The Real Cost of Ring Over 5 Years: $1,200+ in Subscriptions You Don't Need

Ring loves to market itself as the affordable home security option. A doorbell camera for $100, a couple outdoor cams for $80 each — seems reasonable, right?

Until you realize that those cameras are basically useless without a subscription. And that subscription never stops. And the hardware dies in a couple years. And then you’re buying it all over again.

Let’s do the math on what Ring actually costs over five years. Then let’s look at what happens when you invest in a system that doesn’t nickel-and-dime you forever.

Ring’s Pricing: What They Don’t Put on the Box

Here’s how Ring’s cost structure actually works:

Hardware costs (upfront):

• Ring Video Doorbell 4: ~$200
• Ring Spotlight Cam (x4): ~$170 each = $680
• Ring Alarm Pro base station: ~$250
• Total hardware: ~$1,130

Subscription costs (annual):

• Ring Protect Plus: $200/year (covers all cameras + alarm monitoring)
• Without this? Your cameras can detect motion but won’t save video. You get a live view and that’s it. No recording history. No smart alerts. The alarm system won’t have professional monitoring.

So right out of the gate, year one costs you $1,330.

The Five-Year Breakdown

Here’s where it gets ugly. Ring’s consumer-grade hardware isn’t built to last. Battery-powered Ring cameras typically degrade within 2-3 years — batteries lose capacity, processors slow down, and Amazon conveniently releases a new model that your old mounting bracket doesn’t fit. Even wired Ring devices tend to get dropped from software support or lose features as Amazon pushes newer hardware.

Let’s be generous and say your hardware lasts 3 years before you need to replace it.

Cost Item	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Hardware	$1,130	—	—	$1,130	—
Ring Protect Plus	$200	$200	$200	$200	$200
Annual Total	$1,330	$200	$200	$1,330	$200

Five-year total: $3,260

And that’s with just one hardware replacement cycle. If you’re unlucky and a camera dies early, or you want to add coverage, it goes higher. Some homeowners end up replacing individual cameras piecemeal, spending another $100-$200 here and there.

Oh, and that $200/year subscription? That’s the 2026 price. Ring has raised their subscription prices before, and there’s nothing stopping them from doing it again. You’re locked into Amazon’s ecosystem, so your options are pay up or throw everything away.

What You’re Actually Getting for That Money

Let’s be clear about what $3,260 over five years buys you with Ring:

• Cloud-dependent recording — all your footage lives on Amazon’s servers
• Limited AI detection — basic person and package detection, cloud-processed with delays
• No local storage — if your internet goes down, nothing records
• Consumer-grade cameras — 1080p resolution on most models, limited field of view
• Amazon ecosystem lock-in — Ring works best with Alexa and other Amazon products, and poorly with everything else
• Privacy concerns — Amazon has provided Ring footage to law enforcement without warrants

You’re spending over three grand to rent a security system that doesn’t even work when your Wi-Fi goes out.

The Secure Smart Homes Alternative

Now let’s look at what a one-time investment in a proper system gets you.

Our Smart Security Package includes:

• 4 professional PoE IP cameras (4K capable, wired ethernet — no batteries to die)
• AI-powered recording via Frigate NVR with Google Coral TPU
• Local NAS storage — all footage stored on your own hardware with redundant drives
• Home Assistant integration — full smart home control and automation
• Professional installation and configuration — detection zones tuned to your property

One-time cost: approximately $2,500

That’s it. No subscription. No annual fee. No “Protect Plus” plan. No cloud storage charges. The system runs on your local network, on hardware you own, and it works whether your internet is up or not.

The Five-Year Comparison

	Ring	Secure Smart Homes
Year 1	$1,330	$2,500
Year 2	$1,530	$2,500
Year 3	$1,730	$2,500
Year 4	$3,060	$2,500
Year 5	$3,260	$2,500
Subscriptions	$1,000+	$0
Hardware Replacements	~$1,130	$0 (7-10 yr lifespan)
Video Storage	Amazon cloud	Local NAS (yours)
Works Without Internet	No	Yes
AI Detection	Basic, cloud-based	Advanced, real-time, local

By the end of year three, Ring has already cost more. By year five, you’ve spent $760+ more on Ring and you still don’t own anything — you’re still renting your security from Amazon, month after month.

And our hardware? Professional-grade PoE cameras and enterprise-level networking equipment last 7-10 years easily. There’s no battery to degrade, no planned obsolescence cycle, and no corporation deciding to end-of-life your device to push a new model.

But What About After Five Years?

This is where the gap becomes absurd.

Over 10 years, Ring costs roughly $6,500+ (accounting for multiple hardware replacements and a decade of subscriptions). Our system? Still that original $2,500, maybe with a hard drive swap in the NAS around year 6-7 for about $100.

The longer you own it, the more you save. And the whole time, you have a better system with better cameras, better AI, better storage, and zero dependency on anyone’s cloud.

The Real Cost Isn’t Just Money

There’s a cost Ring doesn’t put in its pricing table: your privacy.

Every second of footage from every Ring camera goes through Amazon’s servers. That data is stored, processed, and accessible in ways you don’t control. Amazon has built one of the largest private surveillance networks in the country using Ring customers’ own cameras. Your footage has been shared with law enforcement. Your data trains their algorithms.

With a local system, your video never leaves your house. Period. It’s stored on a NAS in your closet or garage. Nobody accesses it but you. There’s no account to hack, no cloud server to breach, no corporation deciding what to do with footage of your family.

That peace of mind doesn’t show up in a spreadsheet, but it matters.

Ready to Stop Paying Rent on Your Security?

If you’re in the Las Vegas valley, we’ll come out, assess your property, and build you a security system that you actually own. Professional cameras, AI detection, local storage, and zero ongoing costs.

Check out our packages to see what’s included, or get started with a free consultation. We’ll show you exactly what the system looks like, what it costs, and how fast it pays for itself compared to whatever subscription trap you’re currently stuck in.

Your home security shouldn’t come with a monthly bill. Full stop.