Why Are Ring Doorbells So Expensive? (10 Reasons)

 

A secure home has become easier than ever to achieve.

Thanks to the rise in smart technology, homeowners are able to install security cameras and other safety technology in their homes without paying another company to surveil their homes.

One popular security product is the Ring doorbell.

Ring replaces your doorbell or can work in conjunction with your existing doorbell, and it lets you view anyone at your door.

Buying and installing a Ring doorbell, however, isn’t exactly cheap.

 

Why Are Ring Doorbells So Expensive? (10 Reasons)

 

The average price of a Ring doorbell is $99.99 with the highest price around $349.99.

Ring doorbells are expensive because of the expensive features they offer, the cost of the technology required to offer those features, and the various costs associated with owning a Ring doorbell.

Let’s look at these factors in more detail.

 

1. Motion Detection Features

 

One of the popular features of a Ring doorbell is its ability to detect motion.

The Ring automatically detects motion as someone nears the door.

You then receive a notification that your Ring doorbell has caught something on its camera.

This is helpful since it can inform you whether your children or a family member has come home, you have a delivery, or someone suspicious is lurking around your door.

The problem with its motion detection capabilities is that it’s one of the things that makes Ring doorbells expensive.

To be able to sense motion, the doorbell needs some sophisticated engineering.

It needs to be able to differentiate the motion of a person from a tree swaying in the wind, for example.

That sort of technology and design isn’t cheap.

Ring doorbells are expensive because the technology used in their motion detection sensors is a bit expensive to make.

 

2. Two-Way Audio Capabilities

 

Another great feature of Ring doorbells is their ability to provide two-way audio communication.

If someone nears your door, you can speak with them through the doorbell.

You might say a quick hello and thank you to the delivery person or say hello to your children as they enter the home.

You can also use it to scare off suspicious individuals who are lurking near your door.

People who have a lot of solicitors that sell services door-to-door might also find the communication feature helpful.

It can make them feel safe when they start that initial conversation with the salesperson.

Since it’s two-way communication, it means the other person is also able to speak through the doorbell.

This kind of equipment and technology isn’t always cheap either.

Since Ring wants to provide high-quality sound, it needs to use high-quality materials to make its radio and transmitter.

Because Ring can be used on phones, it needs to work for people no matter how far away they are from their homes or doorbells.

To make all that happen, Ring manufacturers spend a good amount of money on the doorbell’s production.

A high price on the final product allows them to cover those costs.

Ring doorbells are expensive because of the cost involved in engineering and designing the doorbell’s two-way communication system.

 

3. One-Way Video Capabilities

 

Because the Ring doorbell can capture motion, it’s also able to provide the user with video.

No matter where you are in the house or outside the house, you can check your phone to see what your Ring is capturing.

The video is live at all times.

For example, if you receive a notification that your Ring doorbell has captured motion, then you might check in to see what it has filmed.

The one-way video recorder enables you to look outside and see who is standing near your door.

The video quality of Ring is also crisp compared to other security cameras.

The high-quality camera inside a Ring doorbell makes the product a bit more expensive.

It requires the manufacturers to invest in a great video recorder.

If the video wasn’t clear or crisp, then they likely wouldn’t attract many customers to their products.

After all, the fact that you can look through your Ring doorbell no matter where you are is one of its main selling features.

Ring doorbells are expensive because of the cost of the camera located inside the doorbell.

 

4. Night Vision Feature

 

One of the additional features of Ring doorbells that makes them so great is their ability to see in the dark.

Each Ring doorbell has night vision capabilities.

This makes them even more ideal for increasing the security of your home.

Not every security camera has night vision capabilities.

If someone is lurking at your door in the dark, then they won’t spot them.

Ring, however, can make it quite obvious that there’s someone lurking at your door.

However, adding night vision is another step in the doorbell’s production.

It isn’t a feature that’s always necessary, but because the company wants to produce a high-quality security doorbell, they make the extra investment.

They have to use special types of lenses to enable the camera to see in the dark.

Since they’re using materials that aren’t typically used, the price for those materials is likely a bit high.

High costs mean that the manufacturer must put high prices on its products.

Ring doorbells are expensive because they have night vision capabilities.

 

5. Connects To Your Phone

 

One of the benefits of the Ring doorbell is that it can connect to your phone.

No matter where you are, you can see exactly what’s happening outside of your home.

You only need your smartphone.

