Reolink Doorbell Camera 2026: PoE vs WiFi vs Battery 2nd Gen (and Which Rings Your Old Chime)

Quick Answer: Reolink sells three video doorbells on its US store (checked November 6, 2026): the Video Doorbell PoE for $119.99, the Video Doorbell WiFi for $116.99 (list $149.99), and the Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) for $149.99, launched July 20, 2026. All three record to a microSD card or a Reolink recorder with no monthly fee. Buy the PoE model if you can run Ethernet to the door, the WiFi model if you only have doorbell wiring, and the 2nd Gen if you have no wiring or want your existing mechanical chime to keep ringing, because the PoE and WiFi models can’t ring it.

Reolink is the brand people pick when they want a doorbell without a monthly plan. Ring’s cheapest plan, Ring Protect Solo, costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year per device, according to Ring’s plans page, while every Reolink doorbell saves clips locally for free. The lineup is more confusing than it looks, though. The PoE and WiFi models come in a black and a white version with different aspect ratios and different detection features. Neither rings an old-style chime. And the original battery doorbell is out of stock and has been replaced by a 2nd Gen with a different storage and wiring setup. This guide compares all of them using Reolink’s US product pages and specification sheets, Reolink’s July 2026 launch announcement, and published reviews from PCMag and Digital Reviews. We didn’t test these doorbells ourselves.

Every Reolink doorbell compared

Specs come from Reolink’s US product pages and spec sheets, and from the comparison tables Reolink shows on those pages (the 1st Gen column comes from the 2nd Gen’s comparison table and the 1st Gen’s own product page). All Reolink doorbells carry a 2-year limited warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee on Reolink’s store.

Reolink doorbells by the numbers

• $6.99 a month, only if you want it. Reolink Cloud Standard costs $6.99 a month for up to five cameras with 30 days of cloud history and 30GB of shared space, per Reolink’s August 11, 2026 pricing post. Nothing on the doorbells requires it.
• 2x the battery rating. Reolink’s July 20, 2026 launch announcement says the 2nd Gen’s Qualcomm QCC730 Wi-Fi chip delivers up to 10 months per charge, “2x longer than the 1st Gen,” whose own page rates it at up to 5 months.
• 35% more vertical view. The white PoE or WiFi doorbell sees 135 degrees top to bottom, against 100 degrees for the black version, because Reolink turns the same 5MP sensor on its side.
• 3.5 out of 5. PCMag’s review of the Video Doorbell WiFi (John Delaney, February 2023) rated it “Good,” praising “sharp 2K video,” dual-band Wi-Fi and pre-roll capture, and docking it for no HomeKit or IFTTT support and wiring-only setup.

Reolink Video Doorbell PoE: Best If You Can Run Ethernet

The PoE doorbell is the most dependable Reolink at the front door because it doesn’t rely on Wi-Fi or a battery. A single Cat5e or Cat6 cable from a PoE switch, PoE injector or Reolink PoE NVR powers it and carries the video, so it can record around the clock and plugs into the same recorder as your other Reolink PoE cameras. It also keeps working on a router without PoE: Reolink says you can power it from 12-24V AC doorbell wiring or a 24V adapter and use the Ethernet cable for data only.

Choose the color for the frame, not the porch. This is the detail most listings bury. Reolink’s product page says the white version has a 3:4 aspect ratio “for head-to-toe visibility” and can detect packages, while the black version has a 4:3 ratio with “wide horizontal coverage” and person detection only. Both use the same 5MP sensor and 180-degree diagonal lens; the white one is simply rotated. On November 6, 2026 the black 1-pack was the default listing on Reolink’s US store at $119.99.

Three things aren’t in the box. There is no PoE injector or power adapter, only a 1-meter network cable, so budget for an injector or a free port on a PoE switch. Our best PoE switch for security cameras guide covers the options. There is no microSD card either. And there is no way to keep your old chime: Reolink’s FAQ says the PoE doorbell “does not work with chimes of other brands or pre-existing mechanical chimes,” and an old chime on the same wiring “will no longer ring.” You use the included plug-in Reolink Chime, or set an Echo Show or Google speaker as the chime.

