Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro

The battle between the Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro is pretty much a battle between Google vs. Amazon. And even though the Nest Hello is absolutely more advanced compared to the , it still has quite a few drawbacks that might just make you go with the Ring Pro for now.

About Nest and Ring

Once called “Doorbot”, the Ring company garnered a lot of attention on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2013. And even though they couldn’t make a deal with investors, it didn’t stop Doorbot, aka Ring, from becoming one of the leading manufacturers of smart doorbells. Fast forward to 2018, and who’d’ve thunk it — Ring gets acquired by Amazon.

And even though we’ve yet to learn what course Amazon will choose for Ring, it looks like Ring’s smart doorbells and security cameras will make a nice addition to the Amazon Key Service

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Ring offers four smart video doorbells: Ring, Ring 2, Ring Pro, and Ring Elite. The Ring 2 and Pro versions offer better video resolution (1080p) and motion detection when compared to the original Ring. And the Ring Elite is a PoE doorbell which offers reliable Internet connection and continuous power for features like on-demand live streaming. You can learn more about Ring doorbells from these articles: Ring vs. Ring Pro, Ring 2 vs. Ring Pro, and Ring Pro vs. Elite.

As you can tell, Ring has been working on doorbells for years now, whereas Nest is a brand new player in the smart doorbells niche.

Nest started off with the Nest Learning Thermostat, and has built its way into a whole-home smart security system. From smart cameras to motion sensors, Nest products help you cover every angle of your home, monitored from your smartphone.

This year 2018, Nest has taken a step further by releasing a top notch security combo: Nest Hello and Nest x Yale lock — because what pairs better with a smart doorbell than a smart lock? The Nest Hello doorbell, with its exciting advanced features, sets the bar almost too high for the rest of the smart doorbells to catch up. We’re talking about 24/7 streaming, facial recognition, and geofencing, which are quite common features for smart cameras, but totally new for smart doorbells.

Nest pretty much takes what everyone loves about Nest Cams and puts it into a doorbell — the Nest Hello.

And so before we get to the differences between Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro, let’s highlight what the two doorbells have in common.

Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro — Differences

• Difference #1: Aspect Ratio – Even though both doorbells offer HD-quality video, the Nest Hello and Ring Pro differ in their video aspect ratio. The Ring Pro offers 16:9 ratio, which is a pretty standard ratio for majority of doorbells and smart cameras. It’s wide enough to cover almost all of your front yard. However, watching Ring’s doorbell videos, you might notice that most of the time a person doesn’t quite fully fit in the frame. And that’s where Nest Hello comes to save the day with its 4:3 aspect ratio to show you visitors from head to toe.

  The Nest Hello features UXGA 1600 x 1200 video resolution whereas the Ring Pro offers Full HD 1920 x 1080. So, overall, with the Nest Hello you’ll get a better view of your visitors height-wise, unlike the Ring Pro which delivers more of the surrounding view instead.



• Difference #2: FPS – Nest Hello shoots video at 30 frames per second whereas the Ring Pro at 15 FPS. Is it a noticeable difference? Yes. The fewer FPS you get, the more laggy and blurry the video looks. You’re most likely to notice the difference in video quality on a fast action, like when someone moves fast in front of the camera. In this case, you’ll have a lesser chance to identify a person with the Ring Pro. Whereas with the Nest Hello and it’s double the FPS, you get an overall better view to the action.

• Difference #3: HDR – Unlike the Ring Pro doorbell, the Nest Hello also features an HDR video. Though, what is HDR and why would you want it?

  The HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and is perfect for dealing with tricky lighting situations that are pretty common on a front yard view. The HDR mode helps to even out bright and dark areas in a video frame to show sharp details no matter the lighting is. Therefore, with the Nest Hello nothing gets lost in dark shadows or bright light.

• Difference #4: CVR – Nest Hello offers 24/7 continuous video recording and streaming so nothing goes unnoticed. This feature comes with the Nest Aware Subscription which starts at $5 a month. We’ll talk about Nest and Ring subscription plans in depth in Difference #15. So, hold on tight.

  The Ring Pro has yet to offer the 24/7 CVR option.

• Difference #5: Pre-recorded Responses – Quick Responses are perfect for situations when you’re busy and can’t answer your doorbell. The Nest Hello offers three quick response messages to let you communicate with visitors without actually talking to them in person:

  1. Hi there! No one can answer the door right now. We’ll be notified you stopped by.
  2. Hi there! You can just leave it. Thanks!
  3. Just a sec… We’ll be right there.

