There’s plenty of variation when it comes to the best video doorbells, so it’s worth sussing out exactly which features you want for when you’re checking who’s outside. Many of these wireless camera systems come with two-way audio, so you can interact with whoever has come knocking, whilst others require a further paid subscription for video recording and playback. Camera quality is another thing to consider when it comes to making your purchase, with wide lenses being available for those who have a long driveway and want to have a full scope on who’s approaching their house. You’ll also want to make sure you have a suitably high-resolution camera if you want to use it to monitor at night. Those with smart-home devices already will want to check that their new doorbell is compatible with their smart speakers (opens in new tab), so you can get notifications and speak to those at the door from wherever you are in the house. For more clever ways to ensure security in your home, check out the best home safes (opens in new tab) and the best smart locks (opens in new tab).
Best video doorbells
1. Ring Video Doorbell 2: Best video doorbell overall
While it’s not as sleek as the Ring Video Doorbell Pro and lacks the brilliant smart lock controls of the August Doorbell Cam Pro, the Ring Video Doorbell 2 has the best balance of features we’ve seen in a smart doorbell. Foremost is the doorbell’s easy installation, you can install it anywhere if you run it off the battery, but it can also connect it to your existing doorbell chime to keep it powered all the time. Its excellent video quality shows enough detail day and night, even though it didn’t perform as well as some competitors in our testing. The removable battery pack is easier to charge than the original Ring’s battery, which required removing the entire unit from the wall. Aside from hardware differences between the Ring Video Doorbell 2 and its predecessor, both products work the same on the software side, though the Ring mobile app reacts more quickly to the Ring 2. While there’s no free video storage option like the ones from August and SkyBell, Ring’s cloud storage prices are the lowest in our comparison, starting at $3 a month per doorbell camera. However, if you choose Ring’s most expensive plan, you get a lifetime warranty and can store footage from an unlimited number of cameras. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 doesn’t let you silence your doorbell chime like with Ring Pro, August, Nest and SkyBell.
Read our Ring Video Doorbell 2 review (opens in new tab)
2. Ring Video Doorbell: Best value video doorbell
The original Ring Video Doorbell only costs $99/£89, making it about $100/£90 cheaper than the average video doorbell on test. While you can view your Ring’s live video anytime without a subscription, you can expect to pay between $3 and $10 a month to record video. The $3 cloud storage plan is the most affordable compared to paid plans we looked at, but the $10 plan includes a lifetime warranty for your Ring products and records video from unlimited Ring doorbells and security cameras. As with most smart doorbells, the Ring only works with mechanical doorbell chimes, though you can buy the Ring Chime for an extra $29 or rely on alerts sent direct to your phone. At 720p, the Ring Doorbell’s video quality isn’t as good as other products we tested, though certainly good enough for most people considering the price. Unlike the Ring Video Doorbell 2, this unit doesn’t come with angled brackets for mounting in tight corners.
Read our Ring Video Doorbell review (opens in new tab)
3. August Doorbell Cam Pro: Best video doorbell for smart locks
This doorbell camera has excellent video quality, despite only featuring a 720p camera, while we really like its innovative call format that shows a video on your phone’s lock screen rather than a simple notification like other smart doorbells we tested. Connect it to an August Smart Lock and it even allows you to let people into your home without leaving the call. It’s the only smart doorbell we tested that does this while others require you to leave the call or the app to unlock a companion smart lock. August’s basic cloud video storage is free, but is limited to 24 hours. There’s also a paid plan that costs around $4.99 a month, which is competitive with similar offerings from other video doorbells. As with similar products, it records video when it detects motion, but it also saves 30 seconds of footage from before the sensor was triggered to give you more context into what happened, provided you pay for a cloud storage plan. To install the August Doorbell Cam Pro, you need a mechanical doorbell chime since it doesn’t work with digital chimes. Unlike SkyBell and Ring, it doesn’t have an adapter or add-on for digital chime functionality. As with most video doorbells, this one has a built-in battery, but it can’t run off the battery for very long, less than a day in our experience, so you’ll want to think about a wired connection if this is the doorbell for you.
Read our August Doorbell Cam Pro review (opens in new tab)
4. Nest Hello: Best video doorbell for advanced features
Nest Hello comes with the most advanced features we’ve seen in a smart doorbell: facial recognition, people detection and pre-recorded responses you can use to relay information to visitors without answering a call. Our favorite feature was the pre-recorded responses that inform visitors to leave a package, wait for someone to come to the door or say no-one is available. During our tests, we found that the Nest Hello produced the second-best video quality, only Ring Pro had better video. Nest Hello has a slim form factor that fits on most door frames and is the only video doorbell we reviewed with a two-year warranty. It’s a great option if you have other Nest devices in your smart home but has limited smart home functionality otherwise. If you want to record video, prices start at $5/£4 a month for five days video history (that’s footage recorded 24/7, not clips), and goes up to $30/£24 for 30 days video history.
Read our Nest Hello review (opens in new tab)
5. Ring Video Doorbell Pro: Best premium video doorbell
Ring Video Doorbell Pro looks more like a traditional doorbell button than other video doorbells we tested. Its attractive, slim design and interchangeable faceplates let you customize it to match your tastes. While 20% smaller than the Ring Doorbell 2, the compromise here is that it requires a power supply, so installation might require some professional help if you don’t feel confident doing this. It’s the only Ring doorbell we tested with people detection features and fully-customizable motion detection zones. It also has the best video quality of the smart doorbells we tested, though it’s not so much better than the competition that it’s worth the higher price. As with Ring’s other doorbells, you can get excellent smart home options and cloud video storage for as low as $3 a month.
Read our Ring Video Doorbell Pro review (opens in new tab)
What to look for when buying a video doorbell
When someone calls at your door, the video doorbell is only as good as the video and audio available. In essence, the higher the video resolution, the sharper the footage captured. Some video doorbells feature 720p HD recording, but for those looking for the best clarity will want a video doorbell that can record in 1080p Full HD. While footage recorded in 720p is perfectly adequate, footage at 1080p will have much more detail, making it that much easier to work out what’s going on and who’s visiting your front door. It’s not just video capture during daylight hours that you need to think about, but night-time as well. Video doorbells handle this in a couple of different ways, with some using motion-activated LEDs to light the area in front of the camera, while others use infrared night vision to see what’s happening. Unlike motion-activated LEDs, infrared night vision sees footage recorded in black and white. Field of view shouldn’t be ignored either. Some video doorbells like the Ring Video Doorbell 2 features 160-degree viewing angles, which depending where its positioned, will allow you to potentially see your whole porch and driveway. Others feature narrower fields of view, which means you won’t get quite the same ultra-wide coverage. It’s not just about the picture quality - audio can be just as important when looking for the best video doorbell. Units should have both microphones and speakers built into them, allowing you not only hear what’s being said, but to reply and have a brief conversation, even that’s to simply to tell the FedEx delivery man to leave the package on the porch.
