Best Smart Doorbell - The Ultimate Guide (2022)

Unless you have been leaving as a recluse for the past few years, you will have seen or know somebody with a smart doorbell – they have quickly taken the market by storm and with good reason! The majority of homes in Britain are going to have a doorbell or door knocker, so you may be wondering what makes a smart doorbell so special and worth the money, but we are here to explain to you exactly why they are worth the investment!

A smart doorbell is going to offer you extra security for your home, convenience for when you have parcels being delivered and just the benefit of being able to see exactly who is at your home no matter where you are! Smart doorbells really are going to be perfect for any home, so we have created this article with some of the best models that we have found and the key features that you need to look out for.

Best Pick Smart Doorbell – Ring Doorbell 3

No products found.

In A Hurry?

If you are already envious of your neighbour’s smart doorbell, or you are sick of missing parcels and having them sent back to the depot, then keep reading. We understand you are in a hurry so we compiled everything that you need to know and put it in one place along with our favourite smart doorbell to consider.

How Does A Smart Doorbell Work?

This is the first thing that you need to understand to help you know what you are going to need. Almost all smart doorbells are going to come with a video camera which will allow you to look out at the front of your home – it is worth mentioning though that some don’t actually come with a camera and will just come with a speaker and microphone so this is something you should check for straight away!

You then need to make sure that your doorbell is going to be compatible with your home WiFi connection and that this is going to stretch to your front door! Plus don’t forget to check that the smart doorbell app is going to work on your phone or other smart device. Once you have done all of this boring part, you then just need to wait for someone to ring your doorbell. This will give you a notification on your phone which will allow you to then check in and see/speak to whoever is outside your home.

TOP TIP: If you already know that the WiFi signal at the front of your house isn’t particularly good, or maybe you have a home with really thick walls, then look out for models that are going to come with a WiFi extender. These simply plug in but will “bounce” the signal further.

Camera and Microphone Quality

Obviously, the whole point of having a smart doorbell is so that you can see and speak to whoever is at your door, so the quality of the camera and the microphone/speakers are going to be essential. Here are some of the key features that we would recommend looking out for…

Resolution – The video resolution that you are going to get for a smart doorbell varies quite massively at the moment, and we have to admit that some have really quite poor quality! The best you are going to get is 1080p, which is going to be good enough quality for you to see people’s faces when they come to the door and interact with them properly, but some are as low as 480p which is going to make it really quite difficult to get a decent picture!
Night vision – Although we know that not many people should be knocking on your door late at night, we think that night vision videoing is a real benefit when purchasing a smart doorbell. This way you will be able to see if anyone is at your door when they shouldn’t be – offering you that extra element of security!
Field of Vision – This is basically how far you are going to be able to see with your smart doorbell camera. Some are going to come with “fisheye” style lens which will give you up to around 180° of vision – this means that you will be able to see everything outside the front of your home, whereas others will come with a 90° field of vision which means that you will only be able to see right in front of you.
Panning feature – For models with a more limited field of vision, you may find that they come with a panning option instead. This can be controlled through the app and you will be able to move the camera in different directions to be able to get a better idea of what is happening outside your home.
Two-way audio – The best smart doorbells are going to come with two-way audio! It can be really hard to speak to whoever is on your doorstep if you cannot speak to them and hear what they can say too. Imagine trying to tell a delivery driver where to leave your parcel if you can’t communicate properly through the doorbell!

Power

Almost all smart doorbells are going to be battery powered as this makes them quick and easy to fit. We did find some models that are mains powered, which will offer you the benefit of not needing to worry about charging the battery, but you will then need an electrician that is going to be able to fit it for you!

If you do opt for a battery model then make sure to check the quality and life of the battery that comes with your doorbell. Lithium-ion batteries are going to be long lasting – we found some that can last for up to 4 months on one charge, so you won’t need to worry about having to recharge your alarm battery regularly. Others are going to need charging every couple of weeks.

