Smart Doorbells

Discover the best smart doorbells for your smart home.

Smart doorbells are the ultimate crossroads where security meets convenience. They provide users peace of mind by allowing them to monitor their front door from anywhere, whether at home or away. Pair it with a good smart lock, and you secure your home.

In this Best Buy Guide, we help you navigate the spectrum of smart doorbells and streamline your decision-making process. This article lets you choose the best doorbell for your Homey, from sleek designs to advanced security features.

What to look for in a smart doorbell

A smart doorbell sounds like it’s only a device with a simple camera and microphone combo. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The true value of smart doorbells lies in their advanced features. This includes motion detection, two-way audio, people, pets, facial recognition, and night vision capabilities. With that in mind, here are the top factors to consider when choosing a smart doorbell.

Video quality and field of view

Opt for a smart doorbell with high-definition video resolution (1080p or higher) and a wide field of view to ensure clear and detailed footage of your doorstep area.

Additional features

Consider the importance of additional features highlighted in our article, such as advanced motion detection with customizable zones, two-way audio, and night vision capabilities.

Installation and power source

Evaluate the smart doorbell’s installation requirements highlighted in our Best Buy Guide, including compatibility with your existing doorbell wiring or the availability of battery-powered options. Opt for a doorbell that suits your installation preferences and provides reliable power source options.

Durability and weather resistance

Choose a doorbell rated for outdoor use that is capable of withstanding various weather conditions to ensure long-term reliability.

Storage and data privacy

Consider the availability of local and cloud storage options for securely storing and accessing video recordings. If you opt for the cloud, ensure that your brand pick prioritizes data privacy and offers robust security measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.

Brand	Model	Protocol	Motion Events	Button Events	Snapshots	Price
Blink	Video Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€69.99
DoorBird	D1101V Door Station	Wi-Fi				€529.00
Eufy	E340 Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€179.99
Foscam	VD1 Video Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€145.00
Google Nest	Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€199.99
Netatmo	Video Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€299.99
Ring	Battery Doorbell Plus	Wi-Fi				€149.99
Trust	ACBD-8000A	433 MHz				€27.99
Ubiquiti	G4 Pro Doorbell	Wi-Fi				€331.20

The Blink Video Doorbell is a popular smart doorbell option known for its simplicity and affordability. It doesn’t require wiring and runs on two AA batteries, but you can also attach it to your existing chime.

It has a full HD 1080p camera that provides video footage of up to 30fps, a fairly standard setup for smart doorbells. However, at a horizontal angle of 135 degrees, it has one of our list’s narrowest fields of view.

This doorbell has a responsive motion sensor mounted on its front. Upon detecting motion, it activates to record and send notifications. Its infrared LED light ensures clear footage and motion capture even at night. With its integrated speaker and microphone, you can engage in live conversations and remotely welcome visitors to your doorstep.

The Blink Video Doorbell is the most affordable device on our list. However, note that they hide some features behind their cloud subscription model. There is also no local storage option without pairing the doorbell to Blink’s Sync Module.

If you are looking for a super high-quality video doorbell that resembles classical intercoms in apartment buildings, consider the DoorBird D1101V model. The DoorBird Video Door Station is an industrial-grade smart doorbell manufactured in Germany. It can be flat or surface-mounted on your entrance wall.  

You can retrofit this model to your existing doorbell wiring and connect it to your Homey using Wi-Fi. Alternatively, the device can be powered and linked by PoE (Power-over-Ethernet), enabling a more stable and robust connection.

The DoorBird features a 180° ultra-wide hemispheric lens, capable of recording video in full HD. With motion detection, two-way audio, and a night mode feature enabled by two 850nm infrared LEDs, the DoorBird becomes a highly effective video doorbell, capturing even the smallest details at your front door.

DoorBird allows local integration with third-party systems to store recordings, capture motion events, or manage the device. When linked with Homey, this smart doorbell becomes incredibly versatile, allowing you to set up various automated flows in your smart home.

All these features come at a premium, though, as the DoorBird D1101V is our list’s most expensive smart doorbell.

The Eufy E340 is the latest and greatest addition to the company’s smart doorbell portfolio. It can be hardwired or used with its rechargeable battery pack, making it a versatile choice in installation methods.

The E340 can capture video in 2K HDR resolution, expressing details in the recorded footage in very bright and dark scenes. It has two cameras instead of one, which doubles as motion sensors, monitoring every corner of your front door with zero blind spots. This camera combo can distinguish between humans, pets, and packages thanks to its trademarked smart AI detection features.

The Eufy E340 has an IP65 rating, offering the highest level of dust protection and the ability to withstand low-pressure water jets from all directions.

There are no hidden subscription fees for the Eufy E340, and all features are available out of the box. You can use the Eufy E340 with your existing chime or connect it to one of Eufy’s Homebase stations.

One downside of the Eufy E340 is that it can be easily removed with a hairpin, making it an easy target for thieves.

The Foscam VD1 Video Doorbell is a dual-band Wi-Fi doorbell with a 2K HD color camera. It features an impressive ultra-wide detection angle of 170° along with clear night vision of up to 5 meters.

The VD1 is a retrofit model that replaces your old doorbell and utilizes existing wiring. You can also attach any chime to the Foscam VD1, including simple mechanical or digital chimes with different sounds.

