After being harassed at home and feeling fearful when alone, we installed a Ring video doorbell. I liked almost everything about it, except the annoying monthly subscription fee needed to save videos or access all the security features.
Whilst paying between $4.99-29.99 a month wasn't breaking the bank, the cumulative cost over a number of years was adding up, and I grew weary of paying to store my Ring doorbell's footage.
I decided to switch to eufy’s e340 video doorbell, which has 7GB local storage, superior camera quality, far longer battery life, and crucially: no monthly fee. I’m totally converted. Here’s why.
eufy vs Ring
All prices and offers were correct at the time of writing.
There's a limited time offer on site now, with a discount code on this listing to give you $60 off this advanced video doorbell. When on site, simply use the 'click to copy' button and the offer will be applied at checkout. Valid till 27 April 2025.
The eufy e340 is a little slower to access when a live event is going on, but on every other level, I rate the eufy over my previous Ring video doorbell. A video doorbell is also one of the best security measures for a house and has proven vital in mine.
The eufy has super crisp audio and visual, doesn’t need a monthly subscription to save video events or access its features, and has far superior night vision. It’s also the industry’s first color night vision camera. My street has no street lights, so this has been a welcome addition for clearer nighttime video recording and security.
It also gives you access to its person recognition technology as standard, a nice way to secure your home over the holidays, which, on the Ring battery doorbell, is only available to those who pay a subscription monthly.
Dan Fauzi, our home tech editor here at Homes & Gardens, says, 'I've seen first-hand at eufy's innovation conferences how well their video doorbells and outdoor cameras pick up details in the dark.
'At one such press event, I tried it in what was almost a pitch-black room, and a single eufy video doorbell camera was able to make out the colors and features of my face – something I'd never seen from a consumer security gadget.'
Why having a video doorbell is worth it
Having a video doorbell system has been crucial for me on multiple levels:
- I want to see who is at my door to avoid answering when needed for security reasons.
- Keeping an eye out for my cats, as we don’t have a cat flap and they like to sit outside and catch the breeze.
- I am disabled and work upstairs in our home office, and I cannot get downstairs easily, or at all when I am having a high pain day, and certainly can’t get to the door quick enough for delivery drivers who are always in a rush to go.
Whilst my Ring battery doorbell from Amazon was an affordable segue into the world of video doorbells, usually costing around $99, I’m thrilled to have been able to test the eufy e340 (it usually costs around $170 dollars but is currently discounted by $60 on the retailer site for a limited time) at home and will be keeping it for good.
My verdict
Having used it for a month in my home, I’ve found the eufy e340 to be superior to the original Ring doorbell I had on multiple levels and a transformative bit of home tech.
On a single charge, the eufy can run on battery power for up to six months. Our Ring doorbell needed a charge every 4-6 weeks and we had to unscrew the device from its wall holder to get it off, which resulted in us losing one of the tiny screws over the course of the last two years. The eufy, however, clips on and off easily and is therefore quicker to get on charge, or back on the wall.
The eufy video doorbell also has dual cameras, allowing you to see who is standing at the door and what has been left on the ground. You can view both at the same time, expand one to the screen, or swap them around as standard.
We get a lot of home deliveries, and I’ve loved being able to use this function when expecting a parcel, or double-checking if the delivery person did leave the parcel on the ground as instructed over audio. You can set auto-answers as well, which is handy.
The ring doorbell released in 2024 allows visuals down to the ground in the main video, but it doesn’t track right down to where the ground meets your door. My Ring doorbell was pre 2024 release so I couldn’t see any of the ground near the door.
Having a video doorbell is also a brilliant way to burglar proof your front door. As a teenager, my family home was twice broken into via the front door, with the burglars somehow cracking our thick hardwood door, so this is important for me.
Whilst my Ring video doorbell could be used without a monthly subscription, it wouldn’t save or store any footage it captured without that additional cloud cost. Running my security camera without videos being saved is a no-go in my book because if something happens and you need that door-side footage for the police, you won’t have access to it after the live event.
Having access to this video doorbell footage is one way experts recommend you secure a home without a security system.
Whilst the Ring monthly subscription costs were not astronomical – I had the cheapest one, costing around $100 a year – life is more expensive than ever, so finding ways to save money at home has become increasingly important for my family and our budget.
After testing it in my home for a month, the main draw for me on the eufy e340 is that it can store up to 7GB of footage locally. It’s easy enough to select all and delete old footage if it starts running low, but 7gb is a fair amount of storage and I’m yet to be prompted to do so. In a month of 24/7 operation, I’ve used just three per cent of that.
Whilst you can wire the eufy doorbell in, if like me, you are not electrically minded, you can run it off battery power, and simply affix it to your masonry. I hired a handyman to drill into our masonry and opted to install ours with the provided angle wedge, to allow more footage of the area in front of our home, and not any reflection of light on the close by masonry. You can also set privacy areas so it doesn't record neighbors' homes.
The only thing you can’t do without wiring on the eufy e340 video doorbell is enable the pre-recording, which captures four seconds of additional footage before a person rings your bell. The Ring doorbell I had could be wired or simply mounted for battery use too but needed a monthly subscription to allow access to a similar pre-recording function.
If you want cloud storage for further space, you can opt for a eufy monthly subscription or add a eufy Homebase for a further 16GB. Crucially, you don’t have to pay monthly to be able to save and store any videos captured.
Our home tech editor, Dan Fauzi adds, 'When you're buying tech as a long-term investment, it's worth it to spend that extra initial cost to make sure it's subscription-free. Subscription prices are always changing, and with something as handy as a video doorbell, you're likely going to become familiar with the convenience and peace of mind it brings and won't want to get rid of it any time soon.'
Now, I’ve gotten used to the eufy security app, I have found it to be more intuitive and easy to use than the Ring App. Most options are where you expect them to be. I also love that the eufy app allows me to integrate my eufy robot vacuums (I have two of those, they’re excellent and have reduced my canister use by 90%) into one space.
The only down side on putting a home security tip like this in play, is I cannot seem to connect my eufy doorbell to my existing plug-in chime, which I bought to work with my Ring doorbell previously. I will upgrade it at some point in the future, but the reality is, I almost always have my phone on me, and will always hear or see the eufy doorbell chime and alerts.
Dan adds, 'Even without installing a new chime, if you already have a Google or Alexa smart speaker, you can connect it to your eufy camera, then set a notification for if somebody approaches the door or rings the bell. It won't be as loud, but people at home will know when someone's at the door without having to keep their phones on them.'
What to shop
Use the limited-time discount code given on the listing to knock $60 off your purchase. I love that you don't need a monthly subscription, as this device has 7GB of local storage.
The e340 video doorbell is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit, but this one is part of the eufy range and works perfectly as an affordable add on.
Avoid any downtime with a spare rechargeable battery pack for your eufy video doorbell.
This is just one security measure I have in my home. Learn more about the ‘Fort Knox’ home security picks of our content editor’s military dad, and the home security mistakes making you a prime target for identity theft.
