Best smart video doorbells that store locally (not in the cloud) 2024

Smart video doorbells offer immense convenience as they let you peek at who's at your front door, no matter where you are in the house or outside for that matter. It's a handy piece of the smart home ecosystem that has become more accessible and affordable than ever. While many video doorbells automatically dump footage in the cloud, there are some good options with local storage too. The latter lets you have more control over your privacy as there's a much lesser chance of the video feed being lost or hacked.

The Nest Doorbell from Google stands out from the crowd thanks to the Google Home app's excellent updates and nailing the basics. The Nest Doorbell comes in four different colors so it should fit right in with your home's paint job. While it's a bit of a drag that you need a subscription for all of the features, you do get local storage for enough time to stay in the know about who's been outside your house. Take a look at some of the other great options with local storage.

At a glance

Best overall

Google's Nest Hello Doorbell has long been one of our favorite video doorbell options ever since we first reviewed it, though it has had a few major disadvantages. First, it was expensive. Second, it's old. And third, you pretty much needed to spring for a Nest Aware subscription to access any of the key features, including storage. But if you live in a Google Home/Nest ecosystem and want local storage, there's good news. The Nest Doorbell (Battery) gives you this option, albeit on a somewhat limited basis.

The Nest Doorbell (Battery) gives its users three hours of event video history, but it won't save more than that on the device. If you want more storage, it will be in the cloud from a Nest Aware or Nest Aware Plus subscription. In addition to that limited local storage, you also get AI detection and motion zones without a subscription, making this a perfect option for those who want to try a Made by Google device without committing to a recurring monthly or annual fee.

The Nest Doorbell (Battery) comes in four different colors (as opposed to the two options for the Nest Hello), including Snow, Linen, Ivy, and Ash. Because it's wireless, it's easy for anyone to install just about anywhere, though you will have to recharge the battery every few months.

Best with chime extender

This Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 offers the best of both worlds if you want them, both for power and storage. You can store up to 512GB of video via a microSD card, and you can also get free seven-day cloud storage in case you want or need that as a backup. Then, for power, you can either use batteries to run your doorbell or hardwire it to your existing doorbell's power.

While the G4 only records in up to 1080p resolution, the ease of use and included wireless chime make up for that. It features excellent night vision and is weather-resistant to withstand heat, cold, rain, or snow. You get local AI-enabled facial recognition so you can know when friends and family are at the door, but in my testing, it can be a bit hit or miss. Aqara is known for making smart home devices that work on multiple platforms, and this video doorbell is no exception, being compatible with all the top smart home platforms.

Best budget option

The Blink Video Doorbell is a great buy at $70, with the Sync Module 2 for local storage. You'll need to purchase your own USB flash drive separately to take advantage of the 24/7 storage. If you want cloud storage as well, you can opt for a Blink Subscription Plan for as low as $3 per month.

The camera is limited to 1080p video, but we found in our review that it was plenty clear and also worked well at night. It connects to your network using 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, so most people should be ready to go. You get the option to either hardwire the doorbell to your existing doorbell's power or use batteries and skip the tools.

Blink's offering here does lack some of the smart AI features found in other options, but at $70 to get a reliable video doorbell with local storage, it's tough to beat that option.

Best wired

If you're willing to do a little installation work, the Kasa Smart Video Doorbell is another strong contender. As we saw in our Kasa Smart Video Doorbell review, the camera is sharp with great resolution and you can store your footage locally. This camera even has strong night vision thanks to an IR LED and the footage is wide with 160 degrees of viewing area.

This doorbell connects via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi so you shouldn't need to install any sort of extenders or smart home hubs as long as your Wi-Fi is strong. The only thing you'll need to pair is the included chime, which can be placed in any socket inside your home with a simple pairing process to get it connected. You'll be able to install up to a 128GB microSD card for local storage in the back of the doorbell itself.

We noted in our review that this is a rather simple camera with its low price, so some features, like integration with smart displays, aren't as strong as something from Google. Still, for a simple camera with clear night vision, a high resolution, and a free chime, the Kasa Smart Video Doorbell is an excellent budget option.

Best camera

Eufy makes some really impressive security cameras, and the latest video doorbell, the E340, brings all of that knowledge to your front door. Aside from the excellent 2K video quality and wide field of view, the dual camera setup might be my favorite feature in testing this device.

You get 2K resolution from the main camera that offers color night vision in conjunction with the dual-LED lighting built into the doorbell and 1080p from a secondary camera that points downward to keep an eye on packages that get delivered. As part of the AI features of the device, which includes facial recognition that can be a bit inconsistent, the delivery guard lets you know when a package is delivered or removed.

With 8GB of built-in storage, your eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 is ready to start keeping your recordings local once you decide whether to use the rechargeable battery to power the device or hardwire it in.

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How to choose

Choosing your new doorbell

Cloud storage isn't going anywhere, as it's a huge profit center for companies and a great convenience to users, but recent data leaks and privacy scandals have shown there is a market for another approach. We expect more smart video doorbell manufacturers to start including on-device storage in their best smart doorbells to address market demand for greater personal control over user data.

While it's not the perfect fit for everyone, the Nest Doorbell gets enough right to be one of the best video doorbells with local storage. While we would love to see more local storage options, it's nice that you get enough saved to stay in control of your home with the option to expand with cloud storage.

If you're looking for more on-device storage capacity or a more affordable alternative, there are other great options on this list as well. The key is that you, as a consumer, do have options, and hopefully, this guide will prove helpful as you shop for a smart video doorbell.

Don't forget about extra storage

While the built-in storage with these cameras is plenty for a lot of people, if you want to save a lot of clips or just keep them for longer, you can expand your storage. If there's a microSD card slot, like the Aqara, Kasa, and Eufy options, you can increase your storage relatively cheaply with one of the best microSD cards. While some, like the Eufy only support up to 128GB, the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 supports up to 512GB.

If you're going with Eufy, you can also pick up a base station, like the HomeBase 3 (S380) which supports full-size hard drives for up to 16GB of local storage. If you've only got one or two cameras, you won't need nearly this much space, but if you've got every corner of your property covered, you'll want that extra capacity.