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The Best Smart DoorbellGoogle Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen)

$177 Amazon

Runner-UpArlo Video Doorbell 2K

$130 $49 (62% off) Amazon

Best Subscription-Free Video DoorbellEufy Video Doorbell E340

$150 $100 (33% off) Amazon

Best for Apple HomeKitAqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410

$145 $100 (31% off) Amazon

As people who receive a lot of packages, we at the WIRED Reviews team have a foolproof way of making sure an important delivery shows up: step into the shower. If you’re sitting at your desk with your shoes on, waiting and ready, I guarantee that every knock or ring will be from someone trying to sell you something or convert you to an obscure and weirdly expensive religion.

Even if you’re working in your backyard or hungover in bed, the best video doorbell can help you tell which knocks are worth lunging for and which ones can wait until next time. We've tested these smart doorbells for months, peering at Instacart deliveries and stray raccoons from the safety and comfort of our couches. The Nest Doorbell is our current favorite, but you'll find plenty of alternative picks that might work better for some folks.

Don’t see anything you need here? Check out our other guides, including the Best Indoor and Outdoor Security Cameras and the Best Personal Safety Devices and Alarms.

Updated March 2026: I added the Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen) and Aqara G410, mentions for other doorbells from Aqara, Philips Hue, Wyze, and SwitchBot, reorganized this guide to slim down our recommendations, removed discontinued doorbells, and updated prices.

- The Best Smart Doorbell

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

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Google

Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen)

$177 Amazon

$180 Google

$179 Walmart

$180 Best Buy

I’ve had Google’s third-generation Nest Doorbell (wired) installed by my front door for four months, and overall, I’ve been quite happy with the experience. It’s one of the most attractive video doorbells on the market—design is important; it’s the first impression of your home, after all.

I used the predecessor for a few years, and while it did the job, I ran into connectivity issues more frequently; it occasionally had trouble operating in cold weather, too. Now that I’ve been through a rather frigid winter in New York City with the third-gen Nest Doorbell, I’m happy to report that things have improved. It’s hard to pinpoint whether some of my issues with the older model were due to my previous router, but I upgraded my mesh system to Wi-Fi 7 right around the same time I installed the latest Nest Doorbell, and I haven’t had any major connectivity problems. Sometimes the live view takes a beat to load, and very rarely I get “live view unavailable,” which usually resolves itself after a little while.

The best upgrade is the 166-degree wider and taller field of view with the 1:1 aspect ratio. You can see far more in the frame—including packages left at the bottom of your door—and the system intuitively zooms in on people and important subjects when the notification arrives on your phone. The resolution is sharp at 2K, and the scene is well-exposed thanks to HDR, day or night.

I have Google’s TV Streamer, and when the TV is on, I can get notifications that someone has rung the doorbell with a live view right on the big screen. (My other Nest displays and speakers blast that the doorbell is ringing around the house because I don’t use Google’s included chime.) You can communicate through the doorbell, and delivery drivers seem to hear me just fine when I ask them to leave a package by my trash can or that I’m not home.

I’ve set up activity zones through the Google Home app, and the Nest Doorbell does a good job of only bothering me with whatever happens in those zones, though it can occasionally pick up a stray person walking down the street. You don’t have to subscribe to Google Home Premium Standard or Advanced, but it’s worth it if you want more than six hours of event video previews. I also get Familiar Face detection through the subscription, so the Doorbell announces when a friend comes over, but the accuracy is hit or miss. It frequently mistakes me for a few different friends.

It’s annoying that Google gatekeeps the Gemini-powered home automations into the subscription, because these can be very useful. I asked Gemini to make sure my smart floodlights turn on only after midnight when it detects motion, and it set it up within seconds. You can’t even search your video history without the Advanced plan, which feels a little ridiculous. The daily summaries included in this plan are also not super helpful, especially when they get things wrong or suggest that my friend was in my front yard when they weren’t. I do like that I can search “Did I get a package today?” and

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