Ring subscription costs depend on which plan you choose and what devices you own

Ring offers two main subscription tiers: Ring Protect Basic at $3 per month (or $30 per year), and Ring Protect Plus at $10 per month (or $100 per year). The Basic plan covers one device and stores video for 60 days. The Plus plan covers all your Ring devices at one address and stores video for 60 days across all of them. If you have multiple Ring devices — a doorbell camera, a stick-up camera, and a spotlight camera, for example — the Plus plan costs less per device than paying for Basic on each one.

Ring also offers a Ring Protect Pro plan at $20 per month (or $200 per year) in some areas, which adds 24/7 professional monitoring and emergency dispatch. This plan is not available everywhere and requires compatible Ring Alarm hardware. You can check whether it's available at your address on Ring's website.

If you own only one Ring device and do not need video storage or professional monitoring, you do not need a subscription at all — the device will still record and send you alerts when motion or someone presses the doorbell. You straightforward will not be able to review video after it happens.

Key Takeaways

  • Ring Protect Basic costs $3 per month or $30 per year and covers one device with 60 days of video storage.
  • Ring Protect Plus costs $10 per month or $100 per year and covers all Ring devices at your address with 60 days of video storage.
  • Ring Protect Pro costs $20 per month or $200 per year where available and adds professional monitoring and emergency dispatch to the Plus plan features.
  • You can use Ring devices without a subscription, but you will not be able to view or store video recordings after they occur.

What each subscription tier actually includes

The main difference between the plans is video storage and the number of devices covered. Ring Protect Basic stores 60 days of video history for one device only. If you have a Ring Video Doorbell and a Ring Stick Up Camera, you would need to pay for Basic twice — once for each device — at $6 per month total. This adds up quickly if you have multiple cameras.

Ring Protect Plus stores the same 60 days of video but covers every Ring camera and doorbell at your address under one subscription. It also includes video on demand, which lets you request a live view from your Ring device even if no motion triggered recording. All three tiers include person detection, which tells you whether the motion was caused by a person, animal, or vehicle.

Ring Protect Pro includes everything in Plus, plus 24/7 professional monitoring. If your Ring Alarm system detects a break-in, the monitoring center can contact emergency services on your behalf. This plan requires you to own a Ring Alarm system and is only available in certain states and regions.

How to decide which plan fits your situation

If you own one Ring device and want to review video of events that happened earlier in the day, Basic is the cheapest option at $3 per month. If you own two or more Ring devices, Plus becomes the better value because it covers all of them for $10 per month instead of $3 per device.

If you do not need to review video after the fact — for example, you mainly want real-time alerts when someone is at your door — you can skip the subscription entirely. The device will still send you a notification and let you see a live view right then, but you will not be able to watch a recording later.

Pro is worth considering only if you already own a Ring Alarm system and want professional monitoring. The $20 monthly cost is for the monitoring service itself; the video storage features of Plus are included in that price.

Paying monthly versus paying yearly

Ring offers a discount if you pay for a full year upfront instead of month to month. Basic costs $30 per year instead of $36 if paid monthly ($3 × 12 months). Plus costs $100 per year instead of $120 if paid monthly ($10 × 12 months). Pro costs $200 per year instead of $240 if paid monthly ($20 × 12 months). The yearly option saves you about two months of payments.

You can switch between plans or cancel at any time. If you pay yearly and cancel, Ring does not refund the unused portion, so choose yearly only if you are confident you will keep the subscription for the full year.

What happens if you cancel your subscription

If you stop paying for a subscription, your Ring device will continue to send you alerts and let you view live video. You straightforward will not be able to watch recordings that happened in the past. Any video stored in the cloud will be deleted after 24 hours.

If you reactivate your subscription later, you will start fresh with a new 60-day storage window. Ring does not restore video from before you cancelled.

Ring subscriptions through Amazon Prime

If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you may be offered a discount on Ring Protect Basic — typically $1.99 per month instead of $3 per month. This offer is not automatic and varies by region. You can check whether you may have access to by opening the Ring app, going to your account settings, and looking for Prime member offers.

The Prime discount applies only to Basic, not to Plus or Pro. If you have multiple devices, you would still need to pay for Basic separately for each one, or switch to Plus to cover all devices at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay for a Ring subscription to use my doorbell?

No. Your Ring device will still record video and send you alerts without a subscription. You just will not be able to review video after it happens or store it for later. A subscription is only needed if you want to watch recordings from earlier in the day or keep a history of events.

Can I use the same subscription for Ring devices at two different addresses?

No. Ring subscriptions cover all devices at a single address only. If you have Ring cameras at your home and at a rental property, you would need separate subscriptions for each location.

What if I only want video storage for one device but have multiple cameras?

You can pay for Ring Protect Basic on just one device and leave the others without a subscription. The devices without subscriptions will still send you alerts and let you watch live video, but will not store recordings. This is cheaper than paying for Basic on every device, though Plus becomes a better value once you have three or more cameras.

Does Ring Protect Pro include video storage?

Yes. Ring Protect Pro includes all the features of Plus — 60 days of video storage for all your devices, person detection, and video on demand — plus professional monitoring and emergency dispatch. You are not paying extra for storage; the $20 per month covers both the monitoring service and the storage.

Can I pause my subscription instead of cancelling it?

Ring does not offer a pause option. You can cancel and reactivate whenever you want, but any video stored before you cancelled will be deleted after 24 hours. If you think you might reactivate soon, cancelling and reactivating is free, but you will lose your video history.