Best Smart Doorbell Chimes for Better Coverage

You're in the basement laundry room. Someone rings the doorbell upstairs. With a stock doorbell — or worse, just your phone — you miss it entirely. That's the problem a dedicated smart chime solves: audible coverage that reaches every room.

We tested the top smart doorbell chimes across major ecosystems to find which ones deliver the loudest, most reliable alerts. Here's what we found.

Why You Need a Dedicated Chime

Phone notifications are great until your phone is on silent, charging in another room, or buried in a bag. A physical chime gives you:

• Whole-home audio — no dead zones
• Instant alerts — no app-open delay
• Customizable sounds — distinguish front door from back
• Ecosystem integration — pair with existing smart home gear

According to eufy's guide, mechanical chimes are loudest but limited, electronic chimes offer more tones, and smart chimes add Wi-Fi connectivity for distributed coverage.2

How We Tested

We evaluated chimes across four criteria:

• Volume (dB) — measured peak loudness at 10 feet
• Connectivity — Wi-Fi vs. wired vs. hybrid
• Ecosystem lock-in — does it work with other brands?
• Tone variety — how many distinct ring options

Best Smart Doorbell Chimes

1. Ring Chime (3rd Gen) — Best Overall

The Ring Chime (3rd Gen) is the gold standard for whole-home coverage. It pairs seamlessly with any Ring Video Doorbell and delivers rich, room-filling audio that easily reaches a second floor.

Logix4u's testing found the Ring Chime (3rd Gen) to be the best overall smart chime, praising its loudness and reliable connectivity.1 It connects over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, plugs into any standard outlet, and offers multiple chime tones including seasonal options.

The real advantage? Ring's ecosystem lets you add multiple Chimes throughout the house — one per floor — so you never miss a ring.

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2. Google Nest Hub / Mini — Best for Google Home Users

If you're in the Google ecosystem, you may not need a dedicated chime at all. Any Nest Hub or Nest Mini can act as a distributed chime for the Google Nest Battery Doorbell. When someone rings, every compatible speaker in the house announces it.

This is a unique advantage: instead of buying a dedicated chime, you get a smart display or speaker that also plays music, shows photos, and controls your smart home. The audio quality on the Nest Hub is excellent — far better than a basic buzzer.

The trade-off? It only works with Google Nest doorbells. And if you don't already own a Hub or Mini, the upfront cost is higher than a dedicated chime.

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3. Blink Video Doorbell + BITIWEND Chime — Best Budget Combo

For budget-conscious buyers, the Blink Video Doorbell paired with a universal chime like the BITIWEND delivers solid coverage at a fraction of the cost. The Blink doorbell itself is affordable, and the BITIWEND chime adds loud, reliable audio without ecosystem lock-in.

Logix4u highlighted the BITIWEND as the best universal chime for its compatibility across brands.1 It's a simple plug-in unit with 36 chime tones and adjustable volume. No Wi-Fi needed — it syncs wirelessly with the doorbell's RF signal.

The catch: you lose smart features like custom ringtones per person or Alexa integration. But if you just want to hear the doorbell from the backyard, this combo works great.

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4. Arlo Video Doorbell + Arlo Chime 2 — Best for Security-Focused Homes

The Arlo Video Doorbell paired with the Arlo Chime 2 is built for homeowners who prioritize security. The Chime 2 offers 105 dB peak volume — the loudest on this list — plus customizable alarm sounds that double as a security siren.

The Chime 2 connects via Wi-Fi and offers weather-resistant construction for garage or outdoor placement. It also supports Arlo's SmartHub for local recording and faster response times.

The downside: it's Arlo-only. And at this price point, you're paying a premium for the security features.

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Buying Guide

Consider Your Home Size

• Small apartment (under 1,000 sq ft): A single chime near the center of the home is usually enough. The Blink + BITIWEND combo works well here.
• Medium home (1,000–2,500 sq ft): One chime per floor is ideal. Ring Chime (3rd Gen) supports unlimited units.
• Large home (over 2,500 sq ft): Distributed chimes via Google Nest speakers or multiple Ring Chimes ensure coverage in every wing.

Wired vs. Wireless vs. Smart

• Mechanical chimes are loudest but limited to basic ding-dong sounds and require existing doorbell wiring.
• Electronic chimes offer more tones and volume control but still tie you to wired installation.
• Smart chimes (Wi-Fi connected) give you the most flexibility — custom tones, multi-room coverage, and smartphone alerts — but depend on your network.

2.4GHz vs. 5GHz

Most smart chimes use 2.4GHz Wi-Fi for better range through walls. If your router is far from the chime location, 2.4GHz is the better choice. The Google Nest ecosystem is the exception here, supporting 5GHz for faster response in homes with mesh networks.2

The Verdict

For most people, the Ring Chime (3rd Gen) is the smartest buy. It's loud, reliable, affordable, and works with the most popular doorbell ecosystem. Google Home users should lean into the Nest Hub/Mini approach for a dual-purpose device. And if budget is your main concern, the Blink + BITIWEND combo delivers surprising value.

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