Whether you’re in a house or apartment, making sure your home is safe while you’re away is a key priority, and there’s no better way to do that than with one of the best smart video doorbells on this list. Our favorite smart doorbell that can deter thieves while providing you with peace of mind is the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen), formerly known as Nest Hello. But Nest isn’t the only great smart doorbell available; we’ve compiled a list of six of the best on the market! See which one works for you.
We loved Nest Hello when it first launched in 2018. Since then, it’s been rebranded to the Nest Doorbell (Wired), but it is the updated model that has taken its predecessor’s spot as the best choice in 2022. It costs a little more than some other alternatives, but you get plenty of features that make the price worth it.
For one thing, you can set it up to give you alerts whenever it detects motion in specific areas of your yard. What’s more, it has facial recognition abilities, so it can tell you if a particular friend is approaching before they even ring the bell. The camera operates at 960×1280 pixels 3:4 aspect ratio with a 145º FOV and excellent HDR for clear video quality. When the camera senses that it gets dark, it automatically switches to night vision. It’s in grayscale, but it’s clearer than many other cameras on the market.
During our review of the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) we found that Google’s updates to the original doorbell made this an excellent choice for securing our front door. Unlike some others, it’s always recording. Motion-activated cams sometimes turn on too late, making it so owners can’t see the faces of those who’ve stolen packages from their porches. The app even allows me to zoom in for a closer look. With the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen), I can go through the log and see everything that happened within the past few days in full color and resolution. That is if I’ve subscribed to Nest Aware.
Like many other smart doorbells, this one requires a subscription if you want to view recordings beyond the free three hours of event history, and you’ll need to pay per camera (though you do get the service at a discount if you have multiple cameras). The service is called Nest Aware, and you have the option of paying $6 per month for a 30-day plan or $12 per month for a 60-day plan.
There are a few things that might give people pause when buying this device. For one thing, it requires a hardwired connection. It needs to work with the proper transformer, so some folks, especially those in older houses, might need to purchase one of those as well.
You may want to consider the Nest Doorbell (Battery) instead if you don’t want to hardwire your doorbell. But the Wired version has much better resolution, supports continuous recording, doesn’t require constant recharges, and can withstand extremely cold or hot weather better because it doesn’t have a battery inside, making it the better option of the two.
Wireless video doorbells lack some wired doorbell perks, such as continuous video recording (CVR), and they often require a recharge every few months. But they’re so much easier to install — particularly for renters or less handy homeowners. Out of the battery-powered options today, the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell is our favorite by a mile (and has a hardwired option if you prefer).
This doorbell shoots in 2K HDR (1536×1536) with a 1:1 aspect ratio and 180-degree FoV, which translates into extremely clear porch footage in our tests, even at night. The Arlo Essential sends motion alerts as fast as the wired options we tested, avoiding the delay we’ve seen with other wireless doorbells. With a subscription, the doorbell will tell you if a person, animal, vehicle, or delivery person with a package triggered the alert. You can train your Alexa or Google Assistant speakers to ding when the doorbell rings; it even works with HomeKit, which many doorbells ignore.
Truly, the Arlo Essential gives you the “essentials” that most people need, except for CVR. You can record to local storage, but it requires a separate SmartHub that’ll cost you as much as the doorbell. Just be prepared to pay monthly for an Arlo Smart subscription, which unlocks many vital features like smart detection and activity zones. That’s on top of a doorbell that’s already decently expensive in exchange for great quality.
It’s hard to believe that Blink Video Doorbell can be bought for $50 or less, but it’s totally true. This wireless, battery-powered video doorbell lasts up to 2 whopping years with just 2 AA batteries. If that’s not good enough, you can also wire up the doorbell like a traditional one, making it so you never have to charge up again.
Not only that, but Blink offers both cloud and local storage options, a huge bonus over most of the video doorbells on this list. Grab a Blink Sync hub and a USB drive and you’ll have hours and hours of footage stored completely locally and kept off the cloud.
Video quality from the Blink Video Doorbell is very good, delivering crisp 1080p quality and bright night vision thanks to the built-in infrared LEDs. The 16:9 aspect ratio is a bit limiting when compared to some other doorbells that offer taller 3:4 or 1:1 aspect ratio video but, so long as you’re not super concerned with seeing packages sitting right underneath the doorbell, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
Most of the best smart video doorbells cost a couple hundred dollars, which correlates to excellent video quality but may fall outside your price range. For something low-priced but reliable, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired gives you many of the perks of the best Ring doorbells for a lower price.
