As interactive video doorbells like Ring have become one of the most popular home upgrades over the past few years, innovative accessories to boost functionality have entered the market as well. And few are more beneficial than wireless range extenders – allowing you to hear notifications even in distant areas of your property.
That brings us to two of the leading options – the Ring Chime and Ring Chime Pro. In this comprehensive, 2000+ word guide, we’ll analyze how these alert-boosting devices stack up across all the key factors – designs and dimensions, connectivity specs, sound features, pricing, and overall value.
Our aim is to answer the critical question…
"As a smart home consumer, should I invest nearly double for the Ring Chime Pro or will the standard and more affordable Ring Chime sufficiently meet my needs?"
After an exhaustive look comparing technical details, consumer reviews, and real-world performance reflections, we provide a verdict on which model reigns supreme for most. But since the ideal option depends on your priorities like budget and home size, we’ll also outline recommendations for specific use case scenarios.
Let’s dive in…
A Burgeoning Market: The Rapid Rise of Video Doorbells
It’s incredible to think just 10 years ago, internet-connected doorbell cameras capable of smartphone alerts, two-communication and HD video recording did not exist. Now, Ring leads a booming market valued at over $4 billion in 2022 according to MarketResearch.com – projected to expand to nearly $10 billion by 2028.
And it’s not just tech enthusiasts fueling this growth. Over 26 million U.S. households now have smart video doorbells. As consumers upgrade homes for greater safety, convenience and curb appeal, products like Ring have gone mainstream.
Unfortunately, as these doorbells rely on WiFi, homeowners started encountering an annoying issue – faint and hard-to-hear chimes. Alerts often couldn‘t be heard if you were far from the front door or even just in the backyard. Enter clever add-ons like the Ring Chime and Ring Chime Pro.
Fulfilling a Critical Need: Range Extending Your Ring Alerts
Ring Chimes act as wireless range extenders – taking the notifications from your doorbell and amplifying the volume so you’ll hear them clearly no matter where you are on your property. As soon as motion is detected, the chime will sound to grab your attention.
We’ll do a deep dive into connectivity technology later. But essentially these devices use your existing WiFi network to boost the signal strength so alerts cut through ambient household noise. This solves the common complaint of missing visitors and packages if your video doorbell‘s standard mechanical chime isn’t loud enough alone.
Now Ring wisely makes two versions of this game-changing accessory. The standard Ring Chime delivers essential enhancements for smaller homes and budgets. But for those needing maximum expansion or extra perks, the feature-packed Ring Chime Pro steps up as a premium upgrade.
Next, let’s examine what exactly sets each model apart.
Ring Chime: At-a-Glance Overview
Ring developed its standard Chime with simplicity and cost-effectiveness as guiding principles. For under $35, you get the core functionality of ensuring notifications are heard from anywhere in your home. But smartly doesn’t overwhelm users with unnecessary bells and whistles driving up the price.
Design & Dimensions
Measuring just 3.06 x 2.4 x 0.98 inches, the Ring Chime has an understated yet attractive bright white design. It won‘t stick out like a sore thumb or take up much room plugged into any standard wall outlet. The look blends seamlessly into existing decor – unlike bulky doorbells requiring wiring. The plug-and-play setup also couldn‘t be easier.
Connectivity & Frequency Band
Leveraging your router’s 2.4 GHz WiFi band, the standard Ring Chime provides a solid and reliable 1000 square feet of extended range. It may not be the maximum coverage, but enough to permeate multiple rooms and floors in many single-family homes. Range dependably delivers alerts to smartphones and the chime accessory simultaneously.
Sound & Alert Features
A customizable experience was essential for Ring here. Homeowners can select from over 30 charming chime tones to find the perfect fit. Seasonal holiday songs also keep things fun. Volume can be adjusted as needed up to a loud 90 decibels – ensuring notifications cut through household clatter. Motion activated alerts chime within 1 second as well.
