Home security has come a long way in the past few years, with easy-to-install products more readily available than ever before.
However, with so many options to choose from across multiple brands, it can be a challenge to know which to go for. That’s where we come in.
As our experts have rated and reviewed numerous home security products from companies like Blink and Ring, we have a good understanding of what to look out for when shopping around.
We’ve compared key features from Blink and Ring’s respective ranges, including their prices and subscription fees, as well as the products they offer and how well they perform in everyday life, below. Once you’re finished here, make sure you visit our best outdoor security camera, best video doorbell and best indoor security camera guides to find your next purchase.
Price
If you’re looking for a more affordable range of products, then you couldn’t do much better than Blink. Although more limited compared to Ring, Blink’s entire product line starts at just £34.99/$39.99 for the indoor Mini 2 camera and ranges up to just £124.99/$129.99 for the Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera.
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Not only that but its accompanying subscription plan (which we’ll explain later in this article) starts at just £2.50/$3.99 a month.
On the other hand, Ring is the more appealing choice if you want a wider variety of products to choose from. With this in mind, there’s unsurprisingly a broader price range with its products starting from £39.99/$39.99 for the Indoor Camera (2nd Gen) up to £249.99/$279.99 for the 4K Floodlight Cam Pro.
Ring’s subscription plan is also more expensive than Blinks, with the cheapest of the three costing £4.99/$4.99 a month.
Having said that, you are likely to pick up a deal across both Blink and Ring’s respective ranges during Black Friday.
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Subscription
Unlike Eufy’s security range which boasts no monthly fees, both Blink and Ring have their own respective subscription service. While neither are technically compulsory, we would recommend at least opting for the cheapest plan to get the most out of your devices.
As we touched upon earlier, Blink’s subscription plan has a cheaper starting cost than Ring’s. Available in two options, Basic or Plus, the former is £2.50/$3.99 per device a month while Plus covers unlimited Blink devices for £8/$11.99 a month.
Both subscription plans allow for 90 minutes of continuous live streaming, up to 60 days of cloud recording storage (for the US, in the UK/EU it’s just 30 days), photo capture, video sharing and more. The only real difference between the plans is that Plus covers more devices than Basic.
Blink Mini 2 app. Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Ring, on the other hand, has three plan tiers to choose from: Basic, Standard and Premium. Basic is the cheapest at £4.99/$4.99 a month or £49.99/$49.99 for a year and covers just one doorbell or camera, offers up to 180 days of video event history, video preview alerts and person and package alerts.
At £7.99/$9.99 a month or £79.99/$99.99 annually, Standard is Ring’s mid-tier Plan which includes everything found in Basic but also covers unlimited devices, offers an extended live view, doorbell calls and a daily event summary.
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Finally, Premium includes all the features found in Standard, alongside the benefit of 24/7 recording and a continuous live view of all your devices. This comes at a slightly higher cost of £15.99/$19.99 a month or £159.99/$199.99 for the year.
Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera app. Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Products
As mentioned, although it isn’t as vast a range as Ring’s own, you can pick up essentially everything you need to comfortably arm your home from Blink.
Not only are the basics such as video doorbells and outdoor cameras covered by Blink, but you can also pick up floodlight cameras and the newly launched Blink Arc which pairs two Mini 2K Plus units into a single 180° feed.
Blink 2025 line-up. Image Credit (Amazon)
Ring’s collection, on the other hand, is made up of multiple iterations of devices which means consumers have more freedom to choose a specific product based on their needs.
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For example, if you just want an easy way to communicate with delivery drivers or visitors, then the Video Doorbell should more than suffice. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to keep a more detailed look at your property when you’re away, then the pricier Battery Video Doorbell Plus is likely better suited for you.
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus. Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Ring’s line-up also consists of security appliances that would have one required specialist installation, such as alarms and intercoms.
Apps
Naturally as smart home devices, both Blink and Ring come equipped with an iOS and Android smartphone app which allows you to keep an eye on your devices and communicate with anyone at your property instantly.
We found the Blink app, although generally easy-to-use, does sport some quirks. For example when setting activity zones on the Blink Mini 2, which enables the camera to only monitor a select area, you have to select the grid squares you don’t want to monitor, which “feels backward”.
Blink Mini app Settings Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
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In comparison, the Ring app is arguably more intuitive, allowing you to set activity zones and adjust motion sensitivity by setting certain areas instead.
Otherwise, both Blink and Ring apps allow you to control your devices easily and control the number of notifications, speak to people at your home and more.
Ring Video Doorbell app settings
Image and Video Quality
While you can expect a reasonable picture quality from most of Blink’s cameras, in our experience it certainly isn’t the best. For example, we found that although the Blink Mini 2 copes well outside during the day, quality drops significantly at night, with the camera unable to pick up much detail.
However, this could all change with its latest range. Announced at Amazon’s hardware launch event back in September, Blink revealed the Blink Mini 2K Plus and Blink Arc, which both promise 2K footage – an improvement over the Blink Mini 2’s measly 1080p picture. We’ll be sure to update this versus once we review the new series.
Blink Mini 2 image at night
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Also at Amazon’s hardware event, Ring revealed its own new additions. Made up of the Wired Doorbell Pro, Floodlight Cam Pro and Outdoor Camera Pro, Ring hails the line-up as its “most advanced” to date thanks to their 4K resolution and enhanced low-light performance.
Otherwise, we’ve found that although most older Ring products we’ve reviewed do tend to offer a clear and reasonably detailed image, the exact quality will depend on the device’s specs. For example, the Ring Indoor Camera (2nd Gen) may be affordable, but we found it offers a “so-so video quality” and struggles in certain lighting conditions.
Ring Indoor Cam image at night
On the other hand, we found that the pricier Battery Video Doorbell Pro offered “sharp and clear video” in daylight, while its colour night vision mode was decent when there was enough ambient light.
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro. Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Battery life
For convenience, Blink and Ring offer both wired and battery-powered devices to best suit all types of households. For the latter, the battery life depends on the device and battery type used.
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For example with Blink, Amazon claims its battery-operated devices which use two AAs should last for up to two years, however this will depend on the usage.
On the other hand, the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro’s battery is removable and needs to be recharged via USB port or wall outlet. Ring states that these batteries should offer up to three months of charge before needing to be topped up, but again this will depend on the usage.
Even so, both the battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell and Ring Video Doorbell can also be hardwired which means the devices can receive a trickle charge. Having said that, Amazon does disclaim that you may still need to occasionally recharge its battery to ensure consistent performance.
Ring Video Doorbell battery
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Final Verdict
Overall, you should opt for Blink’s range if you don’t necessarily need the best possible image resolution and just want an easy and affordable way to keep an eye on your home.
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Not only are Blink’s devices and subscription plan inexpensive, but we are still impressed with the features and quality of the devices, with many awarded at least four-star ratings.
However, if you need more from your security devices and want better picture quality, more variety, and the option for 24/7 recording (with the Ring Premium Subscription plan), then Ring is a better fit for you.
With many of its security products making their way into our best lists, including the Video Doorbell Pro 2, hailed as our best video doorbell, you can’t go wrong with a Ring device. Just be prepared to pay for the privilege.
