6 Best Video Doorbells Without a Subscription

Fraud against older adults is rising fast: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded $7.7 billion in reported losses by people 60 and over in 2025, about 60% more than the year before, as reported by AARP. Most of that is online and by phone, but doorstep callers use the same pressure tactics. A video doorbell lets a parent deal with them without opening the door:

• Answer through the doorbell, not the door
• Ask callers who say they are from a utility, the city or a contractor to hold their ID up to the camera, then look up the company's number yourself and call to check
• Never let in someone who was not expected, however urgent the story
• Set a quick reply such as "We can't come to the door. Please leave a note."
• Share access with a family member, so they can answer or check the recording too

There is no spotless brand. What protects a family is keeping recordings at home, a strong password with two-step verification, and pointing the camera at your own doorstep, not a neighbor's window. What we found:

• eufy (Anker): in November 2022 a security researcher showed eufy video could be uploaded and streamed in ways that contradicted its marketing, including streams that could be opened without logging in. In 2025 the New York Attorney General settled with eufy's U.S. distributors for $450,000, requiring a security program, outside testing and stronger encryption. In March 2026 two members of Congress asked the FCC and the Commerce Department to investigate Anker. We still rate the E340 highly for what it does, but you should know this
• TP-Link (Tapo): a proposed U.S. ban on TP-Link routers has been under federal review since 2025 on national-security grounds. It concerns routers; nothing so far applies to Tapo cameras, and a Tapo doorbell can record to a card in your own home
• Reolink and Aqara are also headquartered in China, like eufy and TP-Link. Both keep recordings on a card or recorder you own
• Ring (Amazon): Ring announced a partnership with Flock Safety, a police camera network, in October 2025 and cancelled it in February 2026 after public criticism. Sharing footage with police remains your choice
• Wyze: left out of this guide after incidents in 2023 and 2024 in which some users were shown other customers' camera images

Some states require everyone's consent to record a conversation. Most doorbells let you turn audio recording off in the app; do so if you are unsure. For indoor cameras and the consent conversation with a parent, see our guide to cameras to monitor elderly parents.

• Check the Wi-Fi signal at the front door first; add a mesh point or extender if it is weak
• Wire it if the house has doorbell wiring, so it never needs charging
• Put the chime in the room they spend the most time in, at a volume they can hear
• Set alerts to people only, so cars and trees do not set off the phone all day
• Record two or three quick replies, and show them how to use one
• Add yourself as a shared user so you get the same alerts
• If it runs on a battery, put a reminder in your own calendar to charge it

Ask the landlord before drilling. A peephole camera such as the Bextgoo fits the door's existing spy-hole and needs no wall mounting, which is why we recommend it for apartments. Many battery doorbells can also be fitted with no-drill mounts sold separately, but check that the mount cannot simply be lifted off.