August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello

Nest is perhaps one of the most recognizable smart technology brands on the market, and August has built a good reputation as well for their doorbells and smart locks. When comparing the August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello, it’s clear that Nest has a lot of advantages; but due to some serious technical flaws, we feel that the August Doorbell Cam Pro is the better buy.

While August focuses mostly on doorbells and locks, Nest has their hand in a wide variety of smart tech industries. The company has a good reputation in general, but the Nest Hello has some bugs that majorly impact security and have yet to be addressed. While August is missing some perks, they’ve delivered a product that works and works quite well.

Below we go into detail on the similarities and differences of the August Doorbell Cam Pro and Nest Hello. Read on for complete coverage, or use our navigation bar to jump right down to the information that interests you most.

August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello — Differences

    • Difference #1: Power Options – The first difference to cover when comparing the August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello is the way that they handle power.

      Both brands only work when hardwired into an existing doorbell kit and are compatible with non-DC 16-24 VAC doorbell transformers. If you’re worried about your transformer not being compatible, consider upgrading to the Honeywell Transformer to give your doorbell the power it needs to function flawlessly.

      What sets the August model apart from the Nest, however, is the inclusion of a small battery backup. It will generally only last a few hours, but it’s great to have in the event of an outage since it will keep your bell working long enough to cover minor blips in service. With the Nest, you’ll essentially be left without a doorbell if you lose power.

    • Difference #2: Video Quality – In terms of video quality, the Nest Hello has the August Doorbell beat: no question about it. In addition to the more impressive 1600 x 1200 resolution when compared to the 1280 x 920 resolution on the August doorbell, the Nest Hello also features HDR for sharper details even in challenging lighting situations.
    • Difference #3: Field of View – The August Doorbell Cam Pro has a 120° horizontal field of view while the nest Hello has a 160° diagonal.

      It’s important to keep an eye on the way manufacturers advertise their specs, because they can sometimes use different metrics that make their products look more impressive than they actually are. At Homejell, we do our best to cut through the marketing and give you the clear picture of what smart tech truly brings to the table.

      Although the numbers are given in different types of measurements, the Nest Hello does have a slightly wider field of view than the August doorbell. However, the difference isn’t nearly as big as the numbers would seem to suggest.

    • Difference #4: Zoom – Being able to zoom in on the action can be the difference between capturing valuable video evidence and letting a thief go free. The Nest Hello’s camera has a zoom feature accessible through the live view. The August Doorbell Cam Pro, on the other hand, has no such option — a major downside when it comes to providing comprehensive security.
    • Difference #5: Night Vision – The Nest Hello uses 850 nm infrared LEDs to provide clear Black & White video even in complete darkness.

      The August Doorbell Cam Pro does not have traditional night vision, instead opting to use a small floodlight in order to light up the area around the bell. The motion-triggered floodlight has customizable brightness that you can adjust as needed to record color video even at night.

      While the August model does manage to provide full-color footage even at night, we think the Nest Hello’s approach of more traditional night vision is a little bit more reliable overall.

    • Difference #6: Advanced Motion Detection – One of the areas where the August camera really falls short is the lack of advanced motion detection. It really doesn’t do a great job of distinguishing between human activity and cars or animals due to the lack of person alerts or facial recognition, and there isn’t any ability to set sensitivity in specific motion zones. A slider for detection sensitivity is really the extent of the customization, which is certainly lacking compared to a lot of August’s competitors.

      The nest Hello features person alerts and facial recognition by default, and motion zones are available when you pay for a Nest Aware subscription. Even without the motion zones, the Nest Hello’s advanced motion detection is far more advanced — giving you more accurate alerts overall.

    • Difference #7: Cloud Storage & Subscriptions – The two brands also differ in the way that they approach cloud storage and subscriptions.

      The August model is pretty easy to understand. You’ll have access to 24 hours of video recordings in cloud storage by default, and there’s also an option for 30 day storage for $4.99/month or $49.99/year. There are no features locked behind the subscription, so you’re essentially only required to pay if you’re looking for that extra storage.

      The Nest Aware setup is a little bit more complicated. You get far less for free, with support for just 3 hours of snapshots if you don’t pay for a plan. The Nest subscription is known as Nest Aware and is available in three tiers named for the length of video storage that they offer.

      The 5-day plan costs $5/month or $50/year, the 10-day plan costs $10/month or $100/year, and the 30-day plan costs $30/month or $300/year.

