Between a creepy Super Bowl ad and a monthly subscription fee for cloud storage, Ring doorbell cameras haven’t had the greatest reputation lately. That’s probably why so many homeowners are switching to this Tapo 2K doorbell camera instead. Deemed “superior to Ring in every way,” this cam offers high-resolution video, including at night, head-to-toe peripheral recording and real-time notifications that tell you if a person, package or vehicle arrives at your doorstep. But best of all? There’s no subscription fee! As long as you have a microSD card (up to 512 GB), you can store those videos locally. In today’s surveillance world, that type of privacy and value is hard to beat.
From two-way audio to AI subject detection, this doorbell camera has it all. “I can’t imagine another video doorbell that can offer anything more without a subscription,” says one reviewer. 👀
The Tapo 2K doorbell camera has all of the bells and whistles you’d expect from other name brands, but in an affordable package. It has two-way audio, so you can speak directly through your doorbell to any visitors who ring you, live view from your smartphone, high-resolution visuals for recording crisp, clear video footage and AI detection that recognizes people, vehicles and packages. The video can capture 160° for an ultra-wide head-to-toe field of view, as well as in low-light conditions for nighttime recording. And, interestingly, it also has an automatic adjustable spotlight that’ll turn on when it detects motion at night.
How it differs from the competition is its subscription-free model. Shockingly, you only need to load a microSD card into its bottom slot for local storage. That means you’ll have video playback and recordings for anything between a week and 1 month, depending on how large your card is. That also means your footage is secured and private, and cannot be accessed by malicious hackers if Tapo has server security breach.
The option for cloud-based storage is still available if you’d like, though that does require a subscription fee that’s much lower than others on the market: $3.49 a month per device for up to 30 days of video history. Tapo claims it uploads your video footage using high-end encryption when storing and transmitting sensitive information to protect your identity.
So many say it’s better than the competition, with many making the switch from Nest and Ring doorbells. As one reviewer says: “Tapo is the new king.”
“Installation was so easy as busy mom with no wiring experience had it up in a matter of 10 minutes,” reports one reviewer. “The app is great and I feel so much better about it being a closed network so hacking my WiFi is the only way to access its information unlike the Ring I replaced with this. The quality of day and night recordings are better than the newest Ring and the audio recording on Tapo is far superior. Love that I can choose what to be notified by and the app makes managing multiple home devices easy.”
“The speed of getting to the video when someone comes to the door is faster than my old Nest,” says one user, “and the fact that I can spend $60 once for a micro SD card and not $80/month for years of looping video history is amazing! I have a 256GB card and I am getting 2 full weeks of history at a time that I can review if needed.”
You can grab the battery-only version for wireless hookup and USB-C charging, or the wired version with a battery backup for 24/7 recording.
The Tapo comes in two versions: battery-only or wired and battery.
With the former model, you’ll get a USB-C rechargeable camera that you can pop off of its holder to recharge as needed. When paired with the app, you can place the camera on a scheduled recording to help preserve battery life and only have the camera work while you’re away from home. The brand claims it lasts up to 9 months on a single charge, though some reviewers say it’s realistically only a couple when using the scheduled recording feature.
The hard-wired version, meanwhile, offers continuous 24/7 recording, and only uses its battery as a backup, just in case there’s an issue with power or connection. You can still pop the camera off its mount to recharge it and set schedule recording times. Just note that if you do end up recording 24/7, you’ll fill that memory card space up at much faster rate. It records over the oldest footage on a continuous loop.
These cameras really are a solid value compared to the competition, even at full price. Check out what happy reviewers have to say about it below if you’re looking for a new home security addition or thinking of making a brand switch.
“I can’t say enough good things about this Tapo video doorbell! First, you don’t need a subscription to get full use of the important features! They only feature missing without a subscription that I might miss is the clip preview feature. It will still alert you to the type of motion detected, but you will need to open the app to see the details. Other than that, all the other features work without a subscription! Just install a mini SD card to keep the recordings! A 256 GB SD card will record a huge amount of video! That’s the largest card it can take, but plenty sufficient. Crystal clear video with the 2k setting. And still doesn’t take up the storage that quickly. I hardwired the doorbell so I could take advantage of the “always on” feature. I’m taking advantage of the 30 day free trial from Tapo, so I get alert previews now. Only records when motion is detected to the cloud. Once the trial is over, I will still have SD card storage to view. […] The audio on this doorbell camera is great too! Very clear and you can even personalize your quick response audio with a recording of your voice! […] This Tapo video doorbell is just fantastic! I can’t imagine another video doorbell that can offer anything more without a subscription! And the price is fantastic too! Kudos to TP-Link for giving the customer a great product and experience!” — Scott Luebke (This review has been edited for length. Read the full review.)
“I’ve had the Tapo doorbell up and running for months now and am here to share a few thoughts and tips I’ve learned.
First and only negative, the battery life is not the 9 months advertised. Or perhaps because of activity it was lessened to about 3 months. I live on a standard suburban street two blocks from a main road so it’s not busy but people walk the neighborhood a lot so I would receive constant notifications of that (which the app makes easy to adjust for including what type of action you want such as people, packages, animals, cars etc). Just over 2 months, and the battery is at 20% so I’m charging. With modified notifications, I will see if that prolongs the battery life. However, the positive is it is incredibly easy to remove and charge. Use a paper clip pressed into hole on top of device to release the bracket and charge with a standard C plug. It probably came with a little tool, but a paper clip work just fine.
Install was so easy a busy mom with no wiring experience had it up in a matter of 10 minutes.
The app is great and I feel so much better about it being a closed network so hacking my WiFi is the only way to access its information unlike the Ring I replaced with this.
The quality of day and night recordings are better than the newest Ring and the audio recording on Tapo is far superior. Love that I can choose what to be notified by and the app makes managing multiple home devices easy. […]” — Morgan (This review has been edited for length. Read the full review.)
“Awesome doorbell camera. The 2k quality is amazing and is just right for a doorbell camera. The settings and ability to establish alert zones so I don’t get a million notifications throughout the day is nice.
The speed of getting to the video when someone comes to the door is faster than my old Nest and the fact that I can spend $60 once for a micro SD card and not $80/month for years of looping video history is amazing! I have a 256GB card and I am getting 2 full weeks of history at a time that I can review if needed. […]
Night video was better than I expected. All around a fabulous camera!” — A. Hyde (This review has been edited for length. Read the full review.)
“I’ve replaced my Ring Doorbell with TP-Link D225 to eliminate paying for Ring subscription services. I should have known that it is a superior product just because of the TP-Link brand although I didn’t realize how superior until it was completely installed. It’s a much more sold construction and heavier, super easy to set up, connected to the internet very quickly & strongly. Everything required for installation is included with the doorbell giving you the option of using a slight downward wedge, wedge to the side or just a flat, no wedge mount. I chose the slight downward to allow for easier viewing of packages and found that it still provides plenty of upward space to include complete tall people and higher. The battery is stated to hold charge for approx. 8 months! We’ll see, it does have a larger battery than any other doorbell I researched (including TP-Link’s battery only model). […] I highly recommend this doorbell. It’s a bit of an initial investment but pays off over time due to NOT needing a subscription to view your videos from anywhere.” — Ice Cream Lover (This review has been edited for length. Read the full review.)
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