TOP TIP: If you opt for a battery powered model then don’t forget to check how easy it is actually going to be to remove your alarm to charge it when necessary. With some models you have to stick the entire alarm onto your door/wall which is going to make it incredibly difficult to remove for charging.

Best Budget Video Doorbell – Ring Doorbell 2

No products found.

Footage Storage

When a smart doorbells senses that someone is coming near, or sometimes just if they ring the doorbell, the camera kicks in and starts to film. This is when you get a notification on your phone to log in and speak to whoever is at the door. But what if you can’t answer the notification? Or what if you don’t see it till later? In these situations you are going to need a smart doorbell that will record and save the footage so that you can look back at a time to suit you to see who was at the door.

There are two different ways in which this tends to work – some will save directly onto a storage device on the doorbell, whereas others will save in the “cloud”. Saving the footage in the cloud is great because it is going to give you unlimited storage and you will always be able to go back and access the footage when you need to! However, this does normally come with an additional subscription cost which not everyone wants to pay for! The best way to avoid this is by storing straight onto the doorbell. Just make sure to check whether a storage card actually comes with the doorbell kit or if you need to purchase this separately and be prepared that at some point you are going to have to clear the data and start again!

TOP TIP: If your smart doorbell comes with a storage card already then make sure to check the amount of storage that you actually get for your money!

The Best Smart Doorbells

If you are wanting the best smart doorbell then these are some of the features that you need to look out for…

Fast Alerts – It is SO important that your smart doorbell comes with fast alerts. Some of this is going to come down to your WiFi and internet connection but a lot of it will also come down to the alarm itself! This is definitely worth checking for or the person may have left by the time your phone notifies you!
Artificial Intelligence – Some of the best smart doorbells are incredibly clever and are going to be able to differentiate between people and animals – this means that they will be able to notify you when a person is at your door but you won’t get false alarms every time a bird flies past the alarm sensor!
Storage override – If you are worried about having to deal with the storage on your smart doorbell becoming full then look out for models that will automatically override the oldest videos with the newest videos. This is going to save you loads of time – just remember to permanently save those videos you want to keep elsewhere!
Design and size – They say that first impressions are important and your smart doorbell is going to be right at the entrance to your home! So it is important that it looks right! Make sure to consider the size, colour and design that is going to fit with your doorway.
Fitting your Doorbell – Your doorbell needs to be easy to fit but also easy to take on and off your door should you need to charge it or change the storage, for example. Look out for models that come with a bracket that can be either stuck or screwed onto the door. Models that are screwed on are obviously going to be more secure and safer, but stick on models are going to avoid you having to drill holes into the doorframe or wall!
Motion Detection – Check whether your smart doorbell comes with motion detection or not. If they don’t then they are only going to notify you (and start recording) when someone actually presses the doorbell, which could be a good thing if you live on a busy road but not so good if you are wanting to capture everything going on outside your home.
Voice message recording – If you want to be able to play the same message to whoever rings your doorbell then this is going to be an option with some smart doorbells! This allows you to have a pre-recorded message for if you have a lot of parcel deliveries etc.
Compatible with other devices – For anyone that is serious about keeping their home safe (or maybe just serious about tech!) then look to see whether your smart doorbell is going to be compatible with other devices such as security cameras and alarms. This will allow you to control everything through one app and have total continuity regarding the protection of your home.

Best of the Rest

No products found.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay a monthly charge for a smart doorbell?

No! Many smart doorbells will just have the initial purchase price to consider. The only models that are going to come with an additional subscription charge are those that need to store footage on the cloud. These subscriptions range from around £4 a month up to around £10 so are only really for those people that need to save a lot of footage.

Where should I fit my smart doorbell?

This is actually one of the hardest parts of purchasing a smart doorbell as the position has to be completely right. Normally, a doorbell is going to be fitted at the side of your door on the frame, but this is only going to work if your door is flush to the wall of your home. If your door is inset because you have quite thick walls, then this is going to give you really limited views of what is happening. Make sure that you put your alarm somewhere where you will be able to see on both sides and always check the video on your app before you secure the camera.