      Any Nest Aware subscription includes access to 24/7 continuous video recording (CVR), intelligent alerts, clips and timelapses, and the ability to program activity zones. The only difference between the three plans is the length of storage that they have to offer.

      While features like the CVR are nice to have, the fact of the matter is that Nest locks the basic motion zone support behind their plan rather than including with the camera by default. With that said, at least there is an option for motion zones — a feature which is notably lacking with August.

    • Difference #8: Pre-Recorded Responses – In the event that you can’t make it to the door, the Nest Hello allows you to send one of three Pre-Recorded Responses that will be spoken through the doorbell’s speaker. You can choose from “You can leave it,” “We’ll be right there,” or “No one can come to the door.” Unfortunately, there’s currently no ability to create your own custom messages.

      The August Doorbell Cam Pro has no such feature.

    • Difference #9: Operating Temperature – One area where the August doorbell does pull far ahead is in its range of suitable operating temperatures. With the ability to function between 13° – 122°F (-25° – 50°C), it’s substantially hardier than the Nest Hello’s range of 14° – 104°F (–10° – 40°C).

      The August Doorbell Cam Pro should be suitable for most any climate, but you might actually run into issues with the Nest Hello since there are a substantial number of places that occasionally have temperatures outside of that range — especially on the low end.

      For very extreme environments, you might also want to look into the Skybell HD — one of the most durable smart doorbells on the market.

  • Difference #10: App Support – Both the August and Nest doorbells have an app on Android and iOS. However, for those who are looking to control their bells through a computer, Nest Hello may be the better choice due to the additional support for a Web app.
  • Difference #11: Smart Home Integration – The August Doorbell Cam Pro really shines when it comes to smart home integration. With support for popular voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home and smart home control systems such as IFTTT, Xfinity, Wink, and Apple HomeKit, it should be very easy to add August into an existing smart home environment. The bell also works well with products from Nest, Honeywell, SimpliSafe, the company’s own August Smart Locks, and more.

    Nest Hello works quite well with its own brand of products, as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It’s particularly compatible with Google products, with the integration with Google Home Hub allowing you to see who’s at the front door directly on the device itself.

    Overall, it’s abundantly clear that August is the better brand to buy if you’re looking for your doorbell to work in tandem with your existing smart home.

  • Difference #12: Design & Color – there are some pretty noticeable differences between the two brands when it comes to design. The August Doorbell cam Pro comes in silver or dark gray and doesn’t offer any sort of skins to customize the appearance. The Nest hello is only available in Black & White, but it does offer a selection of skins to give your doorbell a unique look.

    The dimensions of the bells are also quite different, with the August doorbell looking more square at 2.9 x 0.9 x 2.9 in (7.4 x 2.3 x 7.4 cm) than the more traditional 1.7 x 4.6 x 1.0 in (4.3 x 11.7 x 2.6 cm) dimensions of the Nest Hello.

    Overall, we think the Nest doorbell has August beat from a design perspective, with a better aesthetic and a shape that looks a lot more like an actual doorbell.

  • Difference #13: Warranty – The Nest Hello comes with a longer warranty of 2 years, which might give tentative homeowners some extra peace of mind. The August Doorbell Cam Pro has a pretty standard 1 year warranty, which is neither particularly bad or exceptional.

August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello — Comparison Chart

August Doorbell Cam Pro Nest Hello
Power Options Hardwire to existing
doorbell kit only
Hardwire to existing
doorbell kit only
Battery Life Backup battery N/A
Compatible Doorbell Transformers 12-24 VAC 16V AC–24V AC;
requires a 10VA transformer
and wired doorbell
Video Resolution 1280 x 920 HD 1600 x 1200 HD UXGA, HDR
FPS 30 FPS 30 FPS
Field of View 120° horizontal 160° diagonal
Zoom No Yes
Night Vision No, depends on lighting 850 nm infrared LEDs
Free Cloud Storage 24 hours of videos 3 hours of snapshots
Subscription Available Yes Yes
Compatible Networks 2.4GHz or 5GHz 802.11 (b/g/n) Wi-Fi
Bluetooth v4.0
2.4GHz or 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
802.15.4 at 2.4GHz
Motion Detection Yes Yes
Motion Zones No Yes
Person Alerts No Yes
Facial Recognition No Yes
Live View On Demand Yes Yes
24/7 CVR No Yes
Two-Way Audio Yes HD Talk and Listen
Pre-Recorded Responses No Yes
Silent Mode Yes Yes
Operating Temperature -13° – 122°F
(-25° – 50°C)
14° – 104°F
(-10° – 40°C)
App Android, iOS Android, iOS, Web
Smart Home Integration Amazon Alexa, Google Home,
Apple HomeKit, SimpliSafe,
Nest, Honeywell,
IFTTT, Xfinity,
Wink, August Smart Locks
and more
Amazon Alexa, Google Home Hub,
Google Home Mini
Colors Silver, Dark Gray Black & White,
skins available
Size 2.9 x 0.9 x 2.9 in
(7.4 x 2.3 x 7.4 cm)
1.7 x 4.6 x 1.0 in
(4.3 x 11.7 x 2.6 cm)
Warranty 1 year 2 years

