Ring Doorbell & Security Review (2026): Is the New Subscription Worth It?

Last Updated on 11 March 2026 by Dan Wilderness

Hello everyone! After looking at various options for home security I’ve recently installed a number of products from the Ring range of security products, alongside a Ring Doorbell. Today I’m conducting a review of these products and my thoughts on if they’re worth it!

I’m also going to be covering if we think it’s worth subscribing to Ring or not, as the devices have a number of feature locked elements that require an ongoing subscription. This obviously mounts up the cost, and should be considered alongside buying the devices themselves.

I’ll be covering my thoughts on how well they work and comparing them to traditional wired alarms and the ease of installation.

(Please note: The Financial Wilderness may also receive a small payout if you make a purchase through a link on this site. It won’t affect the service you receive and we recommend only what we honestly believe to be the best available, not what gives us commission. You can read more about our affiliate policy on our disclaimers page.)

Quick Verdict on Ring Security and Doorbell

We think Ring Products are largely very good, being a flexible option that’s easy to install and a good alternative to wired alarms, and very easy to maintain and use.

We don’t think a subscription is essential to use it, but users should be aware some features are locked behind a paywall which they may expect with a video doorbell. The tradeoff to being a wireless system also means some charging is required.

How we tested Ring Security and Doorbell

I’ve used both the doorbell and security system in our house for over 2 years now, with it getting daily use for coming and going.

We have a fairly extensive Ring setup in the house with doorbells, external cameras, motion sensors, door sensors and external alarms. I’ve covered each element of this in my review below.

Who are Ring?

Ring was originally a startup security company that were acquired by Amazon in 2018. As their products became distributed by Amazon they’ve now become something of a household name, and have an international presence.

What advantages do Ring Products have?

The underlying principle of the products is to try and use more modern technology to improve on old style alarm and doorbell technology in a number of ways.

There’s a few ways this works and I’ve highlighted the ones that influenced my thinking in opting for Ring below.

(Note: Where I see potential disadvantages or gripes these are more specific than general, so I cover these in my comments either on each individual item or regarding the subscription options).

Ring Products are Wireless

Traditional alarms tend to require quite a lot of wiring around your property to ensure your keypad, room sensors and alarm bell box are all consistently getting power. Installing these can take quite a bit of planning and drilling around your home, and in rare instances something can go wrong with a cable, it can be a pain to get sorted.

Ring‘s products are all wireless (although wired options are available if you want to make use of existing connections).

With the wireless approach each ring product runs off batteries, and have been sensibly designed to allow easy replacement and charge where required.

Easy to Install and Customise

I was able to get my full Ring system get up in about 20 minutes, and easily set up everything exactly where I wanted it.

An advantage of the wireless approach is that if your needs change, the components can be moved around as desired. In come cases I’ve balanced sensors in a sensible place or if I want them fixed, have used this included adhesive backing to attach to a wall.

Setting up each individual component is just a matter of scanning it’s QR code into the app – it’ll recognise this and then add the device to being considered as part of your wider security network.

Flexibility to Requirements

Whilst there’s some underlying bundles, you have the option to buy and link all Ring products individually, meaning you can simply tailor this to what you need for your home.

For instance, if you have more/less external doors than usual and are trying to get the right level of monitoring, you can just buy more or less door sensors as you need.

Can be cheaper

Part of this will depend on how sizeable your house is, but Which? found that on average, a wired system cost an average of just over £500 to set up, with the installation rather than the equipment accounting for most of the cost.

The underlying wireless with a Ring system can be about the same or slightly more expensive that the wired option, but you can still save money via being able to do the installation yourself.

(Key caveat: If you want the subscription services, it may cost you more over time – although wired systems usually require periodic servicing which comes with cost).

Run through Phone

Unlike traditional doorbells and alarms systems I can run Ring via my phone. This has particular advantages with the doorbell which I’ve mentioned below but is also helpful in being alerted via my phone to the fact my alarm is going off, and being able to take necessary steps.

A picture of the Ring Mobile App working away below:

What disadvantages do Ring Products have?

Some features subscription locked

Some features on both the security and doorbell product are locked away behind a paywall subscription. Generally speaking this works on a basis of that live monitoring is always free, but if you want historic events or greater customisation you’ll need to pay for it.

