The best video doorbells let you answer the door when you’re not home – or even if you are, but you don’t want to see anyone. These smart devices mean you can ask for deliveries to be slid behind flower pots or given to neighbours.
After decades as a technology critic, I’ve seen plenty of advancements in video doorbells. Today’s models are Wi-Fi-connected, easy to set up, and work with a dedicated smartphone app.
Some are battery-powered and last for months at a time, though they can’t be used while recharging; a wired option overcomes this, but makes for a more fiddly installation. All can be plugged into existing doorbell wiring.
Models feature dedicated chimes, or an option to add one, which usually connect to the mains. This means you can hear the video doorbell ringing in the house rather than just be notified on your phone.
Best video doorbells in 2026 at a glance
Best overall – Arlo 2K wireless video doorbell with chime: £169.99, Arlo.com
Best budget buy – Blink video doorbell: £59.99, Amazon.co.uk
Best for picture quality – Ring Battery video doorbell pro: £219.99, Amazon.co.uk
Best for Apple households – Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410, £129.99, eu.aqara.com
Best for design – Google Nest Doorbell Battery: £177, Amazon.co.uk
Camera resolution is important – it goes all the way up to 4K in the case of the Ring Doorbell Pro (£219.99, Amazon.co.uk). Other doorbells, such as the Google Nest (£177, Amazon.co.uk), use HDR to emphasise detail and improve the picture.
Positioning on the wall is a fine balance: too high and there’s no chance of seeing the ground, too low and you’ll miss people’s faces. Try out multiple heights before you commit to drilling into the wall.
Every device I’ve reviewed has two-way audio so you can talk to your visitor; it notifies your phone when the bell is rung but can also connect you to the camera to see who’s there (and in some cases as a video phone call). All offer night vision – usually in black-and-white, though Ring, Tapo and Eufy can do this in colour. They can send you notifications if someone’s loitering by your door, even if they haven’t pressed the bell.
Additional features include extended periods of video history, facial recognition, and being able to control where the camera focuses on – this means your phone won’t be spammed when the only movement is passers-by. Most extras come with a monthly subscription fee.
How I tested
Setup was a major consideration when testing – was it simple or annoying, and did it require anything beyond a screwdriver, drill and smartphone app? I also checked how comprehensive and accessible the supplied instructions were, while considering the video quality in daylight and at night.
I assessed the microphone and speaker quality when talking to the person at the door, and tested how quickly my phone reacted when someone came knocking. I also considered the notifications I received when someone was near the bell without ringing it.
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Arlo 2K Wireless Video Doorbell with Chime
★★★★★
Best: Overall video doorbell
What we love: Excellent performance and intuitive interface
Take note: Subscription pricing can add up
Arlo’s 2K device is both easy to install and straightforward to use – among many more reasons why the doorbell is the best on test. Picture quality is excellent, with a field of view that lets you see people clearly. You can buy the camera with or without a wireless door chime, which is mains-powered with a built-in plug.
With a glossy black front and matte white sides, it’s sleek, attractive and discreet – but obvious enough for visitors to find. The battery can last up to six months between charges.
Pressing the button launches a video call to the user’s phone, wherever you are. There’s a built-in siren you can activate from the app (though do so judiciously; it’s quite loud).
Extra features in the monthly subscription include cloud video storage, package detection, fire detection and camera replacement if stolen. The basic subscription covers one camera for £7.99 a month, but Secure Plus covers unlimited cameras from £19.99 a month and includes customisable alerts.
Buy now £169.99, Arlo.com
Blink Video Doorbell
★★★☆☆
Best: Budget video doorbell
What we love: Great price and good weatherproofing
Take note: Poor audio and can be slow to respond
Amazon-owned Blink caters for lower budgets, but works just as smoothly as Ring with Amazon Alexa-powered smart households. Blink claims the device's three AA batteries will last up to two years, depending on usage. This doorbell boasts HD resolution, but a 2K resolution model is available for £10 more.
Chunky and understated, the build quality is noticeably less glam than the Ring doorbell above. Unless buying as a second doorbell, choose the model with the Sync Module Core, which enables most of the Blink’s features, including some live view functions.
The Sync Module Core is mains-powered, and setup is easy – though note that you need to connect the module ahead of the camera. Like some doorbells in this round-up, it connects to 2.4GHz routers but not 5GHz. There are no adhesive pads, but supplied screws mount the doorbell.
There’s a few-second lull before your phone is notified that someone’s at the door, and it doesn’t connect as a video call. Audio is the camera’s weak spot, with scratchy sound making it harder to hear what your visitor says.
