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Honorable Mentions
Photography: Simon Hill
We have tested several other video doorbells. These are the ones who almost missed out on a place at the top.
Doro Home doorbell for £150: A simplified smart doorbell for seniors is a solid idea, and Swedish manufacturer Doro gets a lot right with the Hemma. It’s a battery-powered doorbell that’s easy to set up and use, offering 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution with a decent frame rate (30fps), local recording via a microSD card, and a plug-in doorbell that rings loud. loud enough to hear it. throughout the home. It worked reliably during testing and the app is deliberately simplified, with a handy option to transfer calls to a trusted friend or family member (they’ll need the app too). The two-way audio works well, there’s a handy zoom feature when streaming live, and there’s a siren to scare people away. It’s stripped down, so there are no privacy zones or package alerts, and it may be too sensitive for busy front doors, although you can set it to alert only when the doorbell rings. Battery life is decent, although it is not removable, so you need to remove the doorbell to charge it or use a portable charger. Unfortunately, it is only available in the UK and Europe.
SimpliSafe Pro Video Intercom for $170: If you’re looking for a solid security system, SimpliSafe is likely on your radar, and for people with a SimpliSafe setup, the Video Doorbell Pro fits the bill. Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano found it finicky at first, but after an update, she says it worked almost perfectly, sending quick alerts and offering a good clear view of her porch. Images max out at 1080p, but the camera supports HDR to eliminate glare and has a 162-degree field of view. It has to be wired and you need a subscription starting at $5 per month to record video, but SimpliSafe also offers the option of professional monitoring (starting at $32 per month), which is a rarity for doorbells and might make sense if you have a complete security system. security with them.
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro for $230: Amazon’s Ring brand’s top-of-the-line battery-powered doorbell came close to earning a full recommendation. Delivers clear, high-quality video with HDR support and color night vision. Notifications were fast and accurate, and the two-way audio was of relatively high quality. I appreciated the option to set multiple motion zones, including a potentially useful aerial view zone that allows you to define the range. The preroll feature captures a few seconds before each clip (albeit at a lower resolution), which can be helpful. Because there’s no local recording option, you have to subscribe to Ring Protect for $5 a month ($50 a year) for a single camera, but that also gives you a generous 180 days of video storage, rich notifications, and person detection and packages. But all these conveniences come at a meager price, and battery life was disappointing (three weeks). You can mitigate this by purchasing a second battery to swap out, because it’s removable, or opt for the Wired Doorbell Pro (although we haven’t tested it yet).
TP-Link Tapo Smart Battery Video Doorbell (D230S1) for $120: For people looking for a local storage option that doesn’t require a subscription, this Tapo doorbell is worth a look. Notifications arrive quickly and include a still image, video quality is excellent, even at night, and the interior center accepts a microSD card and doubles as a doorbell. On the downside, it’s chunky and the built-in AI (which is supposed to recognize people, pets, vehicles, and packages) is poor.
difficult to recommend
Photography: Simon Hill
We didn’t like all the video doorbells we tried. These are the ones we do not recommend.
Reolink Video Doorbell (Battery) for $146: We liked Reolink’s wired doorbell, mentioned above, so I was excited to try their first battery-powered model, but it was a disappointment. It offers up to 2K images with a 1:1 aspect ratio that gives you a full view of the porch, but it lacks HDR and has a relatively low frame rate (15fps). I like the no-subscription option, but it means putting a microSD card in the doorbell, and this is a relatively easy doorbell to remove. Reolink suggests up to five months of battery life, but mine died after less than two and the rechargeable battery inside can’t be removed, so you have to remove the doorbell to recharge it. Considering the slightly confusing app, relatively slow loading times, and connection glitches, it’s impossible to recommend it.
Ezviz EP3x Pro for €133: This is a much better-looking doorbell than previous Ezviz models, and it’s good to see solar panels as an option for doorbells, although you’ll need a porch capable of catching some rays. The video quality is good and you get a split view (like the Eufy above) that includes packages or cats waiting at your door. Distortion correction works well and there is optional color night vision with a built-in light, although it only works at very close range. I appreciate the 2FA, with fingerprint login and 32GB of built-in storage (cloud storage is an optional extra). Unfortunately, if you use the solar panel, you will not be able to connect to your wired doorbell. The lack of HDR is disappointing, human detection was a bit off (I frequently called my cat), and I had issues with alerts not showing up on some Android phones (even after following Ezviz’s instructions, they never worked reliably on my Xiaomi 14 Ultra). This model is not yet available in the US.
Botslab 2 Pro video intercom for $170: The complicated setup procedure required a couple of restarts and the physical installation was no better as the screws supplied were so cheap that one of the heads broke off. The camera has a fisheye effect, but you can correct it with different views. I liked the VR mode, which provides a 180-degree view of your porch. It comes with a handy add-on chime, the alerts seem reliable, there’s an HDR option, and you can record locally (32GB included) or to the cloud. You can also set a detection range, which could be useful for street-facing cameras. But the app is confusing, with an AI tab that lists various skills available for purchase. There’s a login history and a limit of two devices connected at once, but there’s no 2FA, making it impossible to recommend. It is versatile but also relatively expensive.
Wyze Video Doorbell Pro for $100: Wyze Video Doorbell Pro (7/10, WIRED review) was our budget recommendation, but with caveats. It alerted reliably, offered clear video, and had accurate AI for person detection, but you need the Cam Plus subscription (starting at $3/month). This camera model was not one of those affected by the security flaw that Wyze couldn’t fix o inform customers for three years, but after repeated security breaches by Wyze, most recently expose thousands of camera streams to other clientsIt is already difficult to recommend their cameras.
Swann SwannBuddy Video Doorbell for $150: This doorbell comes with a battery-powered wireless doorbell and the option for local storage, but the positives end there. The video quality is poor, the app takes a long time to load and crashes, and the doorbell often fails to register motion. I found the battery life disappointing. I also have to question the decision to provide local storage via a MicroSD card inserted into the doorbell (the doorbell would make more sense and be more secure).
Ezviz DB2 Video Doorbell for $180: An affordable video doorbell that comes with a plug-in doorbell, the Ezviz DB2 works quite well, but it’s very thick and a bit ugly. The video images are detailed, but I had issues with bright areas blowing out when the sun was shining. The app is solid and loads quickly, pressing the doorbell triggers a call to your phone, and you can record locally by inserting a MicroSD card into the doorbell. Unfortunately, it only offers a very limited option for defining movement zones, a big problem if you live on a busy street. I also found the battery life to be below average and it is difficult to remove.
