Which smart doorbell works without a subscription? These are 4 good options

Many video doorbells require a subscription to store camera images, but more roads lead to Rome. You can also buy a smart doorbell without a subscription and store images locally. We have listed four cool options.

Smart doorbell also works without a subscription

Some people think that a smart doorbell without a subscription will not work. That is not true. The doorbell simply does what it was made for – being able to see who is at the door remotely and keep an eye on things – even if you don’t pay monthly. So, for example, you will receive a notification when the parcel deliverer or neighbor is at the door.

Advantages of doorbell with subscription

But, a doorbell subscription does have advantages, of course. You can use it to view camera images without local storage (such as an SD card). Instead, you ‘just’ stream the images from the cloud and you don’t have to worry about this.

The exact conditions differ per manufacturer, but with most parties you can view images for a few euros a month for up to a few days. This is useful, for example, if your house has been broken into. By looking back at the camera images you can check whether the thief has already been by to poll.

Smart doorbells without a subscription

Not in the mood for another subscription? That’s no problem. There are a lot of video doorbells on the market for which you do not have to purchase a subscription. Instead, they store camera images locally. If the SD card is full, just move the videos to a hard drive. With some doorbells, you can also save the camera images with a cloud service, such as Google Drive.

Below we list four doorbells without a subscription, in order of price. We also briefly indicate the most important advantages and disadvantages.

1. Looki Dooreye

Are you looking for an affordable smart doorbell? Then take a look at the Looki DoorEye. You get a 32 GB SD card with it, so that you can store the camera images locally.

It has a sharp image for a doorbell of this price range. It is equipped with a Full HD (1080P) camera, with a field of view of 166 degrees. There is also Night vision, which also provides good visibility in the dark thanks to infrared technology. There’s also two-way audio, so you can talk to whoever is at your door remotely.

If someone moves, you will receive a notification on your iPhone and the images will be recorded and saved on the free SD card. Storing in the cloud is also possible, but this requires a subscription. The only pity is that the Looki DoorEye does not have HomeKit support, although you can’t really expect that for a video doorbell in this price range.

→ View the Looki DoorEye at Bol.com (99 euros)

2. Hombli Smart Doorbell V2

Compact, stylish and very easy to install: that is the Hombli Smart Doorbell in a nutshell. The small doorbell is slightly more expensive than the Eken V5, but feels sturdier. We also think the app is a bit clearer and we have never suffered from connectivity problems.

Unfortunately, the Hombli doorbell does not work with HomeKit. It looks like Hombli is going to set up an ecosystem of its own instead. With the Hombli app you can set up and operate all kinds of other products from the manufacturer.

That app works fine by the way. You will receive a notification in no time when someone is at the door and you can understand each other perfectly. The smart doorbell without a subscription has an SD card to store images. If you are done with this at some point, you can always purchase a Hombli subscription.

→ View the Hombli Smart Doorbell V2 at tink (139.95 euros including chime)
→ View the Hombli Smart Doorbell V2 at Bol.com (134.95 euros)

3. Eufy by Anchor Video Doorbell

If you are looking for a slightly more expensive video doorbell without a subscription, the Eufy video doorbell is worth a look. It comes with 16GB of internal memory so you don’t have to send video images to the cloud, but can also store them locally.

You need a Eufy base station for this, which comes with it. Camera images are first sent to this station, after which you can view them in the Eufy app. You don’t have to worry about privacy, because the images are encrypted. No one can watch what is happening at your front door.

Another plus of this subscription-less smart doorbell is the 2K resolution. Visitors therefore come into sharp focus and you can easily recognize people.

One drawback for Apple users is that the Eufy video doorbell doesn’t work with HomeKit, Apple’s smart home platform. This will not happen in the future either. You can of course use the Eufy app and it is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

→ Watch the Eufy Video Doorbell at BCC ($199)
→ Watch the Eufy Video Doorbell at Coolblue (199 euros)
→ Watch the Eufy Video Doorbell at MediaMarkt (199 euros)

4. Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell

You may have noticed that most unsubscribed smart doorbells don’t work with Apple HomeKit. That does not apply to the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell. This one has HomeKit integration so that you can, for example, ask Siri to view the doorbell’s camera.

In addition, you do not need a subscription to view video images, because there is a memory card in it. It is also nice that the Netatmo doorbell is very extensive. For example, you can connect the doorbell to your current gong to hear sound in the house when someone rings the doorbell.

One drawback of the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is the price tag. This smart doorbell without a subscription is certainly not cheap. This ensures that there is little to compromise on quality. The availability is also a pity: the smart Netatmo doorbell is not always in stock.

→ Check out the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell at Amac (249 euros)
→ Check out the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell at Coolblue (263 euros)
→ Check out the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell at Tink (269.95 euros)

The choice is huge

Are these the only smart doorbells without a subscription? Certainly not! The choice is huge. For example, you can also go for the Eken V7, Arlo doorbell or Robin ProLine.

The latter is fully integrated into HomeKit, so that you can indicate via the Home app, for example, when the doorbell should start recording, for example when someone rings the doorbell. The Robin ProLine is not cheap and availability is also a bit tricky: the video doorbell is not always in stock.