Smart Doorbells: Subscription Plans Compared

I used to think smart doorbells were a one-time purchase. Buy the device, mount it, connect to Wi-Fi, done. Then I installed a few for clients and realized the doorbell is almost the cheap part. The subscription is where companies quietly make their money.

Here is the short answer: if you want full video history, smart alerts, and multi-device access, you will probably pay somewhere between 2 and 15 dollars per month per doorbell, depending on the brand and how many cameras you have. Some brands feel fair for what you get. Others lock basic features behind a paywall that does not really match the price. The right plan comes down to one core decision: do you care about video history, or do you only need live view and motion alerts in real time?

What subscriptions actually do for smart doorbells

Most people install a smart doorbell for three reasons: they want to see who is at the door, they want a record of what happened when they were away, and they want alerts that are not noisy or spammy.

The hardware gives you live video and basic motion alerts. The subscription usually gives you the “memory” and the “brain”:

• Memory: cloud video history, clip storage, and the ability to download or share video.
• Brain: better motion detection, categories like “person” or “package,” and smarter notifications.

Without a plan, your doorbell might still work. But it often turns into a live-only viewer with poor or no recording. That can be fine for some people. For others, it defeats the purpose.

Here is the pattern across most brands:

The doorbell purchase is a one-time cost. The subscription is a long-term cost that often doubles or triples what you pay over the life of the device.

So the real question is not “How much is the doorbell?” but “Over 3 to 5 years, what does this doorbell actually cost with the subscription I need?”

Key questions before you compare plans

Before we go brand by brand, ask yourself a few questions. These make the choice much easier:

• Do you need video history longer than 1 day?
• Do you have or plan to have more than one camera or doorbell?
• Do you care about AI features like person detection, package detection, or facial recognition?
• Do you want local storage (SD card, NVR, or home hub) instead of or in addition to the cloud?
• How many people in your home need access to the doorbell?

If your answers lean toward “live view is enough,” you can often avoid or reduce subscription costs. If you want a small home security system around your doorbell, the subscription becomes central.

Quick comparison of major smart doorbell subscription plans

To keep this practical, I will focus on the most common brands: Ring, Google Nest, Arlo, Eufy, Wyze, and a brief look at video doorbells from security vendors like ADT and SimpliSafe.

Here is a high-level comparison. Prices are approximate and can change; this is meant as a relative guide, not legal terms.

Brand	Entry plan (approx / mo)	Whole-home plan (approx / mo)	Typical video history	Local storage option	Key AI features
Ring	$4	$10 (all Ring devices)	180 days (configurable)	No (cloud focus)	Person alerts, packages (on some models)
Google Nest	$8	$15 (up to many cams)	30 or 60 days event history	No true local storage	Familiar faces, smart zones, sound alerts
Arlo	$5	$13 (up to 4 cams) / $18 (unlimited)	30 to 60 days event history	Yes, with Arlo base station	Person, package, vehicle, animal, etc.
Eufy	Often $0 (local)	$3+ (cloud optional)	30 days cloud with paid plans	Yes, strong local focus	AI on-device: person, package on some models
Wyze	$2 per cam	$10 for up to 99 cams	14 days event history	Yes, microSD	Person detection, package, pet alerts
SimpliSafe / ADT	$10+	$20+ incl. monitoring	Approx 30 days	Usually no	Basic smart detection, integrated with alarm

This table hides a critical detail. Some brands still give you decent function with no subscription at all. Others drop you to almost “dumb” mode without one.

The biggest trap is buying a doorbell that is nearly useless without a subscription and only discovering that after the return window closes.

Let us break this down by brand.

Ring Protect plans: great whole-home pricing, but cloud only

Ring is probably the first name people think about when they hear “video doorbell.” Their subscription model is straightforward but very cloud dependent.

Ring plans and pricing (rough overview)

Ring Protect plans usually look like this:

• Ring Protect Basic:
  • About $4 per month per device
  • Cloud video recording for one doorbell or camera
  • Video history up to 180 days (you can shorten this)
  • Download and share recordings
  • Snapshot captures between events
• Ring Protect Plus:
  • About $10 per month
  • Covers all Ring cameras and doorbells at a single location
  • Same video history (usually 180 days)
  • Extended warranties on devices
• Ring Protect Pro:
  • About $20 per month
  • Targets Ring Alarm users (professional monitoring, backup internet, etc.)
  • Overkill if you just have a single doorbell

Without any Ring plan, your doorbell still sends motion alerts and lets you watch live video. The problem: no video history. If something happens at 3 am and you do not catch it in real time, it basically did not happen.

