The Best PoE Switches for Security Cameras

Short version: for a multi-camera PoE install, an 8-port switch is the standard buy — it powers and networks every camera from one box with one cable to the wall. The TP-Link LS108GP carries the highest star rating of the field here and is an Amazon’s Choice pick. Reolink NVR owners get a matched fit with the REOLINK RLA-PS1. If your cameras run power-hungry, compare total power budgets: the REOLINK lists 120W and the Amcrest 96W switch 96W, versus 62W on the TP-Link. For a single camera, skip the switch entirely — a PoE injector does the same job for one device at a fraction of the cost.

This page covers the best PoE switches for security cameras, meaning the switch itself. For the cameras and NVR systems it powers, see the wired PoE cameras hub and top-rated PoE security camera systems. For the drive that stores what it all records, see best hard drives for NVR systems.

In Plain English

Top Rated Picks at a Glance

The Ranked Field: 8-Port Switches from TP-Link, Reolink and Amcrest

#1

Best Overall

TP-Link LS108GP 8-Port PoE Gigabit Switch

Best for a whole-home PoE camera system needing up to 8 gigabit ports in one box.

• 8 PoE+ ports delivering up to 62W total budget.
• Full gigabit throughput on every port, not just uplinks.
• Plug-and-play — no configuration required for basic camera setups.
• PoE auto-recovery reboots a stuck camera automatically.

Why buy it: The highest star rating of any switch here, and an Amazon’s Choice pick — the safest default for a new multi-camera PoE install.

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#2

Best for Reolink NVR Systems

REOLINK PoE Switch RLA-PS1 (8 PoE + 2 Gigabit Uplink)

Best for Reolink NVR systems and RLN36-series camera kits specifically.

• 8 PoE ports (10/100 Mbps, up to 30W each, 120W total) plus 2 gigabit uplink ports.
• Designed and tested alongside Reolink NVR systems.
• Compact enough for a utility closet or garage install.
• Desktop or wall-mount flexibility.

Why buy it: The natural pairing for a Reolink NVR system — built and marketed specifically to sit alongside Reolink’s own camera and recorder line.

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#3

Best Alternative Brand

Amcrest 8-Port PoE+ Switch (96W, Metal Housing)

Best for buyers who want a well-reviewed switch outside the TP-Link/Reolink ecosystem.

• 8 PoE+ ports with a 96W total power budget.
• Metal housing built for continuous 24/7 operation.
• IEEE 802.3af/at standard compliance for broad camera compatibility.
• No proprietary ecosystem lock-in.

Why buy it: A 96W power budget — well above the TP-Link’s 62W — which matters if you are running several high-draw PTZ or floodlight PoE cameras off the same box.

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Comparison Table

Just One PoE Camera? Use an Injector, Not a Switch

An 8-port switch is the wrong buy for a single PoE camera — you are paying for seven ports you will never use. A PoE injector does the identical job of putting power onto the Ethernet cable, but for one device, at a fraction of the price. The Omada PoE+ Injector (up to 30W, gigabit, UL certified) is a well-reviewed option in this category, backed by a solid rating across a smaller review base, at an entry-level price — a fifth of the price of an 8-port switch, for exactly the job a single-camera install actually needs. Check price on Amazon →

How We Rank

We do not buy or physically install these switches. Every star rating and review count comes from licensed Amazon data. Full method on how we rank.

Buying Guide: Ports, Power Budget and Placement

How Many Ports Does a Security Camera System Actually Need

Count your current cameras and add a couple of spare ports for future expansion — an 8-port switch is the standard size for a typical home system of 4-6 cameras with room to grow, without paying for a 16- or 24-port switch most residential installs never fill.

Total Power Budget vs Per-Camera Draw

Add up the rated power draw of every camera you plan to connect and compare it against the switch’s total power budget, not just its per-port maximum — this is the single most common oversight when sizing a PoE switch, and running past the budget causes cameras to brown out or fail to power on rather than throwing an obvious error.

Gigabit vs Fast Ethernet

The TP-Link LS108GP runs gigabit on every port. The REOLINK RLA-PS1 is different: its eight PoE camera ports are 10/100 Mbps, with gigabit only on its two uplink ports. A 100 Mbps port is generally enough for one camera’s stream; the link that carries every camera to the NVR or router is where a Fast Ethernet-only switch can become a bottleneck as camera count and resolution climb, which is why gigabit uplinks matter.