It has better weatherproofing than some doorbells here, despite being significantly cheaper than rivals.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon.co.uk
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro
★★★★★
Best: Video doorbell for picture quality
What we love: Outstanding video quality and feature-packed
Take note: Pricey, and needs a subscription for most features
Stylish and attractive, the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro has a taller, rounder design than its predecessors, and is powered by Amazon’s latest, fast-recharging battery.
Images are sharp thanks to 4K video quality, and you can zoom in with rich detail. Excellent in low light, it only switches to black-and-white in the darkest environments.
Setup is quick and easy, taking less than five minutes with simple instructions in the Ring app, but mounting the doorbell takes a little longer. Ring is part of Amazon and integrates with Alexa: if you have an Echo speaker with a display, the doorbell’s video will appear instantly on screen, along with a notification on your phone. You can also set it up so a ring on the doorbell means your phone rings for a video call – this happened with almost no delay.
A standout feature is the radar, which offers a bird’s-eye view animation showing where people are moving outside your house. Wi-Fi connectivity is the most comprehensive on test, offering Wi-Fi 6 as well as 2.4GHz and 5GHz – all of which means your broadband will be compatible. Like the Arlo, the field of vision is wide and tall thanks to a square image sensor.
To get the best out of Ring, you need to subscribe – even for basic video recording features. Prices start at £4.99 a month (£49.99 a year) for one device, rising to £15.99 a month/£159.99 a year for Ring Pro, which includes AI features such as video descriptions. Recently, Amazon launched Ring Guard Response in the UK, which means that a licensed security guard can be dispatched to your property, usually arriving within 30 minutes. The response can be triggered manually or automatically. This costs £29.99 a month or £299.99 a year.
Buy now £219.00, Amazon.co.uk
TP-Link Tapo D235
★★★★☆
Best: Value-for-money video doorbell
What we love: Great value and long battery life
Take note: Field of view narrower than other models
A well-priced, easy-to-use and top-spec device, the only drawback to the Tapo D235 is its inelegant design. Setup is straightforward and guided by an app, but it only connects to a 2.4GHz signal, not 5GHz, like the Yale below.
An angled backplate points the camera right or left, and up or down. Like the Aqara, there’s an anti-theft system which sounds an alarm if someone tries to remove it from the wall – it’s noisy. While the Aqara uses AA batteries which a thief could remove to quell the sound, nothing stops the Tapo.
Offering great value, you don’t need to subscribe to save footage. That’s thanks to a microSD card slot so you can save recordings locally.
Picture quality can be adjusted (which saves storage space), and at top resolution it delivered great images. Activity zones help determine what areas the camera should focus on, subscription-free. Tapo Care adds 30-day video clip history. The field of view doesn’t quite reach down to the doorstep, so parcels aren’t always visible.
Night vision has a full-colour option, made possible by turning on the LED that sits around the doorbell button, but this does eat the battery. Like other doorbells here, you can plug it into your regular bell wiring, which avoids the battery drain. There’s also a chime in the box, which has a plug built in to attach to the mains. It has adjustable volume and six different ringtones.
The battery here is very big, 10,000mAh, which means it should last for months.
Buy now £89.99, Tapo.com
Eufy video doorbell E34
★★★★☆
Best: Video doorbell for porch protection
What we love: Great second camera, and many features work without subscription
Take note: App can be uneven and connection occasionally slow
Eufy’s special extra is a second camera that points downwards – ideal for checking if a parcel has been left on your doorstep. It also boasts built-in storage so you can save footage to the device as well as in the cloud. At 8GB, storage is more limited than other models, but still decent for enough clips, meaning the need for a monthly subscription is reduced. There is a storage option available, but you can easily use this doorbell without it.
Like the TP-Link Tapo D235, the Eufy doorbell’s night vision uses light to enable colour. Setup was among the smoothest experiences of all doorbells tested, though the app isn’t always straightforward. The second camera view quickly becomes essential, though the package detection isn’t always infallible. Eufy says it’s best for packages measuring at least 10 inches on each side or bigger and warns that envelopes or groceries may escape its notice.
Other features mean you can set the device to pre-record a few seconds before movement is detected, and there’s also a facial recognition feature to notify you if familiar faces appear. Motion control can be set to monitor just human movement, as the camera sees it, or all movement. When someone rings the doorbell, you receive a notification, rather than the doorbell launching a video call as happens with the Arlo, for instance. Sometimes it took a little longer to connect, in tests.
Buy now £129.99, Eufy.com
Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410
★★★☆☆
Best: Video doorbells for Apple households
What we love: Good picture quality and Wave Radar feature
Take note: Lacks full weatherproofing, interface is not always intuitive
Aqara’s setup isn’t the easiest: it works by scanning a QR code on the chime, not the camera unit. The software interface is not as simple as others here. That said, it is compatible with Apple HomeKit, which means it integrates with the iPhone’s Home app, for instance.