I have mixed feelings on the value as I’ll discuss more below.

Everyday usage it’s fine for, and puts you in a position of being no worse than if you had a standard doorbell or security system, but you may find features you’d fine useful – particularly being able to review historic camera footage locked away.

And if you do want these you are subject to the whims of Ring on their pricing model, which has been increased quite a bit in a relatively short period.

Need to charge wireless devices

We’ve mentioned that most devices are wireless which is great for flexibility, but has the disadvantage of needing to charge the batteries periodically, depending on the device.

The Ring app is good at notifying you when charging needs to happen and is getting close, and devices are relatively easy to extract.

However, charging can be a relatively slow process – I find a near empty doorbell battery takes most of a day to charge back to 100%. You can buy another battery to swap it over with whilst you charge to avoid downtime, but obviously that’s further expense.

Cold weather battery degradation

For outside devices, cold weather can degrade battery life further. There’s not really much you can do about this, and it’s one of the disadvantages of a wireless system over wired.

I’ve only noticed it having a significant effect during the worst of winter, with a doorbell charge being required every month in persistent minus temperatures.

Smart Home Limitations

As Ring is owned by Amazon, it’s products integrate well into connecting with Alexa – this happens automatically on setup. However, if you use alternatives such as Google Home to run a smart home you’re out of luck as you’re locked off.

This just means having to use two apps rather than one, but we know most smart home enthusiasts would probably rather everything was kept together.

Review of the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro

Here’s my thoughts on the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro. Ours is a 2nd edition model.

Functionality

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is a camera based system that integrates with your phone. Someone rings the doorbell and your phone will buzz, showing you an image of them and you can also speak to them directly over the bell or get a pre-recorded message to play.

This is helpful as if not in you can speak to delivery drivers on where you’d like them to leave a package.

If someone approaches your door as well the doorbell with notify you and you can view a live camera feed of them. I liked the fact that you could amend the sensitivity of this, which means the doorbell picks up anyone in the boundaries of our property, but not in the street.

I’ve been able to configure this on our device quite precisely – so it captures anything starting at our driveway but not in the road. This is helpful, as it means I don’t get constant alerts which are just passers by rather than people coming to the house.

I should note with this we’re set a little bit further back from the road, and I could see this function not working as well if your door is right on the street – it’d likely be a function that would be more annoying than helpful and drain the battery (but you can switch it off).

Charging and Clarity

The battery doorbell has been easy to charge, and I like the fact that I can very easily use the included screwdriver to take away the battery to recharge easily.

I initially clarified this as seeming to be long lasting in the initial review but I will just note that as colder weather hit, I started to need to charge it once a month. I adjusted the detection setting down a bit which put life back to a few months, and longer periods in the summer.

The view of what’s happening outside from the camera is extremely clear and sharp, including at nighttime.

There is also the option to buy a wired version of the doorbell if you are replacing an existing doorbell where this makes sense in any case.

Attachment Ease

It was very easy to attach the Ring Doorbell with included screws to the doorframe, and were easy to drill in and attach.

You can also buy an additional no-drill mount which allows you to affix the doorbell by adhesive if you’d rather not.

Ring Chime – Optional Extra

I also bought a Ring Chime for the house – if I don’t have a phone on me, this is effectively an additional sounder that creates bell ringing noise around the house as well. You simply plug it in and go.

It works well and was relatively inexpensive bought with the doorbell – my only complaint about it is that in a system which is largely wireless and battery operated, it’s one component that requires a plug.

Do I need a subscription to use a Ring doorbell?

For avoidance of doubt, the Ring doorbell is completely free to use one bought on an ongoing basis – however there are a few features that are only included with a subscription model.

Most of these features I see as slightly unnecessary extras (for instance, recognition that it’s a package being dropped off rather than a visitor) but the slightly frustrating one is that without a subscription the video in response to someone approaching your door can only be reviewed live in the moment, and isn’t recorded for future use.

Whilst this isn’t an essential, it would be a helpful feature to be able to see exactly who you have missed and anything unexpected. It would also help to provide evidence that a package has been dropped off, or in the worst case scenario show evidence it’s been stolen.

With a subscription, the recording history is captured by default for 90 days.

You can find details below on subscription pricing and our thoughts on if it’s worth it further down this article.

