When companies like Ring introduced items like the Ring doorbell, it changed how homeowners protected themselves.
Ring doorbell owners have also noticed that the price of owning and running a Ring doorbell has increased.
You may wonder what’s making your Ring doorbell service so expensive.
Why Are Ring Doorbells So Expensive? (10 Reasons)
The average price of a Ring doorbell ranges from $60 to $350.
That doesn’t include any extras that you add to your service.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of their various features which increase production costs, the investments Ring pours into itself, and the extra costs required to keep your Ring doorbell running.
Let’s look at these factors in more detail.
1. More Memory Costs
Originally, those who used Ring and had the Basic Plan could only save videos for a limited time.
Now, Ring has upgraded the Basic Plan to match its Plus and Pro Plans.
For all plans, videos are saved for 180 days.
Essentially, this means that Ring users can save their recordings for up to 180 days before they’re deleted from the memory.
This is helpful in the event that you need to scroll back to a recording that took place a few months ago.
However, memory isn’t cheap and this means that Ring has to spend more money to allow all of its users to access the increased amount of memory they need.
Before the change, Ring was able to save a bit of money on computational costs since its Basic Plan members could only save videos for a little more than two months.
Now that all its users are able to save their videos for 180 days, it is more expensive to maintain.
Since this is costing Ring more money, it had to increase its prices to continue to bring in revenue.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of their expanded memory for all users.
2. Upgraded Software
Ring has recently undergone some upgrades to its system.
For one, it’s allowing its Basic Plan users to have a lot more features.
For example, Basic Plan users used to only have person alerts sent to their smartphones.
With the upgraded plan, Basic Plan users can now get Smart Alerts for cars, animals, and other actions.
Their sound detection alerts are also upgraded.
The Basic Plan did not include sound detection at all in the past.
Now, the Basic Plan includes alerts when the doorbell hears the sound of breaking glass and other noises.
These increased software upgrades cost Ring money to develop and ship.
Because Basic Plan members now get some of the same features as Pro and Plus Plan members, Basic Plan users are going to end up paying more for those features.
Ring also regularly releases software updates that its users don’t have to pay for.
It helps keep the system up to date and fixes any bugs.
Since there are people developing and implementing those updates, Ring has to pay them.
Expenses such as these all end up being covered with customers’ subscription plan payments.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of regular software upgrade costs.
3. Sound Detection Costs
One of the features that Ring doorbells have is their ability to detect certain sounds.
Depending on your preferences, your Ring doorbell can inform you when it hears a car approaching your door.
The same goes for it if hears someone approaching the door.
You can also have it listen for the sound of glass breaking.
When it detects that sound, it’s able to send you an alert on your phone.
You can then access your Ring doorbell’s camera to investigate the noise.
This type of interaction is quite complex.
For one, the doorbell has to be able to differentiate between noises.
Then it needs to send that information to the user.
This is something that the doorbell is doing constantly.
The type of hardware and software needed to execute such a function doesn’t come cheap.
As such, Ring has to put an expensive price on its doorbells.
Since the service is ongoing, Ring also has to ensure that it receives enough funds to continue supporting these features by charging more for its subscription plans.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of their ability to detect certain sounds.
4. Customization For Alert Events
One of the upcoming features that Ring has planned for its users is the ability to set a custom event alert.
This essentially means that you can tell your Ring doorbell to look for certain things.
If it notices that thing, it will send you an alert.
An example might be an opened gate or a car door or the front door that’s left open.
The ability to customize what alerts your Ring doorbell sends to you is quite an expensive feature to develop.
It requires sophisticated software.
For one, the doorbell has to distinguish between the different shapes it sees to determine what each item, like a door, is.
It also has to determine if it should focus on that particular item or not.
For example, if you have alerts set for the front door being open but not the gate being open, then it needs to be able to distinguish between the two.
It then needs to transfer that information to you.
It has to do this quickly and constantly.
Manufacturing something like that and maintaining it isn’t always cheap.
To offset its costs, Ring has to sell its doorbells at high prices.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of their sophisticated features like custom alert events.
5. Syncing Abilities With Other Smart Devices
Another one of Ring’s great capabilities is its ability to sync with other smart devices.
For one, you can sync your various Ring devices together.
