Do Ring video doorbells work without a subscription?

Independent

06-02-2025

Ring is one of the biggest names in smart home security. Owned by Amazon, Ring is best known for its video doorbells, but also produces a range of indoor and outdoor security cameras, along with intercoms and even entire security systems, complete with door sensors, motion detectors, keypads and sirens.
The products are mostly very good, but they only work to their full potential when you pay for a monthly (or annual) subscription. The subscription used to be called Ring Protect, but in October 2024 it became Ring Home.
While Ring products, like doorbells and security cameras, work without subscribing to Ring Home, their functionality is reduced. Paying for one of the three tiers of Ring Home unlocks extra features, such as cloud video storage, 24/7 recording, package detection and the ability to use multiple Ring products at a time.
Continue reading the article below to learn all about the features of Ring Home, how the three price tiers work, what they cost, and how to get an annual discount on the standard price.
Do Ring products work without a subscription?
New Ring products, like its video doorbells, come with a free 30-day trial of Ring Home. This means you can use the products to their full potential for a month, then decide whether you want to cancel Ring Home or start paying a subscription.
Without Ring Home, you can still answer alerts and view live video on the company's video doorbells and security cameras. So, if a visitor presses the doorbell button, you will be alerted via the Ring smartphone app. You can then open the app to have a live, two-way video call with the visitor. Similarly, you can open the app at any time and view live video from the doorbell camera – this also works with Ring's security cameras, too.
This could be enough functionality for some Ring customers, since the product still sends an alert and connects them to visitors. In the case of a Ring camera, you can still get a live view after motion is detected. Without a subscription however, Ring products cannot be used to record footage for viewing (or downloading) later.
As of early-2025, there are three tiers of Ring Home subscription. The cheapest is called Basic and can only be used with one video doorbell or Ring security camera. If you only intend to install a single doorbell and no other Ring products, this could be a good option for you.
Ring Home Basic Tier
A subscription to the Basic tier unlocks cloud storage, where recordings captured by your Ring doorbell or security camera are automatically uploaded via wi-fi to Ring's secure cloud storage service. They are stored for 180 days before being deleted, and during that time you can view and download them for safe keeping.
This tier also unlocks person and package detection, which uses artificial intelligence to help the camera distinguish between types of objects and movement. If a courier leaves a parcel on your doorstep, the doorbell will tell you through the Ring app. The tier also adds video preview alerts to your Ring product, which adds video to your smartphone notifications. That way, you can see what's going on from within the notification itself, then decide to open the Ring app for a live view or watch the recording later.
Lastly – and as with all three tiers of Ring Home subscription – you get 10 per cent off future purchases from the Ring website.
Ring Home Standard tier
Next up is the Standard tier. This lets you use an unlimited number of Ring products, as long as they are all at the same location (at the same home, in other words). On top of everything included in the Basic tier, a Standard subscription adds Extended Live View, which lets you watch a live video feed from up to four Ring devices simultaneously for up to 30 minutes at a time. Standard also enables picture-in-picture, letting you stream a live view from your Ring camera or doorbell while using other apps on your phone.
Another feature of Standard is 'Doorbell Calls', which sends alerts to your smartphone that look like video phone calls and use the same ringtone you have set for normal phone calls. It's a quicker and simpler way to see a live feed from your video doorbell, since the call starts immediately.
'Daily Event Summary' is another feature of the Standard tier. This creates a video timeline showing all events recorded by your doorbell and/or security cameras over the past day, including presses of the doorbell button, motion and person detection.
Ring Home Premium Tier
Lastly, Ring has the Premium tier. This offers everything included with Basic and Standard, plus the ability for security cameras to record 24/7, and to view live video continuously (not just for 30 minutes at a time).
Essentially, this tier provides unlimited cloud storage for recordings from all of your Ring products. There are some limitations, however. Only powered (or plugged in) devices are compatible, including: Stick Up Cam (3rd gen), Stick Up Cam Pro, Indoor Cam (2nd gen) and Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam.
Ring says 24/7 recording is limited to 10 devices at one property, and these recordings are only stored for 14 days. Clipped recordings of specific events – like motion detection, parcel deliveries and doorbell button presses – are stored for 180 days.
How much does a Ring Home subscription cost?
Finally, the price. Ring has been criticised for upping its prices in recent years, with the most recent increase of over 40 per cent happening in March 2024.
At the time of writing, Ring Home Basic costs £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year. Ring Home Standard costs £7.99 per month or £79.99 per year, and Ring Home Premium costs £15.99 a month or £159.99 annually. It's entirely possible that these prices will increase again, but since they only went up last year, they are unlikely to change in the short term.