Ring video doorbells are among some of the best video doorbells for a variety of reasons: They deliver excellent image quality, are easy to install, and fit a variety of needs and door types.
Having reviewed all of Ring's video doorbells, we think the best for most is the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus. It can be hardwired or run off battery power alone, has head-to-toe video with package detection, and some other advanced features that can better track people on your property. If you're looking for something less expensive, the Ring Battery Doorbell offers the most value, as it has features like package detection and head-to-toe video, and costs less than $100. And, if you want the absolute best in video quality, the 4K Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) is the way to go.
Read on for a comprehensive comparison of all of Ring's video doorbells, so you can make the most informed buying decision possible. We've compared all devices to help you decide which one is best for you.
The best Ring video doorbells you can buy today
Best overall
The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus takes the best features from the company's other products and puts them all into one device. Like the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, its camera has a 150 x 150-degree field of view, so you can see more of what's happening around your front door. It has package detection too, so you'll know when a delivery has been dropped off.
Unlike many other Ring video doorbells, the Plus' battery can be removed, so there's little downtime when you need to recharge it, and the faceplate can also be swapped out to match your decor, or for a seasonal boost. And, like Ring's other video doorbells, it's also easy to install.
The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, which also has a removable battery, offers a few upgraded features such as 3D motion tracking and a birds-eye view of where it spots people on your property. It's a great video doorbell, but we think most people will be able to get by with the Plus model.
Read our full Ring Battery Doorbell Plus review.
Best value
We think the Ring Battery Doorbell is the best Ring Doorbell value. It costs less than $100, yet delivers the features we liked the most in pricier Ring doorbells — namely, package detection and head-to-toe video, so you can see when things have been left at your door.
The design of the Ring Battery Doorbell is essentially unchanged from the Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen), which unfortunately means that the battery is built-in, and not removable, as you'll find on the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus and Pro. That means you'll have to remove the entire doorbell from your door when you need to recharge it. You can get around this somewhat if you attach a solar panel, but it is still a consideration.
This model costs about twice as much as the Ring Wired Doorbell, but we still think it's the better value, as this model will work with your existing doorbell chime, so you don't need to buy an extra piece of equipment, and it has a battery backup, so you won't be left in the lurch if the power goes out.
Best video quality
The third-generation Ring Wired Video Doorbell Pro is the first from the company to feature 4K resolution, which in and of itself is great, but there's more here than just a better camera.
For starters, we like the new, slimmer design of Ring's video doorbell — but that means it lacks a battery backup if your power goes out. However, it still has swappable faceplates, so you can find the color that best matches your house.
As for the camera itself: In addition to the higher resolution, it also has the widest coverage of Ring's doorbells — both 140º horizontally and vertically — so you get a very expansive view of the front of your house. The images it captured were by far the best we've seen from a Ring camera, day or night. Its Retinal View camera was much better at accounting for a wide dynamic range, such as bright lights against a dark background. It was either because of this, or the camera's smarts — or a combination of both — that resulted in far fewer false alerts than we'd seen with our previous Ring doorbell.
The Wired Video Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) can also take advantage of some Alexa+ features, like being able to come up with on-the-fly responses to people who approach your door. A Familiar Faces feature also lets it recognize friends and family, to give you even more insight into who's at your door.
While it's the most expensive of Ring's video doorbells, this model does stand out for all the right ways.
Read our full Ring Wired Video Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) review.
Best 2K wired doorbell
Ring's 2nd-generation Wired Doorbell Plus has everything you'll find in the Wired Doorbell Pro, only at a lower 2K (rather than 4K) resolution. And really, that's probably good enough for the majority of homeowners who are looking for a new or upgraded video doorbell. In our testing, we were more than pleased with how our recorded videos turned out, both during the day and the night. However, like the Wired Pro, this model also requires that you hook it up to a power source, so it's not as versatile as Ring's battery-powered models.
This model can also take advantage of Ring's AI features, such as more detailed summaries of what it sees, and recaps of events — but these features work across Ring devices, and require a pricey $20/month subscription.