And the Ring Chime truly never sleeps thanks to a Do Not Disturb mode. Rather than completely disabling sound, this convenient setting plays low-volume alerts from 10 PM to 7 AM. There’s also an 8-hour snooze option when noise must be kept minimum.
Price
Given the above features, Ring‘s standard Chime delivers outstanding bang-for-your-buck at just $34.99 MSRP. It amplifies the core functions of your video doorbell at an affordable cost. If you don‘t require maximum WiFi expansion or decorator looks, this basic model likely fits the bill.
Next let‘s explore where exactly the high-end Ring Chime Pro differentiates itself and why it commands nearly double the price.
Ring Chime Pro: At-a-Glance Overview
As Ring‘s premium smart accessory for extending doorbell and security camera connections, the feature-loaded Ring Chime Pro checks all the boxes. It promises whole-home coverage thanks to next-gen WiFi compatibility, pleasing design touches like an integrated nightlight, and overall polished performance.
Yes, at an MSRP of $59.99, it sits at nearly twice the cost of the standard Ring Chime. But as we‘ll demonstrate, that extra $25 buys some worthwhile enhancements. Here‘s an overview before we dive into details…
Design & Dimensions
The slightly larger Ring Chime Pro measures 4.06 x 2.7 x 1 inches but retains a similar sleek, neutral look as the basic model. It forgoes any garish techy aesthetics. What the Pro version adds that‘s new is an integrated LED nightlight emanating from the bottom. This offers a soft glow perfect for subtle visibility in dark hallways or keeping little ones comforted.
Connectivity & Frequency Band
This is where the Ring Chime Pro separates itself for those needing expanded WiFi amplification. It taps into both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands rather than just one. This dual-channel support successfully boosted tested range to 1500-2000 square feet of connectivity – essentially blanketing most two-story single family homes.
5GHz bands in particular provide faster potential throughputs and reduced interference from common household electronics that clog up 2.4GHz channels. So the Ring Chime Pro future-proofs your network architecture as the latest routers shift devices towards underutilized 5GHz.
Sound & Alert Features
You‘ll enjoy the same customization of 30+ tones, seasonal holiday songs and adjustable volume up to 90 decibel chimes. Do Not Disturb overnight settings and temporary snoozing during dinner parties remains available as well. In terms of sound quality and loudness, performance is identical to the standard model.
Price
As expected given the bump in connectivity technology and darling nightlight feature, Ring prices the Chime Pro at a $59.99 MSRP. That‘s nearly double the cost of the base model. Thankfully, retailers like Amazon often discount these list prices during seasonal sales events.
Now that we have a firm handle on the product designs and core features, let‘s shift to a direct high-level comparison of similarities and differences.
Ring Chime vs Ring Chime Pro: Key Factor Breakdown
To visualize how these two Ring alert-extending accessories measure up across the metrics that matter most, here is a head-to-head overview:
| Key Factor | Ring Chime | Ring Chime Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $34.99 | $59.99 |
| Dimensions | 3.06” x 2.4” x 0.98” | 4.06” x 2.7” x 1” |
| WiFi Band | Single 2.4GHz | Dual 2.4GHz + 5 GHz |
| Range | Up to 1000 sq ft | Up to 2000 sq ft |
| Chimes & Volume | Identical performance | Identical performance |
| Extra Features | Seasonal songs | Seasonal songs + Nightlight |
Evaluating the above makes it clear where that nearly $25 price difference comes from – the Ring Chime Pro upgrades two key areas:
1. Expanded WiFi connectivity – By tapping into neglected 5GHz bands in addition to the commonly crowded 2.4GHz channels, notifications reliably reach up to 2000 square feet on tested hardware configurations. This is double the reach of the standard Ring Chime.
2. Integrated nightlight -modern households can never have too many plug-in nightlights. So adding this handy feature along with motion-triggered doorbell alerts is a value win. Expect to pay $15+ for most decent LED nightlights anyways.
But raw specs rarely share the whole story. To determine if the Ring Chime Pro is truly worth nearly double the investment compared to the standard option, let‘s analyze real-world performance considerations next.
