Best Video Doorbell Cameras of 2025
View from Lorex Doorbell on your phone.
Can it be used with a smart home platform? If so, does the SMART feature work well?
Today, smart home devices are expected to be used with at least one major smart home platform. Amazon Alexa,,,,, Google Assistant and Apple Homekit It is the main product you need to look for. Apple’s support is hard to find, but if the rumor is correct, Apple will release its own security cameras soon, and support should become more common.
Privacy and security
Video doorbell captures many everyday moments, many of whom store the lens in the cloud. One of my top priorities is checking the brand’s trail through privacy practices, digital storage and overall security.
Check out my best video doorbell camera selection above and you’ll see me discussing topics like how doorbell manufacturers hand over video to authorities, or how they used to respond to data vulnerabilities. This is also why some doorbells don’t appear on my list: Wyze, Repeated safety defects Recently, with the September 2023 video cache issue, the issue makes others Through strangers’ doorbellno promotion.
This doorbell model has crazy features, but you need to enable most of them.
Video storage and subscription
Video storage is an integral part of the video doorbell experience. With so many videos automatically captured, I focused on how to upload that video, its storage limitations, and how easy it is to access or share the video. Saving video tapes is especially important if you want to report porch pirates to the police or save on similar unpleasant events to take later actions (and sometimes you will find animals cute).
Video storage varies greatly between doorbell devices. Some people can provide a certain amount of online video storage for free, but many people need a monthly subscription to store videos in the cloud or significantly increase storage options with subscriptions. Other doorbells have the option to use local storage with MicroSD cards, which is a cheaper option that requires more manual video management. I like to see as many free and user-friendly options as possible in the video doorbell and assume you have enough home tech subscriptions.
Artificial Intelligence Identification and Alerts
AI and video doorbells are a useful combination and are becoming more and more common. I look for AI software that correctly identifies people’s packages, pets, and even people’s faces on the contact list and sends you more accurate alerts to what’s going on (if the package disappears unexpectedly). On the other hand, I also like to see smart motion detection that can easily ignore passing cars or falling leaves Reduce unnecessary alerts.
Wired and wireless
Wired vs. wireless is basically a matter of preference, but it is an important preference. Wired doorbells are always powerful and can usually be connected to existing doorbells. Wireless models are much more flexible when it comes to placement, but you need to charge it every few months or so, and they won’t connect to the hardware ringtone. One is not necessarily better than the other, and many doorbells offer both options, but consider how you want to use one option.
Incubation period
If your smart doorbell camera takes a long time to send a push notification after someone hits the doorbell, you may be missing the visitors altogether. You also need to make sure you get a notification when something starts the motion detector, as you can set up the motion sensor for most video doorbells to notify you of activity happening near the door, even if no one rings the buzzer. If you have latency issues, start with a Wi-Fi connection. If the doorbell is not firmly installed, you can consider moving it (or more easily get a Wi-Fi range extender). Sometimes, this is a software issue, which is why application quality is an important part of auditing.
Real-time view quality
Doorbells are usually exposed to direct sunlight, but many other settings are installed under the porch, close to dark trees and various other environments. Importantly, the camera has night vision and can handle any of these scenes so you don’t encounter non-functional products that won’t be able to see the faces under the porch.
Audio quality
If the doorbell’s microphone and speakers are not working well, it will be difficult for you to communicate with anyone there. I tested this several times to see how the doorbell sounds on our phones, thus narrowing down the best video doorbell camera options for conversations.
