I Switched from Google Nest to Amazon Ring—Here’s My Review

For years, I trusted Google Nest for my home security setup. I had the Nest Cam Outdoor (first gen), and more recently, the Nest Doorbell (Wired, 2nd gen). The experience was fine, but not without frustrations.

Then Google raised the price of Nest Aware again—jumping from $200 to $260 a year. That’s the second price increase in just 18 months, and the frustrating part is that nothing new was added. At that point, I had to ask: why am I paying more for the same service?

That price hike made me seriously rethink my setup, and the timing worked out. Amazon Canada sent over several of its Ring products to test as a possible replacement for my Nest ecosystem. After a few weeks with the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus, and the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus, I can say with confidence that this switch feels like an upgrade across almost every metric that matters—from hardware and features to subscription value and app experience.

First Impressions: Moving from Nest to Ring

Coming from Nest, the first thing I noticed is how Ring leans into flexibility and detail. Where Nest often felt streamlined to the point of being restricted, Ring gives you knobs and dials for nearly everything. Picture-in-picture support makes it easier to keep a live view up on your phone if you’re waiting on a delivery. Video quality is sharp thanks to HDR, and the addition of full-colour night vision immediately stood out compared to Nest’s more muted infrared nighttime feeds.

When it comes to installs, one small but super helpful addition is being able to write down set up codes by device, and not rely on saving the QR code sticker. I can’t remember how many times I’ve lost setup QR codes. But with a 5 digit code, you can just save them into 1Password or Notes so you can always easily setup your devices, even if you lose the QR codes. Nest doesn’t offer this as you need to scan QR codes up close on devices, or hold onto that setup sticker.

One of the biggest time-savers has been Ring’s AI-powered video descriptions. Every clip gets a short text summary describing the event, so instead of scrubbing through footage, you can scan the text to know what happened. Push notifications also carry more context than Nest’s, giving you useful details before you even open the app.

Integration with Alexa devices has also been smooth. Our wall-mounted Echo Show 21 in the kitchen doubles as a live feed whenever someone rings the doorbell, which feels natural and faster than pulling out a phone. Automated responses are another area where Ring beats Nest outright. You can set preconfigured messages that trigger automatically after a set delay, which is especially useful for frequent deliveries.

Privacy zones are easy to draw in the app, letting you block out parts of the camera’s view so they’re never recorded. And possibly the most useful difference is that Ring treats doorbell rings as phone calls. That means it’s almost impossible to miss someone at the door—a small but significant improvement over Google’s system.

Hardware: Ring Wired Doorbell Pro

The centrepiece of my test setup was the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, which retails for $329.99 in Canada. It’s a premium, wired-only unit with head-to-toe 1536p HD+ video, two-way talk with improved audio, and some unique tricks.

Its 3D Motion Detection and Bird’s Eye View features let you track motion from above, mapping out exactly where someone moved around your property. It’s more precise than Nest’s simple “motion detected” alerts and reduces the number of false positives. Bird’s Eye View clarity will depend on the latest resolution and zoom levels of your local area within their satellite map.

Installation was straightforward and very easy. It was nice that included were wire extenders, a wedge and more. These small touches show Ring understands what it takes to get people up and running without headaches.

Below is the Ring doorbell installed. I left the existing third-party black plate from my Nest there and just installed the Ring on top.

Compared to my old Nest Doorbell (Wired, 2nd gen), the differences are clear. Nest struggled to show packages sitting on the ground, but Ring’s wider field of view fixes that problem. Nest’s video also had trouble in bright sunlight, often blowing out details, while Ring’s HDR video handles tricky lighting much better.

In terms of response time, the Ring doorbell was faster with notifications (your connected Alexa devices will let you know). I could still track people in real-time, while the Nest doorbell had a delay and I would end up missing people at the door. This is not an internet issue as all things staying the same, Ring clearly is faster and more responsive.

But sadly for the Ring doorbells, 24/7 recording is not available, as that’s only for its cameras. You only can get snapshot intervals every 15 seconds between motion-related recordings. So while any motion will start recording a clip, any time inbetween motion, there will be a 15 second gap. That’s a long time if you’re trying to look back into time.

We would hope Ring would allow 24/7 video recording as an option for its doorbells, as this is something Nest has offered for a long time now. Sometimes motion might be missed and that’s when 24/7 video is needed. If you’re paying for a premium subscription, 24/7 video should be an absolute must and Ring needs to reconsider this limitation.

Hardware: Floodlight Cam Wired Plus

I also installed a set of Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus units. At $259 each, or $659 for a three-pack, they bring serious outdoor coverage with 1080p HD video, motion-triggered dual LED floodlights, two-way audio, and a 105dB siren.

Installation was straightforward, though I had an electrician buddy handle the wiring (he was around fixing some other stuff, otherwise I would have Macgyver’d my way). He was impressed with the packaging, pointing out the clever design details like a hook that holds the unit in place while you connect the wires and a multi-function screwdriver included in the box. These small touches show Ring understands what it takes to get people up and running without headaches.