Ring: where the subscription is worth it and where it is not

Ring Protect Plus starts to make sense if:

• You have or plan to have 3 or more Ring devices.
• You want consistent, long video history for all of them.
• You do not mind your data sitting in Amazon’s cloud for months.

Where I get a bit critical:

Ring without a subscription is so limited that I do not usually recommend their doorbells for “no-sub” users.

If you are privacy focused or you want strong local storage, Ring is not the right pick. There is no built-in SD card recording, and local storage options are weak at best.

Google Nest Aware: powerful AI, higher base cost

Google Nest is usually the choice for people already living inside Google Home. Speakers, Chromecast, Nest thermostats, that kind of setup. The Nest doorbells play well in that world.

Nest Aware plans

Google has simplified things a bit, but the structure is still two tiers:

• Nest Aware:
  • About $8 per month per home
  • Event-based video history (usually 30 days)
  • Intelligent alerts: person detection, sound detection (smoke alarms, glass breaking on some models)
  • Familiar face detection where legally allowed
• Nest Aware Plus:
  • About $15 per month per home
  • Extended video history (often 60 days event-based, and some models support 10 days of continuous recording)
  • Same smart alerts, but longer memory

Without Nest Aware, you get only a couple of hours or a very short window of history, if any, depending on the doorbell model. You keep live view and basic notifications, but the advantage of Nest is heavily tied to the AI in the cloud.

Where Nest subscriptions shine

Google is strong on software. The alerts tend to be accurate, and features like familiar faces are genuinely helpful if you have a lot of deliveries, house cleaners, or frequent visitors.

I like Nest Aware for:

• Households that already use multiple Nest devices.
• Anyone who values advanced detection (faces, sounds) over pure storage length.
• People less worried about cloud video storage and more focused on day-to-day convenience.

But there are tradeoffs:

Nest locks almost everything smart behind Nest Aware. You are paying not just for storage but for the experience the doorbell was marketed on.

If you want local recording or no recurring fee, this is not your brand.

Arlo Secure: flexible but can add up

Arlo sits somewhere between Ring and Eufy in many ways. They offer cloud-heavy features, but some models support local storage through a base station.

Arlo Secure plan structure

Arlo has a few tiers, and they change names more often than I like, but the pattern is fairly clear:

• Arlo Secure (single camera):
  • About $5 per month per camera
  • 30 days event-based cloud recording
  • AI object detection: person, package, vehicle, animal (varies by model)
  • Activity zones and rich notifications
• Arlo Secure (multi-camera):
  • About $13 per month for up to 4 devices
  • About $18 per month for unlimited devices
  • Same video history and AI features
• Arlo Secure Plus:
  • Costs more, often includes 4K recording and possibly extended history
  • Most useful for high-end Arlo cameras, not just a single doorbell

Without a plan, you can still get live view and some kind of local recording if you use an Arlo hub with a USB drive. But the convenience of cloud access, remote playback, and AI alerts mostly lives in the subscription.

When an Arlo subscription is a good deal

Arlo feels fair if you:

• Have multiple Arlo cameras and a doorbell.
• Want good AI classification without paying Google or Amazon.
• Are okay with setting up local storage for backup using an Arlo base station.

One caution here:

Arlo without Arlo Secure can feel half-finished. The hardware looks premium, but the real value is in the subscription layer.

If you are trying to avoid any monthly fee, Arlo would not be my first choice for a doorbell. But if you want a mid to high-end system with solid AI alerts, the multi-camera plan is reasonable.

Eufy: local-first, optional subscriptions

Eufy is where the conversation changes. Their pitch is almost the opposite of Ring and Nest: “No monthly fees, local storage, privacy-focused.”

In practice, it is not perfect, but the balance is attractive.

Eufy subscription and non-subscription options

Most Eufy doorbells record locally by default:

• Local storage on a HomeBase or built-in storage in the doorbell.
• AI features (like person detection) often run on the device itself.
• No required subscription for basic or even advanced function.

