A battery-powered video doorbell is perfect for anyone who wants to avoid hard wiring the doorbell or for renters who may not be allowed permanent fittings.
With a huge number of devices on the market, choosing the one with the right features for you can be confusing. So, I’ve taken a look at every device that supports battery power and shared my top recommendations below.
How Does a Battery Powered Video Doorbell Work?
Battery powered video doorbells (also known as wireless video doorbells) utilise a built-in battery to power the doorbell itself, this might be removeable for charging, or in some cases you’ll need to remove the whole device for recharge.
As with equivalent wired devices, wireless video doorbells will either connect directly to your home Wi-Fi network (e.g., Ring) or use a base inside the home that connects to your router.
Depending upon the doorbell, you may be able to use a smart speaker as a chime, however if you prefer a dedicated chime, these are also available and can also be battery powered or sometimes plug in to a wall socket.
Best Battery-Powered Video Doorbells
These are my top recommended battery powered video doorbells for a wire-free install:
- Best Overall: Ring 3 Plus
- Runner Up: Arlo Wireless Doorbell
- Best Without Subscription: Eufy 2k Wireless Doorbell
- Affordable Pick: Ring 3
- Budget Pick: Blink Video Doorbell
Below are my full reviews of each device with the standout features and things to know.
Best Overall: Ring 3 Plus
A secure video doorbell
A sharp 1080p HD video doorbell which let's you see, hear, and speak to anyone at your door clearly from your phone, tablet, or computer
The best thing about Ring is the speed at which it works. With the Rapid Ring app installed on your phone, the notification that someone is at your doorstep is almost instantaneous.
Being owned by Amazon, Ring doorbells integrate really well with other Amazon-owned products including Amazon Echo devices. You can use an Echo speaker as a chime or have the view of your front door pop up on an Echo Show when someone calls.
The Ring 3 Plus is a step up from the standard Ring doorbell, it adds a few features that will improve your experience, most notably pre-roll recording which will show you 4 seconds of footage prior to any motion detection, allowing you to see people as they approach your doorstep too.
The Ring 3 Plus is a battery powered video doorbell, it uses a removeable battery pack that charges via USB. You can easily pick up a spare battery for use while it’s recharging.
The only downside to a Ring video doorbell is that you do need to pay a monthly fee for a Ring Protect Plan, without this your doorbell loses some key features.
Quick Tip: Ring Solar Charger
If you get a Ring 3 or Ring 3 Plus, the solar charger accessory is highly recommended, especially if your doorbell is in direct sunlight.
Once the battery drops below 90%, the charger will kick into action and try to boost it.
Of course, it will eventually deplete, but it will last far longer than without the charger.
Runner Up: Arlo Essential Wireless Doorbell
The doorbell works slightly different to other devices, rather than sending you a notification when the doorbell is rung, it calls your phone exactly like a video call would.
The footage is in clear 1080p HD and it has decent night vision, although no infrared lights. The battery is removable for easy recharging via USB.
An Arlo Smarthub isn’t required to use the doorbell, however if you do have one it unlocks the ability to save your footage locally on an SD card or hard drive.
The Arlo video doorbell integrates with both Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to use your Echo or Google Home speaker as a chime. With an Echo Show or Nest Hub, you can also stream your front door when the doorbell is rung or by asking “Alexa, show the front door camera”.
Best Without Subscription: Eufy 2k Wireless Video Doorbell
A great subscription free model
This affordable smart doorbell includes a lot of complex features: 2K images, person detection, local storage, and customisable responses
The Eufy 2k wireless doorbell is my top battery-powered pick if you’re looking for a device that is fully capable of working without a monthly subscription.
It’s one of the few battery-powered video doorbells to offer 2k resolution footage and the 4:3 aspect ratio gives you a good look at the people on your doorstep. Although, the lack of high dynamic range does mean the colours aren’t as vivid as other devices.
