IS THE RING DOORBELL WORTH IT?

Thinking of buying a ring doorbell or other Ring home security product?

Stop and read this first!

Let me first start by saying this article is in no way sponsored by Ring, I just wanted to give an honest overview and share some ways to possibly get it cheaper.

HOW DO RING PRODUCTS WORK?

Ring products use your existing home Wi-Fi network to help secure your home. You basically hook the products (Ring doorbell, cameras, security system and more) up to your Wi-FI and use the free Ring app (available for Apple and Android devices) to alert you whenever someone approaches your door or comes in the range of a security camera.

You can then view an HD video stream of the person and speak to them using two-way audio communication (love that feature). Put simply, with Ring products, it’s like you’re always home.

But are Ring products worth it and do they live up to the hype? Let’s look at the cost next.

WHAT DOES RING COST?

The easiest and cheapest way to try out a Ring product is to grab the Ring doorbell which starts at $99 for the first model of it.

2020 UPDATE: I found the 720p HD Ring Video Doorbell for just $69 here!

It’s brand new, I ordered it and although it ended up being on backorder I got it pretty fast.

As soon as I get it installed I’ll write a review on it but I have friends who have this version and they like it.

There are over 30,000 reviews on the Ring doorbell on Amazon you can check out here. Overall it gets 4 stars but I did read some negative reviews mostly about their device being stolen.

Interested in the Ring camera?

The cheapest Ring camera I saw was around $179 on Amazon (have you seen my article on how to get free Amazon gift cards?).

UPDATE 2020: I was able to find a black Ring Spotlight Cam 1080p Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera with Night Vision for just $129 (the white one was significantly more at $199).

How about the Ring Home Security System?

You can buy the home security system starting at $199. It doesn’t have any contract but if you want, you can add professional monitoring at just $10 a month or $100 for the year which also includes longer access to your videos (up to 60 days) and an extended warranty.

UPDATE: I was able to find the security system here for $166 (not sure how long that price will last).

Obviously the more sensors and cameras you add the more you have to spend at first.

IS RING WORTH IT?

Ring products are an investment at first depending on what you want so the question is are Ring products worth it?

My best friend just recently bought a few Ring security cameras for her home and the quality on them is awesome. I helped her set it up and it was so simple to do. It took us minutes to set up each camera and then just the time to mount them where you want them to go. She bought the battery-operated ones so that she didn’t have to hardwire them.

If you buy the battery-operated ones and you don’t want to have to climb up on the garage or other outside areas when its time to change it, you can buy the optional solar panel which will charge the battery as well.

You can be up and running in less than an hour. A lot sooner if you just have one product to install but my friend had three.

I love the video quality and how much area you can see with one camera if put in the right place. I also love how you can adjust the settings to alert you however often you want it to.

My favorite part? The two two-way audio feature and the live feed. You can hear what’s going on in both the recorded videos and the live feed and you can talk through the camera to whoever is at the house. This works great for the doorbell because when someone rings it you can answer like you’re home.

HOW TO SAVE ON RING PRODUCTS

I love it when products are sold on Amazon because for me that means I can possibly get it for free with a little work.

If you have read many of my articles you know I talk about money-saving hacks and one of my favorites is getting free gift cards.

One of my favorite ways to get free Amazon gift cards is Swagbucks and MyPoints (use my link for a $10 bonus).

You can check out my 10 Ways to Get Amazon Gift Cards article for all ten ways and start saving up for your Ring!

UPDATE 2020: The 720p version of the Ring Doorbell is on sale for $69.99 here. The black Ring Spotlight Cam 1080p Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera with Night Vision for just $129 and the Ring Alarm Security Kit (5-Piece) for $166 here.

CHEAPER RING ALTERNATIVES

If you’re looking for a cheap home security camera under $50, I just grabbed this Wyze camera for my grandmother’s apartment.

It was actually only $38.00 but I also grabbed the memory card for an additional $13.

It works great as a nanny cam or pet cam as well.

This is what it looks like. The one feature I wish it had was for it to be wireless. It does require you to plug in it but the picture quality is great for such a cheap security camera.

One negative besides it having to plug in is that the two-way audio had a bit of an echo. It may be that I have it placed on top of a small tv monitor so I will be testing out different scenarios to see if that improves.

I posted a full Wyze camera review here and you can also go ahead and read the reviews on the Wyze camera.

Are you using the Ring doorbell or Ring home security system? How about the Wyze cam? Let me know in the comments!

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here