Through your phone, you’re able to access the Ring app and take a look at what’s causing your doorbell to send you a notification.

You’re then able to perform a few functions.

You can simply watch the other person through the one-way camera or speak with them.

The fact that the doorbell is able to connect to your phone requires a bit of cost on the company’s side, too.

They need to have servers available to host that information and send it to you via your phone.

The technology used isn’t the most expensive in the world, but it is costly.

It’s also an ongoing cost.

To ensure that Ring can consistently pay the costs of providing streaming services to your phone, it needs to ask for high prices for its doorbells.

Ring doorbells are expensive because of the costs associated with streaming video and audio from the doorbell to your phone.

 

6. Requires Decent Internet Access And Might Increase Data Caps

 

One of the problems that Ring doorbells have is that they require Internet access.

They run on your Wi-Fi.

Without Wi-Fi, the Ring can’t send information to your smartphone.

The problem with this is that some people have a limited amount of data that they can use as determined by their Internet service provider.

When they exceed that data cap, they usually have to pay higher monthly bills.

That can make the cost of owning Ring doorbells expensive.

The doorbell is on all the time.

Even if it’s not picking up any motion, it’s still running.

As such, it’s still using your Internet data.

Those who have tight budgets or have high data cap fees will find that owning a Ring doorbell might be more expensive than they originally realized.

Ring doorbells are expensive because they draw from your Internet’s data pool which can result in high Internet bills.

 

7. Installation Costs

 

The cost of installing Ring doorbells also isn’t always cheap.

It largely comes down to the complexity of the installation.

In most cases, you can’t install Ring on your own.

It requires a professional since it needs to hook up to your electricity and Internet.

Those who have existing doorbells may have an easier time installing a Ring doorbell.

That’s because the wiring is already there.

Those who don’t have a doorbell are going to need a professional to run the wires through, then connect the doorbell.

You might also come to find that there are problems with your door.

It might not be large enough to support the doorbell, for example.

In some cases, the installation location might have water damage or another type of damage.

That requires a different professional to come in and fix the problem.

Installing a Ring doorbell can be on the pricey side.

That can impact the overall price of the product.

Ring doorbells are expensive because installation costs can run high.

 

8. Possible Subscription Fees

 

Although Ring doorbells provide quite a few features, some of those features are part of an optional paid subscription.

For example, even if you buy a Ring doorbell, it won’t automatically record videos for you.

Instead, it only notifies you of things that are occurring live.

If someone walks in front of your door, for example, then you’ll receive a notification.

If you’re not around to see that notification and you don’t have a subscription plan with Ring, then you’re going to miss whatever it was.

That’s because Ring doesn’t record videos unless you have a subscription plan.

They have three different subscription plans.

The most basic is $3.99 a month.

It enables you to record videos from one Ring device.

That’s great if you only have one Ring device.

If you have multiple devices, however, then you’re going to need a more expensive subscription plan.

The next tier is $10 a month.

That covers all your Ring devices.

The highest tier is $20 a month which also includes professional monitoring of your Ring devices.

Video recording is helpful if your home does get burglarized.

The Ring camera might catch video of the burglars’ faces.

However, if your doorbell isn’t recording video, then there’s a chance you’ll miss catching them.

This makes Ring expensive because it encourages its buyers to pay more each month.

It’s not something you automatically get after buying their expensive doorbell.

Ring doorbells are expensive because you need to pay subscription fees to record videos.

 

9. Battery Replacements

 

Ring doorbells also run on batteries.

Batteries don’t last forever.

Even if they’re connected to an electric system or even a solar panel charging station, they’re going to run out of juice eventually.

Batteries deteriorate with time.

As such, you’re going to have to replace them at some point.

If you don’t have a charging station for the battery, then Ring doorbells are even more expensive.

You’re going to have to buy replacement batteries each time.

That makes owning a Ring doorbell more expensive.

You have to buy the doorbell, but then you’ll also pay just to keep it running.

Ring doorbells are expensive because of battery replacements.

 

10. Peace Of Mind

 

A final reason Ring doorbells are expensive is that they offer peace of mind.

Ring doorbells are essentially there for security.

They keep you from having to answer the door in person and being vulnerable to criminals.

For some people, peace of mind is worth the expensive price tag.

Ring knows that.

They’re able to get away with putting an expensive price tag on their doorbells because they know that people will buy it if they want peace of mind badly enough.

Ring doorbells are expensive because they offer peace of mind and that comes at a high price.