August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello — Things in Common

Nest Hello

  • Live View On-Demand – Checking in on your home’s video stream is an important part of any smart camera, and live view on demand lets you do just that with both the Nest and August.
  • Two-Way Audio – The video stream from the doorbell cameras includes two-way audio as well, which means that you can communicate back and forth with guests and even shout out exactly what you think of that annoying package thief.
  • Motion Detection – Never be caught unaware with timely notifications on your phone whenever your camera detects movement. This detection is also the main trigger for recordings, which can be great for looking back on activity that happened while you were away or unable to answer the door.
  • Silent Mode – In the event that you’d rather not be disturbed, you can disable the interior chime of the doorbell whenever you please. You’ll still receive notifications on your phone, but the peace and quiet of your home won’t be interrupted.
  • Compatible Networks – Both doorbells are dual-band devicPro isch means they spread out their data transmission over both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz WiFi frequencies in order to reduce the load on your network.

    The August Doorbell Cam Pro is compatible with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and also uses Bluetooth v4.0 (Bluetooth Smart). The Bluetooth integration is the main way that the doorbell communicates with August Smart Locks — acting as a bridge between the lock and your WiFi router. If you’re looking for a complete solution for your front door, you can’t do much better than the combination of an August Doorbell and Lock.

    Nest WiFi support is a little bit more comprehensive as 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. The doorbell also uses Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 at 2.4G frequencies for setup and to communicate with other Nest products.


August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello — Accessories

August Doorbell Cam Pro

The accessories for the August Doorbell Cam Pro and Nest Hello are mostly focused on the installation process.

The main product you might want to add in with the August Doorbell Cam Pro would be an external Power Supply — although the doorbell does integrate quite well with the company’s own Smart Locks as well.

The Nest Hello also has a compatible Power Supply, as well as a for easier installation. We’d also like to recommend the Nest Hello Case for a refreshed aesthetic and a little bit better protection on the camera itself.


August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello — Our Thoughts

August Doorbell Cam Pro

The August Doorbell Cam Pro vs. Nest Hello comparison is a little tough because while we feel Nest Hello does a better job theoretically, it falls far short in practice. The issues are far more than just a simple bug, and they directly affect your home’s security.

The biggest issue is that the Nest Hello takes around 10 seconds to send a notification to the phone when it detects motion. Outside of being very inconvenient when trying to keep apprised of visitors, that 10 second delay can be a major problem in the event of a break-in or theft.

The delay would be an issue as is, but the situation is exacerbated by Nest’s troubling response. After initially providing an acknowledgement of the issue, Nest later backtracked and erased any mention of the problem from their site. Redditors are also reporting that posters on the Nest forums have been banned for bringing up the delay issue as well. The fact that Nest seems to be going to such lengths to suppress discussion of the issue seems to make it clear that they don’t intend to fix it.

Other issues with the camera include a very long cooldown for motion detection, with no additional alerts being sent for as long as 30 minutes after the last activity notification, and audio recordings that don’t support the two-way audio feature.

The Nest Hello is built to be a better camera than the August Doorbell Cam Pro, but due to these issues we can’t give it any sort of positive recommendations.

If you’re deciding specifically between these two models, the August Doorbell Cam Pro is clearly the better choice, with a good lineup of features and great integration with the August Smart Locks. With that said, there are better options on the market if you’re just looking for a smart doorbell, such as the Ring lineup of doorbells.


Last update on 2024-03-27 at 20:14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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