Ring Security Cameras

Among the startups that entered the home security scene in recent memory, Ring is one of the few that actually made it — and in a rather spectacular fashion. From being a former Shark Tank reject, Ring has become one of Amazon’s highest valued acquisitions worth over $1 billion.1 To those familiar with Ring, it wasn’t all too surprising; Ring has always attracted a lot of consumers thanks to its high-quality products, affordable subscriptions, and solid smartphone apps.

If you’re one of the folks considering buying Ring security cameras, we’ve put together an objective guide that details how much their security cameras cost, whether you should get a cloud storage subscription or avoid monthly fees, and how Ring compares with its most formidable rivals.

Our Favorite Things About Ring Security Cameras

• 1080p resolution: All the Ring security cameras we tested recorded and streamed in 1080p. They captured crisp and clear videos without hogging too much of our network’s bandwidth.
• Smart features: All of Ring’s cameras were not created equal. Some have extra smart features, like built-in motion-triggered floodlights or spotlights, customizable activity zones, and AI-based person detection.
• Affordable cloud storage: Cloud storage plans start at only $3 per month for every camera or $10 per month to cover an unlimited number of cameras and video doorbells in one location. The latter is a great deal if you plan on getting multiple Ring products or want 24/7 professional monitoring.
• Flexible equipment options: Ring offers lots of security camera options. There are indoor and outdoor cameras, cameras with built-in smart lights, and even battery and solar-powered variants.
• Voice assistant integrations: As an Amazon-owned company, Ring’s products are well-connected to Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. But if you prefer Google Assistant over Amazon, Ring offers useful integrations with Google Assistant as well.

Camera Comparison: Prices and Features

All in all, Ring offers 10 security camera options. That sounds like a lot, but in reality, some of those cameras are pretty similar; the only difference is the accessories they come with, which affect how they get power. As an example, the Ring Stick Up Cam comes in a Wired, Battery, and Solar version. The Wired version was designed to be plugged in, the Battery version comes with a rechargeable battery and the Solar version comes with a solar panel. All three variants share the same hardware features (resolution, viewing angle, audio, etc.), but some features, like person detection, are only accessible when the camera is plugged-in. Here’s some more brief information on each of Ring’s cameras:

• The Ring Indoor Cam is a simple indoor camera designed for wall, ceiling, or shelf placement. It has the same video quality as the other Ring cameras but a narrower field of vision.

• The Ring Stick Up Cam is an indoor/outdoor model. It can be plugged in, battery-powered, or solar-powered with the right accessories. It’s best placed on porches, patios, or sheds.
• The Ring Stick Up Cam Elite has the same capabilities as the Stick Up Cam but with uninterrupted power and internet connection thanks to its Power over Ethernet (PoE) adapter.
• The Ring Spotlight Cam is an outdoor camera with two built-in, motion-activated, smart LED spotlights that are effective thief deterrents.2 It can be plugged into a regular wall outlet or hardwired to replace existing spotlights. It can also run on batteries or solar power.

• The Ring Floodlight Cam is the centerpiece of Ring cameras. Like the Spotlight Cam, it has two smart, motion-activated lights, only brighter and has a wider coverage because each floodlight can be independently aimed. The Floodlight Cam is hardwired.

Breakdown of the Various Ring Cameras

Accessories

Aside from cameras, Ring sells accessories that make their cameras more flexible and convenient to use. For instance, when we went out of town, we purchased a solar panel for our Stick Up Cam Battery to make sure it never ran out of juice. The solar panel essentially turned our Stick Up Cam Battery into a Stick Up Cam Solar. Here are the other security camera accessories sold by Ring.

Ring Protect: Free vs. Basic vs. Plus

We have good news and bad news for you. Bad news first: Ring cameras don’t support local recording and there is no free cloud storage, so a paid Ring Protect subscription is required to access recordings. But the good news is, the Ring Protect plans are affordable.

Subscription Comparison

Let’s break down the Ring Protect plans. Right out of the box, each Ring camera comes with the free version of Ring Protect that enables motion alerts, customizable motion detection, or activity zones, live streaming, and two-way audio. But without cloud storage, there’s no way for the camera to record footage so we could view it later. That might be a problem if we end up having an intrusion and need video evidence.

Ring Protect Basic adds video recording thanks to the 60 day cloud storage. This means recordings triggered by motion events remain in the cloud for 60 days, available for viewing, downloading, or sharing. After that, they are gone for good. However, Ring Protect Basic covers only one camera.