This doorbell has a two-way audio system that lets you communicate with anyone at your front door. In addition to standard motion detection capabilities, it has a unique sound detection feature that triggers alerts even when no one is in its field of view.

This doorbell can record up to 20 faces and recognize them when they approach, an AI feature requiring a subscription. The camera footage can be saved locally on expandable storage (SD card) of up to 256GB, circumventing the cloud necessity for the doorbell’s main functionality. 

Paired to your Homey through the Foscam app, you can create elaborate flows to automate the VD1 beyond its basic motion detection trigger.

The Google Nest Doorbell is an elegant, modern-looking smart doorbell primarily designed for the Nest smart home ecosystem. Paired with your Homey, it can alert you when someone is at the door, or a sound is detected.

The doorbell’s two-way audio functionality enables real-time communication with visitors, whether home or away. The noise-canceling microphone ensures crisp audio quality, eliminating any background noise.

The battery version of the Google Nest doorbell has a 145° wide-angle camera lens, recording HDR video in portrait format. Additionally, it boasts night vision capabilities for clear visibility even in low-light conditions, ensuring 24/7 surveillance. 

The camera can detect people, pets, and packages. However, facial recognition features are only available with a Nest Aware subscription, which significantly raises the cost of the Google Nest Doorbell.

If you want to attach a door chime, a better camera (2K), and a wider field of view (160°), you must opt for the wired version of the Google Nest Doorbell.

If you want to install a completely weather-resistant doorbell, look at the Netatmo Video Doorbell. It’s made of anodized aluminum, high-strength plastic, and glass with UV protection. With IP44 certification and an innovative HZO film coating, this doorbell is fully weatherproof against rain, snow, moisture, dust, and dirt. 

The Netatmo Video Doorbell is a retrofit model that utilizes your existing chime and wiring for power and connects over Wi-Fi to your network. Once added to Homey, you can use its motion sensor and doorbell button to create triggers and automate various things around your home. 

It’s equipped with a 1080p HD camera with night vision, enabled by a powerful infrared LED that records footage in HDR quality. The software lets you digitally zoom in on the feed up to five times. 

The Netatmo is a subscription-free model that allows you to expand its local storage with an SD card. Alternatively, you can connect it to an FTP server or Dropbox account and have complete control over your data. 

At a 140-degree camera angle, it has a narrower and more limiting field of view than others on our list.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is a highly favored and user-friendly option for a smart video doorbell. Unlike most video doorbells, this model has a unique rechargeable battery back, making it very easy to install. Suppose you prefer not to recharge the device every couple of months. In that case, you can always wire it to your existing transformer for continuous power supply.

With two-way audio, color night vision, and high-definition video footage in 1536p, it’s a top pick among smart home users. The camera includes a function called “Head-to-Toe,” allowing it to capture a person entirely within the frame, even when the person is standing very close.

Paired with your Homey, you can use the motion detection feature to create flows and control the doorbell’s behavior. You can even capture and save snapshots automatically and review them at your convenience.

Unfortunately, the Ring Battery Doorbell requires a Ring Protect subscription to utilize some of its best features. Person detection, package detection, and viewing recordings instead of snapshots are only available with a subscription.

If you are looking for a simpler alternative and don’t need a video doorbell, consider the Trust Smart Home (KlikAanKlikUit) series of smart doorbells. Their models are basically smart buttons you can pair to one of their wireless or plug-in chimes. 

The Trust ACBD-8000A uses 433 MHz to communicate directly with your Homey, which makes it an excellent choice for covering long distances. Installing this doorbell is especially beneficial for larger homes or if you wish to place it farther away, such as on your front gate.

Since the communication protocol uses little power, the Trust doorbell runs on a single CR2032 button cell battery. A built-in indicator LED will notify you once the battery is almost empty.

Homey records the button press event, which you can use to create different flows and automation. This is the most affordable option on our list, available in wireless or wired combos.

Ubiquity is a well-known and highly regarded brand in the home and enterprise networking and video surveillance markets. The G4 and G4 Pro models are their take on smart video doorbells, offering some unique features not seen in other brands.

Besides a quality two-way audio system, infrared-powered night mode, and a 5MP camera recording HDR footage, the Ubiquity G4 Pro features a secondary camera for package detection. Both cameras are also capable of smart AI detection of people, pets, vehicles, and smoke and CO2 alarms.

The Ubiquiti G4 Pro also has a very appealing welcome display underneath the doorbell button, which you can program with your custom text. You could use it to leave dynamic messages for family members or delivery people.

The G4 Pro can be retrofitted to replace your old doorbell and use your existing wires and chime, or it can be paired over the air with their Protect Wi-Fi Chime, a simple plug-and-play device.

One downside users mention about the Ubiquiti G4 Pro is its low-volume outside speaker. Although users praise the audio quality, they find the speaker volume insufficient in noisy environments.

Final thoughts

From the budget-friendly Blink Video Doorbell to the premium DoorBird D1101V, each option offers a range of features, such as motion detection, two-way audio, and night vision. While some models, like the Eufy S330, impress with high-quality footage and advanced AI detection, others, such as the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, prioritize user-friendly installation with rechargeable battery options.

Whatever you choose, integrating these doorbells with Homey unlocks a world of possibilities for automation and customized setups. Hopefully, our Best Buy Guide will make discovering the perfect smart doorbell for your home easier and clearer.