  Whenever someone rings the Nest Hello doorbell, you get a push notification with an option to choose one of the above three Quick Responses. The only downfall is that currently, you are unable to record your own Quick Responses.

  The Ring Pro doesn’t have this feature.

• Difference #6: Two-Way Audio Recording – Even though both doorbells come with a two-way audio feature, the Nest Hello and Ring Pro vary in a way they record conversations between you and your visitors.

  The Nest Hello only records answers from your visitors, entirely omitting what you say through the Nest app. So, when you rewatch a recorded video clip, you hear your guests monologue instead of a normal two-way conversation.

  The Ring Pro, on the other hand, records everything and everyone, so you can enjoy a full conversation on replay instead of ripped-out-of-context phrases.

• Difference #7: Motion & Sound Detection – When it comes to motion and sound detection, the Nest Hello is way more advanced than the Ring Pro, however, it comes at additional cost.

  The Nest Hello doorbell is constantly monitoring changes in sound and motion so it knows when to notify you. First, the doorbell figures out what everything normally looks and sounds like when there’s no activity. This way, when something changes in the scene, like a dog starts barking, or people start talking loudly, the doorbell can pick up the change and notify you about it straight away.

  With the Nest Aware Subscription plan though, you get more intelligent motion and sound detection. The doorbell is constantly checking the video stream for changes in lighting, motion patterns, shape, and texture. It also measures ambient audio levels, so that it can filter out any regular noise in the area (like a running air conditioner).

  Over time, the Nest Hello doorbell can tell the difference between a tree swaying from the wind and a door suddenly opening. With the Nest Aware intelligent motion and sound detection you get to significantly reduce false alerts.

  Moreover, with the Nest Hello you can create motion zones and get person alerts. It can even recognize your family and friends. Though, if you’re from Illinois, we’ve got bad news for you — the familiar face alerts are not available in your state.

  Unlike the Nest Hello, Ring Pro doesn’t offer sound alerts or facial recognition. However, it does offer motion detection with the adjustable sensitivity option. Plus, you don’t need a subscription to create motion zones and get person alerts, as it’s part of a free package.

  So, to sum it up, the Nest Hello is more advanced because it offers intelligent sound and motion detection with motion zones and facial recognition at additional cost. Whereas the Ring Pro offers simple motion detection with motion zones and person alerts at no cost.

• Difference #8: Geofencing – Nest Hello, just like Nest Cams, features geofencing to automatically switch the behavior of Nest products in your home. The so-called “Home/Away Assist” determines whether you’re home or away based on your smartphone’s location.

  So, how exactly does geofencing work for the Nest Hello? You can set the doorbell to start streaming video when you leave and stop streaming when you come back. Turning off the camera when you’re at home frees up your home internet connection’s bandwidth. This way you can enjoy other activities that require stable Internet connection like streaming movies or playing online games. However, for the night time, you can always turn your camera back on manually for a good night’s sleep.

  Nest Hello geofencing works well with schedules — the doorbell’s camera will honor the schedule you’ve set while responding to your smartphone’s location.

  The Ring Pro doesn’t offer geofencing, however you can still set schedules for your doorbell.

• Difference #9: Push Notification – Both the Nest Hello and Ring Pro can send you text push notifications to your smartphone to notify you about an action. However, with the Nest Aware subscription, your Nest Hello doorbell will send you a notification with a snapshot, so you can see right away if the event’s worth reviewing.

  Moreover, if you press and hold the push notification, it’ll show you a short video summary of the event. Unlike the Ring Pro, which doesn’t offer a visual reference in push notifications, the Nest Hello offers you total control of action without the need to open an app.

  However, Nest Hello does have a few serious drawbacks when it comes to notifications. First of all, the sound of notifications are set to your phone’s apptone by default. So, let’s say you have an iPhone, you’ll get a tritone sound for Nest’s Hello notifications. Now, do you really think that sound can wake you up at night? Unless you are a light-sleeper, it probably won’t wake you up considering that it’ll only sound once within ~10 minutes.

