The Best Video Doorbells With No Subscription 2023 (UK)

Upgrading to a smart video doorbell can be a great, inexpensive way to improve your home security. There are also a number of other great advantages to video doorbells, including being able to communicate with someone at the door without even needing to be at home.

One downside to many popular smart video doorbells is that they often come with some kind of premium subscription service, which can become costly over time. Home security is absolutely essential for keeping your house safe, and luckily there are ways to monitor your property without spending money every single month just to keep your video doorbell working. After the success of our reviews of the best no subscription wireless security cameras, we just knew it was worth taking a look into video doorbells too.

Today we’re going to take a look at the best video doorbells of 2023 which work with no subscription. For a doorbell to make it onto this list, it must be possible to access recorded footage without needing a subscription. Let’s take a look.

Spoiler alert – one of these doorbells in particular blew us away with how well-thought out it was. It’s been specifically developed to help keep outdoor parcels safe, and the way they have managed to do this is ingenious. More on that later…

Our Top Picks – No Subscription Video Doorbells

Best Overall – Eufy S330 Video Doorbell

This might not come as a surprise if you’ve already done a bit of preliminary research – the Eufy S330 is absolutely incredible, and definitely justifies its slightly more premium price point. Not to be confused with the similarly named security camera package, the S330 doorbell is one of the best Ring alternatives out there, and with no subscription to pay will probably end up being cheaper as well.

Boasting generous built-in storage, awesome video clarity and a range of truly useful innovations, the S330 is the easiest home security product to recommend, possibly ever. But what actually makes it so good?

Eufy S330 Video Doorbell – Key Features

The S330 has a number of key features which set it head and shoulders above the more budget-friendly competition. This doorbell actually makes use of a dual camera, dual motion detection system. Why? The main benefit of this doorbell having two cameras is to get a perfect view of the ground in front of your house, which makes this think incredible at detecting and protecting your packages. Two cameras and better motion detection hugely improves the video recording capabilities, whilst offering a much more useful motion detection system. These combine to create possibly the best doorbell for package detection on the market.

So there, dual cameras on a video doorbell might seem like overkill at first, but in my opinion it’s actually a highly innovative and useful idea for those of us with parcels coming in left right and centre whilst away from home.

It’s not what it’s intended for, but the lower camera can also be used to see if someone has muddy boots, so you can tell them to leave them outside. Very cool.

Eufy S330 – Camera Quality

The S330 has two cameras. Yep, two completely separate cameras on the doorbell. It’s not a gimmick though, let me explain. The main lens has a 160 degree viewing angle and faces straight out, whilst the second camera (120 degrees) points at an angle towards the ground. The main benefit of having this second camera is that it’s enabled Eufy to develop a very sophisticated parcel detection system. Thanks to the clear view of the ground, it’s able to keep an eye on any parcels left outside.

Not only that, but you can be alerted if someone touches your parcel while you are away. It’s got the ability to ward off would-be thieves through both an audio warning and also an LED which can trigger at night to scare someone off. Very, very cool stuff.

S330 – Battery or Wireless?

It’s battery powered, so both renters and homeowners alike can easily install this without much hassle. The battery life is impressive but not surprising given how good the rest of this entire package is. Given normal use, I would say you can probably expect it to last for a couple of months on a single charge but this will vary depending on how active the S330 is.

The Eufy S330 comes with a Homebase, which is a system Eufy has developed as a solution to keeping your recordings safe (hence there being no need to pay for a subscription). The Homebase works with the doorbell extremely well – it’s very clever. The video footage taken by the doorbell’s camera is actually encrypted and stored locally on the Homebase, which means that even if someone damages your camera, the recordings are all safe inside.

Eufy S330 Price

Now, on to the price. It isn’t the cheapest, at just over the £200 mark at the time of review, but I would definitely say it’s worth the additional money over some of the other Eufy doorbells, since it does come with a Homebase, as well as all the other awesome features the doorbell itself has. For this reason, I’m giving the S330 doorbell kit 5 stars. It’s going to take a whole lot of work for anyone to come out with a better all-round product. Definitely get one, especially if you’ve ever had someone take a package from you in the past.

Budget Video Doorbell Winner – AOSU UHD Video Doorbell

Coming in a close second place is the AOSU UHD video doorbell. This doorbell has the ability to record in well over 2k, beating just about anything else on the market, especially at this price point. It’s not just the lens that justifies this doorbell as one of our top picks though – with a beefy battery life and clear night vision, the AOSU is a brilliant little package, especially when paired with the included “Homebase” for local video storage.

AOSU UHD – Key Features

The AOSU Wireless Video Doorbell has dual Wi-Fi compatibility, so whether you’re on 2.4GHz or 5GHz, you’re covered. Sadly this isn’t industry standard and many other doorbells only work with one or the other, so this is a much appreciated step towards making smart doorbells work for everyone.

As I’ve briefly mentioned above, the two standout features of the AOSU are it’s downright mammoth battery life and excellent camera quality, despite being in such a small device.

