcam is directly plugged into your laptop. There’s no privacy shutter, unfortunately.

1.

Do you need Wi-Fi for a webcam?

Yes and no. These webcams all connect to your computer directly, via a USB port. Your computer will then need to be connected to either ethernet or to Wi-Fi for you to be able to chat with a friend or business partner.

2.

Can a webcam work without a computer?

3.

How do I connect my webcam to the internet?

For USB webcams, it will be as simple as plugging the camera into your computer’s USB port, downloading the firmware, and then connecting to the internet via your computer.

4.

What software do I need to connect my webcam?

Technically, most webcams are plug and play, so you should simply be able to connect them to your PC to get them to work. Many, however, require their own software utilities to be installed to take advantage of specific features and to facilitate automatic updates. To actually use your webcam in a conference call, however, you’ll need to use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or another videoconferencing app. Make sure you enter the app’s settings menu and select the webcam’s camera and microphone to provide the audio and video for your call.