Doorbell cameras allow you to see who's at the door without actually getting up (or even being home). Or you might consider a doorbell camera for security—to prevent porch theft, monitor parked cars, or even to check on pets moving around the property. The best doorbell cameras work well in various lighting conditions, allow you to keep an eye on visitors, and communicate clearly.
Before buying a doorbell camera
If you are considering buying a doorbell camera, you should keep an eye out for the following features:
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Wired vs wireless: In general, wired cameras are better for people who want lower maintenance. There's no hassle of recharging the battery with wired cameras.
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Storage: Ideally you want a doorbell camera that lets you store footage on the cloud so that you can access it easily wherever you go.
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Video quality: You should opt for a doorbell camera that has night vision and where the quality is good enough to discern faces in all lighting conditions.
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Field of view: A doorbell camera should capture a wide enough view for you to monitor your driveway, yard, or porch.
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Notification speed: Your doorbell camera should send alerts quickly—you don't want to miss out on visitors or package deliveries because the alert came too late.
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Audio quality: It's a good idea to check mic quality when you get a doorbell camera. You should be able to hear visitors clearly (and vice versa).
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Smart home platform: The doorbell you pick should be compatible with the smart home platform of your choice, such as Google Home, Alexa, or Apple's HomeKit. This will ensure better compatibility with your other smart home devices.
Sometimes the only way to test these features is by buying a product. You can test it out and return the product if it's not working as well as you hoped.
Privacy concerns with doorbell cameras
Before you spend on a doorbell camera, you should know that almost all of the companies making these devices tend to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Footage recorded from your camera could be made available to police or other government agencies without your consent. Some of these doorbell camera companies require a subpoena or a warrant for this, but others cooperate even without that. You can stop this by purchasing a camera that supports end-to-end encryption and enabling that feature, but you can never totally be sure about your privacy. Some data ends up leaking on to the cloud in many cases, so it's best to be aware of what you're getting into before you make a purchase.
Best doorbell camera for a tight budget
The Arlo Essential Video Doorbell has a lot of good features at a sub-$100 price. You get night vision, 180° field of view, and the ability to identify people or animals. Some features, such as longer video clips, cloud storage, and improved identification, are locked behind the Arlo Secure subscription. This starts at $7.99 per month for a single camera, which is a reasonable price.
Buy: Arlo Essential Video Doorbell (currently $72.83)
Best doorbell camera with quick alerts and face detection
The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) offers something that most competitors do not—up to three hours of free event video history stored on the cloud. Event video history is a term used for motion or other events detected by the smart doorbell. You can top it up by getting a Nest Aware subscription at either $8 or $15 per month, depending on the plan you select. With Nest Aware, you get longer video history and on the pricier plan, continuous video recording history too. The Nest Doorbell is great for sending quick alerts and detecting faces of people you know; its paid subscription supports unlimited devices.
Buy: Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) (currently $168)
Best premium doorbell camera
If you want to splurge on top-notch features, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is a good option. Its best feature is Bird's Eye View, which shows you an aerial view to track movements in certain zones around your home. This camera offers better quality video and audio than many of its competitors, which could help some people justify the additional cost. You can also set up the camera to take photos at regular intervals in case you want to monitor your yard for trespassing. To use alerts and cloud storage, you'll have to get a Ring Protect subscription, which starts at $3.99 per month for one camera.
Buy: Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($249.99)
Best doorbell camera for package tracking
Eufy's Dual Camera Video Doorbell (S330) is great for people who dislike monthly subscription fees and want a doorbell camera that can track people and packages. It has two cameras, with the second one pointing toward the floor. This way you can always have an eye on packages delivered to your front door.
Buy: Eufy Dual Camera Video Doorbell Wired (S330) (currently $129.99)
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