Ring subscriptions are optional paid plans that add video storage, person detection, and customer support to your Ring doorbell or camera
A Ring subscription is not required to use your Ring device — the doorbell or camera will still record and send you alerts without one. What a subscription adds depends on which plan you choose. The two main plans are Ring Protect Basic and Ring Protect Plus, and they differ in what they store, how long they keep it, and which devices they cover.
Ring Protect Basic costs $3 per month or $30 per year and covers one device. It stores 60 days of video history in the cloud and includes person detection — the ability to tell whether motion is a person, a package, or an animal. Ring Protect Plus costs $10 per month or $100 per year and covers all Ring devices at your home. It stores 60 days of video and includes person detection, professional monitoring for Ring Alarm systems, and 24/7 customer support by phone.
Without a subscription, your Ring device will still record when motion is detected or when someone presses the doorbell, but the video is stored only temporarily on the device itself — usually a few hours to a day depending on your internet connection and the device model. You will still receive alerts on your phone, but you will not see person detection labels or have access to older recordings.
Key Takeaways
- Ring Protect Basic ($3/month) covers one device and stores 60 days of video with person detection.
- Ring Protect Plus ($10/month) covers all Ring devices at your home and adds professional alarm monitoring and phone support.
- Without a subscription, video is stored only on the device itself for a few hours to a day, not in the cloud.
- Both plans store the same amount of video history (60 days), so the choice depends on how many devices you have and whether you want alarm monitoring.
What video storage means and why it matters
When you subscribe to Ring Protect, your video is saved to Ring's cloud servers for 60 days. This means you can go back and watch what happened on any day within the past two months, even if you did not get an alert at the time. You can also read and share video clips with police or insurance companies if needed.
Without a subscription, your Ring device stores video locally — on the device itself or on a microSD card if your model supports one. This storage is temporary and limited. Once the device runs out of space, it deletes the oldest video to make room for new recordings. In practice, this usually means you can see video from the last few hours or the last day, but not from a week ago.
Local storage is useful if your internet goes down — the device keeps recording — but it does not help you if you want to review something that happened days earlier. Cloud storage through a subscription is the only way to keep a long history.
Person detection and what it does
Person detection is a feature included in both Ring Protect plans. When motion is detected, Ring's software analyzes the video to determine whether the motion is a person, a package, an animal, or a vehicle. If it detects a person, the alert you receive on your phone will say "Person detected" instead of just "Motion detected."
This matters because it reduces false alerts. If a tree branch blows in front of your camera, you will get a "Motion detected" alert without a subscription, but a "Person detected" alert with a subscription will only fire if the software is confident it sees a person. You can also set your notification preferences to alert you only for people, not for packages or animals, which cuts down on the number of notifications you receive.
Person detection is not perfect — it can miss people in poor lighting or heavy rain, and it occasionally misidentifies animals as people — but it is more useful than motion detection alone for most homeowners.
Ring Protect Basic versus Ring Protect Plus
The main difference between the two plans is device coverage and alarm monitoring. Ring Protect Basic covers one device, so if you have a doorbell and a camera, you would need to buy Basic for each one separately. Ring Protect Plus covers all Ring devices at your home for one price, which saves money if you have more than one device.
Ring Protect Plus also includes professional monitoring for Ring Alarm systems. If you have a Ring Alarm and a break-in is detected, the monitoring center can contact emergency services on your behalf. This feature is not available with Basic. Plus also includes 24/7 phone support, while Basic customers can contact Ring support through email or chat during business hours.
Both plans store 60 days of video and include person detection. The choice between them depends on whether you have multiple devices and whether you use a Ring Alarm system. If you have one doorbell and no alarm, Basic is cheaper. If you have a doorbell and a camera, or if you have an alarm system, Plus is usually the better value.
How to check what plan you have and change it
Open the Ring app on your phone and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner. Select "Subscriptions" and you will see which plan, if any, is active on your account. The screen will show the renewal date and the cost.
To change your plan, tap "Manage Plan" on the same screen. You can upgrade from Basic to Plus, downgrade from Plus to Basic, or cancel your subscription entirely. Changes take effect when ready if you are upgrading, or at the end of your current billing period if you are downgrading or canceling.
You can also pause a subscription for up to three months if you are traveling or temporarily do not need cloud storage. After three months, the subscription will resume automatically unless you cancel it.
Whether a Ring subscription is worth the cost
A subscription is worth the cost if you want to review video from more than a few hours ago, if you have multiple Ring devices, or if you use a Ring Alarm system. The 60-day history is useful for insurance claims, police reports, or straightforward reviewing what happened on a specific day. Person detection reduces false alerts, which many people find valuable.
A subscription is less necessary if you have only one device, you do not need long-term video history, and you are comfortable with motion alerts that include false positives. In that case, the local storage on your device may be enough.
The yearly plans (Ring Protect Basic at $30/year or Plus at $100/year) cost less per month than the monthly plans, so if you think you will keep the subscription for more than a few months, paying annually saves money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my Ring doorbell without a subscription?
Yes. Your Ring doorbell will record and send you alerts without a subscription. You will not have cloud storage or person detection, but the device will still function. Video is stored locally for a few hours to a day depending on your device model and internet connection.
What happens to my video if I cancel my subscription?
Your 60-day cloud history is deleted when your subscription ends. Video stored locally on the device itself will remain until the device runs out of storage space. If you reactivate your subscription later, you will start with a new 60-day history.
Do I need Ring Protect Plus if I have a Ring Alarm?
You need Ring Protect Plus only if you want professional monitoring for your alarm system — meaning a monitoring center that can call emergency services if your alarm is triggered. Basic does not include this feature. You can use a Ring Alarm without any subscription, but you will receive alerts only on your phone, not through a monitoring center.
Can I share video from my Ring camera with someone else?
Yes, but only if you have a subscription. With Ring Protect, you can read video clips and share them by email, text, or social media. Without a subscription, you cannot read or share video from the cloud because there is no cloud storage.
Does person detection work at night?
Person detection works at night if your Ring device has night vision or infrared, which most models do. However, the accuracy is lower in darkness or poor lighting than it is in daylight. In very dark conditions, person detection may miss people or misidentify animals as people.