Wirecutter

This slick doorbell can alert you to people, packages, animals, and cars going by. Its wide, 180-degree field of view and square aspect ratio reduce blind spots so you can see people or packages.

This doorbell can alert you to people, packages, animals, and cars going by. It also has a wide-angle lens that can provide a full picture of who or what is in front of the door, from head to toe.

This affordable smart doorbell packs in a lot of complex features, including a 2K image, person detection, local storage, customizable responses, and a separate wireless chime.

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Consumer Reports

Smart alerts: People onlyOptional storage subscription: NoCR’s take: You might not think of a lighting company as a great manufacturer of security cameras, but the Cree Lighting Connected Max video doorbell is a surprisingly solid option. In our tests, it receives a Very Good rating for video quality and offers speedy response times, strong data security, and a decent array of smart features. Its only drawback is lackluster data privacy, but that’s par for the course in the video doorbell market.This Cree model features person detection, motion schedules, voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, and local video storage when you plug in a microSD card (sold separately). The doorbell can run off its rechargeable battery or be hardwired to existing doorbell wiring for continuous power. When hardwired, it will ring your home’s existing doorbell chime. A wireless plug-in doorbell chime is also available for $24.

Budget Pick

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Use your Nest Audio to call up a live look at the front door or get notifications when someone is there.

The Nest offers around-the-clock video recording, with AI-powered motion detection and facial recognition, so it’s a great home-security option. For simply watching your door, it’s overkill.

CR’s take: The Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell is one of the best you can buy, but it’s only offered in a hardwired version and can’t run off battery power. If you have an existing doorbell that's hardwired, it will work just fine. If not, you’ll need to either have an electrician install the wiring or use a plug-in power adapter, which is sold separately.  This doorbell receives an Excellent rating for response time and offers terrific video quality and data security, but its data privacy and smart features could be better. Among those features are HDR video for vivid picture quality, geofencing, person alerts, unusual sound detection, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, recorded messages for when you can’t answer the door, and a rolling 3 hours of motion-triggered snapshots.  If you sign up for a Nest Aware subscription, you can get either 30 or 60 days of cloud storage for motion-triggered video clips (depending on the plan), 10 days of 24/7 continuous video recordings (only on the $12-per-month plan), facial recognition, package detection, monitoring zones, and e911 to call your home's 911 dispatcher regardless of your physical location.   Free video storage: None, but you get 3 hours of snapshots, which are still images of what the camera sees.  Optional subscription: $6 per month (or $60 per year) for 30 days, $12 per month (or $120 per year) for 60 days of video clips and 10 days of 24/7 video.

Free video storage: None, but 3 hours of snapshots Optional subscription: $6 per month (or $60 per year) for 30 days, $12 per month (or $120 per year) for 60 days
CR’s take: The Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell is one of the best you can buy. It receives an Excellent rating for response time and offers terrific video quality and data security, but it falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to data privacy and its smart features. The Hello’s features include HDR video for vivid picture quality, geofencing, person alerts, unusual sound detection, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, prerecorded messages for when you can’t answer the door, and a rolling 3 hours of motion-triggered snapshots (not video clips).
If you sign up for a Nest Aware subscription, you'll get either 30 or 60 days of cloud storage for motion-triggered video clips (depending on the plan), 10 days of 24/7 continuous video recordings (only on the $12-per-month plan), facial recognition, package detection, monitoring zones, and e911 to call your home's 911 dispatcher regardless of your physical location. The Nest Hello is offered in only a hardwired version and can’t run off battery power. If you have an existing doorbell that's hardwired, it will work just fine.

Free video storage: None, but 3 hours of snapshots Optional subscription: $6 per month (or $60 per year) for 30 days, $12 per month (or $120 per year) for 60 daysCR’s take: The Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell is one of the best you can buy. It receives an Excellent rating for response time and offers terrific video quality and data security, but it falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to data privacy and its smart features. The Hello’s features include HDR video for vivid picture quality, geofencing, person alerts, unusual sound detection, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, prerecorded messages for when you can’t answer the door, and a rolling 3 hours of motion-triggered snapshots (not video clips).If you sign up for a Nest Aware subscription, you'll get either 30 or 60 days of cloud storage for motion-triggered video clips (depending on the plan), 10 days of 24/7 continuous video recordings (only on the $12-per-month plan), facial recognition, package detection, monitoring zones, and e911 to call your home's 911 dispatcher regardless of your physical location. The Nest Hello is offered in only a hardwired version and can’t run off battery power. If you have an existing doorbell that's hardwired, it will work just fine.

