The postman finally comes by with your order, your best friend comes by or just that persistent marketing man is at the door again. You’d rather open the door for one person for the other, wouldn’t you? 👀 That’s where a camera doorbell like the Ring Video Doorbell Pro can help you.
Our number-one choice: Ring Video Doorbell Pro
Ring Video Doorbell Pro is the best doorbell with camera of 2022.
Our review score: 9.0
Resolution: 1920x1080p
Power supply: AC power
Subscription fee (p/y): €30, optional
Smart home: Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings
IP certification: IP24
Viewing angle (horizontal): 160°
The 5 best camera doorbells we recommend, at a glance
- Ring Video Doorbell Pro – This is the best all round doorbell with camera (and chime). You will not find a better total package than this!
- Hombli Smart Doorbell – This doorbell offers you the best value for money.
- Google Nest Hello – This is the best doorbell with camera that works on AC power.
- Ring Video Doorbell 3 – This is the best doorbell with camera (and chime) that runs on battery.
- Alecto ADI-250 – This doorbell with camera comes with its own screen. You do not need your smartphone for this!
Why do you need a doorbell with camera?
Seeing who is at your door is in itself the main reason. Maybe you simply want to know who you are – or aren’t – opening the door to. In addition, most models also work remotely: you will receive a notification when someone is at your door. You can thus ‘record’ and start a conversation with the person at your door.
Such a doorbell with camera is also very useful for security reasons . Do you hear rumbling outside? Grab your smartphone and check the doorbell to see what’s going on. Are your kids playing outside on the lawn? Take a look outside every now and then to see if everything is still going well.
It is therefore not surprising that the doorbell with a camera is becoming increasingly popular within Dutch households, but what should you pay attention to when you buy a smart doorbell?
There are several brands on the market, each with their own models: from budget-friendly to high-end top models. Each doorbell has its own characteristics and depending on your wishes and situation, you choose a specific doorbell with camera to replace the existing doorbell.
Below our top 5, I will explain what to look for when buying a doorbell with a camera to make sure you make the right choice.
Review the best doorbells with camera in detail
1. Ring Video Pro – the best doorbell with camera of 2022
Resolution: 1920x1080p
Power supply: AC power
Subscription fee (p/y): €30, optional
Smart home: Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings
IP certification: IP24
Viewing angle (horizontal): 160°
At 11.5 x 4.6 x 2 centimeters (HxWxD), the Ring Video Pro is slimmer and more like a traditional doorbell than many of its competitors.
It comes with four interchangeable cover plates (black, bronze, nickel and white/grey), a screwdriver, mounting screws and anchors, a Pro Power Kit for connecting to an existing doorbell box (if your existing wiring from your existing bell installation doesn’t provide enough power), extension cables and a manual with helpful photos.
The Ring Pro records 1080p video and has a great 160° angle of view. It uses three infrared LED lights for night vision up to 9 meters . It also has a built-in motion sensor, a microphone, a speaker and it comes with the Chime, or the sound box for indoors. I can appreciate this myself; I don’t have to get everything on my smartphone alone.
To view, share and download recorded videos you (unfortunately) have to subscribe. The Protect Basic Plan is $3 per month or $30 per year and allows you to view, share and download the recorded videos. This gives you 60 days of cloud storage per camera and full access to all your videos.
For €10 per month or €100 per year, the Protect Plus Plan gives you everything of the Basic Plan for an unlimited number of cameras, and you get a lifetime warranty (the warranty period is normally 2 years in the Netherlands).
The Ring app (for Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows) opens to a My Devices screen with a button at the top for each installed Ring device and a neighborhood button. The Ring Pro offers a “neighborhood feature” that lets you share recorded events with neighbors who have downloaded the Ring app and joined the neighborhood.
You will receive a warning when a local resident posts a video, but also when activities such as fire and police action take place in your neighbourhood.
Below the Live View button you will find a series of function keys. The Device Health lets you check voltage, WiFi signal strength and system status, among other things; Linked Chimes is where you go to pair the doorbell with an external plug-in chime and Motion Settings lets you adjust motion sensitivity, set motion zones and create a motion schedule that determines when motion alerts are active.
Setting up the Ring Doorbell Pro is fairly easy thanks to the illustrated guide and equally detailed how-to videos available in the app.
However, if you feel insecure when dealing with low voltage wiring, hire a professional.
