What You Need to Know About Ring Subscription Plans

Ring is a pioneer in video doorbells and home security. The company offers a plethora of products but to make the most of your investment, you’ll need a Ring subscription. Let’s run down the available plans to help you make the best choice for your devices.

Choose From Three Ring Protect Plans

Ring Protect is an optional subscription service that unlocks additional functionality for your smart doorbell or security camera. You can sign up on the Ring website. Here’s what to expect with each one.

Ring Protect Basic

For $3.99 per month or $39.99 yearly (a $7.89 discount), you can subscribe to Ring Protect Basic. This plan is only good for a single Ring device like a doorbell or security camera. You can have multiple Protect Basic subscriptions at your home.

With a Basic plan, you can view every recorded video of motion or a Live View from a Ring camera for up to 180 days. You can do this via the website or using the Ring app for iOS or Android. The subscription also allows you to download those videos to a mobile device or computer to watch later. When on the Ring site, you can download up to 50 videos at the same time.

There are a few more features worth mentioning. Snapshot Capture will take a photo at regular intervals so that you can see what’s happening in the camera’s view between motion events. The Snapshot Capture images are available to view for seven days on the app and can be downloaded to your device to save for later.

Subscribers can also receive a notification only when a person is spotted. That can drastically reduce the number of unwanted notifications from things like a cat walking across your porch or a moving tree branch. Being able to create custom motion zones is one of the best Ring Doorbell features that you should be using.

One smartphone-specific feature is Rich Notifications. These will show you a photo preview of exactly what triggered the notification without needing to open the app. It’s a time saver so you can better determine if you need to open the app or dismiss the notification from your smartphone’s lock screen.

For a Ring Video Doorbell or camera, a Basic subscription also brings the ability to set camera Home and Away modes. In Home Mode, you can have cameras or doorbells active, but indoor cameras can remain off if you choose. With Away Mode, all cameras indoors and outside will be set to record video. Both settings are further customizable in the Ring app.

A Basic subscription is also needed to arm or disarm a Ring Alarm system from the Ring app or a compatible Amazon Alexa device. Without it, that can only be done via the hardware control panel itself. You’ll also receive real-time notifications from an alarm system via an email or the Ring app.

Finally, you can receive a 10 percent discount on select products when purchasing from Ring’s site or Amazon if you’re subscribed to Ring Protect Basic.

Ring Protect Plus

A Ring Protect Plus subscription is $10 per month, or you can save $20 by purchasing a $100 yearly subscription.

This subscription tier covers all of your Ring devices instead of just a single device with the Basic option. It’s the obvious choice if you have three or more Ring devices.

Subscribers can use all the features from the Basic tier. The only addition is that subscribers are offered extended warranty coverage for their Ring devices. That is as long as the device was under the one-year manufacturer warranty when it was added to the subscription.

Ring Protect Pro

The top-of-the-line Ring Protect Pro subscription is available for $20 per month. You can save $40 by purchasing an annual subscription of $200.

Protect Pro subscribers can use all the features in the lower two tiers. This tier also includes several additional features specifically for the Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro. Those are both DIY home security systems with a traditional keypad, motion detectors, and more.

Subscribers can make use of alarm cellular backup for both systems. If your home ever loses its internet connection, the cellular backup will make sure that your Ring system can still send alarm signals.

You’ll also receive professional 24/7 alarm monitoring so when a break-in or other security issue is detected, first responders can be dispatched to your location.

Ring Alarm Pro will be able to make use of 24/7 backup internet. In case of an internet outage at your home, you can use the 3GB of included data. Extra data past that is billed at $3 per gigabyte.

If you have both Eero networking equipment and a Ring Alarm Pro, the subscription also includes Eero Plus. That includes additional features for your Eero equipment including a VPN and parental controls.

For additional security, if you have a Ring Alarm Pro, this subscription tier also offers local video storage. With that, you can use a microSD card to store video captured from a Ring camera locally instead of on the cloud.

Protect Pro subscribers might also be able to save on homeowner’s insurance thanks to the inclusion of professional monitoring, but you’ll need to contact your insurer to negotiate this.

What Can You Do Without a Ring Subscription?

While a Ring Protect subscription unlocks several additional features, you might be more interested in what you can do without a Ring subscription.

Without a subscription, features are limited. The major drawback is that you won’t be able to view any recorded video from a Ring camera. You will still be able to receive live event notifications, like when someone comes close to your front door. Using the Ring app, you can see a real-time video.

When viewing a live event in real-time, you can also use the two-way communication feature to hear what the other person is saying and use a built-in microphone to talk back to them.

Which Ring Subscription Is Best for You?

The Ring Protect subscription tiers offer something for every type of Ring user. If you’re new to Ring devices, Protect Basic is the best choice to unlock a wide variety of additional features for your device.

Protect Plus is perfect for Ring users with multiple cameras along with the great Video Doorbell series. If you’re all-in with Ring, including its alarm systems, then the Protect Pro tier offers everything you need to keep your home secure 24/7.

If you’re looking to keep your home secure but aren’t interested in Ring devices, there’s no need to worry. Make sure to take a look at some of the best Ring alternatives for your smart home.