Best Inexpensive Alternatives to the Nest Hello

The Nest Hello is an amazing video doorbell system but can get expensive really fast. Despite how wonderful it is and how much everyone wants one, not everyone can afford it. However, I have the remedy for this predicament!

What are the best inexpensive alternatives to the Nest Hello? They are:

  1. The Ring Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell
  2. The Zmodo Smart Greet
  3. The Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Doorbell
  4. The DophiGo Wireless Doorbell
  5. The DEBARK Smart Video Doorbell

What people look for when they are trying to get a video doorbell is the best quality they can find along with the best and easiest functionality.

Just because you can’t or don’t want to get the Nest Hello doesn’t mean you have to give this great quality up completely. I have compiled a list of my favorite inexpensive video doorbells that are great quality AND a great price.

#1 – Ring Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell ($99.99)

The Ring Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell is one of the top rating doorbells out there and it is quite affordable too.

One of my favorite features of this device is it can very easily connect to your Alexa device to provide for even easier use and productivity. You can modify settings and so much more simply by asking Alexa to do it for you. There is no need to open your phone at that point!

Another awesome feature that I love is the two-way talk capabilities. You and your guest can talk from the video doorbell device and your phone or tablet.

You can see, hear, and speak to your guests through your device and the doorbell. This makes it so that you can talk to your guests and send them off without ever having to get off the couch! How sweet is that? You can kick people off your property with the least amount of effort possible! It’s a dream come true!

This smart doorbell also will send you alerts when motion is detected on your porch or when people press the doorbell. You will know the second someone is at your door before they even have the chance to let you know.

You can also check the live feed at any time from your device as well so you can see what’s going on. You can get these notifications or check the footage from anywhere too! It doesn’t matter if you are 15 feet away from your front door or 15 hours. You will always get the notifications.

This device works on homes with AND without pre-existing doorbell wiring in your home. You can run this device on both an electrical power source from this wiring or by battery power. So, no need to worry if you don’t already have a doorbell to hook up your device to.

Worried about not being able to pick up footage at night when it’s too dark for cameras to see anything?

This video doorbell has an HD video camera with infrared night vision so you won’t miss anything, especially in the middle of the night when your porch light is off and everyone is asleep. You will be protected and have security footage 24/7.

With this device also comes Lifetime Theft Protection. If your doorbell gets stolen from your doorstep, the Ring company will give you a new one for FREE! Can’t have your anti-theft/security device getting stolen, so they will help you out by replacing it if it’s stolen. That’s pretty sweet if you ask me!

This device prices out at $99.99 with free shipping on Amazon Prime has a 4 out of 5-star rating from 31,156 customer reviews and counting! It is a no brainer buy!

#2 – Zmodo Smart Greet ($69.93)

My next top choice would without a doubt be the Zmodo Smart Greet video doorbell system. It has very similar features to the Ring Video Doorbell and is a well-known device while also being great quality and AFFORDABLE!

One of the similar features that this video doorbell system has is two-way talk capabilities. You can see, hear, and speak to your guests through the doorbell and your phone or tablet without having to get off the couch.

No more need for putting out all of the effort to get up and answer the door every time someone comes.

This device also has live streaming that you can check from your device at any time, no matter where you are. You don’t even have to wait for someone to ring your doorbell to have the camera kick in and start taping what is going on.

It is continuously going for your luxury and security. Your doorbell also has motion-detection software that will alert you every time there is movement on your porch so that you know if someone is there without them even ringing the doorbell.

The Zmodo Smart Greet has a great camera for optimal vision and range as well. The camera is a new HD, 155-degree wide-angle lens that gives you a super clear view of your entire porch. You won’t miss a thing with this wide-angle camera lens.

The Zmodo Smart Greet also has a Cloud Service that will store your motion alert video clips for 36 hours for free.

Users are eligible and even encouraged to use the 30-day free trial of their 7-day cloud recording plan which will save these motion alert clips for an entire week, making it so you won’t have to go through your feed daily and will have important evidence stored on your phone longer. Device owners are also encouraged to purchase these extended storage packages.

This device has a 60-day return policy along with a 3-Year Limited Warranty and lifetime tech support in the U.S. The Zmodo Smart Greet prices out to be $69.93 with free shipping on Amazon Prime. It has a 3.5 out of 5-star rating from 2,003 customer reviews.

#3 – Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Doorbell ($52.99)

The Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Doorbell is a reliable and very cost effective option for one of these devices. One of my favorite features of this device that is unique from the other devices is that it is completely plug-in free.

For the set-up of this doorbell, you simply have to install the battery, connect it to the Wi-Fi, and download the mobile app. After these three easy steps and placing it on the wall or door, whichever you prefer, then the device is all set and ready to go.

This battery powered smart doorbell also has a low rate of power consumption. The battery can last for around 6 months before needing to be recharged. Once the battery runs out of power, you simply take it out of the device, recharge it, then put it right back into the doorbell.

It will last about another 6 months before needing to be charged again. It uses a rechargeable lithium battery that is 18mm by 69mm in dimension. Having a rechargeable battery for the device also saves you from having to buy batteries all the time, and who doesn’t like saving money!

The camera in this smart doorbell device has high definition resolution with a wide-angle lens. this makes it so the picture quality is crystal clear and catches your entire porch, not just immediately in front of your door.

This camera also has PIR (passive infrared) body sensing monitoring that will help your camera to pick up footage even in the middle of the night when it is dark outside. You won’t miss a thing!

The Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Doorbell also has motion detection and alert features, like the other doorbells do, so that you will be notified of any activity on your porch regardless of whether they ring the doorbell or not. You won’t miss a single thing, especially if something goes wrong.

