The best doorbell cameras

With a smart video doorbell, your front door's communication skills go from 1980s landline to a modern smartphone. Combining a motion-activated camera with a microphone, speaker, and doorbell, a doorbell camera sends alerts to your phone to show you who's calling without you having to open the door or even be at home. Whether you're curled up on the couch, hard at work in your office, or sunning on a beach in the Bahamas, a smart doorbell camera keeps you in touch with what's happening on your doorstep.

I've tested more than 30 video doorbells, and while there's no one-size-fits-all - like a smartphone, it's a personal choice - I have thoughts on which are the best of the best and which work well for specific use cases.

My most important advice is that if you have existing doorbell wires, use them. Wired doorbells are generally cheaper, work better, and are more compact, so they tend to look nicer.

If you don't have wires and don't want to pay for an electrician to run them, try using an AC power adapter (Ring and Google Nest sell their own; you can also find generic ones). But if all else fails, I've got a couple of recommendations for good battery-powered buzzers. Just plan to pick up an extra battery when you purchase, or factor in removing it from your door every few months to charge it for a few hours.

Best doorbell camera

Nest Doorbell (wired)$171$1805% off$171$171$1805% offWith 24/7 recording, facial recognition, reliable smart alerts, and some free video recording, Google's newest wired doorbell is the best option for most people.$171 at Amazon$180 at Best Buy $180 at Google

Video quality: 960x1280p, 6x zoom, HDR / Smart alerts: Person, package, animal, vehicle, and facial recognition ($) Aspect ratio: 3:4 / Field of view: 145 degrees diagonal / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz / Storage: Cloud and local / Subscription fee: $8 a month / Works with: Alexa, Google, SmartThings