Unless you live in an area with really challenging lighting conditions, or need to be able to zoom in on something from far away, you can save yourself the $70 over the Ring Wires Doorbell Pro and pick up this model instead.
Read our full Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review.
Best wired video doorbell value
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) was the first from the company that has a square aspect ratio, which means the video is as tall as it is wide. What that means is that it can show much more of your front stoop than other Ring doorbells — so you're more likely to see when a package has been dropped off. Better yet, Ring added package detection, so you know when something arrives. It also has customizable motion zones and a "radar" feature that helps cut down on unwanted notifications.
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) delivered excellent video quality, was very responsive, and wasn't too hard to install. Just know that it's not battery-operated, and you'll also need to subscribe to a Ring Protect plan (starting at $4/month or $40/year) if you want to get the most out of the video doorbell.
This model has now been supplanted by the Wired Video Doorbell Pro (3rd) gen, which offers 4K video, which delivers a much sharper quality. But, the 2nd-gen model, while on its way out, will give you a good value for the price.
Read our full Ring Wired Doorbell Pro review.
Best wireless doorbell
The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has everything we liked about the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, but adds a few upgraded features such as 3D motion tracking and a birds-eye view of where it spots people on your property. They're helpful if you have a view from your front that's partially obscured, so you can get a map view of where someone was walking in front of your house. They're certainly helpful features, but won't be necessary for most.
Similar to the Battery Doorbell Plus and the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, the Pro's 1080p camera has a 150 x 150-degree field of view, which provides a nearly head-to-toe view of your front stoop. And, its battery can be removed to recharge the device, so you don't have to take the whole unit off the wall.
The Pro also comes with package detection, but this feature — along with the ability to save recordings — will set you back $4.99 a month, as is the case with any Ring camera or doorbell.
Read our full Ring Battery Doorbell Pro review.
Ring Video Doorbells: Specs compared
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) |
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd gen |
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus |
Ring Battery Doorbell |
Ring Video Doorbell Wired |
|
Price |
$249 |
$179 |
$149 |
$99 |
$49 |
Size |
1.9 x 1 x 5.4 in |
4 x 1.8 x 0.88 in |
5.1 x 2.4 x 1.1 in |
4.98 x 2.4 x 1.1 in |
3.9 x 1.8 x 0.8 in |
Resolution |
4K |
1536 x 1536 |
1536 x 1536 |
1536 x 1536 |
1080p |
Wiring |
hardwired |
Hardwired |
Battery or hardwired |
Battery or hardwired |
Hardwired |
Field of View |
140º x 140º |
150º x 150º |
150º x 150º |
150º x 150º |
155º horiz, 90º vert |
Wi-Fi |
2.4, 5GHz |
2.4, 5GHz |
2.4 GHz |
2.4Ghz |
2.4GHz |
Pre-roll |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Removable battery |
n/a |
n/a |
Yes |
No |
No |
Package detection |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
The best time to buy a Ring Video Doorbell
If you're in the market for a Ring Video doorbell, you're going to find the best deals at two times during the year: Prime Day, which typically happens in mid-July, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which takes place right after Thanksgiving.
During those times, you're likely to find the best Ring Video doorbell deals, as Amazon either discounts the doorbells themselves, or bundles them with Ring security cameras or Amazon smart speakers and displays.
How to pick the best Ring video doorbell
Design
All of Ring's video doorbells are relatively similar in design; they're all black and gray, with a camera at the top and an illuminated button beneath. The Ring Doorbell Wired, the Doorbell Pro, and the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro are much smaller and thinner (as they don't need to accommodate a battery).
The Doorbell Plus and Pro both come with interchangeable face plates as well as angled wedges, making it easier to match your home's decor, as well as angle the camera towards your door. You must purchase these accessories separately if you buy the Ring Battery Doorbell.