The PoE Standard: PoE, PoE+ and PoE++ Explained

The "PoE" label covers several power tiers under the same IEEE Ethernet standard, and knowing which one a switch supports matters more than it might seem. Standard PoE (802.3af) delivers up to 15.4W per port at the switch (12.95W at the device), enough for most basic fixed cameras. PoE+ (802.3at) — the tier all three switches ranked here support — raises that to 30W per port (25.5W at the device), covering the vast majority of consumer and prosumer security cameras including floodlight and PTZ models. PoE++ (802.3bt) goes further still, to 60W or 90W per port, and mainly serves commercial-grade PTZ cameras with built-in heaters or very bright integrated lighting. Buying more power tier than your cameras need doesn't hurt anything; buying less than a power-hungry camera requires is what causes a camera to brown out or fail to power on.

Cable Length and Extending a PoE Run

Ethernet's own physical limit caps a standard PoE run at 100 meters (about 328 feet) between switch and camera. The TP-Link LS108GP’s Extend Mode can stretch a run to 250 meters, but only by dropping that port to 10 Mbps, which is a workaround rather than a way around the standard. For a camera further away than that — a detached garage, a large property's back fence line — a PoE extender placed partway along the run, or a fiber-to-Ethernet media converter for genuinely long distances, is the standard fix rather than expecting a more powerful switch to compensate. Cable quality matters here too: a genuine Cat5e or Cat6 run, properly terminated, reliably carries both power and gigabit data the full 100 meters, while cheap or damaged cable can cause intermittent dropouts well short of that distance.

Managed Switch vs Unmanaged: What Most Homes Actually Need

All three switches ranked here are sold as plug-and-play units — TP-Link describes the LS108GP as unmanaged — so you power on, plug in a camera, and it works, with no configuration screen to log into. That's the right level of complexity for the overwhelming majority of home camera installs. A managed switch adds real capability — per-port power scheduling, VLANs to separate camera traffic from the rest of the home network, traffic prioritization — that genuinely matters for a business network or a large multi-building property, but it's added complexity most homeowners don't need and won't use. Start with unmanaged unless a specific configuration need is already known.

Switch Installation: Where to Mount It

A PoE switch generates a modest amount of heat, more when several ports are pushed near their power budget, so owners generally place it somewhere with basic airflow rather than sealed inside a small enclosed cabinet — a utility closet shelf, a garage wall, or wherever the NVR and router already live works for most homes. Metal-housed switches like the TP-Link and Amcrest units ranked here are built for 24/7 continuous operation in exactly this kind of unconditioned space. Keeping the switch near the router and NVR also shortens the cable runs to those two points, which simplifies wiring even as individual camera runs go longer to reach each mounting position around the property.

Going Deeper: How a PoE Switch Shares Its Power Budget

PoE works by sending DC power down the same copper Ethernet cable that carries data. Cisco explains that a 25-kilohm resistor is added between the power pairs on a compliant powered device, a safeguard for non-PoE equipment: the switch looks for that signature before it supplies power, so a device without it gets data but no power. Cisco also notes the 100m maximum cable length, which accounts for power loss along the cable.

Not every watt the switch sends reaches the camera. NETGEAR’s breakdown of the standards lists 15.4W at the switch but 12.95W at the device for 802.3af, once cable losses are counted. For 802.3at PoE+ it lists 30W sent and 25.5W delivered, and for 802.3bt 60W and 90W sent against 51W and 71.3W delivered. When you compare a camera’s rated draw against a switch, keep that loss in mind, especially on long runs.

The total budget is a separate ceiling from the per-port maximum. TP-Link’s LS108GP page lists up to 30W per PoE port but 62W across the whole switch. Two cameras each pulling a full 30W would use 60W of that on their own. TP-Link says that when total consumption exceeds 62W, the switch cuts power to lower-priority ports. That is why an oversized install tends to show up as a camera that quietly drops off rather than an obvious error. Amcrest’s 96W switch splits its budget differently, with port 1 allowed up to 60W and ports 2 to 8 up to 30W each, all within the 96W total.

The TP-Link page also describes PoE Auto Recovery, which detects a powered device that has gone offline or stopped responding and reboots it automatically. It is useful for a camera that occasionally hangs. Neither feature adds power, though, so sizing the budget correctly at the start still matters most.

The Verdict

The TP-Link LS108GP is the default recommendation for most multi-camera PoE installs — the highest rating of the field and a straightforward plug-and-play setup. Reolink NVR owners should match their system with the REOLINK RLA-PS1 instead. And if the cameras going on this switch are power-hungry PTZ or floodlight models, the larger power budgets of the Amcrest (96W) and REOLINK (120W) are worth the consideration. For anyone with just one PoE camera, skip all three and buy the Omada injector instead.

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