The Best Video Doorbells For Keeping An Eye On Your Front Door

The Pro 2 is Ring's upgraded wired doorbell, and it's the one we'd fit on our own front door. Ring says it copes with harsher weather than the earlier model and records better video, rating it to work from minus 20 to 48 degrees Celsius with 1536p HD+ footage and a 150 degree field of view. It also runs on 5 GHz Wi-Fi as well as 2.4 GHz, which gives you a second band to try when the router is a few walls away. Ring now sells it as the Wired Video Doorbell Pro.

Live view and two-way talk work from the Ring app wherever you are, and infrared night vision keeps the doorstep visible after dark. Motion detection can be adjusted so you're not alerted every time a car goes past. If you use Alexa, it can announce visitors and let you talk to them through an Echo.

Ring's kit includes a chime, interchangeable faceplates and fixings. It needs doorbell wiring or a plug-in adapter, and saving recordings needs a Ring subscription.

Eufy's big selling point is that you pay once. Footage is stored locally rather than in the cloud, so there's no subscription needed to keep recordings, and every feature is included from day one. Over a few years, that saving adds up.

It's a premium doorbell with a Sony 2K sensor that records at 2560 x 1920, which gives a sharp view of faces and parcels. You can wire it in or run it on battery, and Eufy quotes up to 180 days between charges. It's IP65 rated, comes with a chime and works with Alexa and Google, with detection zones you can draw in the app.

One thing we noticed while testing is that the camera unclipped from its mounting bracket far more easily than the Ring doorbells do. On a door facing a busy street, that's worth thinking about.

The Ring Video Doorbell 4 is the battery-powered option for doors with no doorbell wiring. It brings many of the Pro 2's features in an easier install, and Ring says you can take off your old doorbell and fit this one in a matter of minutes.

The battery slides out for recharging, so you don't need to take the whole doorbell off the wall. You can also wire it in later if you decide to run a cable. It records in 1080p HD, with live view, two-way talk and motion alerts, and it works with Alexa. Ring includes interchangeable faceplates and the same theft protection guarantee as the Pro 2.

It costs more than other battery doorbells, and as with all Ring models, saving recordings needs a subscription.

The Arlo Essential is a strong alternative to Ring at a similar price. It records 1080p HD video, has two-way audio and motion detection with alerts, and its square view covers 180 degrees, so you see more of the doorstep and any parcels left at your feet.

The feature we liked most is that it calls your phone like a video call when someone presses the button, which is quicker than opening an app from a notification. There's a built-in siren that triggers automatically, and it connects straight to Wi-Fi with no hub. You can wire it in or run it on battery, all the fixings are in the box, and it works with Alexa and Google Home.

On battery, it didn't last as long between charges as we'd hoped in our testing, so wire it in if you can. Any battery doorbell drains faster on a busy street-facing door, where every passer-by sets off a recording, and cold winter weather shortens it further.

The CHWARES doorbell keeps costs down without asking for a subscription. It records in 1080P HD, and the brand includes free lifetime cloud storage on a rolling seven-day cycle, so the oldest clips are overwritten but you always have the last week saved.

Its PIR motion detection reacts to body heat, which cuts down on false alerts from moving trees and passing cars. The 166 degree wide-angle lens covers the doorstep well, it's wireless and easy to fit, and it comes with a wireless chime for inside the house.

On paper the trade-offs are a plainer look on the door than the Ring or Arlo and a smartphone app that's less polished than Ring's, so weigh those against the price.

KAMEP isn't as well known as the premium brands, but it makes a range of video doorbells and this one is a solid budget choice. It records 1080P HD video, which gives a clear view of visitors, and it's IP65 rated for UK weather.

You can wire it in or run it wirelessly, which makes it easy to fit on doors with or without existing doorbell wiring. Every feature is included without a subscription, and a wireless chime comes in the box for inside the house.

It isn't pitched at the build quality or polish of the Ring, Eufy or Arlo doorbells, but it covers the basics for far less money.