On Reolink’s store the PoE doorbell averages 4.5 out of 5 from 29 reviews. The owner review Reolink features on the page gives it 4 stars but complains that a doorbell press shows up as a silent pop-up on the phone rather than a ringing call, which makes the plug-in chime more important than it is with Ring.

Pros: Most reliable connection, free 24/7 recording, works with Reolink PoE NVRs, RTSP and ONVIF for third-party recorders, white version has package detection, slim 48 mm body. Cons: Needs an Ethernet run and a PoE source, no injector in the box, won’t ring a mechanical chime, black version has no package detection, black-and-white infrared night vision only.

Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi: Best for Existing Doorbell Wiring

The WiFi doorbell is the PoE model’s camera on a wireless network. It is still a wired doorbell, because it has no battery: you power it from existing doorbell wiring or from the included 1.5-meter adapter and 4.5-meter extension cable. On November 6, 2026 Reolink’s store had it at $116.99, 22% off a $149.99 list price, which made it $3 cheaper than the PoE version.

The same color split applies. Reolink’s comparison table lists the black WiFi doorbell as 4:3 with person detection and the white one as 3:4 with person and package detection. Reolink’s own pages disagree on the rest: the WiFi product page’s marketing copy says it detects “people, vehicles, and animals,” while its spec sheet lists motion, person and package detection. Treat person detection as the guaranteed feature.

Check your transformer first. Reolink’s FAQ says the doorbell works with “most doorbell power systems (16V AC, 50/60 Hz, 30 VA),” and its spec sheet accepts 12-24V AC. As with the PoE version, wiring it in means bypassing your old chime with the included jumper cable; the old chime goes quiet and the bundled Reolink Chime takes over. Reolink’s chime sits on a 433 MHz radio link, offers 10 ringtones and 5 volume levels, and can only be adjusted by its buttons, not in the app.

PCMag’s review called the video quality good, with “excellent detail and good color saturation” in daylight and sharp black-and-white night video, said push alerts “arrive quickly,” and found the pre-buffer “never fails to capture the lead-up to motion events.” It wanted a louder siren and noted the missing HomeKit and IFTTT support. PCMag reviewed it at a $99.99 MSRP; Reolink now lists $149.99.

Pros: Same 5MP video and free 24/7 recording as the PoE model, dual-band Wi-Fi, plug-in adapter for homes without doorbell wiring, chime included. Cons: No battery, so it needs constant power, won’t ring a mechanical chime, Reolink’s own detection claims are inconsistent, no HomeKit.

Reolink Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen): Best Without Wiring

The 2nd Gen is the newest Reolink doorbell and the only current one that runs on a battery. Reolink put it on sale on July 20, 2026 at $149.99, the same price it showed on November 6. The square 1:1 frame and 150-degree vertical view are built to show a visitor’s face and a parcel on the mat in one shot, and it adds HDR, which neither 5MP wired model has. It also adds tamper alerts, a voice-mask option for two-way talk and loitering alerts for a defined zone.

It has two power modes, and the difference matters:

1. Battery Mode. Fully wire-free, or connected to 8-24V AC doorbell wiring that trickle-charges the battery. It records motion events only. In this mode it can ring a compatible mechanical chime on an 8-24V AC, 5-40VA transformer, per Reolink’s FAQ, which makes it the only current Reolink that keeps your existing chime.
2. Wired Power Mode. On 16-24V AC power with the mode switched on in the app, it stays awake, records 24/7 and pre-records before events. Keeping a mechanical chime working in this mode needs Reolink’s RLA-PK1 Power Kit, sold separately. Reolink also notes that 24/7 footage goes only to the doorbell’s microSD card, while an NVR or Home Hub stores the motion clips.

There’s no chime in the box. Besides a mechanical chime, it works with the Reolink Chime Plus (sold separately, up to five chimes per doorbell) and the Reolink Home Hub, but not the older Reolink Chime V1 or V2. On the US product page Alexa support was still listed as “Coming Soon” on November 6, 2026; Google Assistant, IFTTT and direct Home Assistant control work now, and RTSP and ONVIF need app version 4.62.1 or later.

