During Black Friday, there are often a lot of video doorbell deals, especially around Ring video doorbells, as the company is owned by Amazon, and is looking to push as many out as possible.
However, I would argue against getting the cheapest video doorbell on sale, and instead spending a little extra to get one with what I consider the best feature: Package detection.
During the pandemic, a lot of us started receiving more and more packages. Now that the holiday season is upon us, you’re likely to get many more deliveries too, as you buy gifts for others, and have gifts delivered to you. Knowing when those packages arrive — and if some porch pirate swipes them — is crucial. Here are some of the best video doorbells we’ve tested that have package detection built in.
One thing to note: some of the video doorbells on this list require you sign up for a subscription in order to both save video and get package detection, so you’ll have to work that amount into your equation.
Nest Doorbell (battery)
Our favorite video doorbell overall, the Nest Doorbell (battery) is a very slim device with a wide field of view. More importantly, it has a vertically oriented camera, so you get a portrait view of your front porch, so you can better see if a package has been left at the foot of your door.
While you can sign up for a Nest subscription (which starts at $6/month), you do get person, package, and vehicle detection for free, as well as three hours of video recording. And, the Nest will also store three hours worth of video locally on the doorbell itself, which is helpful if your power or internet connection goes down temporarily.
The Nest Doorbell is a bit large — and you have to remove the entire thing if you want to recharge its battery — but Nest also makes a wired-only version that’s a bit more compact.
Read our full Nest Doorbell (battery) review.
Wyze Video Doorbell Pro
The best video doorbell under $100, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro has a 150 x 150-degree field of view, which is rather expansive, and means you’ll see more of your porch. The Wyze can be wired or work off battery power, but as with the Nest and the Ring, you’ll need to remove the whole thing when it’s time to charge it back up.
Wyze does require you to sign up for a subscription to get package detection, but it’s the least expensive out there – just $1.99/month. The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is a big chunkier and a bit more homely in its design than other models, but for $89 — which includes a digital chime — it’s a good deal.
Read our full Wyze Video Doorbell Pro review.
Eufy Video Doorbell Dual
Among the other video doorbells on this list, the Eufy stands out as it has not one, but two cameras. The primary camera faces forward, so you can see your visitors; the secondary camera points downward, which gives you the best view of your porch and the area in front of your door. It’s available in a wired-only and a battery-powered model. Even better: Eufy doesn’t charge a subscription fee to get person or package detection.
Video is stored locally to a base station, which means that there’s a bit more of a setup than other video doorbells, but you don’t have to worry that you’ll miss out on a recording if your internet connection goes down.
Read our full Eufy Video Doorbell Dual review.
Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen)
Surprisingly, Ring only has package detection on two of its video doorbells, and the Ring Video Doorbell (2020) is the least expensive option. This model normally sells for $99, but often goes on sale during the holiday season. The Ring Video Doorbell has a 1080p camera, and can be hardwired or run on battery power alone. However, if you choose the latter, you have to remove the entire video doorbell when you need to charge it. (Other, more expensive Ring models — which do not have package detection, have removable batteries.)
However, its field of view is horizontal, so you don’t see as much of your doorstep as with models with a more vertical FOV. To get package detection, you’ll need to sign up for a Ring Protect plan, which starts at $3/month. Read our Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review.
Read our full Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review.
Arlo Essential Wireless Video Doorbell
Arlo’s battery-powered video doorbell (which can also be hardwired) has a 180-degree diagonal field of view, which is on a par with many other models on this list. However, it’s the only model on this list with a removable battery, which means that, if you get a second battery, you won’t have any downtime with your video doorbell.
Arlo’s app is also incredibly comprehensive, giving you granular control over what gets recorded and when. And, because it’s owned neither by Google nor Amazon, Arlo’s doorbell works with both Alexa- and Google Assistant-enabled smart displays, so you can view a feed from the doorbell without your phone. The Arlo video doorbell gives you package, person, vehicle, and animal detection as well as the option to save video, but only if you sign up for an Arlo subscription, which starts at $3/month.
Read our full Arlo Essential Wireless Video Doorbell review.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is the company’s top-end model, and has features such as a 150 x 150-degree FOV, 1080p resolution, customizable motion zones, and a “radar” feature that helps eliminate false motion alerts.
Because the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is wired-only, it’s much smaller than other video doorbells, but it also means that it will stop working if you lose power. As with Ring’s other video doorbells, you need a Ring Protect subscription to get package detection as well as save video from the camera.
Read our full Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 review.
If you’re looking for other buying advice around video doorbells, we suggest checking out our Nest vs. Ring comparison of the top two brands, as well as the Ring Video Doorbell vs. Ring Pro comparison of every Ring video doorbell. And, you’ll also want to look over security camera storage plans compared to see how much you’ll pay each month if you sign up for a subscription.