Eufy does have cloud storage plans:

• About $3 per month per device for 30 days of cloud video history.
• Discounted multi-device plans for several cameras or doorbells.

But the idea is: you choose cloud if you want easy remote access and backup, not because your doorbell will stop recording without it.

Where Eufy makes the most sense

Eufy is strong when:

• You hate subscriptions and want to pay once for hardware.
• You care about local storage and do not want your video sitting in big tech clouds.
• You still want AI features like person or package detection, but prefer them to run on-device.

The tradeoffs:

Eufy depends heavily on your own network and local storage. If you travel often and your upload speed is weak, remote access to local video can be less reliable than cloud-first brands.

I tend to recommend Eufy to people who are willing to tinker a little, and who have decent home networking.

Wyze: very low subscription costs but some rough edges

Wyze built its reputation on low-cost cameras with features that seemed too strong for the price. Their subscription follows that theme.

Wyze Cam Plus and doorbells

Wyze offers:

• Cam Plus (per camera):
  • About $2 per month per camera
  • 14 days cloud event history
  • AI detection: person, package, pet, vehicle (depending on model)
  • No cool-down limit between recordings
• Cam Plus Lite (pay what you want, even $0 in some regions):
  • Basic person detection and small event clips
  • Limited compared to full Cam Plus, but better than nothing
• Home plan:
  • Around $10 per month for up to 99 cameras
  • Fits larger setups, rentals, or budget-conscious systems

Wyze also supports microSD card local storage for continuous or event-based recording. Even without a cloud plan, your doorbell can still record locally.

Who should pick Wyze

Wyze is attractive for:

• Budget buyers who still want decent cloud storage.
• People willing to accept some occasional quirks in exchange for very low pricing.
• Users who prefer a mix of cloud and local microSD storage.

On the downside:

Wyze has had a few security and reliability headlines over the years. The combination of low cost and high volume sometimes shows in the polish.

I do not say avoid Wyze outright. Just treat it as a good budget option, not a premium security platform.

Security-brand doorbells: ADT, SimpliSafe, others

If you already have a monitored alarm system, you might have been offered a video doorbell add-on from companies like ADT, Vivint, or SimpliSafe.

These often tie doorbell recordings into a larger security subscription.

Typical structure

Here is how these offerings usually work:

• Doorbell sold or rented as part of a kit.
• Monthly fee covers:
  • Cloud video for doorbell and cameras.
  • Professional monitoring for alarms and sensors.
  • App access and remote arming.
• Pricing usually:
  • $20 to $30 per month for basic monitoring + video.
  • Higher if you include extra services or advanced monitoring.

Without the subscription, many of these systems either do not work at all or drop to such limited function that they are not worth keeping.

When these plans make sense

I only recommend going this route if:

• You already want a professionally monitored alarm.
• You value having one vendor and one bill for security.
• You are okay paying a higher monthly fee long-term.

If you only want a smart doorbell and nothing else, these bundled security plans are overkill.

For a single doorbell, a 25 dollar monthly security subscription is less a smart home upgrade and more a long-term contract.

Feature-by-feature comparison: what are you really paying for?

Let us walk through the main features that affect what plan you actually need. This is where your choice starts to get clearer.

1. Video history length

Brands sell you storage in chunks: 14 days, 30 days, 60 days, 180 days.

Ask yourself: when do you actually rewatch footage?

• If you mainly check footage within a day or two of an event, 14 to 30 days is more than enough.
• If you are often away for extended periods, 60 to 180 days might make sense.

Long history is useful to track patterns (porch thieves, suspicious vehicles), but there is a point where more storage is not really adding real value.

For most households, 30 days of event-based history is a practical sweet spot between cost and usefulness.

2. Event-based vs continuous recording

Some doorbells support:

• Event-based recording: Clips recorded when motion or a person is detected.
• Continuous recording: Constant video stream saved, often only with high-tier plans or wired power.

Event-based is usually enough for front doors. Continuous recording makes sense when your door is part of a higher-risk area or you want to capture context before motion triggers.

Keep in mind:

• Continuous recording uses more bandwidth.
• It also eats storage quickly, leading to higher plan costs or more local hardware.

3. AI detection and alerts

This is where the subscription can genuinely improve your day-to-day experience.

