Best Smart Doorbells
A smart doorbell allows you to see who is at your front door or communicate with them even when you’re not home. Some also have object and face recognition to reduce false alarms, or greet specific people with a pre-recorded greeting.
The best wireless video doorbells feature night vision, high resolution, a wide field of view and two-way communication. Some also have motion zones, person and package detection and other features to help protect your home.
Features
The best smart doorbells offer great control over motion detection so that you get notifications for only the things you want to see. You can set them to only notify you when a person, vehicle or parcel is detected, for example. This prevents tons of useless alerts and false alarms that can quickly lead you to ignore the device or turn it off altogether.
Many of the top-rated smart doorbells come with a built in speaker for two-way communication that works via voice or app. best smart doorbell These can let you ask the delivery driver to leave a package somewhere else or tell your pet to stop barking. Many also work with other smart home devices so you can trigger an action like turning on a light or starting a camera when the doorbell rings.
In CR’s tests of the best video doorbells, the Nest Hello (now called the Nest Doorbell Pro 2) was a standout with excellent night vision and facial recognition that starts to recognize regular visitors after a short amount of time. Unlike the cheaper Nest Doorbell Battery or other wired models, this model does not require electrical wiring and includes 128GB of free storage for video clips.
The Eufy AOSU Smart Video Doorbell uses an outdoor camera with 1440p 2K resolution that provides enough detail to identify faces and vehicles and has a second camera facing the ground for picking up parcels. It is also one of the few smart doorbells with no subscription or cloud storage requirement since video is stored locally on an included 16GB hub.
Resolution
A video doorbell’s resolution will determine how clear it can see. The higher the resolution, the easier it will be to recognize people or pets in front of the camera. Many of the best smart doorbells now offer up to 1080p resolution, and a few even offer 4K video.
If you’re looking to stop porch pirates, one of the best smart doorbell cameras we tested is the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless). Like the Nest doorbell, this model supports two-way communication, plays nice with Alexa and Google ecosystems, and works with your choice of hub. It also has a solid night vision feature and is one of the few wired models to offer 24/7 recording (although you’ll have to pay a subscription for that, which starts at PS10 a month).
Another impressive feature of this model is its battery life. It’s rated for up to 18 months of use, and can be used with existing chime wiring for added convenience. The only downside is that it lacks the advanced features of a first-party device, such as facial recognition and motion detection zones. It does, however, have a wider field of view and better clarity than the Ring Pro 2. And while it’s not as portable as a smartphone, you can still control the camera from your phone if you want to check in on your home while on the go.
Motion Detection
From package thieves to kids coming home from school, a smart doorbell with motion detection is a great way to know who’s there and prevent unwanted guests. The best smart doorbells can activate when someone presses the button or detect motion and send you a notification on your smartphone. They also have night vision so you can see your front yard and doorstep even in low-light conditions.
The Wyze Pro 2 is an improved version of its predecessor and our top pick for an affordable smart doorbell camera. It offers better video resolution and faster notification speeds in a sleeker best smart doorbell design that doesn’t require wiring and is compatible with Alexa devices. The doorbell camera has two-way communication, works both wired and with a battery, and is easy to integrate into your home security system.
The Arlo Protect is another good option, with excellent resolution, a wide angle of view that covers most of your doorstep, and two-way communication. However, it requires a paid subscription to get access to the cloud storage and features such as package detection and messaging capability. Most of the other best doorbell cameras don’t have any subscription fees and record to an on-board microSD card instead.
Two-Way Communication
The best smart doorbells allow you to talk back and forth with visitors in addition to seeing who they are. This feature is especially useful if you have children who are too young to answer the door, and it can help prevent false alarms by letting you hear a visitor even when you’re not home.
If you want to use this feature, look for a model that allows you to set up an audio plan with voicemail so that your callers can leave a message. The Ring Pro adds improved noise cancelation, and the Nest Hello features HDR video with a tall 4:3 aspect ratio that offers a clearer view of visitors than the usual 16:9 widescreen approach.
Another high-end option is the Eufy Dual, which has excellent resolution and is the only battery-powered doorbell camera that we’ve tested that works with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It also has a two-way communication feature, night vision, and support for your choice of smart hubs. However, it doesn’t have the advanced features that some other models offer such as facial recognition and a subscription-based package detection service (though you can save videos locally for free).
A close competitor is the Lorex LNWDB1 1080P WiFi Video Doorbell, which earns an above-average rating in our tests with its exceptional performance. It is the only other battery-powered doorbell camera that can work with Apple HomeKit and uses end-to-end encryption to keep your videos secure. This model also has a few unique smart features, such as monitoring zones and geofencing that let you receive alerts based on your location when you’re not at home.