It’s a little bit narrower and thicker than an iPhone if you’re struggling to visualise.

If you live on a busier road, you’ll really like the AOSU – it gives you the ability to configure the detection zone, meaning you don’t need to get relentlessly spammed with alarms every time a car drives past. I’ve found that it’s selective motion detection is very accurate, and only occasionally will it ever produce a false alarm or inaccurate alert.

Just like the Eufy S330 doorbell, storage is secured locally to its “Homebase”. This one comes with 8GB of storage which in today’s money might not seem like a lot, but as long as you clear out some old footage every few months you’ll find it to be more than sufficient. You can expect it to save about 2 months worth of high definition alerts before you need to make some space.

The AOSU’s content is also secured via 256-bit encryption, so you don’t need to worry from a security standpoint. This is one of the advantages of opting to use local storage as opposed to a subscription cloud service, and the fact that the recordings are secured inside your home is useful.

Even if the AOSU is damaged or stolen your recordings are safe, unlike cameras which solely rely on a local SD card inside the doorbell to back up footage.

One thing I will note is the setup confused me a little at first. It’s definitely worth watching the video above when it comes to setup, because I didn’t initially realise you needed to sync the Homebase to get it working. Save yourself a small headache and give it a watch.

AOSU UHD Doorbell – Camera Quality

As “UHD” might suggest, this camera delivers very crisp video. It records in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which means that a lot more of the doorbell’s surroundings are in frame. They claim the lens will let you ‘see from head to toe’ and unless someone is super close to the lens that is definitely the case.

Here’s a handy comparison so you can see the difference recording in 4:3 makes over 16:9.

AOSU Doorbell – Battery or Wireless?

The AOSU is marketed as a wireless doorbell, but you can wire it up if you would prefer. It should work with existing wiring if you already have a powered doorbell installed which you plan on replacing.

With dual power modes and dual Wi-Fi support,. it’s clear that AOSU really want to make sure their doorbell is perfect for just about any household. This strategy has certainly paid off, as it’s one of the best selling, most well regarded smart video doorbells for sale in the UK.

It’s worth noting that the 2k version of the AOSU (not the one I’m reviewing here) is specifically for running as a wireless video doorbell, so if you get that one instead then bear this in mind.

AOSU 5MP Video Doorbell – Price

At the time of writing, you can pick up an AOSU for around £120 or so, and that’s with the Homebase included. It’s nearly £100 cheaper than the Eufy right now, and although it doesn’t manage to beat out its more expensive competitor overall, you aren’t going to be disappointed. If package detection and super accurate motion tracking are high up on your list of priorities then it may be worth considering the Eufy instead, but for an all round solid video doorbell with no monthly subscription, it’s certainly a challenge to beat, especially for the price.

Buyers Guide – What To Look Out For In a Smart Doorbell

There are a number of features and factors you may want to consider when deciding which video doorbell is the right option for you.

Camera Quality – FOV and Recording Resolution

The field of view is also a very important element to consider. Getting a doorbell which can record a wider angle is great when it comes to covering a wider area, however this does come at the expense of clarity, especially in more extreme examples. This is because focussing on details will require you to zoom into the video more as the object being recorded with appear smaller, since more is being fit into the recording.

You can have the luxury of both a wide recording angle as well as crystal clear recording quality, but this will cost you considerably more. This is why it’s important to find the right balance between viewing angle, recording resolution and price.

Let’s move quickly on to the recording resolution. Many cameras these days, not just in video doorbells, are marketed as being “2k”. This used to refer specifically to a resolution of 1440p x 2560p, however marketers and manufacturers have taken this term and run with it, even on cameras which do not actually match this resolution. It’s worth diving into the details when a camera is called “2k” to understand what they really mean.

On the other hand, 1080p is a little easier to understand. This (in every case I have seen) refers to the narrower side of a video being 1080 pixels wide. Typically a 1080p camera will record in widescreen at 1920×1080, which is the same resolution as many smartphone screens, YouTube videos and TV programmes.

Resolution is not the only factor to consider, because the smoothness of the video may be sacrificed in budget high definition video doorbells. To reach that mighty “2k”, many budget video doorbells record less frames per second to allow them to hit these numbers, meaning that despite being high definition, the video recording may be very jittery. Ideally, look for a camera which records at your desired resolution with at least 24 frames per second.

Wired Vs Wireless

This is down to personal preference and I have mentioned my opinion earlier on in the article. If you like the convenience of being able to use a video doorbell without needing to add any additional wiring to your property, then wireless is the way to go. This is typically what a majority of people who rent homes also opt to do, which saves them from needing to go around drilling holes in their landlord’s property.

On the other hand, if you are away from the home for a long period of time in succession, such as if you work abroad or have a second home, it probably makes sense to opt for a wired setup. This will save you from needing to unmount your smart doorbell and charging it every now and then.

If you are away from home for less than a few weeks at a time, don’t worry. Most good wireless smart doorbells have batteries which will last considerably more than 3 weeks of normal use.

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