I test smart home tech for a living, and these are the top 3 Ring alternative video doorbells I recommend, with local storage for your videos
Ring is the biggest name in video doorbells, but it’s not the only one, and if you’re looking for an alternative to the Amazon-owned company, I’ve put together a list of three of the best video doorbells you can buy right now from other brands. All of these doorbells have been tested and recommended by our home security team at TechRadar, and all come highly recommended for their ease of installation, simple operation, and no subscription fees.
All of these doorbells allow you to store your recordings at home on an SD card, so you don’t have to pay for cloud storage and your videos are always under your control. Although some of the brands featured below offer a cloud service, it is completely optional and you won’t miss any key features by ignoring it.
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1. Reolink doorbell (battery)
Reolink is well known for its home security cameras, and the company has brought that expertise to your front door with this completely wireless video doorbell. It’s well made and feels sturdy out of the box, and is IP65 rated, giving it much better than average protection against the elements.
This doorbell, like the others in this guide, captures video at 2K resolution, which is more than enough for most situations, with head-to-toe recording. Unlike the other doorbells offered here, there is no second camera to capture packages left at your door, which is something to consider if you receive a lot of deliveries.
The app is simple to use, with a choice of three recording modes depending on whether you want to prioritize image quality or battery life, and although we didn’t manage to hit Reolink’s stated maximum of five months on a single charge, longevity was still impressive.
Videos are stored on an internal MicroSD card, and although Reolink offers a cloud storage service, the company doesn’t force it on you and makes it clear that it’s available as a backup option, “just in case.” The card alone is suitable if you prefer to keep your records on your property,
It’s also compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, so you can control it through your smart speaker and integrate it with other devices, although it’s not Matter certified and doesn’t offer support for Apple HomeKit.
Read our full Reolink Doorbell Review (Battery)
2. Philips Video Doorbell 7000 Series
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The Philips 7000 series currently holds the top spot in my best video doorbell rankings, beating out the competition thanks to its impressive video quality with great viewing angles and a generous 8GB of built-in storage.
It has two cameras to give a clear view of visitors and the packages they may leave at your door. Its 2K resolution will be sufficient for most homes, and in our testing we were very impressed with its motion detection capabilities. In terms of responsiveness, it ranks among the best home security cameras. Night vision is also clear (the doorbell is equipped with infrared sensors).
We found installation refreshingly simple, with a choice of mounting plates so you can choose one to suit your home, and it can be used with existing doorbell wiring or a rechargeable battery.
This particular video doorbell is currently not available in the UK. If that’s where you’re at, take a look at the other two doorbells here, as well as the Doro Hemma, which was designed with older homeowners in mind, but would also be a great choice for anyone who wants a no-frills video doorbell that’s particularly easy to use.
The only other downside for us was a slight lag we noticed during two-way conversations with visitors. Otherwise, the 7000 series is hard to beat.
Read our full Philips Video Doorbell 7000 Series Review
3. EZVIZ EP3x Pro
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The EZVIZ EP3x Pro gives you 32GB of internal storage with no subscription fees. You can get cloud storage if you Really I want it (EZVIZ offers a service called CloudPlay), but frankly, there’s a lot of space on the doorbell, and no other features are behind a paywall, so it’s not necessary.
Video doorbells are generally quite simple to set up, but we found the EZVIZ app to be particularly intuitive and the EP3x Pro was up and running in just a few minutes. It also makes checking your video clips particularly simple, showing you a handy list of callers who have visited you in the last 30 days, so you can easily see if you’ve missed a delivery and when.
Again, there are two cameras (one for faces and one for packages) and images are recorded in 2K. Rather than an infrared camera, the EP3x Pro uses bright LEDs to help record visitors after dark. It’s not discreet, but it means you get color recording at night, making it easier to identify callers.
One of the most notable features of this doorbell is its ability to operate from a solar charger, which significantly increases its battery life compared to traditional wireless doorbells. You can basically set it and forget it, which we like, and if someone tries to remove it from the wall it will trigger the burglar alarm.
We sometimes experienced a short delay between when a visitor pressed the button and receiving a notification on our phone, but that was the only inconvenience. Once connected, the two-way talk worked perfectly, with no lag.
Read our full EZVIZ EP3x Pro Doorbell Review
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