Best Smart Doorbell Cameras
Whether you’re curled up on the couch or sunning on a beach, smart doorbells let you see who’s at the front door without having to open it. Prices and features vary widely, but many include two-way talk and night vision.
Most work with Alexa and HomeKit. Some also have facial recognition, which requires a subscription.
1. Ring Video Doorbell 4
If you have a mains-powered doorbell, this is the best model to buy. It’s the slimmest and nicest-looking doorbell Ring has made and comes with a range of advanced features for monitoring your front porch. It also works well with other smart home gadgets, especially wifi security cameras. It can help you avoid missing delivery drivers by speaking to them directly from the app and asking them to leave your parcel with a neighbour or somewhere safe.
It offers a full colour pre-roll that captures up to four seconds of footage before the motion sensor kicks in, reducing the likelihood of missing important events. It’s also one of the few to offer three hours of event-based cloud storage, though most battery-powered models only record up to two minutes at a time to save power.
It’s a great alternative to Nest’s latest doorbells for Alexa owners and has decent performance in our tests, including an excellent response rate on alerts and a fast load time for live feeds. It has a wide, crisp video and impressive motion detection that uses radar and PiR to avoid false alerts.
2. Nest Hello
Your front door separates your home from the outside world and is the first place burglars look for entry points. Whether best smart doorbell it’s for kids coming home from school, guests visiting, or FedEx dropping off packages, there are a lot of reasons you might want to know who is at the door without them having to ring the bell.
That’s where the Nest Hello comes in. This smart doorbell can tell if it’s a person, package, possum, or car, and allows you to communicate with visitors from your phone. It also has activity zones to cut down on notifications and three free hours of event-based recording, all without a subscription.
If you want more, though, you’ll need to subscribe to Nest Aware for $6/month or $12/month to get Familiar Faces and 10 days of 24/7 recording. It’s also available as a wired model, which is necessary for most people. It’s white in the US (called Snow) and has a button with an LED ring at the bottom, a camera sensor at the top, and a slim design.
3. Arlo Pro 2
The Arlo Pro 2 is a wired version of our top pick for best smart doorbell camera. It requires a Protect subscription ($4.99 monthly, paid annually) but provides better-quality video and more controls.
The wired Arlo has a sharper, higher-resolution video than the battery-powered model, and it has a more accurate motion detection system that records what’s actually happening at your door rather than the whole driveway. It also has a useful Motion Detection Test feature to help you set the sensitivity.
It’s easy to install, with LED lights and in-app prompts that guide you. The Arlo works with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it can stream a live feed to a smart display via an optional base station or SmartHub. You can also use the built-in two-way talk feature to scare off a would-be intruder, and it can sound an alarm remotely.
Unlike the Ring, the Arlo Pro 2 is a heavyweight new entry that features best-in-class wide-angle motion sensors and a home hub with a mighty siren. It also has natty object recognition that can distinguish people, packages, animals, and vehicles. And it’s the only smart doorbell we’ve tested best smart doorbell that lets you get three hours of event-based recordings for free.
4. Google Home Doorbell
Google’s entry into the smart doorbell space is a bit late but it brings a few standout features that competitors don’t offer. Its battery-powered model offers 3 free hours of event-based recording and it can use its onboard AI to identify people, packages, animals, and vehicles to cut down on false alerts from things like tree branches. It also integrates with the Google Home lineup so you can see the camera feed on your smart display or hear visitors using an audible alert.
Its design is clean and modern, and its long flat body fits neatly under most existing doorbell chimes. It’s available in four colors—Snow (white), Linen (beige), Ivy (dark green), and Ash (gray)—and its rounded edges and shapes match the overall aesthetic of other Google-owned smart devices. It also works well with a range of Nest products, including smart displays and speakers that can function as doorbell chimes. The only drawback is that it doesn’t offer a constant video feed, which could be frustrating for homeowners who want to monitor their home at all times.
5. Eufy Video Doorbell Dual
Eufy’s doorbell packs a lot of features into a slim, attractive package. The main camera offers a clear 2K image and a 160-degree field of view, while the secondary downward-facing camera provides a lower but still clear 1080p video. This eliminates the blind spots found with single-camera devices and can be very helpful in preventing package theft.
Eufy also built some genuinely useful AI into this doorbell, which doesn’t require a monthly subscription. The company’s Delivery Guard feature automatically notifies you when a courier is there with your package and can even play an automated message to discourage thieves. Familiar Faces is another handy function that recognizes family members and other people frequently captured by the camera, letting you know when your kids get home from school or the dog walker stops by.
Like other best smart doorbells, the Dual uses your Wi-Fi network to connect to your home and stream video. It has 16GB of onboard storage, though the company recommends using an external hard drive to store more footage for longer. You can use the Eufy app to leave personalized audio messages for visitors and set Google and Alexa speakers as additional chimes.