Review of Ring Security Alarm and Components

Here my thoughts on the broader Ring Security Alarm Package.

You don’t have to go with the prebuilt bundles Ring has, but the Medium pack had exactly what I wanted so I opted for that, adding on an additional siren.

It’s really easy to set up each piece. You’ll start with setting up the base station, and then simply scan the QR code on the back of each additional component as you add it (or it’s also on the box if you forget!)

The Ring app will recognise you’re adding something and tie it up as part of the setup, with a smart wizard appearing to guide you through the app.

Ring Base Station

There’s not really much exciting you can say about the base station – but it’s essential hub of all your ring security gear and monitors all your other bits of kit. I do have a couple of notes.

Siren

Firstly, it contains your siren as well and it is loud at 104db (customisable down if required). You’d absolutely hear it within the house and if you house was smaller or others are near to it, they’d hear it too.

Charging

My other note is that it has to be plugged in. It’s about as big as a medium size square picture frame – so it will need to sit out unless you have a plug in a cupboard somewhere.

In event of power failure or being unplugged, it’s got an internal battery which will keep it motoring on with your security for a further 24 hours.

Ring Keypad

The Ring Keypad is smart and compact. You have the option of either mounting it on the wall with an enclosed pack and screws or simply leaving it loose – working wirelessly you can just pick it up.

Setup

On setting it up in the Ring App you’ll choose your code and you’re good to go.

You can customise how long you have to enter and manage your code for entry and exit purposes, with it primarily working with the door sensors (more on those below) to detect access.

The Keypad also has handy options for calling and alerting all three emergency services – hopefully not something you’ll require, but good to know it’s there.

I also like that you can put it into a middle “Home but Armed” mode where it’ll switch off any detection of movement in rooms, but monitor any unexpected doors or widows opening – good for nights.

Charging

You can either keep it wireless and give it an occasional charge (Ring claim it’ll need it about every 6 months with standard use) or if you’re keeping it by a plug you can simply keep it on constant charge.

If you’re wall mounting, the back of it is well designed in order to ensure the charging cable can run out of the back easily.

Subscription Extras

The one thing that comes a subscription extra that I wish was standard was the ability to change your alarm setting via mobile phone, rather than the keypad.

In practice I’ve never forgotten to use the keypad, but it’s helpful to know I can edit this remotely if I need to.

The Ring app also tries to push assisted monitoring on to you, where notification takes place to an elected person or calls a number to alert them you’ve programmed in, or alerts police if you so choose (I’m a bit sceptical they’d actually attend, but please tell me otherwise in the comments if they have).

The value of this depends on your circumstances – we have good relations with our neighbours so in combination of this and being made aware by mobile our alarm has gone off, it’s not something I feel I need. In a particularly remote location, I can see more of a benefit to this.

Ring Room Sensor

The Ring Room Sensor acts like a traditional alarm monitoring system, where movement in room will trigger the arm.

A picture of a ring room sensor for movements can be seen below:

Setup

Setup was incredibly easy. With some high shelves I put the sensor on those, and ran the automated detection as part of the setup to check it was picking up my movements around the room detected via body heat.

There is also optional adhesive backing on the sensors meaning they can be easily attached to a wall (and remove without damage if required).

You can also customise the sensitivity to turn down the detection levels to account for pets, which is handy and seems to work well.

Charging

The room sensors are wireless but use AA batteries rather than being rechargeable in this case. Ring claim the battery in the sensors will large for about 3 years with regular use.

Ring Door Sensor

The Ring Door Sensors were one of the bits I thought was particularly cleverly designed. These identify if any doors or windows are opened or closed unexpectedly using a contact sensor.

Whilst I really like this bit of kit, it’s one of the places I do think the traditional system is slightly better. A classic system tends to have a small pressure pad on the inside of the door wired in, but here you have a slightly bulkier small device on your door and frame. It personally doesn’t bother me, but some might not like this.

A picture of a Ring Door Sensor can be found below:

Setup

Setup was pretty painless. The contact centre is formed of two parts – a bulkier bit which contains the battery and the electronics, and then a thin contact strip. You attach these with the enclosed adhesive, which is strong and fits well.

One bit attaches to your door/window, and one bit to the fixed frame around your door/window. This creates a small magnetic field which triggers the sensor if broken.