It does this thanks to a Homebase that sits inside your house. This acts as a chime, but also stores your footage on its 16GB hard drive for reviewing later. You don’t need to be in the home to review the footage, you can see it remotely from anywhere via the Eufy app.
Unlike the other devices here, the Eufy does not have a removeable battery so you can’t swap it out for a spare one whilst your recharge. Instead, you’ll need to remove the entire doorbell from your wall for a few hours whilst you plug it in.
Affordable Pick: Ring 3
A solid, affordable video doorbell
Good video quality while lacking more advanced features
If you’re looking for a reliable doorbell but are happy to scale back on the features, then the standard Ring Doorbell 3 is worth considering.
It uses the same hardware as the Ring 3 Plus, so the video quality is identical, and you’ll still benefit from the same speedy responsiveness. It’s also wireless with a removeable battery pack that is charged via USB.
However, it doesn’t have pre-roll recording which means you won’t get the short period of video in the lead up to motion detection as you would with a Ring Plus.
Remember that there is the ongoing cost of a Ring Protect plan in order to make the most of your doorbell, so keep this in mind when making your decision.
Budget Pick: Blink Video Doorbell
Cheapest option on the market
An Amazon brand so it has full Alexa integration. However, it requires the separate Sync Module for offline storage
It didn’t take Amazon long to realise that there is a big market for video doorbells without monthly fees. But, rather than offering a Ring without subscription, they opted to introduce a newer budget offering under their Blink brand, and it doesn’t dissapoint.
Keep in mind that you will also need the Sync Module 2 in order to save videos locally and thus keep it completely subscription free so the total cost will be slightly higher. However, the two combined are still one of the cheapest options right now if you don’t want to be tied to a contract or monthly charge.
It all sounds too good to be true, right? Well there are some drawbacks to the cheaper video doorbell, for example, there are very limited customisations for the motion detection. You can’t set custom zones to monitor which might be a real pain in the backside if your camera faces a busy street or directly at a neighbour. There’s also a reduced field of vision and it lacks integration with Google Home or Google Assistant (no surprises from Amazon there).
Which Ring Doorbells are Battery Powered?
Not all of Ring’s doorbells are battery powered, some must be hardwired or use power-over-ethernet technology.
These devices can be battery powered:
- Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)
- Ring Video Doorbell 3
- Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus
- Ring Doorview Camera
Is There a Battery Powered Nest Hello Doorbell?
No, unfortunately Google has not released a battery powered version of their Nest Hello video doorbell.
Except for their smoke alarm, none of the devices in Nest’s range have the option for battery power so it’s unlikely that Google will release a battery-powered Nest Hello any time soon.
Instead, the doorbell must be wired in and requires 12-24 volts AC (in Europe), this can often be installed using existing doorbell wires or in some cases will require dedicated wiring.
Battery Powered Video Doorbell Buyers Guide
There are a few different considerations when buying a wireless video doorbell, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Video Quality: Video resolution (e.g., 1080p HD or 2k) is a key feature that manufacturers will often tout; however, this isn’t the only component that makes up good video quality. Look out for HDR which gives more colour depth and viewing angle which impacts how much of your doorstep can be seen.
- Responsiveness: By responsiveness, I’m talking about the lag between the doorbell being rang and the notification on your phone. Ring is one of the speediest doorbells, whereas cheaper devices can take 5-10 seconds, sometimes more, to reach you by which time the visitor may have left.
- Battery Life and Recharging: Of course, when buying a battery powered video doorbell, the time between charges is a key factor. Look out for doorbells with removable batteries vs those that need taking off the wall to recharge.
- Smart Home Integration: If you use Alexa or Google Home, look out for integrations such as the ability to use smart speakers or displays as a chime.
- Cloud vs Local Storage: Many people overlook the storage options but is a critical consideration. If there is no local storage, then you’ll almost always need to pay for a cloud subscription to access all features. If there is local storage, it’s safer when the footage is stored on a base inside the home rather than on the device itself.
