Seven best video doorbells

There are two main names in the video doorbell market – Ring, from Amazon, and Google’s Nest. In our humble and, let’s face it, tech-basic opinion, Ring comes out on top because of one key reason: affordability. They make expensive fancy bells and they make £50 bells, both of which show you who’s at the door when it rings. This one does have to be wired in, but there is an optional plug adaptor available. As standard, via the Ring app, you can use live view, two-way talk, advanced motion detection and pair with Alexa. A subscription to Ring Protect (from £2.50/m after 30-day free trial) will allow you to record and review footage.

Born out of the Californian tech bubble, Arlo specialises in home security, to which the doorbell is a natural addition. It comes in two slick colourways: all-black or black and white. The camera records 1080p HD footage and there’s a speaker to allow for two-way audio. It even has a built-in siren that you can set off manually or have triggered by the sensors. The night vision is pretty clear and with a 180º field of view (more than Ring or Nest), you shouldn’t miss a thing, including any parcels left on the ground. It can be wired or battery operated, connects to both Alexa and Google Home, and it can be wired straight into your old doorbell chime, which a fair few other video doorbells can’t do.

Remember that fancy version of Ring we were talking about? This is one of them. The Ring 4 is a big step up from the entry-level Ring, with a price to match (£180). For your money you get the basics – live view, two-way talk, motion detection – plus a wider lens, colour pre-roll previews, which adds four seconds of extra video before the motion sensors are set off, a corner mount and additional faceplate. But the best thing about the Ring 4, which makes installation a cinch, is that it comes with a quick-release battery pack and charging cable, so you don’t have to wire it in (although it still can be).

Before we get into the pros of Nest Hello – and there are many – one downside is that it has to be wired in. If you’re ok with that, keep reading. Its camera gives a 160º angle that allows head-to-toe viewing and, as standard, you can see a live stream 24/7 or go back through the last three hours of footage. If you subscribe to Nest Aware for £5/m, you can activate exciting features like facial recognition, ‘intelligent alerts’ that notify you if, say, your dog barks, and you can store and review all footage for up to 30 days. It’s compatible with Google Home and even comes with the required masonry drill bit to make installation as easy as possible.

‘Designed to protect your home as well as your wallet’, Eufy’s sell is to keep your security costs low. So there’s no subscription fee for special extra features and it comes with a chime for indoors, so it’s ready to function as normal doorbell and a smart one straight out of the box (well, after installation obviously). Its design is slim, sleek and black, so it should sit fairly unobtrusively beside the door. There’s no cloud involved, so data is stored on a micro-SD card, although this isn’t included. The video is crisp colour in 1080p and a full charge should get you 120 days of use.

This is the most expensive doorbell on our list (sales depending) at just shy of £260 and of course it does all the things that the others do. So why is it still worth a look? Because it’s the only one compatible with Apple HomeKit. Not everyone has this, but for those who do it’s a big boon, and for those who don’t, it also connects to Alexa. Another plus is that there’s no subscription required, so you can live stream in full HD 24/7, store footage (micro-SD card included), two-way-talk and set alert zones as standard. It can be voice activated via Siri and, if you already have an old indoor bell chime, it’ll wire straight into it.

As a big ol’ curvy white piece of plastic, the Ezviz isn’t the prettiest of the bunch, but its bug-eye allows for a wide, 176º view of your surroundings, taking in ground to head-height images. It also has different mounting plates in the box, so you can angle it exactly how you want. The video resolution is an impressive 2k, which isn’t as high-def as 4k, but is super HD, and is capable of capturing up to five meters of clear picture at night. It has a four-month battery life on one full charge, unlimited storage via Ezviz CloudPlay (subscription required) or via micro-SD, and it comes with an indoor chime.