Digital Reviews, which reviewed it in Australia in September 2026, found setup in the Reolink app “a snap” and said package detection “worked as expected.” It also found the 15 fps video “a little choppy,” and couldn’t fully integrate the doorbell with its existing Reolink NVS-8 recorder: it couldn’t use the NVR to connect the bundled chime, and once the doorbell was added to the NVR it stopped working in the Reolink app. Its advice for homes with two entrances is to plan on a separate chime for each Reolink doorbell. After a few weeks on battery it judged Reolink’s 300-day claim reasonable and estimated 6 to 9 months for typical use.

Pros: No wiring needed, square head-to-toe view with HDR, longest battery rating of any Reolink doorbell, rings an existing mechanical chime, widest free detection list, 512GB microSD. Cons: 15 fps, $30 more than the wired models, no chime in the box, 24/7 recording needs 16-24V AC and stays on the doorbell’s card, Alexa not live yet, bulkier (231 g).

What happened to the original Reolink battery doorbell?

The 1st Gen Video Doorbell (Battery) is still listed on Reolink’s US store, but on November 6, 2026 it showed “Notify Me” instead of an add-to-cart button, at $209.99 for a pack with a 256GB microSD card. According to the comparison table on the 2nd Gen’s page, it had the same 4MP square sensor and 150 x 150-degree view, detected people, vehicles and packages (no animals), took cards up to 256GB, and was rated for up to 5 months per charge. The 2nd Gen doubles that rating, adds HDR, animal detection and a 512GB card limit, and costs $60 less than that 1st Gen bundle, though the bundle included a 256GB card. If you find the 1st Gen on clearance, it’s only worth it well below $149.99.

What a Reolink doorbell costs over three years

Reolink doorbells cost more upfront than Ring’s cheapest models but nothing to run. The comparison below uses Reolink’s store prices on November 6, 2026 and Ring’s per-device Ring Protect Solo plan at $49.99 a year.

Reolink Cloud Standard is $6.99 a month ($251.64 over three years) but covers up to five cameras, so it only makes sense if you want off-site copies of several Reolink cameras. For most people the cheaper protection against a stolen doorbell taking its microSD card with it is a recorder inside the house: a Reolink PoE NVR for the PoE model, or the Reolink Home Hub ($179.99 without a card on Reolink’s store, up to eight cameras) for the WiFi and battery models. Our NVR vs DVR guide and best SD card for security cameras cover both routes.

Which Reolink doorbell should you buy?

On safety, we found no CPSC recall for any Reolink product when we searched the CPSC recall database on November 6, 2026. If you want to see Reolink against the doorbell brands with bigger app ecosystems, read our Reolink vs Ring comparison, and for HomeKit doorbells see our best HomeKit security camera guide.

The bottom line

The best Reolink doorbell camera in 2026 depends on what’s already at your door. With an Ethernet run, the Video Doorbell PoE at $119.99 is the most reliable no-fee doorbell Reolink makes. With only doorbell wiring, the Video Doorbell WiFi at $116.99 gives you the same 5MP camera on Wi-Fi. Both come in a black wide-frame version and a white tall-frame version with package detection, and neither rings an old mechanical chime. With no wiring, or a chime you want to keep, the Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) at $149.99 is the one to buy. To compare Reolink against eufy, Tapo and Blink, see our best doorbell camera without subscription picks, the full best Reolink camera ranking, and our best doorbell camera guide. Our Wyze doorbell camera guide covers the cheapest alternative.

Sources (checked November 6, 2026): Reolink US product pages, spec sheets, FAQs and comparison tables for the Video Doorbell PoE, Video Doorbell WiFi, Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) and Video Doorbell (Battery); Reolink US store prices, stock status and review averages; Reolink press release “Reolink Releases the Video Doorbell 2nd Gen” (July 20, 2026); Reolink blog “Reolink Doorbells: 2nd Gen vs PoE vs Wi-Fi” (July 21, 2026) and Reolink subscription-cost post (August 11, 2026); Ring Protect plans page; PCMag Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi review (February 9, 2023); Digital Reviews Reolink Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) review (September 2, 2026); CPSC recall database.