Want a Ring doorbell, but don’t want to pay a monthly fee? Here are 3 subscription-free alternatives – tested, and recommended
Earlier this week, Amazon unveiled its latest Ring video doorbells, with high-resolution cameras and AI-powered features courtesy of Alexa+. They look very impressive, but there’s one snag: to use their most advanced tools, you’ll need to pay for a Ring Home subscription, which is currently $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$4.95 per month or $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$49.95 per year.
You can use Ring doorbells without paying an extra fee, but your videos won’t be stored in the cloud, and you’ll miss out on functions like person and package alerts (see our complete guide to Ring Home subscriptions for more details).
Ring isn’t your only option, though. If you want to be able to store recordings and get detailed in-app notifications when someone calls, there are plenty of other great video doorbells available from dependable brands like Philips and Eufy, which put you in control with no extra payments. Want to know more? Here are my top three recommendations, all of which have been tested and rated by our smart home experts here at TechRadar.
Lots of storage
Eufy Video Doorbell Dual
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This smart-looking model from Eufy is an excellent option if you’re looking for a subscription-free video doorbell on a budget. Although its list price is about the same as the Philips 7000 Series below, it’s often available at a steep discount, making it an exceptional value. I’ll be watching out for deals during the October Amazon Prime Day event, when it could get a serious price cut.
The Video Doorbell Dual records video at 2K, which isn’t as high-res as the top-end Ring doorbells, but should be perfectly fine for most users. It’s loaded with advanced features like package detection and the ability to play pre-recorded voice messages, all with no membership fee.
It has an infrared sensor that detects body heat from visitors, while radar motion-detection scans for movement. Better yet, its software includes AI person-recognition, and during our tests, it was able to accurately identify and label visitors in our video clips. We didn’t receive any false positives, and the detailed app notifications meant we could tell who was calling at a glance, without even picking up our phone.
All your footage is stored locally on the HomeBase 2 (bundled with the doorbell), which provides 16GB for your clips. You can buy cloud storage, too, if you really want to, but there’s no compelling reason to. When you can keep control over your own videos and access them for free, why do anything else?
We didn’t love having to take the doorbell down to charge it (there’s no swappable power pack), but it can be connected to existing doorbell wiring if you’d rather not run it from its battery. You also won’t get anything like Ring’s new Search Party tool, which can crowd-source images from your neighbors’ doorbells and cameras to find a lost dog, but that’s a fairly niche feature anyway.
Read our full Eufy Video Doorbell Dual review
Also consider
Easy to use
Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell
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The Philips 7000 Series currently holds the number one spot in my roundup of the best video doorbells, beating the competition thanks to its impressive video quality with great viewing angles, and generous 8GB onboard storage.
It boasts dual cameras to give a clear view of both visitors and any packages they may leave on your doorstep. Its 2K resolution will be ample for most homes (4K doorbells are now widely available, but usually burdened by subscription fees), and during our tests, we were thoroughly impressed by how sensitive it was to motion. In terms of responsiveness, it was up there with the best home security cameras. Night vision is crisp as well (the doorbell is equipped with infrared sensors).
We found installation refreshingly straightforward, 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 wireless from a rechargeable battery.
The 7000 Series isn’t the cheapest video doorbell around, but its price is competitive considering how much you’re getting. It’s around the same as the Ring Video Doorbell 2, which requires a membership to save and review video footage.
The only other drawback for us was a slight lag we noticed during two-way talk with visitors. Otherwise, the 7000 Series is hard to beat.
Read our full Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell review
Also consider
AI replies
SwannBuddy4K
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If you’re tempted by Ring’s new 4K doorbell but don’t want to pay for Ring Home, take a look at the SwannBuddy4K, which has the same super-sharp resolution, but stores your video clips locally on an SD card so you don’t have to pay to store them in the cloud
That’s not all; the SwannBuddy 4K’s most unusual feature is its ability to create AI-generated responses on the fly when visitors call. Does that sound familiar? Yep, it’s not unlike the new Alexa Greetings feature for the latest Ring doorbells – and it’s free.
Swann’s app is particularly intuitive to use, so even if this is your first foray into the world of smart home tech, you won’t be overwhelmed. Even advanced features like privacy areas are easy to set up – and that’s a feature you don’t often find with doorbells in this price bracket.
Its video quality blew us away during our tests as well, which made it even easier to recommend. The only significant drawback for us was its metal mounting bracket, which wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to install, but it was well worth the time getting it right.
Read our full SwannBuddy4K review
Also consider
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