Ring Vs Roku Video Doorbell: The Most Important Differences Explained

The smart doorbell market has plenty to offer, and choosing one can be daunting. On the budget end, there's a fierce Ring vs. Roku Video Doorbell battle, with both devices offering compelling prices and solid features. Most smart doorbells, like Google's Nest Doorbell and Arlo Essential, are expensive options. With sparse options in the sub-$100 price segment, Ring and Roku are directly competing.

The Ring and Roku Video Doorbell are similarly priced and have nearly identical features. Both smart doorbells offer 1080p HD video quality, are of similar size, and need to be wired to work. The devices come with wide-angle camera lenses, motion detection features, and well-designed companion apps. While the physical features like the color and shape differentiate the bells, the internal differences are challenging to spot. 

Ring Video Doorbell is a home security device that combines a traditional doorbell with a video camera. The extra layer of security and convenience changes how consumers interact with visitors. The camera shows a live feed, even if the host is not home. A two-way microphone helps in communication. The Ring Video Doorbell is the basic doorbell option from Ring with 1080p HD video output. The essential choice offers all basic video doorbell features while remaining budget-friendly.

Ring, founded in 2012, was among the first to launch a video doorbell. Investors rejected the company on Shark Tank, and it nearly went bankrupt. However, ever since its acquisition by Amazon in 2018, Ring products have grown in popularity and reach.

Apart from Ring Video Doorbell, an entry-level doorbell, the company offers multiple doorbell variants at different price points. It also has outdoor and indoor cameras, alarms, and smart lighting solutions. The company has been around for more than a decade and has multiple bestsellers in its product lineup.

The Roku Video Doorbell is a small, neat package that houses a bell button and 1080p HD camera. When the bell detects motion, or someone rings the bell, a video live stream is sent to the consumer's phone or TV. The Roku Video Doorbell features almost the same features as the Ring Video Doorbell but in a different physical chassis.

Roku has been around since 2002. The streaming technology company provides inexpensive and easily accessible streaming options to consumers. In addition to having a TV box, Roku also lends its technology to manufacturers that make Roku-compatible TVs.

The company recently started selling home security products, and the Roku Video Doorbell is among the latest offerings. The Roku Video Doorbell borrows heavily from an existing doorbell from Wyze. Roku is open about white-labeling Wyze products but provides additional features to justify the price changes. While the Roku Video Doorbell is a new product, the company behind it has been in business for two decades.

A wide-angle lens captures a wider frame, and in this case, a higher number is better. Whether identifying the visitor or looking at the package on the porch, the wider the view, the better.

The Ring Video Doorbell has a 155-degree by 90-degree field of view, compared to the Roku Video Doorbell's slightly narrower 120-degree by 88-degree view. Both video doorbells can capture a person from head to toe, but the Ring option covers more ground.

Another important factor when discussing camera capabilities is the frame rate. Frame rate is the rate of frames displayed in a second; the more frames there are, the smoother the video. A typical movie runs at 24 frames per second (FPS). Some social media videos go for 30, while others opt for a smoother 60 FPS. The Ring Video Doorbell only captures video at 15 FPS, resulting in a usable but choppy video. The Roku Video Doorbell fares slightly better with its 20 FPS but is still not as smooth as regular videos captured from a phone. The lower FPS helps reduce video size, making live streaming and server storage more manageable.

Smart features are what make a modern doorbell like the Roku Video Doorbell stand apart from regular ones. Consumers look for features like object or person recognition, smartphone notifications, and smart alerts in a Video Doorbell.

Both the Ring and Roku video doorbells offer motion detection. The Ring Video Doorbell can detect motion and recognize people and packages. So, if a delivery person drops a package on the front door, the bell will be notified with a specific alert. The Roku Video Doorbell provides all that and can detect vehicles and pets. Have a nocturnal fluffy wanderer returning home in the morning? The Roku doorbell can detect them.

The Ring Video Doorbell only supports Amazon Alexa. Issuing basic commands through Alexa works well with the Doorbell. The Roku Video Doorbell has support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Roku. If a home already has a Roku-compatible TV, it'll get additional features such as livestreaming doorbell feed to the TV.

The Ring Doorbell costs $49.99, but it doesn't come with a separate chime. The Ring Doorbell and Chime bundle costs $69.99.  The Roku Video Doorbell only comes in a bundle with the chime and costs $79.99. There's a newer Ring Battery Doorbell available for $99 that doesn't need to be wired. The new Ring bell doesn't come with a chime either, so users either need to get the bundle or buy the $27 chime separately. The Ring Battery Doorbell competes with Roku Wire-free Video Doorbell that does come with a chime while costing the same $99.

Both video doorbells require a subscription for advanced features. The Ring Basic Protect plan offers 180 days of video history, snapshots, and person and package alerts. Subscribed users will also get Rich Notifications that display a snapshot in the notification alert, making it easier to see what's happening at a glance. A free 30-day trial of the Ring Protect subscription is included with every Ring Video Doorbell purchase. After the trial, the subscription costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

Roku is a bit generous with the freebie, giving buyers three months of free subscription. The monthly subscription is also cheaper, coming at $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The drawback is that Roku only stores 14 days of video clips on the cloud. While users will get a discount in the long run, the trade-off is shorter storage time. Thankfully, video clips from both doorbells can be manually downloaded and saved locally, but it requires time and storage space.