Ring hikes price for its Basic Protect subscription

If you own a Ring camera, you might be on the hook for a price hike with your next renewal. After parent company Amazon announced a new smart doorbell this week, it’s also (more quietly) instating a higher fee for some Ring Protect subscribers.

The Ring Protect Basic plan, which currently costs $4 per month or $40 per year, is headed to $5 per month or $50 per year. Those enrolled in either monthly or annual billing will pay this price on their first renewal on and after March 11, 2024. Renewals will remain on the same day of the month or year. The same goes for those on free trials that end on or after that date.

However, Ring Protect Basic will still provide the following features for a single device:

• Detailed notifications on alarm status and alert triggers
• Narrower alert threshold for detected persons
• Arm and disarm an alarm via Alexa or the Ring app
• Camera record programming for Home and Away Modes
• Up to 180 days of video history
• Download up to 50 videos at once
• Frequent camera snapshots throughout the day

In addition, customers can also get a 10% discount on select products bought from Ring or Amazon.

Neither the Ring Protect Plus or Pro plans will see a hike. They’ll still cost $10 and $20 per month or $100 and $200 per year, respectively.

Ring’s change follows competitor Arlo’s price hike

About a week and a half ago, rival label Arlo had jacked up its equivalent Arlo Secure single-camera plan from $5 per month to $8. The annual rate jumped from $60 to $90. Arlo had raised prices on both its single-camera and multi-camera plans the previous year.

Ring’s last Protect Basic price hike came in July 2022, before when prices were pegged at $3 per month or $30 per year. That hike also brought in the current level of video storage, bulk video downloads, and the Ring/Amazon discount. At the time, The Verge reported that customers were furious about having to pay for features they say they would never use. The subject line of the email announcing these changes to subscribers read “We’re continuing to innovate for you, our neighbor.”

Related

Best Ring Video Doorbells: Protect your home and packages with minimal fuss

Whatever your home needs, these are the best Ring doorbells available right now.

Interestingly, many RIng Protect Basic subscribers caught wind of the change via social media posts circulating a Ring FAQ page on the matter. With the latest change, however, there aren’t even any new features to go around.

What this price jump could mean

With this move, Amazon has essentially closed the loophole for those who owned two or three devices to save money by buying multiple Ring Protect Basic plans rather than the all-encompassing Ring Protect Plus plan. From March 11, if you own two or more Ring products, you might as well upgrade to Ring Protect Plus.