A unique feature that I always love that the Ring doorbell and the Zmodo doorbell both have that this one has as well as the two-way talk capabilities.

Just like with the other two, you and your guest on your porch can see, hear, and speak to each other through the doorbell and your phone or tablet that is connected to the system. You won’t have to leave the comfort of your bed or couch in order to answer the door all the time!

The Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Doorbell prices out to be $52.99 with free shipping on Amazon Prime. It has a 3.7 out of 5-star rating from 174 customers, which is much less than the last two, but this device is definitely reliable.

#4 – DophiGo Wireless Doorbell ($79.99)

The DophiGo doorbell is another not-so-common one, but still good quality and reliable if you are looking for a cheaper, yet still good quality video doorbell system.

Like these other doorbells, the DophiGo has a two-way talk feature so that you can communicate with your guest at your front door, without having to ever leave the comfort of your chair, or even if you are not home at all.

This wireless video doorbell also has a military-grade level of infrared light so that it can use pristine night vision. This high-quality night vision is great for making sure that you are still able to tell what is going on in the video, even in the middle of the night when all house, porch, and street lights are off and unable to provide light for the camera to see.

Along with this military-grade infrared light to provide a quality night vision feature, this camera has 960 HD video which will provide you with super clear video quality.

You won’t have to worry about having blurry footage creating an identification problem. You will know exactly who and what is going across your porch without hesitation.

A unique feature that this DophiGo Wireless Doorbell system has, even on some of the more expensive brands like Ring and Nest Hello, is their lifetime guarantee of FREE cloud storage.

You won’t have to ever worry about your video footage expiring because it will all be saved forever in your account without any expiration date.

This doorbell system also has group notifications, like you would get with popular systems like Ring and Nest Hello.

You can hook up multiple devices to your system so that everyone in your house with a smartphone that is connected to the system will get a notification when they are sent out. You won’t have to worry about being the only one knowing if someone is at the door.

This system comes with its own battery which has a 3-year lifespan before needing to be replaced. This is great because you won’t have to worry about changing the battery all of the time because it keeps dying. You can keep it marked in your out of sight, out of mind list of things for a few years before ever having to think about it again.

This doorbell, like it states in the name, is a wireless one. This means that you don’t have to touch a single electrical wire in the installment of this device! You can just attach it to your wall and hook it up to the WiFi system and you are good to go!

The DophiGo Wireless Doorbell prices out to be $79.99 with free shipping on Amazon Prime. It has a 4.1 out of 5-star rating from 181 customers which is rather good, actually!

#5 – DEBARK Smart Video Doorbell ($78.99)

This doorbell is another great alternative option that provides excellent features equivalent to the name brand devices such as Ring and Nest Hello video doorbells.

One of these similar features that are absolutely awesome is the easy installation of the device. No wires or cables are needed to install this device at all. You simply need to download the XSH Cam app to your device and put the doorbell on the wall and you’re set.

This device also has a great camera. It has 720P HD video and a 166-degree view angle so it is sure to not miss anything that happens around your porch. It will catch any and all footage with excellent clarity in video quality as well!

Like most of these devices, you can access live video feed from this video doorbell from the click of a button on your phone! You don’t have to worry about the hassle of trying to sign in on a computer or something to see what is going on on your porch.

Another great feature that is more of a personal, fun one is that this doorbell system has 55 chimes that you can choose from as your doorbell tone.

With these 55 chimes, you also have 5 modes to control the volume of your doorbell chime as well. No worrying about having an annoying chime or having it be uncontrollably too loud!

Like most doorbells, this system also has the two-way talk feature, but this device also has noise canceling set up with its audio system. This makes it so you don’t have to worry about trying to listen or talk through tons of unnecessary background noise such as wind, cars driving by, people walking by, etc.

The microphone will focus on the voice speaking into the microphone or the relevant noises to the video footage.

This camera also has smart PIR motion detection and loop recording. This feature will pick up video footage whenever it picks up that someone is near and walking onto your porch so that you have full footage of what happens when this person is around your home. This comes in especially handy in case of robberies etc.

In order to make sure that this camera picks up footage no matter what the weather or time of day, like competing video doorbells, this doorbell is equipped with IR Night Vision. With this night vision, you won’t miss a single thing even if it is 3 am and all street and porch lights are out.

One of the struggles with these devices that people often run into is a hassle to remove, recharge, and replace batteries to power their doorbell.

This company has thought of this inconvenience and provided you with an innovative quick-release, rechargeable battery pack to solve these problems. No more stress about having to completely take apart the system to change the battery out!

To go with this awesome, easy-access feature that the battery has, the batteries can power the doorbell for 6-8 months before needing to be recharged and replaced. You won’t have to worry about constantly changing the batteries so that your doorbell will work!

The DEBARK Smart Video Doorbell prices out to be $78.99 with free shipping on Amazon Prime. It has a 3.7 out of 5-star rating from 205 customer reviews.

Related Questions:

What video doorbell system is best? My personal favorite system is the Ring video doorbells. Their Ring Video Doorbell 2 is the best in my opinion because it has the amazing qualities and features of all of the Ring doorbells but it also can be a complete wire-free set up making it apartment and rental friendly as well due to its minimally damaging installment.

Do you need a subscription for the Nest Hello? You can use the Nest Hello without a subscription. However, Nest Aware, the subscription service, will mean that your 24/7 surveillance is recorded. Without the subscription you can only view video live.

Luke Miller

Luke Miller is a writer, real estate professional, rental property investor, and home renovation enthusiast based in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Iowa in a self-sufficient household where he learned the skills to do everything from plumbing, drywall, to basic handyman repair for everyday problems. He enjoys sharing his vast experience and his continuous learning with fellow DIY enthusiasts.

Recent Posts