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When it comes to the smart home, one of the more exciting products out there are, smart video doorbells. Being able to see who is at your door without getting up off the couch, or even being home, is a really nice feature. It also works to keep an eye on your packages when you aren’t home. And with the rise in package thefts in recent years, that is likely the biggest reason to get a video doorbell.
There are now a ton of different video doorbells on the market, so which ones are the best to pick up? We’ve rounded up the best video doorbells you can purchase, and listed them below.
Ring Video Doorbell 2
The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is one of the most popular doorbells on this list. Ring was the company that really started this industry, and it’s still on top – even after being purchased by Amazon.
This doorbell is a good looking doorbell and it come with a few different plates. Allowing you to change up the look, depending what your house looks like. Now it is pretty obvious that there is a camera built into the doorbell, so you aren’t really hiding it with the Ring Video Doorbell 2, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The camera on the Ring Video Doorbell 2 is a wide-angle camera, capable of 1080p HD video and it can also see at night. Of course, it’s still a good idea to keep your porch light on, so that the camera can see better at night. But it will work at night.
Ring’s products do work with Amazon Alexa, but unfortunately there is no Google Assistant support. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is available from Amazon using the link below for $199.
Ring Video Doorbell 2 - Amazon - $199August View Wire-Free Doorbell Camera
Many of the doorbells on this list are going to need to be wired into your home. The August View does not. It’s a wire-free doorbell, which is great for a number of reasons. Firstly, it makes it super simple to install. It also means that you can place this wherever you want, outside your home.
The camera on the August View is a 1440p resolution camera. The reason for the higher resolution is so that you are able to zoom in on different objects and still see what is going on. With a lot of these other cameras at 1080p, when you zoom in, there’s a lot of noise and making it tough to decipher what’s going on.
Like other doorbells, the August View is also able to let you know when someone is at the door, whether they rang the doorbell or not. Allowing you to simply pull up your phone and look and see who’s at the door. If you have the August Smart Lock, you can also unlock the door for them. Say your kids are home from school, you’ll get a notification that they are home and you can then unlock the door for them. So you don’t have to worry about them losing the keys.
The August View is available from Amazon using the link below, and is currently priced at $229.
August View - Amazon - $229Nest Hello Video Doorbell
If you are already invested in the Nest ecosystem – owning things like the Nest Learning Thermostat or the Nest Cam – then the Nest Hello is going to be the best option for you. As it will work with your other Nest products, and works with the same app. So there’s less apps to worry about on your phone, which is nice.
The Nest Hello is a very simple to install video doorbell, as Nest does with its other products, it does include some very detailed instructions. It also includes any tools that you may need. So you won’t need to worry about finding a specific tool to install it. The Nest Hello will use your existing doorbell wiring, so there’s not much to do, other than remove your current doorbell and install this one.
With the Nest Hello, you will get notifications on your phone that someone is at the door, or via Google Assistant. This works with Google Assistant and not Amazon Alexa, since Google owns Nest. You can quickly see who’s at the door, and even talk to them. There is two-way audio available on the Nest Hello, as many of these other doorbells have.
Nest uses a different camera than a lot of the others on this list. It’s a 160-degree camera at a 4:3 aspect ratio. This makes it so that you can see everyone from head to toe, instead of just from their waist on up. That way you can see everything happening outside of your home.
You can pick up the Nest Hello video doorbell from Amazon using the link below. It is priced at $222 right now, but is normally priced at $299.
Nest Hello - Amazon - $222Ring Video Doorbell Pro
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro is a more expensive doorbell from Ring, and it’s also a better doorbell. Besides the different look, it also has advanced motion detection, so it can better detect motion that actually matters. Instead of just leaves that are floating around outside your door.
Ring has outfitted the Video Doorbell Pro with a 1080p HD camera that is capable of showing you 160-degrees field-of-view. So that it can keep an eye on your entire front yard, which is important to a lot of people. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro does also work on 5GHz WiFi, something the majority of these other doorbells do not. But, it’s still recommended to use it on 2.4GHz, since this is outside your home, where WiFi coverage may not be great from 5GHz.
Install time is about 15 minutes, it’s a bit longer, but it is still pretty simple to do. The more streamlined look of the Ring Video Doorbell Pro is definitely something a lot of other people will prefer. It looks much nicer and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, for a lot of houses out there.
You can pick up the Ring Video Doorbell Pro from Amazon using the link below. It is priced at $249, making it the most expensive one on this list.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro - Amazon - $249Arlo Audio Doorbell
As you can likely tell by the name of this doorbell, it is not a video doorbell. We decided to add this one as a bonus, as it is still a really good doorbell – and the cheapest on this list. Given the fact that a lot of people already own Arlo security cameras, it’s still a really good option.
The Arlo Audio Doorbell is a audio-only doorbell, that does also come with a chime. So you can have the old-school doorbell ring inside your home. But the reason why Arlo went without a camera on this doorbell is because of how popular its security cameras are already. This works with those cameras, you can simply use a camera above your door or somewhere else on your porch and point it at whoever is coming on the porch and see who’s there.
This is another wire-free doorbell, allowing you to place it anywhere you want. It is also weather-resistant, so you can leave it outside and not worry about it getting damaged. This will only work in conjunction with Arlo’s other outdoor, wire-free cameras. Like the new Arlo Ultra, which is the new 4K security camera that is on the market right now.
You can grab the Arlo Audio Doorbell from Amazon using the link below. As mentioned, it is the cheapest doorbell on this list, and it comes in at just $79.
Arlo Audio Doorbell - Amazon - $79Wrap Up
Video doorbells have gotten pretty popular because of how versatile they can be. Not only do they show you who is at your door, without you going to see for yourself. But they can also keep an eye on your neighborhood when you aren’t home. Say you get a package delivered from FedEx and they don’t ring the doorbell, you’ll still know that it has been delivered because your doorbell will notify you. It’s little things like this that makes these very popular these days.
All of the options that we listed above are great options, and the best one for you will depend on what features you want, and what ecosystem you are already a part of. For instance, if you own some Arlo cameras already, the Arlo Audio Doorbell is going to be your best option. If you own some Nest products, then the Nest Hello will be your best option. Of course, if you want to use something that works with Google Assistant, then the Nest Hello or August View are going to be your best options.
It all really depends on what you’re looking for. But the best overall video doorbell on this list is going to be the Ring Video Doorbell 2. It’s one of the cheapest ones, and also offers a great experience. It’ll be a great option for those that don’t own any other cameras or smart home products too. Now, Ring is owned by Amazon, so that means no Google Assistant support, however.