Everyone tells you Ring is the gold standard for video doorbells. Every “best of” list puts it at the top. Your neighbor has one. Your parents have one. It’s basically the Kleenex of doorbell cameras.
But here’s what nobody mentions upfront: Ring charges you $5/month just to save your video clips. Without a subscription, your $150 doorbell is basically a fancy peephole that sends phone notifications. You can’t review footage. You can’t download clips. You paid for a camera that won’t let you keep what it records.
That’s absurd. And I didn’t realize how absurd until We tried alternatives that store everything locally, for free, forever.
The short version
Best overall: Eufy E340 — dual cameras, no subscription, local storage. Done.
Best on a budget: TP-Link Tapo D225 — $100, 2K video, 180° view, free local storage on microSD.
Best if you’re already in the Ring ecosystem: Ring Battery Doorbell Plus — it’s fine. But budget $50/year for the subscription or its pointless.
Why I even started looking
I had a Ring Video Doorbell 3 for about two years. It worked okay. Then last October my Ring Protect plan renewed at $50 and I thought… wait. I’ve now spent more on the subscription than We spent on the actual doorbell. That math doesn’t sit right with us.
So I started looking at what else was out there. And honestly I was surprised how much the market has changed since 2023.
Eufy E340 — the one I kept on my front door
This thing has two cameras. Two. One faces forward like normal, and there’s a second one angled downward so you can see packages on your doorstep. Every other doorbell I’ve used has a blind spot right below it — you can see someone’s face but not the Amazon box they dropped off. The E340 just… solves that.
No monthly fees. None. It stores everything on 8GB of built-in memory or you can add a Eufy HomeBase for expandable storage up to 16TB. Face recognition, package detection, person vs animal vs car alerts — all included. PCMag gave it an Editors’ Choice and specifically called out the no-subscription model.
Battery life is solid. I charged it once since installing it in mid-October and it still had 40% left by December. If you hardwire it you never think about it again.
The bad stuff: The app is… fine. Not great. It’s gotten better over the past year but it’s still not as polished as Ring’s app. And the doorbell itself is kinda chunky looking. My wife said it looks like “a robot eye” which, fair enough. Also no HomeKit support which is annoying if you’re an Apple household.
Night vision is excellent though. Color night vision, not that green-tinted garbage from 2020.
Price: Around $180 on Amazon depending on which bundle you get. Check current price
TP-Link Tapo D225 — the budget king
Wirecutter picked this as their top battery-powered doorbell and I get why. For about $100 you get 2K resolution, a 180-degree field of view (widest I’ve tested), and it comes with a wireless chime. Most competitors charge extra for the chime. That’s a pet peeve of mine.
It stores video on a microSD card — no subscription needed for basic recording. If you want cloud backup, Tapo’s plans start at $3.50/month which is still cheaper than Ring.
The Verge specifically praised the “Always On Mode” when hardwired, which gives you continuous 24/7 recording. That’s a feature you usually only find on $200+ doorbells.
I installed this at my back door and it’s been rock solid since November. The AI detection is decent — it correctly identifies people, packages, cars, and my neighbor’s cat that keeps coming onto my porch. The cat thing amused me for about a week before I turned off animal alerts.
The bad stuff: It’s ugly. Like genuinely not attractive. Kind of a chunky white rectangle that doesn’t blend in with most door frames. PCWorld’s review literally titled their piece “High value, low fashion” which sums it up perfectly. Also the 4-second pre-roll buffer is nice but sometimes misses the first moment someone walks up.
Price: About $100. See it on Amazon
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus — the one everybody buys
Look, it’s a good doorbell. I’m not gonna pretend it isn’t. The app is the best in the business, the head-to-toe view is sharp, setup takes about 10 minutes, and it integrates with Alexa perfectly.
But.
You need Ring Protect Basic ($4/month) to save any video. You need Ring Protect Plus ($10/month) for the really useful stuff like 24/7 recording and extended snapshots. Without a plan you’re getting real-time alerts and live view only. That’s it.
I pulled this from a 4-star Amazon review that pretty much nails it: the hardware is great but Ring treats the subscription like a hostage negotiation. Pay up or your expensive doorbell barely functions.
Battery life claims are wildly inconsistent too. Ring says 6-9 months but people on Home Depot reviews are reporting 2-3 weeks in cold weather. Mine lasted about 6 weeks before the first charge, and I’m in North Carolina where winters are mild. If you’re in Minnesota or something, you’ll probably want to hardwire it.
The good stuff: Best app, fastest notifications (I timed it — Ring alerts hit my phone about 2 seconds faster than Eufy), and it looks the nicest. The satin nickel finish actually matches most door hardware. My wife preferred how this one looked. She’s wrong about it being the best one, but she’s right about the aesthetics.
Price: Around $150, plus the subscription. Check availability
Quick comparison
I’m not going to do a massive spec table because honestly half those specs dont matter in real life. Here’s what actually matters:
Monthly cost after purchase:
- Eufy E340: $0
- Tapo D225: $0 (or $3.50/mo for cloud)
- Ring Plus: $4-10/month required
Video quality in practice:
- All three are sharp enough. The Tapo is technically 2K, the Ring is 1536p, the Eufy is 2K. You’re not going to notice the difference unless you’re pixel peeping.
Package detection:
- Eufy E340 wins this by a mile with the downward camera
- Tapo is okay but misses small packages sometimes
- Ring is decent with their Package Alerts feature (subscription required, naturally)
Installation difficulty:
- They’re all easy. If you can use a screwdriver you’re fine. Ring has the best instructions, Tapo was the most confusing (I had to watch a YouTube video for the wiring part), Eufy was somewhere in the middle.
So which one should you get
If you’re sick of subscriptions: Eufy E340. It’s not even close. Dual cameras, local storage, smart detection, zero monthly fees. The app could be better and it’s not the prettiest thing, but functionally it’s the best doorbell I’ve tested.
If you’re on a budget: Tapo D225. A hundred bucks for a 2K doorbell with free local storage and a chime included? That’s a steal. Just accept that it looks like a plastic rectangle bolted to your house.
If you value polish over principle: Ring Battery Doorbell Plus. The best app, the fastest alerts, the nicest looking hardware. Just know you’re signing up for a subscription forever. Or until you get fed up and switch to Eufy like I did.
I switched my front door from Ring to the Eufy E340 in October and I haven’t looked back. My only regret is not doing it sooner and saving myself two years of Ring Protect payments. That’s like $100 I’ll never get back.
Actually wait — it’s exactly $100 I’ll never get back. I just did the math. Ugh.
