Better than Ring? This video doorbell has none of the monthly fees and many similar features

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

ZDNET's key takeaways

• The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $180.
• The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage so you can bypass subscription fees. 
• Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look distorted. 

Video doorbells are among the best ways to start your smart home journey. They are easy to use and often easy to install and provide much-needed surveillance. Although they may seem intimidating to set up for beginners, there's a video doorbell option for just about everyone, whether you're looking for a budget-friendly option or one that's easy to install.

Having tested several video doorbell options, I've enjoyed having the latest Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell. For easy installation, I prefer a battery-operated option, so I got the battery-operated option. More importantly, Lorex ditches the typical paid subscription model for a flat hardware fee. Is it worth it? Let's find out.

Also: Ring just launched a new Battery Doorbell with better features for the same price

Having your phone tell you who's at the door in real-time and being able to talk to them when you can't answer the door is life-changing, I tell you. The Lorex 2K video doorbell does this and more, as it boasts a 2K video resolution with HDR, no monthly subscription fees, and a battery option with an easy-to-install set of brackets to give you the viewing angle you desire.

Setting up the Lorex 2K video doorbell was straightforward, as I opted for the battery-powered model (there's a wired option, too). I charged it for a few hours, paired it to the Lorex mobile app, and installed the bracket where I wanted the doorbell. I already have a Eufy Battery video doorbell, so I set up the Lorex next to it to compare the images captured by both.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Once the doorbell is installed, there's not much else for you to worry about. One of my favorite things about this video doorbell is the lack of monthly fees. You can store your video recordings on the 32GB MicroSD card included and offload them whenever you need to bring your doorbell in to charge. If you're using a wired installation, I'd keep an extra MicroSD card to swap out now and then to keep your video doorbell recording the events that matter to you.

The Lorex app is also easy to use and navigate. It allows you to check your notifications, look at the live feed, change your doorbell settings, and check your event history. Lorex is a renowned security camera maker, and the app lets you access other Lorex cameras you may have at home in one place. 

Also: I replaced my Ring with this Arlo 2K video doorbell, and it's perfect for smart home beginners

The doorbell also features Person Detection, making it easy to skip false alarms, as you won't get notified when a spider crawls over your video camera or the trees in your yard sway in the wind. 

The biggest problem with this Lorex video doorbell is that the image, though good quality at 2560 x 1920 resolution, looks distorted due to the 164-degree field of view. This would be fine for more affordable doorbells, but one worth almost $200 should offer a better visual experience.

People can look distorted in the images, which isn't a big deal if you're using the doorbell to see who's at the door, but it does bother me when I rewatch the recordings. As you can see in the comparison above, my Lorex doorbell shows a stretched image compared to the screenshot from the Eufy doorbell, as evidenced by the elongated UPS truck.

It also doesn't include a chime kit, meaning you'd have to buy it separately or forgo the battery feature and use it with your home's existing wiring to use your current chime box. The Lorex Chimebox is available for an extra $50 as a small, plug-in device that works with Wi-Fi.

Also: The waterproof Blink Mini 2 is the best Wyze Cam alternative available

That said, the Lorex 2K video doorbell excels at daily use. It's reliably on time with real-time alerts when someone is at the door and integrates seamlessly with Alexa. Hence, we get notifications from our Echo devices when someone rings the doorbell. It also has a small LED light that comes on in the dark when you approach it.

The small LED at the bottom of the Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Battery Video Doorbell.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The built-in LED is an underrated feature and one of my favorites. It is helpful when you arrive home in the dark and can use some brightness to find your keys. I also like that it might deter intruders, as the light turns on when the camera detects movement.

ZDNET's buying advice

Even if I'm not a huge fan of the wide-angle image it captures, I like quite a few things about the Lorex 2K Battery Video Doorbell. The battery has outlasted my Eufy Battery Doorbell for the past few months and only needs charging every other month. 

The Lorex 2K Battery Doorbell is available for $180 and is the perfect video doorbell for anyone with a Lorex camera system in their home. It's also an excellent substitute for a Ring video doorbell, as you can enjoy many of the same benefits without paying for a subscription. You can also opt for wired installation to use your existing chime and expand the internal storage with a microSD card (up to 256GB) to take it to the next level.