Once installed, the Ring Pro produces very sharp 1080p video. Daytime video is clear with rich colors, and night vision video is well lit with excellent contrast and remains sharp up to a distance of about 6 meters.
There was a noticeable fish-eye – like distortion at the edges, but people and objects looked normal. The two-way audio was otherwise loud and clean, unlike the original Ring Video which occasionally got distorted.
The camera’s motion sensor also works flawlessly , as does the pre-buffer function (I’ll come back to this later). I always get a notification and the camera has never failed to record a clip when the sensor was activated or when the doorbell button was pressed.
What we like in the Ring Video Pro camera doorbell:
- The night vision of 9 meters is impressive​.
- The motion sensor has proven to be very reliable​.
- The app is very comprehensive; you even create a “neighbourhood” with it​.
What we don’t like in the Ring Video Pro camera doorbell:
- You cannot view images without a subscription​.
- The image sometimes appears slightly distorted to a fish eye-like image​.
2 Hombli Smart Doorbell – best buy doorbell with camera of 2022
Resolution : 1920 x 1080p
Power supply : Battery/Battery
Subscription cost (p/y) : €41.88, optional
Smart home : Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
IP certification : IP65
Viewing angle (horizontal) : 160°
With this doorbell from Hombli you will find a nice balance between price and quality. You get the same 1080p resolution and 160° viewing angle here. In addition, with an IP certification of IP65, you can assume that it is dust resistant and can withstand splash water.
Furthermore, this doorbell has night vision up to 3 meters . That is not the 9 meters of the Ring Video Pro, but that is why you pay a lot less for this. However, despite that lower price, you also get adjustable motion detection. If someone is at your door, you will receive a notification on your smartphone.
Incidentally, a gong is also included with this model. If someone rings the doorbell (and you have plugged in the gong), it will of course also go off.
Now – in my opinion – the best thing about this doorbell: you don’t need a subscription to be able to watch footage. Instead, you use a microSD card up to 128 GB to store your images. Of course, you do have the option to use the cloud. In that case you pay €41.88 per year.
You have access to the app (for Android and iOS ) anyway. This app is experienced as particularly user-friendly by most consumers – myself included! It is regularly updated and more than covers the basic options. This way you can watch live with your doorbell, take a screenshot or make a recording. It’s not nearly as comprehensive as the Ring app, but you might wonder if you need that.
Anyway, for all this, of course, the installation takes place first, which is a rather tedious process for some . This is because it only works on the 2.4 GHz band. Furthermore, some talk about a QR code that is difficult to scan.
I haven’t had much trouble testing the bell myself, but this is something to keep in mind if you’re not quite familiar with this kind of setup process. In any case, doorbells with a camera are rarely real plug-and-play devices, so you should also consider that.
The battery of 3800 mAh is also rechargeable. That is very environmentally friendly, but it is of course less convenient that your doorbell is without power for a while while the battery is charging. This is needed about once a month. The nice thing is that you don’t have to mess with wiring during the installation!
After installation, you get value for money in any case. The image is clear and sharp – provided you have a good internet connection – and I can’t complain about the sound quality either. In short: it is a great doorbell with camera without too many frills, but what it does, it does well!
What we like in Hombli Smart Doorbell:
- This model is at a very favorable price point​.
- You save your images locally on a microSD card​.
- The app is beautifully designed, is regularly updated and is easy to use​.
- The image is sharp and clear, even at night​.
What we don’t like in Hombli Smart Doorbell:
- Installation can be difficult due to 2.4 GHz connectivity and QR codes​.
- Due to the rechargeable battery, the doorbell can sometimes be without power for a few hours while charging.
3. Google Nest Hello – the best doorbell with camera on AC power
Resolution : 1600 x 1200p
Power supply : Mains power
Subscription fee (p/y) : €50, optional
Smart home : Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
IP certification : IPX5
Viewing angle (horizontal) : 160°
With its glossy black surface and matte white housing with rounded corners, the Nest Hello is minimalist and attractive. At 11.7 x 4.3 x 2.5 inches (length x width x depth), it’s also just a little bigger than the Ring Pro and fits easily on most door frames.
The front of the doorbell has a large bell button on the underside that glows white when someone approaches and blue when the bell is pressed. An internal ringer will then sound (next to the doorbell in your house) and a notification will be sent to your phone.
