If you're in the market for a HomeKit upgrade, then you can't go too far wrong with a HomeKit video doorbell.
With a HomeKit video doorbell, you can answer your door from anywhere in the house, or even the world, speaking to prospective visitors, delivery drivers, and cold callers. It's a perfect way to see who's at your door at all times, ensuring packages are left in safe places, and that unwanted visitors are deterred.
Two-way voice communication, motion capture, and alerts also give you peace of mind, knowing there's always a silent guardian at your front door. There are plenty of good options out there, but also lots of variety that can make choosing tricky.
Here's our roundup of the best HomeKit video doorbells on the market.
Quick list
Best overall
The Logitech Circle View Doorbell works exclusively with HomeKit Secure Video and the Home app, which made it incredibly easy to install and get up and running during our hands-on review. This wired doorbell sports crisp HD video with HDR at a taller 3:4 aspect ratio.
Best compact
Like the Logitech Circle View, the Wemo Smart Video Doorbell supports all of the latest HomeKit Secure Video and Home app features — including package detection. With package detection, you will receive alerts when your special delivery arrives.
Best budget
The Aqara Video Doorbell G5 is an excellent way of getting a smart doorbell onto the side of your house without having to spend loads of money. It hooks up simply, and looks pretty good next to your door as well.
Best design
The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell features a modern design that works with your existing doorbell wiring and chimes. Netatmo's doorbell captures and streams video in 1080p HD resolution with a 140-degree wide field of view and includes staples like two-way audio and infrared night vision.
Best camera
As noted in our review, we loved how the Arlo Video Doorbell offers a unique 1:1 square aspect ratio that feels instantly familiar when viewed on an iPhone. Arlo's wired doorbell delivers great HD visuals at 1536 x 1536 resolution with HDR, and two-way audio allows you to speak with whoever is at the door.
Best HomeKit alternative
It might be from one of Apple's biggest competitors, but the nest doorbell will work seamlessly with your HomeKit setup. It will give you records of who came to the door, and send you notifications whenever movement is detected. It is wired, so you'll have to get it hooked in, but it's a solid option.
Best overall
The Logitech Circle view is a great all-rounder, with loads of great features out of the box. Our review loved the way that it looks, as well as the support for HomeKit secure video that makes storing and viewing videos taken by your doorbell even easier.
The camera's video resolution is a super solid element of the camera as well, with a portrait-style view that shows more of the vertical — perfect to help you see who is at the door. It is wired in, so there's no chance that the batteries are going to die, but it also means that if you're going to grab you'll need to make sure it's going to work with your doorbell wiring.
It's a compact, attractive device — and it's easily the best on the list.
Best compact
If you want a smart video doorbell that's small and compact, then the Wemo Smart doorbell is the way to go. It gets wired in, which means that you'll need to check for compatibility, but once it's plugged in it works seamlessly with HomeKit.
Most notable is the camera's wide-angle lens, which shows more of the front of your house, giving you a greater view of the world outside. There's support on board for HomeKit secure video, so you'll be able to store your videos securely remotely, and access them whenever you need. This doorbell also only supports HomeKit, so Apple users are fine.
It's our pick for the most compact camera because it is much smaller than all the other doorbells on the list, fitting better in place of a traditionally small doorbell.
Best Budget
The Aqara Video Doorbell G4 is the best-priced doorbell on the list, coming in at $119. For a smart video doorbell, that's a great price, and given the feature list it feels like something of a smart home bargain. It is a big device, however, so make sure there's space near the door you want to put it around.
In the box, you get everything you need — and you don't even need a HomePod or HomeKit for it to work. It comes with a small hub with a speaker in it, and it connects to the Aqara app for video recording and viewing. It still connects with HomeKit, making for a great twofer if you're already within the ecosystem. It can be powered with a wired connection in your wall, or with batteries that last around nine weeks, depending on your settings. An excellent option that works super well.