Common AI features:

• Person detection (sends alerts only when it sees a human).
• Package detection (alerts when a parcel is dropped off or removed).
• Vehicle detection (useful if your door faces a driveway or street).
• Familiar faces (Nest) for known people.
• Sound alerts (Nest) for alarms and glass breaking.

AI that actually works well in practice saves you from “motion detected” every time a car drives past. That alone can justify a low-cost monthly plan.

A cheap camera with noisy alerts is more frustrating than helpful. Paying for smarter alerts is not about fancy tech; it is about peace and quiet.

4. Local vs cloud storage

Here is the tradeoff in simple terms:

Storage type	Pros	Cons
Cloud storage	Access from anywhere. No hardware to manage beyond the doorbell. Backups handled by the provider.	Ongoing monthly cost. Privacy concerns. Recording depends on internet uptime.
Local storage	No or very low monthly cost. More control over your footage. Can still record during an internet outage.	More setup and maintenance. If someone steals the doorbell, they might take the footage too. Remote viewing depends on your upload connection.

If you like the idea of local storage, Eufy and Wyze are strong options. If you want “install and forget” simplicity, Ring, Nest, and Arlo cloud plans are more aligned.

5. Number of devices and multi-camera discounts

Look at both today and 1 to 2 years from now. Many people start with a doorbell and then add a backyard camera, then maybe one in the driveway.

Some brands structure pricing to favor that growth:

• Ring Protect Plus: one flat price for all cameras and doorbells in a home.
• Nest Aware: one flat price for all Nest cameras in a home.
• Wyze: low-cost “home” tiers covering many devices.
• Arlo Secure: specific tiers for 1, up to 4, and unlimited.

If you think you will end up with 3 or more video devices, whole-home plans become much more attractive.

What you get with no subscription at all (brand by brand)

Let us be blunt about “no sub” life, because this is where a lot of confusion lives.

Ring without a plan

Without Ring Protect:

• Live view is available.
• Motion alerts and ring notifications still work.
• No video recording or history.
• No ability to download or replay events.

If you miss a notification, you have no way to see what happened.

Nest without Nest Aware

It varies by model, but generally:

• Live view works.
• Very limited or no event history (a couple of hours at most on some devices).
• Most AI features are limited or gone.
• No long-term access to clips.

In practice, Nest without Nest Aware feels heavily restricted if you bought it for its smart features.

Arlo without Arlo Secure

Arlo without a plan:

• Live view is available.
• Local recording possible with a base station and storage attached.
• Cloud history is very limited or disabled.
• AI detections mostly removed.

You can still get a workable system with local storage, but it takes more setup.

Eufy without cloud plan

This is where no-sub looks good:

• Local recording by default on HomeBase or internal storage.
• On-device AI like person detection still usually works.
• App access to recorded clips through your local network.
• Cloud plan is optional, not required.

You trade some convenience for cost savings, but you get a nearly complete feature set.

Wyze without Cam Plus

Wyze with no paid plan but microSD installed:

• Local continuous or event recording to SD card.
• Limited free cloud clips (very short and with cooldowns) or none, depending on current policies.
• No advanced AI detection unless you use Cam Plus or Lite.

Still usable, though the best experience comes with at least a low-tier plan.

Hidden costs and gotchas you should look for

There are a few things I wish brands had to write in big letters on the box.

1. Subscription increases over time

Most plans start at a nice round number: 3.99, 4.99, 9.99. Over a few years, these prices often creep up.

When you evaluate a subscription, multiply the monthly cost by at least 36 months. That is closer to what you are actually signing up for.

A 4 dollar monthly fee looks small, but over three years that is 144 dollars. For two devices, 288 dollars. That often exceeds the cost of the doorbells themselves.

2. Locked-in ecosystems

If you buy a Ring doorbell and then a Ring camera, then a Ring floodlight, those pieces work nicely together. But they also make you much less likely to switch to another brand where you might get cheaper or better subscription terms.

Ecosystems are not bad. Just recognize that every purchase makes the subscription more central.

3. Limited features on cheaper hardware tiers

Some brands restrict their best AI features to newer or more costly models. For example:

• Package detection might require a newer “Pro” doorbell.
• Familiar face recognition might be limited to specific Nest cameras.
• 4K recording may require a higher-tier plan in Arlo.