The app displays a full live view from the camera with buttons for “Ignore,” “Talk,” and “Comments.” Tapping the “Reply” button will give you one of three pre-recorded answers : “You can leave it”, “We’ll be right there” and “Nobody can come to the door”.
At the top of the doorbell is a 1600 x 1200p camera with HDR (High Dynamic Range). It also uses an array of very small (850nm) infrared LED lights for night vision and has a 160° angle of view and 8x digital zoom.
The Hello doorbell is set up and opened using the same mobile apps (available for Android and iOS ) and web applications used for all other Nest devices. The app opens to a home screen with a list of all installed Nest devices.
Tapping the doorbell opens a window with a live video stream and a timeline of events. You fast-forward or rewind through a recorded video to find a specific point in time, and create a clip of it that you can share (to a person or, say, your Chromecast ) or save to your gallery.
There are five buttons at the bottom of the screen for viewing video history by date, filtering the types of events you see ( Sound, Motion, Speak, Person, Familiar Face ), activating two-way audio, saving and sharing a video. selected video and identifying and adding new people to the face database .
Tapping the gear icon in the top right corner takes you to the settings where you turn the camera on and off, turn on a kind of do not disturb mode, turn on the home/away assistant, create an automatic turn on/off schedule, and push and set up email notifications – and these are just a few of the options available!
Unfortunately, you need a Nest Aware subscription to use many of the Hello doorbell features.
These include 24/7 continuous recording, “familiar face” alerts, “intelligent” alerts, the ability to create clips and timelapses, the ability to configure activity zones.
You also get access to your video history:
- The $5 per month/$50 per year Nest Aware plan gives you access to five days of continuous video history and all of the above features.
- The $10/$100/year Nest Aware plan increases the number of days of video history to 10 days.
- The $30/month/$300/year plan increases video history to 30 days.
With or without a subscription, the Hello delivers sharp HD quality videos with rich colors in the daylight and highly detailed black and white videos in the dark. Two-way audio is top quality and the pre-recorded answers are easy to understand and understand.
The timeline functionality also makes it easy to view older video from a specific moment, and the face recognition did a great job of recognizing people whose faces were in the “trusted faces” gallery.
What we like in Google Nest Hello:
- This doorbell with camera offers an incredibly rich, user-friendly user experience​.
- The “trusted faces” gallery aka the face database is a very useful feature​.
- Even the night image is crystal clear​.
What we don’t like in Google Nest Hello:
- Without the subscription, you still lose quite a lot of functions, so that the price-quality ratio suddenly shifts​.
4. Ring Video Doorbell 3 – the best doorbell with camera running by battery
Resolution : 1920 x 1080p
Power supply : AC power
Subscription fee (p/y) : €30, optional
Smart home : Amazon Alexa
IP certification : —
Viewing angle (horizontal) : 160°
Measuring 6.2 x 12.8 x 2.8 inches (HxWxD), this Ring doesn’t look like a typical doorbell. The top part of the device is made of black plastic and houses a 1080p camera with a 160° viewing angle. It also includes a motion sensor.
The metal lower part of the doorbell (available in White, Charcoal, Silver, Gold and Gray) contains an LED illuminated button that glows blue when pressed and emits a loud sound from the speaker on the bottom of the unit, as well as from the speaker of the connected mobile devices.
The doorbell comes with a mounting plate that can be attached to any surface including wood, cement, brick, vinyl and stucco. You also get a small tool kit with everything you need to assemble the device.
The doorbell also functions between temperatures of -20°C to +48°C. It just doesn’t have an IP rating, so I can’t tell you for sure how much water and dust it can handle. So use your common sense and give him a safe place.
Furthermore, this model has no pre-buffer function . The newer Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus does have this, as well as improved motion detection zones. However, this version does not come with a gong. In my opinion, those two elements are not worth the price increase and loss of the Chime either.
So, back to the Ring Video Doorbell 3 (without the ‘Plus’)! Starting with the motion zones, these are customizable, but you don’t get the same flexibility as with the Ring Video Doorbell Pro. If this is really important to you, because you don’t have a front garden, for example, then take this into account.
You also get night vision with this model , but the motion detection is further limited to two meters. Depending on where you live and how much insight you want to have on what is happening in front of your house, this can be quite a disadvantage. With the night vision you can see about nine meters ahead.
The app is otherwise identical to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, so I won’t go into that here. The same goes for the Ring subscriptions; these are also identical.