Best design
If you're after a really good-looking, modern doorbell, then look no further than the Netatmo video doorbell. It's got this cool, striped look, giving it a clean appearance for more modern homes. It's super high-tech tech of course as well, with two-way microphones so that you can talk to the person at your door while you can see them on the camera.
It's wired in, so you can easily fit it with your existing wiring. There's no battery pack here, however, so if you've got no cabling then you're going to need to get some fitted or choose a different camera doorbell. It'll connect to HomeKit super easily as well, so you can access all your recordings through your iPhone.
Best camera
The Arlo Essential Wired Video Doorbell has a pretty impressive camera; it's a 1536x1536 resolution camera, with a really interesting square aspect ratio. Videos taken with the camera look brilliant, and they fit well on an iPhone screen over the Apple Home App.
In our review, we loved the look and the camera of the device, with particular attention to the new aspect ratio. It's also super easy to fit in place, although you will need to be sure that you have the correct wiring available.
The app isn't great, unfortunately, and it's irritating that you need to buy an Arlo hub for the camera to work with HomeKit. Once connected, however, it sits alongside some of the other best cameras for HomeKit, and adding it into a setup will make you and your house more secure.
Best HomeKit alternative
First of all; it's the best HomeKit alternative because getting it to work with HomeKit is a massive pain. You'll need a separate hub for it connect properly, and then you won't get the full feature set. If, however, you're looking beyond HomeKit, then the Google Nest Doorbell is an excellent option.
The camera quality is good, the device looks pretty cool, and fixing it to the wall is about as easy as can be. If you're in thick with an alternative smart home standard, then look no further.
Which doorbell should you buy?
You can always trust iMore. Our team of Apple experts have years of experience testing all kinds of tech and gadgets, so you can be sure our recommendations and criticisms are accurate and helpful. Find out more about how we test.
Even though options are limited, the best HomeKit video doorbells are the perfect solution for those who want everything in the Home app. With convenient notifications, family sharing, excellent image quality, and HomeKit Secure Video on specific models, these doorbells are worth looking at if you are all-in on Apple's smart home platform. Since all HomeKit options require hardwiring, choosing a HomeKit doorbell essentially comes down to price and whether or not you need HomeKit Secure Video features.
With support for HomeKit and HomeKit Secure Video right out of the box, the Logitech Circle View Doorbell makes it easy to keep track of your precious packages with all of the latest iOS features through the Home app. Logitech's doorbell provides instant notifications for motion and doorbell events, and it records video in high-definition resolution with HDR directly to iCloud using your existing storage plan.
Are you looking for a HomeKit video doorbell with local storage and want to avoid paying for HomeKit Secure Video features? Then the Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is the one for you. Netatmo's doorbell captures events in 1080p HD resolution to a microSD card, keeping everything local. Plus, with the ability to automate the doorbell with other accessories like HomeKit light bulbs and HomeKit light switches, you can automatically set your porch lights to turn on when someone is at the door.
Q&A
Can I add Nest doorbells to HomeKit?
Yes! And it's super easy as well. You just need to get a Starling Hub, and then you're away.
How We test HomeKit doorbells
We want to make sure that you find the best doorbell for you. That means we are extra meticulous in our testing, finding out all the strengths and weaknesses of each product before we give a definitive score out of five. In the case of smart video doorbells, we're testing everything from fitting method to connection and beyond.
- Fitting
First off we check how easy and secure the fitting of the doorbell is. How do you fix it to a wall? A door? Where can you fit it? Doorbells score well here if they are easy to fit and stay securely in place.
- Setup
This is where we test how easy it is to setup once you've fitted it to the door. We look at the app, and the connection method, as well as if you need extra hardware around the house.
- Camera quality
Finally, the last main thing we check is the quality of the optics on board. We want to make sure that you'll be able to see what's going on at all times of day no matter the light level, as well as check the quality of the camera itself.