  Why once? Well, that’s another drawback — the cool off period for the Nest Hello is pretty long. It means if you get a package delivered to your doorstep, you’ll get a notification about it. However, if someone decides to steal the package within the next, let’s say 5 minutes, you won’t even get a notification. And even though the Nest Hello will still record the video of a thief that you can later share with police, you won’t be able to deal with the package thief now & then through the two-way audio option. This kind of takes away all the fun of having the smart doorbell on the first place.

  The other major concern is the time it takes Nest Hello to notify you about an action — it’s 10 seconds on average. By the time you get a notification, there’ll be no one to answer.

  The Ring Pro, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Ring’s push notifications are pretty loud, sound like a real chime, and repeat twice. Plus, the cool off time is around 1 minute and the delay between an action and push notification is almost non-existent.

  [youtube id=”G6nyi2hOZxQ” width=”600″ height=”340″ position=”center”]

  However, things like delay in push notifications depend heavily on your Internet connection. So, we’d recommend checking the NETGEAR Orbi Home Mesh WiFi System to help out with creating a fast and stable WiFi Network.

  Overall, the Ring Pro is way more reliable with push notifications than the Nest Hello due to minimum delay and short cool off time.

• Difference #10: Compatible Networks – The Nest Hello is compatible with 2.4 or 5 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and 802.15.4 at 2.4GHz. Whereas the Ring Pro is only compatible with 2.4 or 5 GHz 802.11 b/g/n.

  Wi-Fi standards determine the available speed and range of a Wi-Fi network. For example, the Nest’s Hello 802.11ac is also referred to as 5G Wi-Fi — it’s one of the latest Wi-Fi standards that operates only on the 5 GHz frequency band.

  Generally, the more options for Wi-Fi standards you get, the better. However, everything comes down to the kind of router you’re using. And even though later standards are backward compatible with earlier ones, it’s still better to have an all-in-one, advanced router, like the ASUS RT-AC68U Wireless – AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router. Seriously, check it out.

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• Difference #11: Smart Home Integration – The Nest Hello is a perfect addition to the Nest Family of products, which include: Nest x Yale Smart Lock, Nest Cams, Nest Cams IQs, and Nest Secure System with its smart sensors, smoke alarms, and siren to keep your home safe and secure 24/7.

  Plus, the Nest Doorbell works well with Google Home. The Google Home Mini can announce who’s actually at the door thanks to the Nest’s facial recognition feature.

  Check out all “Friends of Nest” to get an idea of how well the Nest Hello can fit in your smart home.

  The Ring Pro, on the other hand, offers integration with Amazon Alexa, so you can see your front yard right on the Echo Show, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV display. Though, you won’t be able to use the two-way audio feature on the Echo Show and Fire TV.

  The Ring Pro also works with the SmartThings hub, so you can set a rule to trigger lights or alarms of your choosing whenever someone rings the doorbell.

  And as you can probably guess, after Amazon acquired Ring, you can forget about Google Home integration for the Ring Pro doorbell.

• Difference #12: Operating Temperature – The Nest Hello operates at 14° to 104°F (-10° to 40°C) whereas the Ring Pro works well at -5°–120°F (-20°–50°C). And, yes, that’s not a typo. So, if you live in a colder area, the Nest Hello might not just be able to handle it.

  And if the Ring Pro’s -5°F still looks unimpressive to you, then check out the Skybell HD with an operating temperature of -40°–140°F (-40°–50°C).


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• Difference #13: Finish – The Nest Hello comes in one color, though there are colorful skins available at additional cost. The only problem with the skins is that they don’t fit tight.

  Unlike the Nest Hello, the Ring Pro comes with four interchangeable faceplates, so you can easily swap between colors to find the one that works the best for your home. Plus, the faceplates come at no additional cost whatsoever.

• Difference #14: Warranty – The Nest Hello offers a 2-year warranty plan whereas the Ring Pro offers 1-year of coverage. However, if you get the Ring’s Protect Plus subscription, you’ll be entitled to warranty protection for the life of your Protect Plus Plan. Not bad at all, though that’s quite a commitment right there.

• Difference #15: Subscription Plans – If you want to get the fuller experience of having a smart doorbell, you should definitely consider getting a subscription plan.

  Nest offers three different Nest Aware subscription plans which only differ in price and video storage respectively. All three plans offer 24/7 continuous-­recording, intelligent alerts, clips and timelapses, and activity zones. The video storage options starts at $5 a month or $50 a year for 5-day video history, then goes the 10-day video history plan for $10 a month or $100 a year, and the last one is $30 a month or $300 a year for 30-day video history.

