Which is the Best Smart Doorbell?
The Nest Doorbell Pro 2 offers sharp video during the day and impressive night vision. Its onboard AI can recognize regular visitors and ignores pesky objects or cars. It also has a smarter way of alerting you than most, with built-in and customizable zones.
This is our pick for the best smart doorbell with cameras that help prevent package theft and robberies. Its wide-angle field of view gives you a head-to-toe perspective on your porch and includes built-in motion and package detection.
1. Ring 4
If you’re an Alexa fan, Ring is still a top pick. It reliably lets you know who’s at your door and its 1080p camera can zoom in for details. The company’s aptly named Bird’s Eye View feature uses satellite mapping data to map the path a person takes to your door, which can tell you whether they walked straight up or stopped in a window along the way. It’s also easy to pair with other Ring devices such as smart displays and speakers. But it’s harder to justify if you’re an Assistant fan, and the company’s all-but-forced subscription that recently went up in price is a turnoff.
The Ring 4 can be battery-powered or connected to your existing doorbell wiring and comes with a free chime that alerts you when someone presses it. It offers a Full HD color video stream during the day and softer black-and-white night vision recording after dark. The two-way audio microphone and speaker make it easy to converse with anyone at the door. It also features monitoring zones, three-second video previews, facial recognition and package detection.
The Ring 4 earns an ace rating in our tests for video quality and great data security but is held back by slow response times for alerts and loading live feeds. It also lacks a built-in motion detector, which is more common on competing models, best smart doorbell and doesn’t work with third-party security systems like HomeKit or Arlo. However, it can be paired with Ring Alarm, the company’s premium home security system and our overall pick in that category.
2. Eufy Dual
Eufy’s Dual takes a different approach to catching intruders by adding a second camera. Its main camera is a standard 1440p 2K model, which is enough resolution to identify faces, and the smaller downward-facing camera has enough zoom to spot most packages on your doorstep. The camera pair can keep a lookout for arriving packages even after you’ve opened them, playing an automated message to deter opportunistic thieves—although it did miss one delivery when the courier dropped the package off a little too far from my front door.
This battery-powered doorbell connects to your home Wi-Fi via a paired hub called the HomeBase. It has 16GB of local storage, and you can choose to tuck the hub away to extend battery life. It supports Alexa and Google Assistant but is not compatible with Apple’s HomeKit ecosystem. You can also use a smart speaker or HomePod as the doorbell’s chime, although you’ll need to purchase an additional device for this.
In CR’s lab tests, the Dual performs well—securing strong scores for alert speed and best smart doorbell video quality and mid-level ratings for data security and privacy. It’s also relatively easy to configure and integrate with your existing smart devices. On the downside, the app is a bit confusing, with many configuration options spread out across different sections of the screen and buried under obscure labels.
3. Wyze Pro
Wyze Pro is the latest doorbell from a company that’s become a byword for budget smart home gear. It’s cheaper than Ring’s cheapest video doorbell, has better camera quality and offers more features for the money. It’s missing some of the more advanced features of pricier video doorbell cameras, though, like radar sensing and the ability to create custom motion zones. A new Cam Plus subscription adds smart detection and allows you to choose whether notifications trigger when a person, pet, vehicle or package is present (you can also set up a 15-second or five-minute cooldown for longer battery life).
Like the other two best options, the Wyze Pro is wired so it can work with your existing doorbell. It can also run on battery power and is one of the few doorbells that offers a rechargeable lithium-ion battery option. If you want to go for the battery option, you’ll need a doorbell transformer or an outlet nearby that can provide the necessary current to power the camera.
Installation is quick and easy. You can mount the doorbell either by screwing it to a mounting plate or using an adhesive strip. You can choose to hardwire it or use the built-in plug-in chime that works with most existing doorbell wiring. The doorbell can be powered by the internal battery or a standard 16-24V AC doorbell power supply. Wyze says you can expect up to six months of battery life, depending on usage.
4. Nest
A simple-looking modern doorbell with a bright blue ring around the button and a camera above it. When someone approaches the door it triggers the connected chime to sound, an alert on your phone, and can make your Google Home smart speaker sound an alert too. It’s available in a range of colors, but white is the default option for most places.
Its big selling point is facial recognition. A subscription to Nest Aware lets the device detect familiar faces, allowing you to skip the welcome screen and automatically get an alert when it sees them at your door.
You can also add a second camera at the bottom for package alerts, and it has night vision and HDR for crisp video. The downside is the price, which puts it firmly in competition with the Ring 4 and Arlo wire-free models.
Unlike other models on this list, it’s not compatible with Apple products and does not work with HomeKit or Siri. However, it does integrate with Amazon Alexa, making it a good choice for existing Echo users. It also has a nifty feature where you can press the button and speak to visitors through your smart display or phone. It’s also cheaper than the Ring 4, has swappable batteries, and comes with theft protection. It’s available in two color options: black and black with white trim.