Smart home technology is a growing sector that is impressing many homeowners worldwide. Ring is leading the way in making smart home devices more accessible and affordable with its Chime and Chime Pro products.
Choosing between the Ring Chime and Chime Pro may not be as hard as you think – but what’s the difference between the two?
If you’re new to smart home technology or just smart doorbells, you might not fully understand the advantages either option provides.
So, here’s an in-depth comparison that will help you choose the right Ring Chime product for you.
Ring Chime vs Chime Pro: What’s The Difference?
The main difference between the Chime and Chime Pro is that the Ring Chime Pro has additional features, including Wi-Fi extension, alert amplification, and night light. It will help your Wi-Fi extend to your Ring devices only. While the Ring Chime is just a notification device.
Ring Chime Vs. Ring Chime Pro
Short in time? Here’s a quick summary of the differences between the Ring Chime and Ring Chime Pro.
| Ring Chime | Chime Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi connectivity | Supports 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network | Supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz network |
| Wi-Fi extension | No | Yes |
| Alert Amplification | No | Yes |
| Supported Devices | Supports all Ring devices | Supports all Ring devices |
| Custom Ringtones | Yes | Yes |
| LED Indicator | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | One year | One year |
| Size | 3.06 x 2.44 x 0.98 inch | 4.06 x 2.72 x 1.00 inch |
| Nightlight | No | Yes |
To help you understand this further, we are going to take a closer look at the Ring Chime and Chime Pro in more detail below. Let’s get to it.
Here’s everything we’ll cover in this Ring Chime vs Ring Chime Pro comparison.
1. Alert Volume
This is one of the key differences.
Both Chime and Chime Pro allow your Ring doorbell to not only function as a traditional doorbell but also to alert you that someone has entered the proximity of the unit, even if they didn’t ring the doorbell.
This can be key to keeping tabs on your home’s entryway. You can be alerted that a parcel service is dropping off a package, your partner is struggling to find the right key at the door, or, unfortunately, if someone with nefarious ideas is approaching your doorstep and hanging around.
There’s a big problem with this feature, though.
Chime traditionally keeps the volume of a doorbell ring fairly low. This is enough to notify you if you’re nearby and need to answer the door.
However, it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to alerting you of someone who isn’t trying to get your attention.
If you’re in a multi-story home and someone is trying to get into your home, you might not even hear the Chime alert going off on the standard Chime model, depending on how far away you are.
However, with the Chime Pro, a new feature is introduced. You get to amplify the sound of alert notifications tremendously. This serves two purposes.
First, you obviously have a far better chance of noticing a louder alert than if you do one that is meant to get your attention if you’re available without being annoying.
The other major benefit is that it is extremely noticeable when the volume is turned all the way up.
If you have a reason to be concerned about intruders, porch pirates, or anyone else with nefarious intentions, the loud alert is usually enough to startle them into running away.
2. Sound Profiles
Both the Chime and Chime Pro feature full libraries of alert sound notifications. This allows you to customize the entire sound profile of your Chime unit.
If you want a certain sound to alert you to potential intruders or otherwise unwanted guests, you can set that up accordingly, and then you can set a more friendly sound profile for doorbell rings and similar situations.
Both units are fairly well-matched when it comes to the sound profiles they offer. With this being such a basic feature, it’s unlikely that one or two missing options from either unit will make you lose sleep at night.
3. Networking
In this category, the Chime Pro is the clear winner. It should be, too. It was designed mostly around this trait.
With the original Chime, you have an awesome smart doorbell that can alert you to guests electronically, and there are some other neat features.
However, the Chime Pro takes that entire concept up a notch with its “Ring of Protection” feature.
Yes, the feature’s marketing name sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings or a fantasy video game. However, it’s not quite as silly as it sounds.
The “Ring of Protection” is essentially a networking feature that connects all of your ring devices across your entire home.
That might not sound like a big deal, but let’s imagine you’re getting an intruder alert on the original Chime.
It’s quiet, only alarms you from that particular location, and it’s easy to miss if you’re across your home or on another floor.
With Ring of Protection, alerts can go out to every Ring-enabled device in your house, making you far more likely to get an advanced notice that someone is up to no good.
Of course, the Ring of Protection is also useful in positive situations. Such as not missing a doorbell notification from the UPS driver after he drops your package off, allowing you to get it immediately instead of potentially having it picked up by porch pirates.
4. Wi-Fi Bandwidth Connectivity
The Ring with Chime Pro wins this category, as well. Chime features a 2.4GHz broadband connection. That’s pretty standard, and most people will be able to use it just fine.
However, the Chime Pro completely reconfigures the Chime’s original connectivity features.