It has all the standards you need: 1080p footage with IR night vision, customizable motion zones and privacy zones (which blocks out portions of the camera feed), two-way talk, and Alexa support. It requires hardwiring to your doorbell, but this extra power gives you six seconds of full-color pre-roll footage. Many battery-powered options only give you three seconds in grainy black and white.
In exchange for its budget price, you’ll have to accept some trade-offs. The doorbell only records when it detects motion, which is true of many doorbells. Unlike other wired doorbells, installing it disables your current house chime, so you’ll need a smart speaker or Ring Chime. It doesn’t support dual-band Wi-Fi, so motion alerts could take slightly longer to arrive. And you’ll need to pay a Ring Protect subscription to access video recordings, with no local storage option. At least a subscription isn’t expensive.
If you’d prefer a battery-powered option, the Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is still cheaper than most alternatives and has very similar specs with an easier installation process. However, the wired version is still much cheaper and gives you better pre-roll footage. Then, there’s the Ring Video Doorbell 4, which offers some upgrades but at too high a price for diminishing returns.
Cameras and smart doorbells typically rely on infrared sensors to detect motion, which is decently reliable. For the best performance and the fewest false positives, you’ll want the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, which uses a radar sensor for proper 3D Motion detection. If money isn’t an object and you’re willing to hardwire your doorbell, this is the undisputed upgrade buy for people serious about home security.
When you set up your Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, you use satellite data to configure a motion detection radius up to 30 feet out from your door. It knows when motion is coming from close by or further away on the street, so you can limit alerts from cars and pedestrians without blinding half the camera with motion zones. A simultaneous in-app bird’s eye view tells you exactly where the tracked motion started and ended. Our reviewer found the doorbell perfectly accurate.
Its high price also corresponds to solid specs, from its 1536p HD+ resolution to its head-to-toe view that makes packages on your porch or tall people fully visible. It still has the same faults as other Ring cameras, however: no local storage, dependence on a monthly subscription, and no Google Assistant support. Unlike other Rings, it supports always-on recording and lets you check your recent history of motion events.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 really feels like a future-proofed device. You may want to wait for a sale, though.
During our review of the Kasa Smart Video Doorbell, we found that it brings more to the table than you might expect, given the price. You get crisp 2K HDR resolution, a wide 160-degree FOV, and a wireless doorbell chime in the box. It also has a built-in siren and Kasa’s smart AI detection features. Plus, the Kasa Smart Video Doorbell works with Alexa and Google Assistant. But you won’t be able to utilize two-way communication when viewing on your favorite smart display.
It costs significantly less than many other competitors and offers some features that more expensive counterparts do. You can insert a microSD card into the doorbell to store the recordings locally, but you won’t be able to save or use them unless you opt for the monthly subscription. Yes, that isn’t very clear because it’s storing footage locally, but unfortunately, it’s how it is. The monthly fee is only $3/mo, so it isn’t a huge cost but more of an annoyance.
Best smart video doorbell: Our top choice
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If you’re looking for a wired video doorbell, you can’t do better than the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) as it records non-stop instead of only recording when it detects motion. It also features 1080p of HDR video quality for a clearer view of guests and trespassers. Best of all, you can set detection zones and make it so the device can tell if a human is approaching rather than a car or animal. It even offers facial recognition to let you know if a friend or stranger is approaching your door.
But what if you want to go wireless? Arlo Video Doorbell offers the best possible quality and featureset of all the wireless video doorbells on the market so long as you’re OK with paying for a subscription service. Otherwise, it just makes more sense to pick up the Blink Video Doorbell as it costs much less than any other doorbell on this list and doesn’t require a subscription, plus it offers local storage options.
When you’re looking to protect your home and deliveries, a smart doorbell is the way to go. There are several options on the market to choose from. We did the research and collected the best of the best for a variety of uses. When you go to purchase a smart doorbell, you’ll want to consider a few things. Things like whether or not you want a wired connection, what kind of subscription plan you’re willing to pay for, the size of the smart doorbell, and of course, the price of the device itself.