The floodlights are bright enough to eliminate blind spots, but Ring also lets you control brightness in the app, so you’re not always blasting your yard at full intensity (and waking up the neighbour). Colour night vision here is also strong, and the combination of camera plus floodlight feels like an all-in-one deterrent. For peace of mind, the siren is just a tap away in the app, which isn’t something Nest ever offered on our older cameras.

So far, we have not had any connection issues such as dropped Wi-Fi, which was common with our Nest cameras at times, despite having a decent network here. It also helps that we have an Eero 7 Outdoor within range of all cameras.

Hardware: Outdoor Cam Plus

The final device I tried was the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus, a compact plug-in model priced at $139. It delivers 2K video with wide-angle coverage and full-colour night vision, thanks to a low-light enhancement feature Ring calls “Low-Light Sight.” This camera was incredibly easy to install, with wire extenders and a flexible mount that allows for two different positioning methods.

Compared to my first-generation Nest Cam Outdoor, the improvement is stark. The old Nest Cam offered only basic AI tagging (“person” or “car”), and it often struggled to keep a smooth video stream going, even on reliable internet. The Ring Outdoor Cam Plus ($139), by contrast, delivers crisp, stable video and offers far more advanced motion alerts.

Subscriptions: Ring vs. Nest

Subscription pricing is one of the most important differences. Nest Aware Plus now costs $260 a year in Canada, offering 24/7 video history and familiar face detection. Ring, meanwhile, starts at just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year for basic coverage, which includes 180 days of event video history and person or package alerts. The mid-tier doubles that cost, adding doorbell calls, extended live view, and backup for Ring Alarm. The premium plan is $19.99 per month or $199.99 a year and includes advanced features like AI-powered video search, detailed video descriptions, and even SOS emergency response integration.

For my setup, the premium plan feels like the sweet spot. The AI descriptions are a genuine time saver, and Ring’s search features make it much easier to locate specific clips. The cost undercuts Nest’s Aware Plus plan, while offering features that feel more practical day-to-day.

The only limitation I’ve noticed is continuous video for doorbells. Nest still has the edge here, offering true 24/7 recording on Nest doorbell camera. Ring’s doorbell approach gives you event-based recording with snapshots every 15 seconds between events, which can feel like a long gap if something happens just out of sync with the motion detection. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s the one area where Nest still leads.

The Ring App Experience

The Ring app is where the ecosystem shines. While Google has been slowly moving Nest into the Google Home app, the experience feels half-baked. Ring’s app, in contrast, feels built for home security from the ground up. Cameras can be viewed in either a grid or a list, and a timeline view shows exactly when events occurred and whether someone in the household acknowledged them.

The app is packed with options — almost overwhelmingly so — but it’s better to have too many choices than too few. A thoughtful touch is the dark “night mode” interface, which makes it easier to glance at the app after hours. The ability to quickly trigger alarms or call emergency services directly from the app adds another layer of reassurance. Sharing access with family members is also simple, and each person can customize their notifications independently.

The Ring app offers an Event History tab, which gives you a summary of events and activity from all your cameras and doorbells. It even lets you know when someone started a live view of activity by location. The Nest app doesn’t have a feature that can summarize all activities from your cameras.

The Nest app gives you a scrollable timelapse timeline and so does the Ring app. But this time it’s a horizontal scroll instead of vertical. You can access the timeline after you end a live viewing session (this took me a while to find the timeline at first).

Below, you can see how Ring’s use of AI for video descriptions can be very detailed for your notifications. It was able to easily identify UPS and Amazon delivery drivers dropping off packages. This just saves time when you’re scanning notifications. It’s also very descriptive of kids, animals and more.

The use of AI for analyzing your videos is optional and must be enabled yourself through settings.

Final Verdict

Switching from Google Nest to Amazon Ring has been a refreshing change. The hardware has been reliable so far, the installation process and set up through the app is super easy, and the features feel better aligned with how people actually use security cameras day-to-day. The subscription options are more flexible and affordable, and the AI-driven features save time without feeling gimmicky.

Yes, I still wish Ring offered continuous 24/7 video recording on the doorbell, but that’s the only real gap (maybe one day my wish will come true). Video quality has been consistently strong (it’s also super easy to share and download clips), the app is loaded with options, and Alexa integration adds a layer of convenience Nest never matched. With a more complete app, better pricing, and stronger hardware, Ring feels like a security system built for the present, and I’ve wondered why I didn’t switch sooner.

For now, I’ll be sticking with Ring, and I’m happy to pay for the $199/year premium plan once my trial ends. Unless Google launches a major new overhaul of its Nest lineup with more features to justify its recent Nest Aware price increases (and the forced use of the Google Home app), it’s hard to see myself ever going back.