Ring vs. Google Nest Home Security Comparison

Note: Google has discontinued Nest Secure. So we recommend checking out our list of the best home security systems to explore your options.

Security cameras play an important role in most home security systems. That’s why we’re going to be looking at Ring and Nest today. They offer some of the best security cameras in the industry — although, in two different ways.

Ring offers all of their own services and products to comprehensively protect your home. That includes everything from security sensors to professional monitoring. Google Nest, on the other hand, only offers security cameras and smart home equipment. They do not offer complete security systems or professional monitoring plans. Instead, they partnered with ADT for complete home security offerings, but you’d need to buy them through ADT to access professional monitoring or security sensors.

That’s why, if you’re just choosing between Google Nest or Ring, we prefer Ring. That doesn’t mean it’s the right pick for everyone, though. So, we’re going to dive into all the details to help you pick the best security cameras and solution for your home.

>> Read More: ADT Home Security Review 2025

Overview of Ring and Google Nest

We bought a whole slew of Ring security cameras for our comprehensive testing.

Before we jump right into the details, we want to give you a high-level overview of the similarities and differences between Ring and Google Nest. Looking at any one point without the whole picture can leave gaps in your home security.

Similarities Between Ring and Google Nest

Let’s start with a look at the similarities, because there are a lot of them:

• Smart Home Compatibility: You can set up advanced home automation with Ring or Google Nest, although they work better with different smart home systems. Ring is owned by Amazon, so they work well with Alexa devices, and Google Nest works well with Google Home devices.
• Security Camera Focus: Both companies focus their offerings on their security cameras and video doorbells. Ring also offers other home security equipment, and Google partnered with ADT to offer complete home security solutions.
• No Monthly Fee Required: A subscription is not required for any Ring or Google Nest products. We at least recommend a cloud storage subscription, though, which starts at $4.99 per month for Ring and $8 per month for Google Nest.
• 24/7 Storage Available: The premium cloud storage plans for Ring and Google Nest include 24/7 cloud recording, if that’s something you need.
• Affordable Cameras: We find the value Google Nest and Ring provide to be some of the best in the industry. The cost of Google Nest’s cameras start at $99, and Ring’s cameras start at $59.99.
• High-Quality Mobile App: During our time testing Ring and Google Nest, we never ran into an issue with their mobile apps. They both have an intuitive interface and offer plenty of features to control every aspect of your cameras.

>> Read About: Ring Indoor Camera Review and Pricing in 2025

Differences Between Ring and Google Nest

This is everything that came with the Google Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery) we tested.

Although the list of similarities is quite long, there are a few important differences between Ring and Google Nest that you’ll want to consider before buying. Here’s what we found while testing the two systems:

• Professional Monitoring: Only Ring offers professional monitoring. If you want your Google Nest equipment monitored, you need to buy it through ADT and subscribe to an ADT monitoring plan.
• Multiple Video Doorbell Options: Google Nest only offers one video doorbell that comes in battery-powered and wired configurations. Ring offers eight different video doorbell models.
• Security and Environmental Sensors: You can buy smoke and carbon monoxide detectors from Google Nest, but that’s the extent of their sensor options. Ring offers just about every type of sensor you can imagine, from basic entry sensors to flood and freeze sensors.
• Smart Home Devices: When it comes to smart home equipment, Ring really only sells third-party devices that can integrate into their system. Google Nest makes their own smart home devices, such as smart thermostats.
• Facial Recognition: With all the options Ring offers, they still haven’t made a camera with facial recognition capabilities. All Google Nest Cams have facial recognition, but it requires a Nest Aware subscription to use.
• Power Options: Ring offers more power options for their cameras. Most of their products have a solar, battery, plugged-in, and hardwired option. Google Nest Cams do not give you a power option, although Google sells solar panels that are compatible with their battery-powered products.

Ring vs. Google Nest: A Detailed Point-by-Point Comparison

Now that you know the similarities and differences between Ring and Google Nest, let’s go through a point-by-point, in-depth comparison.

Pricing

To our surprise, the Ring Indoor (right) was much smaller than the more expensive Ring Stick Up Cam (left).

Overall, Ring offers better value than Google Nest. They sell a ton of different camera models, too, so you can always find one to fit your budget, whether you’re looking to spend upwards of $1,000 or under $100 for your home’s security cameras.

Google Nest still offers good value, though, with some unique capabilities, namely facial recognition. Here’s a comparison between similar Ring and Google Nest camera pricing:

While the cameras listed in this table are not identical between the Ring and Google Nest model, they’re as close as you can get. In general, the Ring model will have slightly better technical specifications, while the Google Nest model will have more advanced smart capabilities.

For instance, the Ring Spotlight Cam Plus we tested features, well, a built-in spotlight. The Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery) only offers infrared night vision, but it has internal storage that can store up to an hour of footage as a backup to cloud storage if your internet goes out. It also has facial recognition and person detection, enabling more actionable alerts. That sums up the differences between all comparable Ring and Google Nest cameras.

Winner: Ring

>> Learn More: Ring Floodlight Camera Review and Pricing in 2025

Standout Features

Ring and Google Nest both offer some unique features we rarely see from other companies. But, each one offers their own set of unique features without much crossover, so, at the end of the day, which one wins this category depends on your preferences. Our preference is Google Nest, though, when it comes to standout features.

Ring’s Standout Features

The home screen of Ring’s mobile app gave us a snapshot look at each of our cameras so we could quickly check on our property.