It has 2.4GHz connectivity, but it also has 5 GHz compatibility for those who have already adapted 5GHz networks already, and it features a greatly boosted signal range.
The 5G is a nice touch, but the main benefit here is the longer range.
One of the most common issues that can occur with a Ring doorbell is that it doesn’t get a strong enough Wi-Fi connection to function properly.
This can be because of the router’s position behind several walls or floors or a simple distance issue.
Unfortunately, it’s fairly inconvenient to have to move your router into your living room just so your doorbell works effectively.
Instead, having a longer range for the unit is far more attractive, and it makes the Chime Pro stand out against the more basic unit.
5. Ring Chime Pro Added Features (Nightlight/Wi-Fi Extension)
Again, the Chime Pro comes out ahead in this category. Luckily, these aren’t “must-have” features that determine the overall quality of the unit, but they are extremely nice touches that will enhance your experience.
We’ll cover each one separately, so don’t worry. The regular Chime doesn’t have these features. This whole section is dedicated to the upgraded Pro variant.
5.1. Nightlight
Have you been stuck looking for your keys in the dark? You don’t have to with Chime.
The handy nightlight feature will give you just enough illumination to dig through your pockets effectively.
On the interior, it can also be a nifty gizmo for finding your way to the door long after bed when your teenage child is coming home way too late.
5.2. Wi-Fi Extension
If you have a very large home, it’s possible that even the 5G connection won’t get a great signal without a little help.
There’s just too much in the way between the unit and the router, and there’s a lot of distance.
However, you don’t have to move your router around to get a better signal.
The Chime Pro comes with a built-in Wi-Fi extender you can activate to increase the effective range.
In practically every home across the United States, the Wi-Fi extender will be more than enough to establish a solid connection and only lose that connection if the Wi-Fi goes out.
Most users won’t need this, but it can be very helpful and crucial if you own a truly luxurious home.
5. Upload/Download Speeds
Upload and download speeds are crucial for the Chime series because of its phone connectivity.
With slow upload speeds, you might not get a notification on your phone that someone broke in until it’s too late.
Chime Pro features far faster speeds thanks to its dual-bandwidth setup. This ensures that the Chime Pro will provide real-time phone alerts when you need them the most.
6. Price
This is the one category that Chime Pro falls behind in quite dramatically. A basic Chime costs $35 on average. A Chime Pro costs $60.
Our Pick
Ring Chime
Rating: 4.7/5
Convenient Plug-in Chime to hear notifications for your Ring cameras and doorbells.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $34.99.
Our Pick
Ring Chime Pro
Rating: 4.6/5
A three-in-one Ring doorbell solution that provides Wi-Fi extension, alert amplification, and dual-frequency Wi-Fi network support.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $59.99.
A $25 difference doesn’t sound like much if you’re buying one thing, but think about this for a second.
Chime isn’t a one-unit product. You buy multiple Chime units and plug them in around your house to enhance your Ring system’s capabilities.
With a small home, this is the difference between paying $70 for two additional Chime points and paying $120, but imagine how much of a difference it will be if you need four, five, six, or even ten extra units.
The basic Chime definitely wins here unless you only need to buy one to cover the other end of your home. In that case, the extra $25 is no big deal for what it offers.
Should You Buy Ring Chime or Chime Pro?
Choosing between the Ring Chime and Chime Pro depends on your circumstances.
However, we can provide a couple of basic profiles for the ideal customer for each type of Chime.
Is the Ring Chime Worth It?
If you’re on a budget and simply looking to add a bit more security to your home, or if you’ve noticed that you can’t hear your Ring doorbell from the back of the house or on the second story, it’s worth getting the Ring Chime.
This is especially true if you aren’t interested in investing in the full Ring product line.
If that sounds like you, you won’t use many of the features in the Chime Pro, and you might as well save a little money.
Is the Ring Chime Pro Worth It?
The Chime Pro is the superior product in every way but the price. If you have a massive home, invest in various other Ring products, and absolutely cannot afford to have any downtime, the Chime Pro is worth the extra expense per unit.
Just know that you will be paying a lot more to outfit a home with Chime Pro instead of the basic Chime units.
I hope this information has helped you make an informed decision to choose between the Chime and the Chime Pro. Let us know which one you decide to buy in the comment section.
FQAs
Ring Chime is a wireless notification device that can connect to all of your Ring devices.
It’s worth getting the Ring Chime because it adds another layer of security to your home.
The Ring Chime Pro is well worth the extra $25 over the standard Chime as it provides Wi-Fi extension, alert amplification, and dual-frequency Wi-Fi network support.
The main difference between the Chime and Chime Pro is that the Pro also serves as a Wi-Fi repeater.
Yes, the Ring Chime Pro can extend the Wi-Fi for your other Ring devices as long as they are within range of the extender.