The Ring Video Doorbell 3 has an internal rechargeable battery. So you mount it wirelessly, but to charge it you have to remove the battery and hang it on the charger.
It takes about ten hours to fully charge, which should give you a full year of battery life. It is not very practical that you lose your doorbell for ten hours, but it saves you a lot of hassle with cabling. The installation is therefore simple and takes about ten minutes.
The Ring doorbell has always emitted a loud sound and/or sent a notification to our smartphone when the button was pressed. During the day, live video quality was crystal clear with sharp, well-defined colors.
Black and white night vision video was just as sharp down to nine feet, and the recorded video looked just as good as the live feed.
The two-way sound of this model also worked quite well, but occasionally the communication was distorted. Can happen, but keep in mind that with a bad WiFi connection, this can happen more often.
Also, my rechargeable battery lasted 2.5 months before needing to be recharged, which is well below the target of 12 months. The doorbell does give a warning when the battery level drops below five percent, so you don’t have to remove the battery yourself as a precaution. At least, that’s the idea. I did not receive that notification.
So I noticed that the doorbell was no longer giving notifications and then checked the battery level – only to find that it was only at 3%. I have continuously tested the Ring during the period of use, which is of course not representative of the average use. So as a consumer you can expect a longer battery life!
What we like in Ring Video Doorbell 3:
- This doorbell with camera can be used both wirelessly and wired​.
- Installation is a breeze​.
- Image quality is crystal clear both day and night​.
- The image is sharp and the motion detection range is wide​.
What we don’t like in Ring Video Doorbell 3:
- Motion detection works up to two meters away in the dark​.
- The battery life is not what it should be according to the manufacturer​.
- No IP rating, so you have little certainty about dust and water resistance​.
5. Alecto ADI-250 – the best doorbell with its own screen camera
Resolution: 320 x 240p
Power supply: Battery/battery
Subscription cost (p/y): —
Smart home: —
IP certification: —
Viewing angle (horizontal): 135°
This doorbell with camera from Alecto is suitable for those who do not have a smartphone, do not know how to use such an app or simply do not want to receive all kinds of notifications on their phone.
The camera of this model is anything but HD: the resolution is only 320 x 240p, but that is no drama in this case. With this doorbell you get a screen of 3.5 inches; however, the detail of a high resolution is lost on this.
This doorbell with camera also runs on a rechargeable battery. We now know that this saves our hassle with cables, but also means that you lose your doorbell while charging. Fortunately, you can also choose to connect it to mains power.
The battery does make the installation a lot faster, which is very easy anyway. The Alecto ADI-250 works on its own frequency. This way you don’t have to make an effort to connect everything to your smartphone and the like: the doorbell and the receiver – the screen with the control buttons – are already linked to each other.
What does that receiver look like? In addition to the aforementioned screen, you also get a number of buttons to work with:
The receiver works up to a distance of 50 meters from the doorbell. Unfortunately, you cannot adjust the sound of the gong, but you can use the receiver as an intercom. For example, you can talk to the person standing in front of your door for up to 1 minute, adjust the brightness and volume, and so on.
You also view the live feed without anyone ringing the doorbell and save an image locally. Incidentally, every time someone rings the doorbell, a photo is also taken; these are also stored locally and you can delete them yourself.
What we like in Alecto ADI-250 camera doorbell:
- Both the installation and operation of this model are simple​.
- Does what it’s supposed to do without needing an app or subscription​
What we don’t like in Alecto ADI-250 camera doorbell:
- You lose a number of functionalities such as motion detection and video recording​.
Guide to selecting and buying the best camera doorbell
To find the best doorbell with camera for you, you need to keep a few things in mind.
Features of the camera
Every smart doorbell worth having comes equipped with a video camera that sends a notification to your phone or a screen, along with a live video stream when the doorbell button is pressed.
You’ll pay more (generally) for doorbells with features or functions like 1080p resolution, motion detection, two-way audio that lets you speak to the person standing outside, and on-demand video streaming.
To avoid false reports of passing cars, high winds and possible pets, look for a doorbell camera that offers customizable motion detection zones .
Other features to consider include viewing angle (the wider the better in general), facial recognition technology, motion detection technology, nighttime video and a choice of sounds that will help you distinguish between a knock on the doorbell and a knock. movement trigger.
