Here’s how to spot a good video doorbell deal on Amazon – I should know, I’ve used most of them
Looking for a ding-dong deal on a doorbell banger? Here’s my guide on how to pick out the best savings in the Amazon Spring Deal Days sale
Everyone seems to be buying a video doorbell for their front door these days and there are many different models and manufacturers vying for your cash.
The popular choice seems to be Ring and Nest and I can see why you might be tempted. It’s certainly easy to be swayed that way – especially with so many deals during Black Friday and other sales periods.
They’re pretty good doorbells, too. I’ve had most of the Ring and Nest doorbells on my front door over the years and they all work pretty well. Ring’s Pro models are particularly effective and with regards to the tech built into them, they’re well ahead of their rivals. The radar-powered Birds Eye View built into the latest cameras is great, and features such as video pre-roll set these doorbells apart from the competition.
However, before you take the plunge and splash the cash there are a few questions you should ask first because there may be a product (or products) that suits your needs better:
Does it require a subscription? Many video doorbell manufacturers lock advanced (and sometimes core) features behind a monthly subscription fee. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – if you have other cameras from the same manufacturer in your house, you can usually pay a reduced amount to cover the whole house. Ring charges £5 per month for one camera, for example, but only £8 for a whole household full of cameras.
Does it have local storage? You don’t have to pay monthly if you don’t want to. If you’re willing to give up on advanced features there are plenty of video doorbells that will record video clips to internal storage, meaning you can use them without having to pay a subscription. Eufy does a good line in these (see below), and our current top doorbell – the £100 TP-Link Tapo D230S1 – can be run this way as well (although it isn’t currently on offer).
Can you install it yourself? Battery-powered doorbells are easy to install, generally speaking, and if your door frame is made of wood, all you’ll need is a screwdriver to complete the job. However, other doorbells – usually with the word “wired” in the name – may be trickier to set up. If you already have existing doorbell wiring, you might be able to do it yourself, but if not, you’ll need to pay an electrician to install it for you, which will obviously bump up the cost.
With all that in mind, here are the best video doorbell savings I’ve seen so far in the Amazon Deal Days sales event. I’ve tested all of these and can vouch for each and every one of them.
1. Blink Video Doorbell (full system)
Was £70 on average | Now £42
In my opinion, the image and sound quality of the Blink Video Doorbell aren’t great, but that isn’t a deal breaker when the price is so reasonable and the rest of the package works well enough.
This doorbell is battery-powered, so it’s easy to install. It’s also simple to use, and you can store your recorded video clips to a USB stick with the help of the included Sync Module 2, so you don’t have to pay a monthly subscription. Do make sure you purchase the “full system” package, though – the standalone doorbell doesn’t come with the ability to store video clips locally.
2. Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus
Was £132 on average | Now £99
With Ring doorbells, you have to be aware that using them without the subscription isn’t an option. You can but you’ll miss out on all the advanced features that make these doorbells worth buying in the first place.
That being said, if you don’t mind paying £5 per month (or £8 if you have other Ring cameras), then this represents a good deal at £99, which is reduced from the average historic price of £132.
It’s simple to install, being battery operated, but can be switched to mains operation further down the line if you tire of recharging it. I particularly liked the wide vertical field of view delivered by the 1,536p camera and the speed with which alerts popped up on my phone after visitors had pressed the doorbell.
There is no chime included in the box, but Amazon is so keen to sell you one of these doorbells that it’s throwing in an Echo Pop smart speaker (normally £45, currently £20) for free. Make sure you select that option before you hit the buy button, though.
3. Eufy Dual Video Doorbell S330
Was £230 | Now £169
This Eufy doorbell has been reduced from its rather expensive original price of £230 to a much more tempting £169. And it’s worth considering for one main reason: it has twin cameras, instead of the usual one. One of those cameras points outwards, allowing you to see who is calling; the other points down towards your front step, so you can see if a package has been left on your front step.
This is a genius solution I found genuinely useful when I tested it, and I also liked the fact that you can run the doorbell subscription free as it comes with its own internal storage. Image and audio quality were both good too, although I did find that some of the advanced AI object detection features didn’t work that well.
It’s worth noting that Eufy has a cheaper dual doorbell in the Amazon spring sale (the Eufy E340) – for £120. However, note that the S330 comes with a chime unit where the Eufy S340 does not, and it also has 16GB of its own internal storage – double the capacity of the S340’s.