Ring Chime vs Ring Chime Pro: Actual Usage & Reviews
We can talk WiFi frequencies and gadget dimensions until we‘re blue in the face. But evaluating the performance feedback from actual homeowners offers invaluable perspective.
To provide realistic guidance, we dug through hundreds of consumer reviews across retail sites like Amazon and BestBuy for both the Ring Chime and Ring Chime Pro. Here‘s a summary of key long-term usage insights:
- Actual tested wireless range meets or slightly exceeds Ring‘s conservative guidance. Users highlight reliable notification delivery between 1000-1200 sq ft for the Chime and 1500-2000 sq ft for the Pro.
- Both models stand the test of time without connection or hardware issues for most. These are well-built accessories ideal for permanent placement.
- Setup only takes 2-3 minutes by plugging into any indoor outlet within WiFI range of your router. No wiring or mounting required.
- Alert tones, seasonal jingles and volume meet expectations, cutting through everyday household noise. Motion detection triggers instant chiming.
- Nightlight on the Ring Chime Pro provides perfect subtle visibility without being overly bright. Great for hallways.
- 5GHz connectivity makes a difference for homeowners trying to add more smart devices that gobble up 2.4GHz bandwidth.
The main complaints around the standard Ring Chime focused on wanting greater WiFi range than 1000 square feet. And a smaller subset of users did encounter intermittent connectivity dropouts likely due to router placement or environmental factors.
But overall, both smart accessories shine when used within realistic room and home size expectations. We‘ll expand on ideal use cases next.
Ring Chime Buying Recommendations: When Does Pro Make Sense?
If reading to this point leaves your head spinning with specs and features, let us simplify things – the Ring Chime Pro is the best choice, provided budget allows, for most smart home consumers wanting to expand their doorbell‘s connectivity.
The 5GHz channel support, roughly doubled wireless range to 2000 sq ft, and darling integrated nightlight combine to easily justify spending $25 more versus the standard model. Think of it as a long-term investment to truly eliminate any chances of missing notifications.
But when does the affordable Ring Chime still fit the bill? Here are two common use case scenarios:
- For small apartments under 800 sq ft, you likely don‘t need more than the 1000ish foot range anyways. Save $25+ and don‘t pay for overkill.
- If on an extremely strict budget, the standard Chime still amplifies the doorbell alerts you‘ll hear versus relying solely on the mechanical chime. Stick to basics.
For all other homeowners though – from multi-story households to those wanting some futureproofing as more 5GHz devices get added – the Ring Chime Pro strikes the ideal balance of enhancements without unnecessary sticker shock. Consider paying up a bit more for vastly improved WiFi flexibility – ensuring your Ring notifications will reliably be heard anywhere on your property no matter how much other smart gear gets added.
And for less than the cost of a nice dinner out, you‘ll have peace of mind knowing visitors or delivery drivers won‘t go unnoticed even if you‘re out of earshot in the garage or back patio.
The Final Verdict: Ring Chime or Ring Chime Pro?
While both of Ring‘s notification expanding accessories serve the same core purpose, our overwhelming recommendation lands on the high-end Ring Chime Pro for most shoppers.
For only $25 more than the standard model, you unlock range doubling 5GHz WiFi support to blanket even large two-story homes up to 2000 sq ft. This provides futureproofing flexibility as additional smart devices inevitably get added down the road. And the integrated nightlight means you squeeze even more functionality out of a single plug-in unit.
Consumers wanting competely streamlined performance within Ring‘s doorbell/camera ecosystem will find the setup blissfully simple as well. Just plug into any indoor power outlet with WiFi connectivity to your router. Compared to upgrading main home routers or mesh systems, the Ring Chime Pro delivers outstanding value hiding in plain sight!
In the rare cases like tiny apartments or extremely strict budgets, the affordable Ring Chime may still satisfy needs. But take it from us – a small extra investment upfront in the Ring Chime Pro pays sustained dividends protecting your peace of mind knowing the doorbell alerts will ALWAYS cut through – no matter how far you roam through the house.