If you plan on getting multiple cameras, the $10 per month Ring Protect Plus plan makes more sense. You can add an unlimited number of cameras to your Ring account and they will all get 60 days of cloud storage. The only restriction is that they have to be installed under one roof. When we moved some of our Ring cameras to a friend’s house, for example, we were asked to purchase a separate subscription. Aside from cloud storage, the Ring Protect Plus plan gave us benefits like exclusive 10% discounts at Ring.com and professional monitoring for our Ring Alarm security system that we also tested as well as our Ring cameras and video doorbells.

What Works With Ring?

One of the many advantages of Ring is its ever-expanding list of integrations. Though most of the integrations were made for Ring Alarm, there are a few third-party smart home products that work directly with Ring cameras and video doorbells.

Amazon Alexa

Amazon owns Ring now, so it’s only fitting that Ring cameras work with Amazon’s voice assistant. We tried this integration when we tested Ring cameras and it worked flawlessly. We asked Alexa to show us live feeds and the latest motion event clip on our Echo Show. To make things easier, we named our cameras based on where we placed them so that we could simply say, “Alexa, show my backyard,” or “Alexa, show my front door.” We also discovered that it’s possible to initiate a two-way communication between Ring and our Alexa speaker. Using this feature, we answered our door conveniently without having to stop whatever we were doing on our phones. Lastly, we set our Echo Dot speakers to make an announcement when our Ring cameras detect movement or a person. Alexa even told us which camera detected movement or a person, keeping us up to speed completely hands-free.

Google Assistant

Although we love our Alexa speakers, we like having options, so we also have Google Home speakers set up around our house. Ring also works with Google Assistant, the voice assistant of Google Home, but the integration didn’t offer us much in terms of features. We used it to trigger a recording (“OK Google, talk to Ring about starting a new recording.”) and to check the battery health of our battery and solar-powered cameras (“OK Google, talk to Ring about the health of my devices.”).

Ring vs. Other Brands

Now, if you’re considering getting Ring cameras, you probably also wonder how Ring compares to other brands, especially its fiercest rivals Nest, Arlo, and Canary.

Nest, as a company under Google’s umbrella, rivals Ring in terms of integrations. In fact, Nest works well with both Alexa and Google Assistant, not to mention all the other integrations made possible by the Works with Google Assistant program, which includes Philips Hue smart lighting, among others.

In terms of video quality, Arlo has the upper hand. Unlike Ring, Arlo offers security cameras with resolutions beyond 1080p. The Arlo Ultra, in particular, has a 4K resolution, twice the amount of pixels as 1080p HD. As for the cost, Canary has the cheapest cameras, with all three of their products selling below $200. In comparison, most of Ring’s cameras are priced $200 or more, with the exception of the Ring Indoor Cam and all the Ring Stick Up Cam variants. Those cameras are within the $60 to $150 price range.

So where does Ring win? Ring cameras are inexpensive compared to Nest and Arlo cameras, but they are not cheaply built. Second, Ring’s cloud storage plans are affordable. Ring Protect Plus offers 60 days of cloud storage for an unlimited number of cameras plus professional monitoring for only $10 per month or $100 per year. Arlo and Canary’s 30 day cloud storage options are feeble in comparison to Ring Protect. And last but not least, Ring has the Neighbors App, a location-based virtual neighborhood watch feature that promotes safety not only within your property but also in your community. On the app, users share real-time community alerts, crime and safety-related recordings, and public safety notifications. Neither Nest, Arlo, nor Canary has a similar feature.

The Overall Value of Ring Cameras

In the end, only you can tell the overall value of Ring cameras to your home security and if Ring is the right security camera brand. However, we can give you some key pointers.

On the hardware side of things, Ring is solid. The company has spent years developing its products. Compared to what we saw a few years ago when we first tested Ring, its cameras are a lot better now yet the price didn’t increase that much. Ring also offers plenty of options. Whether you’re looking for security cameras, video doorbells, security systems, or even smart accessories like lighting systems, Ring has something for you.

In terms of video storage, it’s unfortunate that Ring doesn’t have any local recording options, but with Ring Protect, you can store unlimited clips from unlimited cameras for cheap. It’s also worth noting that cloud videos last for 60 days while other companies usually offer 30 days. Smart features like person detection and integrations with voice assistants made the experience even better. Overall, Ring is a promising brand that only gets better over the years. If you ask us, it’s a security camera system worth investing in.