You do have to attach it to the non-hinge side of the door, but can be attached to the side or top, whichever is less obtrusive.

You just have to be careful to ensure that the smaller strip aligns well to the main sensor to ensure the contact works. I got the alignment a little wrong first time, but it was easy to take off and reattach.

One done, you’ll do a quick test via the wizard to ensure all setup appropriately.

Charging

Again, these are battery operated, this time by a cell battery. It’s been well designed to be easy to charge, and Ring claim it’ll last up to three years depending on use.

Customisation

I’ll note I had to change the setting in the app for the sensors – by default they create a chirp alert every time a door is opened. It’s fair to say this felt unnecessary and like I was running a corner shop, so I just switched this off!

Ring External Bell Siren Alarm

An optional extra on the Ring Kits, I also got an external Ring Siren to attach to the property. This is exactly the same as the box alarms you’ll see on properties with traditional wired systems.

The alarm has a loud siren and red flashing lights if it goes off. As part of having a box on your house is supposed to be a deterrent, you can also select to have the box light up at night, and can trigger this from the app.

Attachment ease

Of all the bits of kit, this is the trickiest one to go up. You’ll want it in a high place like a traditional alarm so best to get on a ladder, and then to drill into the wall – no adhesive option here.

Charging

The external sounder comes with D batteries (the bulky ones) which Ring claim will last for three years. You can also buy a rechargeable battery pack or attachable solar panel to make things easier.

Another option if you are replacing an existing bell box is that you can wire it in to power for constant use – however, unless you know what you’re doing with this you’ll want to get an electrician in to do it.

What other Ring Security Products are available?

Range Extender

The base Ring kit also comes with a Range Extender to ensure they all receive signal, which is a plug in device. However even in a fairly large house, I’ve found I haven’t actually needed this as all Ring devices report a strong signal.

I suspect if you were putting additional monitoring in the garden, this is where it may come in useful.

How Secure are Ring Products?

A lot of thought has gone into Ring Products to keep them secure.

If you tamper with them in any way you might expect, an alarm sounds. If the plugged in devices lose power, there’s an emergency battery backup to keep everything running – and your mobile phone will notify you about all these things happening via the app.

Whilst you set up the Ring Products with wi-fi, they don’t use wi-fi to connect, instead having a private z wave network. This makes them more difficult to hack – although I refuse to believe anything is foolproof. The software will automatically update to reflect any known security vulnerabilities however.

There’s still the potential for human failure creating a security vulnerability with Ring – for instance you’d want to ensure your wi-fi is securely passworded to stop another user joining your network, and accessing the devices from that side.

Even with a wired system, most security has vulnerabilities. An organised professional criminal can find a way round most systems, including traditional wired alarms – but Ring is more than enough to stop opportunists and housebreakers with a well thought through setup.

Ring Subscriptions Review

We cover elements of subscription locked elements of each device above, but let’s bring it together to assess if the subscription is worth it is a whole.

What is included with the doorbell and security system if I don’t subscribe to Ring?

There’s plenty of functionality still available if you don’t subscribe to Ring. Let’s divide the key points into the doorbell and the security system.

• For the doorbell anything you’re doing live in the moment, such as responding to a doorbell ring or watching a live feed from the camera you can do without a subscription. What you cannot do is view historic footage of what your doorbell has recorded when you’re out.

• The security system largely operates like a traditional wired security system even without the subscription in respect of it’ll monitor your property, set off the alarm and inform you via mobile if the alarm goes off. The main advantages of the subscription are being able to arm or disarm the system remotely with your mobile rather than the physical keypad and automated alerts to local police.

What does a Ring Subscription Cost and what does it include?

There are now three levels of Ring Subscription available. This table doesn’t cover absolutely every feature in the subscription, but I’ve cut it down to the features that most readers practically care about:

Feature	No Subscription	Ring Solo	Ring Multi	Ring AI Pro
Price (Monthly)	£0.00	£4.99	£7.99	£15.99
Price (Annually)	£0.00	£49.99	£79.99	£159.99
Devices Covered	All (Live View Only)	1 Doorbell or Camera	All Devices (1 Address)	All Devices (1 Address)
Video Recording (180 Days)	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Smart Alerts (Person/Package)	No (Basic alerts only)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ring Alarm: In-App Arming/Disarming	No (Physical keypad only)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ring Alarm: Cellular Backup	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ring Alarm: Automated Alarm Calls	No	No	Yes	Yes
Advanced AI Features (Video Search)	No	No	No	Yes

Is a Ring Subscription worth it?