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expert-review

Doorbell Face-Off: Google Nest Hello vs. Ring Video Doorbell 2

First Look: Google's New Battery-Powered Nest Doorbell

This compact doorbell camera doesn’t have the same perks as our other picks, but it’s cheap and easy to install, and it delivers solid performance.

First Look: Ring Video Doorbell Wired

Smart alerts: People onlyOptional storage subscription: YesCR’s take: The TP-Link Kasa Smart KD110 is a great video doorbell for the money, with a Very Good rating for data security, fast response times, decent video quality, and a good amount of smart features. Its only flaw is its lackluster data privacy, but that’s not uncommon for this product category. This TP-Link model features monitoring zones, voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, person detection, and local video storage using a microSD card (sold separately). The TP-Link Kasa Smart KD110 requires low-voltage doorbell wiring for power, but it can’t ring your home’s existing chime. Instead, it comes with a wireless plug-in chime in the box.

Free video storage: Yes, using the 8GB microSD card (included).Optional subscription: Not available.
CR’s take: The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is one of the most expensive models in our ratings, but it’s worth considering if you want to keep your footage as secure as possible. All footage is stored locally on an 8GB microSD card that comes with the doorbell. Netatmo claims that only one screenshot per video—not the video itself—is uploaded to its servers, so some information is available to you in case the doorbell gets disconnected.
In our tests, the Netatmo doorbell rates Very Good for data security and receives a middle-of-the-road score for data privacy. It also offers great video quality and a decent array of smart features, but its response time is on the slow side compared with the competition. Features include person detection, high dynamic range (HDR) for more vivid videos, and voice control via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant.
In addition to local storage, the Netatmo video doorbell can store videos on a Dropbox account or personal web server. It also requires doorbell wiring for power and can ring your home’s existing doorbell chime. It works with both low-voltage and high-voltage (230 volt) systems.

Free video storage:Yes, using the 8GB microSD card (included).Optional subscription: Not available.CR’s take: The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is one of the most expensive models in our ratings, but it’s worth considering if you want to keep your footage as secure as possible. All footage is stored locally on an 8GB microSD card that comes with the doorbell. Netatmo claims that only one screenshot per video—not the video itself—is uploaded to its servers, so some information is available to you in case the doorbell gets disconnected.In our tests, the Netatmo doorbell rates Very Good for data security and receives a middle-of-the-road score for data privacy. It also offers great video quality and a decent array of smart features, but its response time is on the slow side compared with the competition. Features include person detection, high dynamic range (HDR) for more vivid videos, and voice control via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant.In addition to local storage, the Netatmo video doorbell can store videos on a Dropbox account or personal web server. It also requires doorbell wiring for power and can ring your home’s existing doorbell chime. It works with both low-voltage and high-voltage (230 volt) systems.

Smart alerts: People onlyOptional storage subscription: NoCR’s take: The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is one of the most expensive models in our ratings, but it’s worth considering if you want to keep your footage as secure as possible. All footage is stored locally on an 8GB microSD card that comes with the doorbell. Netatmo claims that only one screenshot per video—not the video itself—is uploaded to its servers, so some information is available to you in case the doorbell gets disconnected.In our tests, the Netatmo doorbell rates Very Good for data security and receives a middle-of-the-road score for data privacy. It also offers great video quality and a decent array of smart features, but its response time is on the slow side compared with the competition. Features include person detection, high dynamic range (HDR) for more vivid videos, and voice control via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant.In addition to local storage, the Netatmo video doorbell can store videos on a Dropbox account or personal web server. It also requires doorbell wiring for power and can ring your home’s existing doorbell chime. It works with both low-voltage (usually 16 to 24 volts) and high-voltage (230 volt) systems, the latter being typically found in Europe.

Doorbell Comparison