With Ring’s huge lineup of camera models, don’t expect all of their standout features on every camera. Instead, we’re going to focus on their premium cameras here. These features are mostly found in the Pro and Elite camera models with a few available in some of their Plus models as well. Here are Ring’s standout features:

• Birds-Eye View: Ring’s more advanced cameras include a birds-eye view feature that uses radar-powered sensors to generate an overview of your property. It can then display an aerial view to clearly show movement the camera captures.
• 180-Degree Field of View: Some cameras, particularly Ring’s video doorbells, feature 180-degree fields of view. That means the camera can see anything in front of it, even on its peripherals. For video doorbells, that means it can view someone from head to toe and keep an eye on packages on your doorstep.
• Color Night Vision: Instead of relying on infrared sensors, most Ring cameras include some type of light source to provide color night vision. A few use a feature Ring calls low-light sight that amplifies ambient light to still provide color video footage without a built-in LED light.
• Virtual Security Guard: On top of 24/7 professional monitoring, Ring also offers a virtual security guard subscription that includes active monitoring of your cameras by a trained monitoring professional. You can set when you want your cameras to be monitored so you can keep privacy in your home when you need it.

Google Nest’s Standout Features

The Google Nest Cams in our ADT system used facial recognition technology to tell us who they saw in their alerts.

Unlike Ring’s standout features, Google Nest’s standout features are available on all of their camera models. Our favorite features from Google Nest include:

• Facial Recognition: Easily, the most unique feature from Google Nest is their facial recognition capabilities. With this feature, we got notifications telling us who was at our door, which was really useful. For instance, when we were at the store, our friend stopped by to return a drill we lent him. After we received the notification he was there, we sent him a text telling him where to leave the drill so it’d be in view of our security cameras. It’s a rare feature, but you can check out our Lorex review for a look at our other favorite facial recognition camera.
• Google Home Automation: We’re big fans of Google’s automation capabilities. We own the Google Nest Learning Thermostat. Pairing it with the Google Nest Doorbell we tested allowed us to set up an automation where, when our video doorbell saw us leaving the house, it lowered the temperature in our house and then raised it back up when it saw us coming back home.
• ADT Partnership: Instead of offering their own security equipment and professional monitoring, Google Nest partnered with ADT. That means you’d need to buy an ADT security system to access professional monitoring for your Google Nest security cameras, but ADT offers some of our favorite security equipment and monitoring. So, we think of this as a positive instead of a negative.
• Free Cloud Storage & Internal Backup: If you want any storage with your Ring cameras, you need to pay for a subscription. Google Nest offers three hours of free cloud storage and one hour of internal backup storage in case your Wi-Fi goes down. That might not seem like much, but it means you can review what happened before a notification which can be crucial.

Winner: Google Nest

Installation

We were impressed with the amount of feedback the Google Nest app provided while we installed our cameras.

Every Google Nest and Ring piece of equipment is intended for DIY installation. That’s the route we took when we installed the Ring equipment and the Google Nest Cams we tested. Both offered nearly identical processes. We downloaded the app, picked the piece of equipment we bought on the app, and then followed the instructions on our phone for installing and pairing our equipment.

Expect battery-powered cameras, like the Ring Stickup Cam we reviewed, to take about five minutes to install and wired cameras to take 15 to 30 minutes. For comparison, our favorite DIY security systems take about 30 minutes in total to install.

That said, you can also get either provider's equipment professionally installed, as well. They won’t install it themselves, though. Instead, they both work with third-party installers to install your equipment. You can get professional installation from Google Nest through SafeStreets, which starts at $115. Ring offers a professional installation service through OnTech, and it starts at $159.99.

Winner: Draw

>> Learn More: Best Home Security Systems for Apartments in 2025

Subscriptions

Ring Floodlight Cam Video Quality

Google Nest’s subscriptions are fairly straightforward. There are only two of them, they both support unlimited cameras, and both of them offer cloud storage with the premium one offering 24/7 recording instead of only video events. Ring’s subscriptions get more complicated, but that’s because they offer more services. There are their cloud storage plans, and then you can add professional monitoring or a virtual security guard to two of the cloud storage plans.

Ring’s Subscriptions

You’re not required to subscribe to a Ring cloud storage plan to use your Ring products. But, they restrict a lot of their camera's features, like people, pet, and vehicle detection, behind their subscriptions. Here’s how much Ring’s subscriptions cost:

Google Nest’s Subscriptions

Without a subscription from Google Nest, you’ll still get people, pet, and vehicle alerts, which we appreciate. It makes using them without a monthly fee a lot easier since you won’t get inundated with unnecessary alerts. But, they also don’t offer professional monitoring, and their cloud storage is only for up to 60 days instead of Ring’s 180 days. Here’s an overview of Google Nest’s subscriptions:

Winner: Ring

Ring vs. Google Nest: How to Choose?

You really can’t go wrong with either Ring or Google Nest. They both offer top-of-the-line security cameras with innovative features that actually improve the security of your home.

Our pick is Ring, since they offer professional monitoring and Google Nest does not. But, even that drawback can be easily offset by buying your Google Nest equipment through ADT. That simple step allows your Google Nest cameras to be monitored by ADT, which is one of the best monitoring services in the industry.

So, we recommend going through the features and figuring out which provider has features you’re more likely to use. For instance, if you regularly have the same people visiting your house, Google Nest’s facial recognition will come in handy, as your alerts will tell you who’s at your house at all times. On the other hand, if you have an expansive backyard, Ring’s birds-eye view makes it easy to monitor all of the activity in it with a single device.

FAQs About Ring vs. Google Nest