So you are not just comparing subscription tiers. You are comparing which hardware plus subscription pair gives you what you actually want.

How to choose: decision paths for different types of users

To keep this practical, let us run through a few common scenarios.

1. You want a doorbell with no monthly fee

Your priorities:

• No recurring cost.
• Basic or decent AI alerts.
• Local storage that you control.

Good options:

• Eufy doorbells with HomeBase or built-in storage.
• Wyze doorbells with microSD and no Cam Plus, if you accept fewer features.

Not ideal:

• Ring, Nest, or security-company doorbells. They lose too much value without a subscription.

2. You are building a full smart security setup

Your priorities:

• Multiple cameras and maybe an alarm system.
• Unified app and notifications.
• Reasonable monthly total across all devices.

Good options:

• Ring Protect Plus if you like Amazon Alexa and Ring hardware.
• Nest Aware if you live in the Google Home ecosystem.
• Arlo Secure multi-camera if you prefer Arlo hardware and some local storage.
• SimpliSafe / ADT if you want professional monitoring together with video (and are okay with long-term fees).

3. You want strong AI and do not mind paying for it

Your priorities:

• Accurate detection (people vs packages vs cars).
• Smart alerts that cut down on noise.
• Face recognition or sound alerts for extra awareness.

Good options:

• Google Nest Aware for the best face and sound features.
• Arlo Secure for detailed object categories.
• Ring Protect for solid, though not unique, AI in a polished app.

4. You are privacy-conscious and wary of big tech clouds

Your priorities:

• Minimal cloud storage.
• Prefer on-device or local processing.
• Control over who holds your footage.

Better fits:

• Eufy for local-first design and on-device AI.
• Wyze with SD card, but you will need to weigh security track record carefully.

Less ideal:

• Ring, Nest, Arlo without local storage enabled.

If you are worried about cloud privacy, start from hardware that is designed for local storage first, not as an afterthought.

Practical tips for saving money on subscriptions

You can reduce subscription costs without sacrificing too much function if you are deliberate.

1. Choose whole-home plans where possible

If you like a brand and plan to buy more devices, skip per-device plans once you hit two or three devices.

• Ring Protect Plus pays off quickly once you have 3+ devices.
• Nest Aware works well if you plan for multiple Nest cameras.
• Wyze “home” plans can be a bargain for many cameras.

2. Start with no subscription for a month

This is slightly against what the companies want, but it is honest testing.

• Install the doorbell.
• Run it for a few weeks with no plan, or with free trials disabled if possible.
• Note what actually bothers you: lack of history, noisy alerts, missing AI.

Then upgrade only to the level that fixes those specific problems. You might find that local storage plus basic alerts is enough.

3. Adjust video quality and history settings

Some services let you:

• Lower video resolution for smaller file sizes.
• Shorten history from 60 to 30 days inside the same plan.
• Disable unnecessary recording zones to reduce storage use.

If a brand offers multiple paid tiers, controlling storage can keep you inside the cheaper one.

4. Watch for bundle deals

You do not need hype here, but you should be realistic. Many brands quietly bundle subscriptions in:

• Yearly plans at a slight discount.
• Hardware kits that include some months of service.

That does not mean you must stay after the free period ends, but at least you can evaluate full features before paying.

Which brand is “best” from a subscription point of view?

There is no single winner, but we can map the tradeoffs clearly.

Brand	Best for	Subscription downside
Ring	People who want many Amazon-friendly devices with a simple whole-home plan.	Almost no recording without a plan; cloud-only design.
Nest	Google Home users who value strong AI and smart alerts.	Higher entry price, deeply tied to subscription for full function.
Arlo	Users who want strong AI and some local storage options.	Can feel pricey per camera if you only own one or two.
Eufy	People who want no or minimal subscriptions with local storage.	Remote access and reliability depend more on your home network.
Wyze	Budget buyers who still want basic AI and cloud storage.	Lower polish and concerns about long-term reliability and security.

If I had to give you a blunt recommendation path:

If you want no monthly fee: start with Eufy. If you want many devices on one plan: consider Ring or Nest. If you want strong AI on a flexible system: look at Arlo. If you want very low cost and do not mind rough edges: Wyze is fine.

And remember: the smartest move is to choose the subscription that actually matches how you live, not the one with the longest list of features on the box.