Ring vs Nest Doorbell: Which Smart Doorbell Wins?

Ring and Nest are the two heavyweights of the smart doorbell world, and picking between them mostly comes down to which ecosystem you're already in. Got a house full of Alexa devices? Ring is the obvious play. All-in on Google Home? Nest makes way more sense. But there's more to it than just ecosystem. Ring offers more models at more price points. The 2nd Gen Wired is a fantastic budget option — it's only about $60 and gives you 1080p video, motion detection, and two-way talk. The Doorbell 4 and Battery Doorbell Plus step things up with head-to-toe video and Pre-Roll previews so you can see what happened before motion was detected. That Pre-Roll feature is a big deal because most doorbells only start recording after they detect movement. Google's Nest Doorbell is more of a one-size-fits-all approach. Fewer models, but the hardware is solid and on-device processing means it can tell the difference between a person, a package, an animal, and a vehicle without needing a subscription for basic alerts. Ring charges for that through Ring Protect. And that subscription cost adds up over time, so factor it in.