Your doorbell works well with other Ring devices.
Together, they can keep you informed about the status of your house.
Since they’re all Ring products, syncing them is quite easy.
It isn’t just Ring products that the doorbell can sync to either.
It can also sync with Alexa, Amazon’s AI assistant.
By linking your Ring doorbell to Alexa, you can receive an alert no matter where you are in the house.
You can also use your Echo display screen to see a large feed from your doorbell.
The ability to sync requires some engineering.
While it’s easy to sync devices that come from the same company, it isn’t always as easy to sync devices not made by the same company.
As such, your Ring doorbell’s ability to sync with other non-Ring devices means that a large amount of engineering and manufacturing time and expense went into its production.
The ability to sync makes life more convenient for customers since it can reduce how many devices or tools you need to buy to make your security or smart systems cohesive.
These added costs, however, mean Ring has to charge more for its doorbells.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of their ability to sync with other devices.
6. Night Vision Capabilities
Another great feature of Ring doorbells is their ability to see in the dark.
Ring doorbells come with night vision.
They’re able to see a few feet out from the door no matter how dark it is outside.
This is one of the reasons why Ring doorbells are so valuable.
Crime is most likely to occur at night.
A Ring doorbell can capture every moment of a person’s attempt to break into a home.
Because it has clear night vision, it’s able to capture a pretty good video or photos of the individual.
That can help the police locate the person and bring them in for questioning.
However, the ability to have clear night vision requires some expensive materials and engineering.
Because Ring knows how important it is to see in the dark, it spares little expense in making sure its doorbells provide excellent night vision captures.
However, because it takes on more costs for this feature, it offsets them with higher prices.
Ring doorbells are expensive because they’re capable of getting clear night vision captures.
7. Different Plans With Different Features
Ring doorbells on their own can be quite expensive.
However, they become even more expensive when you decide to purchase a Protect Plan as well.
Without a Protect Plan, you’re still looking at paying anything between $60 and $350 for just the doorbell.
With a Protect Plan, your doorbell becomes even more expensive since you now have an ongoing cost associated with it.
Ring offers three different subscription plans.
Each one has its own features and bonuses.
Obviously, the more that you pay, the more features you unlock.
The Basic Plan runs at $3.99 a month.
The Plus Plan costs $10 a month.
The most expensive plan, the Pro Plan, costs $20 a month.
This makes Ring doorbells expensive because if you choose a subscription plan then you’re paying monthly for your doorbell.
Your doorbell no longer becomes a one-off $350 charge.
That can make owning and operating a Ring doorbell quite expensive.
Ring doorbells are expensive because the company’s subscription plans are quite expensive.
8. Research And Development Costs
Ring is well aware that it’s not the only security camera company in the market.
Although it made the security camera doorbell popular, there are other companies now trying to offer their own similar products.
To stay ahead of the competition, Ring has to keep researching and developing new features that make its doorbells valuable.
That costs money.
By pouring a lot of money into its research and development team, Ring is able to develop new features quickly.
However, that comes at a cost.
To ensure the company is able to stay operational, it puts high prices on its products and services.
Ring doorbells are expensive because of the expenses required for its research and development team.
9. Professional Installation Costs
Another thing that can make your Ring doorbell even more expensive is if you need professional installation.
The benefit is that the installer will ensure your doorbell safely connects with your house.
They’ll connect it to your Internet and leave the doorbell looking like it always belonged next to your front door.
You can also ask for a consultation where someone from Ring can suggest different security devices that might benefit your home.
The problem with having a professional install your Ring doorbell is that it costs extra.
That’s especially true if you’re having a consultation.
Having a professional install your doorbell makes it even more expensive.
Ring doorbells are expensive because you often need a professional to install them.
10. Data Costs
A final reason Ring doorbells are expensive is that they use Internet data.
If you have a low data cap for your Internet, then your Ring doorbell might eat through it.
That’s because it’s constantly on and monitoring.
It’s constantly using your Internet.
Since Internet companies charge a certain amount each time you go over your data cap, you might find that your bills are a lot more expensive with your Ring doorbell installed.
As such, the cost of actually operating your Ring doorbell makes it expensive, too.
Ring doorbells are expensive because they can make your Internet costs increase.
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