  Mind you it’s the price per one device. So, if you plan on adding Nest Cams, you’ll need to buy a Nest Aware Subscription for them as well, though Nest does have discounts for additional cameras.

  Without the Nest Aware plan you get simple motion and sound detection, live view, two-way audio, pre-recorded responses, geofencing, silent mode, schedules, and only three hours of snapshots.

  Compared to the Nest Aware, Ring’s subscription plans are more budget-friendly. The plans are all about video storage since the rest of the features like motion zones and person alerts come free of charge.

  Ring offers two subscription plans: Protect Basic and Protect Plus. The Protect Basic offer 60 days of video storage for your video clips that you can review, download, and share with anyone. The plan costs $3 a month or $30 a year per one camera.

  On top of these options, the Protect Plus also offers 10% off purchases at Ring.com and the warranty protection for the life of your Protect Plus Plan. The cost of Protect Plus is $10 a month or $100 a year for the whole home. So, if you’re looking to get the Ring Security Cameras in addition to the Ring Pro doorbell, then Protect Plus is just the right option for you.

  And if you want to be subscription free, you know, there’s always the Skybell HD option.

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Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro — Comparison Chart

Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro — Things in Common

Both Nest Hello and Ring Pro require a wired doorbell and the right transformer to work, so make sure to check Nest or Ring’s compatibility list before ordering a smart doorbell.

The doorbells offer HD-quality video with infrared night view, so whether it’s day or night you’ll still get a crisp, clear image of your front porch. Whenever someone rings the doorbell or motion is detected, you’ll get a push notification on your smartphone. From there you can access a live view via the app to see who’s at your doorstep.

In fact, you don’t even need to wait for any action to take place because the doorbells also offer on-demand live view. So, as long as your Internet connection is fast and stable, you should be able to check the doorbell camera’s view at any moment.

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Also, the Nest Hello and Ring Pro have a built-in mic & speaker which allow for two-way audio, so you can listen to visitors and talk back.

The doorbells also allow you to record and share video clips, though at additional cost. Pretty much anything related to video storage requires a subscription. And if you don’t feel like getting hooked on yet another subscription plan, make sure to check the Skybell HD — a 1080p smart doorbell with colorful night vision and absolutely free, continuous 7-day video storage. Check out our take on Skybell HD vs. Ring Pro for more details.

However, back to the Nest Hello, let’s find out what makes it so superior to the Ring Pro and whether there are any pitfalls you need to be aware of (spoiler alert).

Nest Hello and Ring Pro’s Accessories

If you think the Nest Hello might really stand out from your home exterior, then check out the Nest Hello Skins. The skins will help you blend the new doorbell with your home’s decor just perfectly.

Also, if you don’t have existing doorbell wiring, then this Video Doorbell Power Supply should come in handy. The kit is an all-in-one power solution for the Nest Hello or Ring Pro doorbells.

Also, depending on your front door setup, you might benefit a lot from the Ring Video Doorbell Pro Angle Mount Corner Wedge Kit. The angle mount will help you improve the Ring’s Pro motion detection and will get you a better view of visitors coming to your door.

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And if you’re looking for multiple alert tones and volume control, you can add the Ring Chime. The chime plugs into an outlet and connects to all of your Ring devices. So, even if you’re not near your phone, you’ll still hear notifications. Though, we’d suggest getting the Pro version of a chime because it also works as a WiFi extender. The Chime Pro is crucial if you experience video buffering from your Ring Pro doorbell. The WiFi extender will boost Ring’s network signal for better performance.

Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro — Our Thoughts

Nest Hello is absolutely the most advanced doorbell on the market right now. With its intelligent motion and sound alerts, facial recognition, 24/7 CVR, pre-recorded responses, and geofencing, there’s no other doorbell to offer the same set of features. However, it all does come at a pretty high cost.

You’ll just have to eat the expensive Nest Aware subscription cost if you want to enjoy the advanced features that set the Nest Hello apart from other doorbells. Plus, you’ll need to deal with delayed notifications, one-way audio recordings, and pretty long cool off time until Nest addresses these issues and offers a solution.

Until those issues are solved, we can not recommend the Nest Hello to our readers. So, if you’re here to choose between the Nest Hello vs. Ring Pro — well, the works and Ring’s subscription plans are way cheaper compared to Nest’s.

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Last update on 2024-04-19 at 19:26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API