AMAZON-owned Ring has hiked the cost of its subscription plan, which customers have called “totally disgusting” and “scandalous”.
Tech subscriptions have been rising across the board in recent years, including rival home security platform’s Google Nest and Arlo.
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An email sent by Ring to customers warned that from 11 March, customers will be charged £4.99/ $4.99 a month or £49.99/ $49.99 a year for a Basic Ring subscription.
That is an increase of almost 43 per cent or £1.50/ $1 per month or £15/$10 a year for hundreds of thousands of customers.
“For new and existing Ring Protect Basic subscribers, the new price will apply on your first renewal date on or after March 11, 2024,” the company noted in its announcement.
Ring increased prices just last year, when Basic subscription costs rose from £2.49/$2.99 to £3.49/ $3.99 per month – or £24.99/ $29.99 to £34.99/$39.99 a year.
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Unlike previous rounds of price hikes, subscribers aren’t getting any new features in return.
One customer complained on X, formerly Twitter: “Less than 18 months ago, the price for the @ring doorbell subscription was £24.99/year. Then it went to £34.99/year and today it’s announced it’s going to be £49.99/year.
“That’s utterly scandalous. You pay good money for the hardware and then this?”
Another tweeted: “£35.99 up to £50 a year! WTF? A 43 per cent price increase for a basic subscription?
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“There cannot be any acceptable justification for this rip off other than greed & contempt of your customers.
“That’ll be a goodbye from me then. Totally disgusting.”
I ditched my Ring doorbell for a cheaper Amazon alternative – the battery lasts longer and I DON’T need a subscription
A third person added: “If @ring_uk think people are going to maintain a subscription with a 43 per cent price rise, they’ve got to be insane.
“Well done in destroying your subscriber base! #ring #PriceHikeDisaster.”
Customers that cancel their Ring Protect subscription will no longer be able to save, review and share video recordings from their Ring devices to their Ring account.
All of recorded videos will be permanently deleted from the Ring cloud.
To save any videos, you must download them before cancelling your Ring Protect plan.
Ring has more information on how to download your footage here – however, there might be a free workaround if you have a newer smartphone.
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Customers have had to swallow price hike after price hike on their favourite subscriptions in recent years – such as Netflix and Disney+.
Now many are looking for home security alternatives to Ring.
Home Security Alternatives to Ring
There are a handful of good alternatives to Ring that share similar features – but they’re not always cheaper.
Arlo Secure
- Basic Plan costs £2.79/ $4.99 a month for a single camera or £8.99/$9.99 for unlimited cameras for 30-days video storage, enhanced motion detection and a pledge to replace your camera if it’s stolen.
- The Secure Plus plan costs £12.99/$17.99 a month for unlimited cameras and increases storage to 60 days.
Eufy Cloud Storage
- Eufy’s Basic Plan gives 30 days of storage for £2.46/$2.99 a month for a single device.
- The Premier Plan covers up to 10 devices for £7.49/$9.99 a month.
Google Nest Aware
- The basic Nest Aware tier gives you 30 days of video storage for £6/$8 a month or £60/$80 a year following last month’s price hike.
- Nest Aware Plus increase that to 60 days of event video storage and also gives you 10 days of constant 24/7 video recording for £12/ $15 a month or £120/$150 a year.
Ezviz Cloudplay
- You only get seven days of video history with the Standard Plan covering a single camera/doorbell for £2.49/$3.99 a month, or four devices for £7.49/ $5.99 a month.
- The Elite plan gives 30-day video history for a single camera at £9.99/ $6.99 a month or £14.99/ $10.99 a month for four cameras.
