Ring Camera Storage Plans

Ring cameras work without a subscription — but not very well. You get live view and motion alerts, and that's about it. No saved footage, no person detection, nothing to go back and review if something actually happens. To get the most out of your camera, you'll need one of Ring's Protect plans. There are four of them, ranging from $5 to $100 a month, and they're not all created equal.

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You can still use your camera if you skip the monthly plan, but you'll miss out on video storage and person detection. Ring cameras aren't as useful without cloud recording, and you'll need to watch your notifications like a hawk so you don't miss anything. Here's what's available without a plan:

• Watch live video feed: You can watch a live view from your cameras but can't save any footage.
• Motion notifications: You'll receive a notification when your camera spots motion, making it easier to know when to view the live feed or use two-way talk.
• Two-way audio: You can use the Ring app and your camera to talk to people on the live view. This is helpful for speaking with visitors when you can't come to the door.
• Doorbell Quick Replies: You can tell your Ring video doorbell to play a pre-recorded message when someone's at your door. This gives you a quick way to tell people to leave a package or wait for you to come to the door.
• Alexa compatibility: You can watch live footage from your Ring cameras on Amazon Echo smart displays. Learn how to connect Ring with Alexa.

Ring's Basic plan is the best option if you want video recording for a single camera. It costs around $5 a month, which is about $2 more than Ring's previous entry-level plan. Ring Basic includes every free feature above, plus the following:

• Event-based recording for one camera: Your Ring camera saves short video clips when it detects motion. Clips are between 15 and 120 seconds long, depending on your settings and whether you're using a wired power cord. These recordings stay in Ring's cloud video history for up to 60 days, and you can download them to keep them permanently.
• Rich notifications: Ring shows includes photos in alert notifications so you don't need to open the app every time. This is great for times when your cat triggers the motion sensor.
• Snapshot capture: Your Ring device takes a photo at set intervals—even when there's no motion detected—providing a visual record like a timelapse of each day. These photos stay online for only 7 days compared to the 60 days available for video storage.
• Person, package, and vehicle detection: Your camera sends a custom alert when it detects people, a package, or a vehicle so you know exactly what's going on.
• 10% discount on Ring products: Savings on select Ring products when you're logged into your account. Products and offers are limited and may change at any time.

If you're storing video for more than two cameras, Ring's Standard plan is one of the better deals on the market. It builds on the Basic plan by adding coverage for an unlimited number of cameras (as long as they're all at one location) and comes with a handy extended warranty.

This plan builds on the features you get with Basic and costs around $10 a month, which is similar to what Arlo offers, though it’s a bit more expensive than the Nest Aware cloud storage plan. Here's what Ring Standard brings to the table:

• Storage for unlimited cameras: Up to 180 days of event history storage for unlimited cameras is incredibly generous and keeps you from shelling out extra monthly fees whenever you add a new camera to your home.
• Extended warranty: Most Ring cameras come with a one-year warranty, but the Ring Standard plan adds lifetime coverage for certain Ring devices as long as you're a paying subscriber. This is the best warranty for any smart home security brand.
• Extended Live view: You can watch your camera's feed live for a full 30 minutes at a time. You can also check the live feed of multiple cameras with this plan.
• Doorbell calls: To make sure you don't miss an important event, you'll get a call instead of a push notification when someone presses the button on your doorbell cam.
• Daily event summaries: See camera activity stats and check every motion that's been recorded. 
• Cellular backup: This only applies if you have the Ring Alarm security system, but it's a fantastic perk that gives you added security in the event of an outage.

Ring's Virtual Security Guard used to be a $100 add-on to the other monitoring plans. Now, you can get it as its own monitoring plan. It includes everything in the Pro plan and your own virtual security guard. 

The virtual security guard system includes AI that detects suspicious behavior. It will then alert a trained security specialist who will interact with the suspicious person and call the authorities on your behalf, if needed. 

We think Ring Multi is the ideal Ring camera plan for most people since it covers an unlimited number of cameras and offers extra warranty protection for your Ring devices.

Head over to our reviews of the best wireless security cameras and best video doorbells to see how Ring stacks up with other popular home security camera brands.

Are you renting? Check out our top Ring doorbell picks for renters.