Nobody wants to look at you through the blurry, fuzzed-out webcam that came built into your laptop. If you’ve been holding out on upgrading your videoconferencing setup in the hopes that we’ll all go back to offices and leave Zooming behind forever, you’re half right. We may be heading back to offices and schools to some degree, but video calls are here to stay, so you may as well put your best face forward and upgrade your image with a decent webcam.

Check out our guide to all the best webcams on the market, plus a few that didn’t make the cut. Pick up a laptop stand, too, so that your webcam sits at about eye-level. The change in perspective does wonders for your on-screen look, since a low camera looking up can distort your face. Webcams are still in high demand and go in and out of stock, so if the one you like isn’t available, check out our guides on how to use your smartphone or a professional camera (if you have one) as a webcam instead.

Updated January 2022: We’ve added the Razer Kiyo X and Dell UltraSharp webcams.

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