Additionally, the Ring Battery Plus has a removable battery, so if you're running them on battery power alone, you can swap out the batteries and not have any downtime. The Ring Battery Doorbell has a non-removable battery, so if you want to recharge it, you have to take the doorbell off your door.
Video
Apart from whether you want a wired or battery-powered model, the next big decision is how much of your front porch you want to see.
Older models had a horizontal field of view of 155 to 160 degrees, and a vertical field of view of 90 degrees. Like a picture taken with your camera, you're able to see a lot more horizontally than vertically. However, these are mostly phased out, the budget Ring Video Doorbell Wired being the only one left.
Newer models have a squarer field of view both horizontally and vertically. This means that while the image isn't as wide as Ring's older video doorbells, it's taller, so you can see closer to the front stoop — where packages are most likely to be dropped.
Motion Detection
All of Ring's video doorbells have motion detection; when the device detects movement, it sends an alert to your smartphone. You can customize how far the sensors stretch. If you have the Wired or the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, you can draw the zones yourself.
Package Detection
All of Ring's current lineup of video doorbells have package detection, but you'll need a Ring subscription to use this feature.
Wi-Fi connectivity
While all of Ring's video doorbells work over Wi-Fi, the Wired Doorbell Plus, Wired Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Pro support 5.0GHz connections, which allow for faster and more reliable connectivity.
AI features
Ring has added some AI capabilities that work across all of its cameras. This includes more detailed descriptions of events themselves, the ability to search through your history using more descriptive text (e.g. a kid wearing a red shirt riding a bicycle), and the ability to recognize familiar faces. However, this requires a pricier subscription of $19.99/month.
In most other features, the doorbells are on a par with each other. They all offer two-way communication, which you can use to greet your guests, or scare off burglars, and infrared night vision. They all work with Alexa, SmartThings and IFTTT, and you can watch the doorbells' footage and communicate with guests using the Echo Show, as well as all generations of the Fire TV. Unfortunately, Ring does not work with Google Assistant/Home devices.
MORE: Which Security Camera Has the Best Storage Plan?
As a bonus, you can connect them with a number of smart locks from Kevo, Yale, and August. This will allow you to unlock your door — and let your guest in — directly from the Ring app.
Ring subscription costs
Unfortunately, if you want to use many of Ring's features — such as saving video — you're going to need to sign up for a subscription. Here's a quick rundown of each plan, and what you get for the money.
Ring Solo |
Ring Multi |
Ring AI Pro |
|
Price |
$4.99/month |
$9.99/month |
$19.99/month |
Cameras covered |
1 |
unlimited (1 location) |
unlimited (1 location) |
Video history |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Person/package/vehicle detection |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
AI video descriptions |
No |
No |
Yes |
Familiar faces |
No |
No |
Yes |
AI video search |
No |
No |
Yes |
Does Ring share video with police?
There have been numerous, albeit unsubstantiated, claims that Ring has been allowing law enforcement and government agencies access to homeowners' video, who have been using it for immigration enforcement activities. These claims have been amplified following the announcement that Ring was entering a partnership with Flock Safety.
Here's what to know about Ring's involvement with law enforcement. According to the company, there are two ways for your videos to be shared:
The first is through Community Requests. Through the Ring app, law enforcement can issue a request for videos; if you opt in, you will receive an email notifying you of the request if your camera's location happens to fall within the area. It's then up to you to decide whether or not you want to share your video. Within the Ring app, you can also opt out of getting these notifications entirely.
The second way your videos could be shared with law enforcement is if Ring receives a subpoena, search, warrant, or court order, or if there's an "urgent law enforcement requests for information in cases involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person," according to the company's guidelines.
In either case, the company can only share video if it a) exists or b) is unencrypted. If you have a Ring subscription, your videos will be stored up to 180 days by default, but you can adjust that time period in the Ring app. After that time period is up, the videos are deleted.
Secondly, if you enable end-to-end encryption on your Ring cameras, the company cannot access them at all. The only caveat to this is that some features of your camera and doorbell, such as person detection, won't work.