The kit also includes something unusual: a mini screwdriver. You need this to loosen, but not remove, the screw on the side of the doorbell to slide the back off for installing the six AA batteries. Be sure to put the back panel on again: an anti-tamper alarm will go off if the case isn’t in place. The back panel and the angled back panel also have adhesive pads if you don’t want to or can’t drill holes for the screws. The chime is mains-powered, but though a USB-A to USB-C cable is in the box, you’ll need to supply your own charging plug.
Picture quality boasts 2K resolution, though Apple’s HomeKit smart home system drops to 1080p. The Aqara has a blocky, no-nonsense design. Features include mmWave radar, which can differentiate between an approaching person and passing cars, making the notifications it sends more accurate for ranges between 1 and 5 metres. There’s also a slot for a microSD memory card on the chime, for local storage of up to 512GB. There’s not as much weatherproofing as on most rivals here, so placing it on a porch or under cover to protect it is best.
Buy now, Aqara
Google Nest Doorbell Battery
★★★★☆
Best: Video doorbell for design
What we love: Great design and strong video quality
Take note: No 24/7 recording, Google Home app not as good as some
Google’s earlier doorbell, the Nest Hello, was terrific but this successor is easier to install thanks to its battery capability. Like the earlier model, this one also looks terrific: slim and elegant in a simple all-white casing. There’s good video quality here, including HDR to make things look especially clear. It also leaps into action quickly, with the live stream feed appearing on your phone faster than some here. Offering a vertical rather than horizontal field of view, it shows visitors from head to toe.
There are lots of features, including differentiating between cars, parcels and animals, and the system can spot if someone is carrying a delivery. It accurately recognised when a parcel was picked up or dropped off.
Free video recording is included, but only for the last three hours, so the Google Home Premium or Premium Advanced subscription is needed if you want meaningful video history, up to 60 days. This also enables familiar face detection, close-ups and more.
Note that unlike the Nest Hello, it does not record video 24 hours a day (even if you wire it in). Also, while the earlier model worked with the Nest app, this requires the Google Home app instead, available for iPhone and Android. It’s okay, but the previous Nest one was better.
Buy now £177.00, Amazon.co.uk
Yale Smart Video Doorbell
★★★☆☆
Best: Basic video doorbell needs
What we love: Good design and long battery life
Take note: Video quality not as good as other models
This doorbell integrates with Yale’s full security range, including the Conexis L2 Smart Lock, meaning you can use the Yale app not only to talk to the person at the door but also to unlock it for a delivery, say. Setup is straightforward, with helpful videos in the Yale app, though note that it only connects to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, not 5GHz – if your Wi-Fi network has separate options for each, you’ll need to connect to the right one.
The battery lasts between four and six months, it’s claimed, and since it’s bigger than that found in many doorbells, that sounds likely. Alternatively, you can connect it to regular doorbell wiring.
As well as the screws and flat and angled back plates which come as standard with doorbells like the ones tested, there’s a thick panel with adhesive on both sides – handy when drilling isn’t an option.
Video quality is not as good as some here, maxing out at 1080p, though 720p is also available. Also, it’s a landscape orientation feed, which means you can see the width of the image is considerable, but makes it harder to see if there’s a parcel on the doorstep. A green ring of light appears when motion is spotted, making the button to press unmissable to visitors.
You can add a separate chime, built into a plug that goes straight into the mains. The doorbell supports up to six chimes, in case there are places in your home where the first one wouldn’t be audible.
The subscription plan is competitively priced and offers cloud recording with 30 days of storage, plus vehicle, pet, and package detection.
Buy now £139.99, Yalehome.co.uk
What are the best video doorbells?
There are lots of excellent video doorbells on the market, but choosing the perfect storm of value, features and ease of use narrows the field. The Arlo 2K Wireless Video Doorbell has a lot going for it.
The best picture quality and most accessible features come with the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro, though both this and the Arlo really flourish when you’re signed up to the monthly subscription. Best for running without a monthly payment is the Eufy Video Doorbell E340, which has built-in storage as well as a useful extra camera which shows exactly what’s on your doorstep.
Why trust me?
David Phelan has nearly three decades of experience reviewing smartphones, audio products, wearables and emerging technologies. Known for his rigorous testing and unbiased analysis, his reviews combine technical expertise with real-world usability. When it comes to headphones and earbuds, Phelan has tested countless models, giving him a unique ability to evaluate sound quality, comfort, design, battery life and value.
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