Let’s take a few of the different subscription offerings to assess them.

Is the Ring AI Pro Subscription worth it?

Let’s start with the Ring AI Pro subscription. The advertised advanced AI features are largely text descriptions of what’s happened at your door each day with being able to recognise quite specific characteristics.

You can also find bits of historic video very quickly based on a description.

That’s absolutely not worth it for double the subscription price of the other plans, so we wouldn’t recommend this option.

Is the Ring Solo or Ring Multi Subscription worth it?

The answer here is possibly, depending on your usage.

The ability to see previous callers at the door I’ve missed is genuinely useful, however if it’s someone I want to see they’ll generally give me a ring or come back!

Where I can see it would have value is seeing what happened if a package was stolen off my doorstep. To date, that hasn’t happened yet – fingers crossed!

As such, I generally operate my devices without the subscription, but there have been periods where I’ve been away and want some extra detail on what’s going on where I’ve subscribed for the month, then cancelled.

What other extras does a Ring Subscription get you?

We mentioned our table above was the key features but not a complete view, so you can compare what’s included in each plan at the Ring website here.

Subscription free Ring alternatives

Most do, but there are two names you can go with if looking for a subscription free approach – Eufy and Tapo.

Both names are good and have very good functional products that use local rather than cloud based storage for video and data. The equipment is also good quality, however expect the interface to be a little less smooth and user friendly than Ring.

Overall Review of Ring Security and Doorbell

We think the Ring products are an excellent bit of kit and do recommend them as a result with a couple of caveats.

I couldn’t believe how easy everything was to set up when quite a comprehensive , and after trying to set off my own feels feel very comfortable it’s providing an reliable security system. Both the doorbell and the security equipment are easy to use, both via mobile phone and ongoing use.

I’ve been able to place it exactly how I want, and feel very happy that everything is secure without being too intrusive. As a result the equipment itself is excellent, and I’m really impressed by.

So why 4 stars? I dislike the subscription model, especially after Ring has hiked their prices a few times – the products aren’t cheap to begin with and without the subscription features like being able to see historic views, the argument for a video doorbell becomes less compelling. However, do I think they’re worth buying, as being able to interact with potential visitors whilst new is still useful.

Battery life was the only other thing I’d mark it down for – most of the time it’s absolutely fine and easy to recharge but when it gets particularly cold in winter I find the doorbell in particular does need a monthly charge.

Outside of the same comments about camera history being locked behind a subscription (albiet, I’d only review internal camera history in case of an incident), I am very happy with the security products in particular, and have little negative to say about them.

Advantages

• Easy to install and use
• Wireless creates simple maintenance
• Flexibility to needs for your specific house
• Integration with phone well done.

Disadvantages

• Some useful features subscription locked.
• Battery life can be shorter in winter.
• Locked into Ring and Amazon ecosystem.

Where can I buy Ring Products?

The easiest place to buy Ring products is from the Amazon website where I’ve consistently found the best prices, but they are also available from Currys or Argos if you’d prefer a high street stockist.

When should I buy Ring products?

Whilst our review of the Ring products is very positive, we wouldn’t recommend paying full price for them, simply because they tend to be on sale both as part of Ring’s own website and as part of wider Amazon promotions fairly frequently.

What alternatives are available to Ring?

If your main objection to Ring is the subscription approach, then it may be worth looking at Eufy or Tapo, who offer similar products without this piece.

If you are simply looking for an alternative, Simplisafe products also get excellent reviews and were the main other product I was considering, as they have many similar features.

However what put me off was that their alarms are even more subscription based than Ring’s and it’s essential a mandatory part. The smartphone app is basically unusable without the subscription and key remote monitoring events to your phone don’t happen, including alarms sounding!

There is also a range of alarm and doorbell products available from Eufy and Tapo, who run alarm software which has the advantage of not having a subscription model as we discussed above.

FAQ’s about Ring Security and Doorbells

Any questions?

If you have any questions or thoughts about your own experiences with Ring we’d love to hear from you! Just drop us a note in the comments below.

And that’s it!

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