Some new doorbells with cameras offer a pre-buffer function that records a few seconds of activity prior to activating a motion sensor or pressing the doorbell button, so you can see what happened just before the button was pressed.
The power supply
Perhaps the first issue to consider is how the doorbell is wired. If you have an existing doorbell on the front of the house that’s wired up, you’re already on the right track.
Most doorbells with cameras are designed to work on this system. You connect them using the existing connectors and forget about the need for batteries forever.
If you don’t have wiring , your choice is more limited. You can put wiring in a doorbell, but this is far from ideal. You have to feed the electricity in the house back to a junction box, install a transformer to lower the voltage, find a place to run the wiring and then drill a hole through your door frame… Or you can just use a battery-powered buy version and leave it at that.
However, the choice is quite limited here; there are not many models that run on batteries.
The installation
Correct installation of your doorbell ensures optimal operation and prevents damage or dangerous situations (when working with mains voltage). Wireless doorbells are usually easy to install, but if you connect the doorbell to the mains, I recommend having an expert do it.
In addition, some doorbells cannot simply be connected to the standard power supply. In that case, I strongly advise you not to start here yourself!
Compatibility with other home automation
Many camera doorbells work in conjunction with other home automation components such as door locks and lighting. You can even connect a good alarm system to it. If you want an individual camera doorbell that works with other smart devices in your home, look for one that supports IFTTT (If This Then That). IFTTT makes it easy to create mini-programs called applets that allow IFTTT devices to communicate with each other.
For example, you can create an applet that tells Google Nest to turn on the lights when motion is detected, or an applet that tells a smart alarm (in combination with a smart door lock) to go off when the door is forced.
Another useful feature to search is support for Alexa, Google or Siri voice commands that allow you to watch a doorbell’s live stream on a screen that also supports it.
WiFi signal
A good and stable internet connection is necessary for a properly working doorbell with camera. Usually a 2.4 GHz network is sufficient for this. Some doorbells also work with a 5 GHz signal. In any case, always check what the possibilities are in combination with your Wi-Fi router.
Always check whether you have good range at the location where you want to hang the doorbell. It is possible that your router is far away, making the signal weaker. This may result in video functionality and push notifications not working properly.
Testing the range
You can test the range by taking your smartphone, tablet or laptop to the location where the doorbell will hang and performing a speed test. Your network upload speed must meet the recommended doorbell requirements.​
Subscription fee
Camera doorbells generally don’t provide local storage for recorded videos, so you’ll need to subscribe to a cloud service to view your motion and doorbell-triggered video clips. The Hombli Smart Doorbell is an exception to this rule.
Expect to pay anywhere from $3 a month for a subscription that gives you access to 30 or more days of video to download and share. If you want to view older images, save these images to your PC or a USB stick as they will be deleted from the server after the allotted time has elapsed.
Incidentally, such a subscription often includes additional functions, such as facial recognition, continuous recordings, extra sounds for the bell, and so on.
The best doorbells with camera in 2022
| Camera doorbell | Best for | Review score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ring Video Doorbell Pro | All-round use | 9.0 | |
| Hombli Smart Doorbell | Price quality | 8.3 | |
| Google Nest Hello | Main power | 8.8 | |
| Ring Video Doorbell 3 | Battery | 8.5 | |
| Alecto ADI-250 | Simple installation | 7.6 |
Frequently asked questions
Which doorbell with camera is good?
The best camera-enabled doorbells in our review were the Ring Video Pro, the Hombli Smart Doorbell, and the Google Nest Hello, each of which falls in a different price range and excels in something else.
How does a camera doorbell work?
In many cases, the doorbell is connected to the existing wiring. Some models use a battery. In any case, the doorbells are also connected to your Wi-Fi network.
By connecting your smartphone, tablet or other similar device to the same network, the doorbell and, for example, your smartphone communicate with each other. In principle, your router serves as a bridge between the doorbell and your smartphone.
What does a doorbell with camera cost?
Current prices range from ± €99 for a doorbell with camera without gong and the like, to ± €250. For sets with, for example, extra IP cameras, you pay even more.
Conclusion
With all this knowledge in mind, you can make an informed choice! Thanks to the best doorbell with camera, you are guaranteed to have a good idea of ​​who is at your door and when. Depending on the extra features you want or don’t want, you will eventually find your match.
Do you have any advice or questions? Please let us know below. Thank you for reading!