Last updated April 12, 2018
When we moved into our home 5 years ago, the standard door bell was working just fine. But over the years, somehow we noticed that it didn’t always ring. And sometimes when it did ring, and we had our headphones on we couldn’t hear it; this was a bummer when we had UPS/Fedex packages that we were expecting.
Long story short, there was a special on the SkyBell HD Video Door Bell and that made me pull the trigger. It’s on Amazon right now for $185.00. I purchased it after hours and hours of research and comparing it with the Ring Pro Video Door Bell on Amazon now for $225 (One big catch is that Ring Pro requires a $3/month or $30/year service to take advantage of all their features, where as the SkyBell does NOT require any service fees).
<— SkyBell HD
<– Ring Pro
Generally I’m happy with the SkyBell HD as an upgrade from a “standard doorbell”. The features that I do like are the abilities to see who is at the door and archive those videos, I get notifications on my phone when someone is at the door, I get notifications when someone rings the door bell, I can talk to the person at the door even when I’m not home, and there are no service fees to worry about. However, I’m disappointed with the fact that the video/audio quality is not that great, and there is a bit of lag when starting the video stream (3-5 seconds).
Although there may be better options out there in the future. These two are the major players right now (SkyBell HD Video Door Bell and the Ring Pro Video Door Bell). There are pros/cons of going with one or the other. At the end it comes down to the little details which you can see from the lists below. If money is not an issue, then spending the little extra for the Ring Pro may be worth it… but, for the better deal I’d still go for the SkyBell HD.
Pros of going with EITHER Wifi Video Doorbells:
- See visitors in 1080P
- At night, see visitors without even coming to the door, or even if you’re not home!
- Get alerts even if the visitor doesn’t push the button; thanks to motion detection.
- Monitor the front door anytime by starting the video fee from the mobile app.
- Videos are archived so you can check who was at your door earlier.
- Relatively easy to install if you already have a working existing wired doorbell that uses low voltage (10 to 36 VAC 10VA or 12VDC).
- Believe it or not, both SkyBell and Ring Pro offer Theft Guarantee; if your doorbell is stolen, they will replace it for free!
Pros of the SkyBell HD over the Ring Pro:
- No monthly fees for the cloud video archive service; they have a rolling limit of 20 videos, and you can save (offline) the ones you want to keep.
- Color Night Vision (Ring Pro’s Night Video is in Black & White only)
- Works between -40 to 140 Degrees F
- Cosmetically, the SkyBell HD looks nicer if you like the classy look
Pros of the Ring Pro over the SkyBell HD:
- Customizable Alert zones; Okay this is really cool, since you can zone out the street areas, reducing false alerts from cars passing by!
- It comes with 4 different color faceplates (with the SkyBell HD, you pick the color when you buy it, silver or bronze).
- Works between -5 to 120 Degrees F
- Weather Resistance
- The Online Data service does cost $3/month or $30/year; but it’s better than the free one provide by SkyBell HD; since it will save ALL videos for 60 days.
- Cosmetically, The Ring Pro looks nicer if you like the contemporary look.
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