--- title: I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local... description: Advances in camera SoCs with embedded NPUs now enable real-time AI object detection to run locally on the device itself, eliminating the need for cloud... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local AI, and I'm saving $180 a year | daily.dev og:description: Advances in camera SoCs with embedded NPUs now enable real-time AI object detection to run locally on the device itself, eliminating the need for cloud... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/14Nmp8vs2.png og:image:alt: I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local AI, and I'm saving $180 a year og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local AI, and I'm saving $180 a year **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Advances in camera SoCs with embedded NPUs now enable real-time AI object detection to run locally on the device itself, eliminating the need for cloud subscriptions like Ring or Nest. Local processing means video never leaves your network, notifications arrive in milliseconds instead of seconds, and detection works even without internet. Options range from budget cameras like the Tapo D210 (~$50) to self-hosted setups using Home Assistant with Frigate NVR or prosumer solutions like Unifi Protect — all subscription-free and supporting open protocols like ONVIF and RTSP. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What are the advantages of local AI processing on a security camera versus cloud-based AI like Ring uses? Local AI processing runs detection directly on the camera's onboard NPU instead of streaming footage to cloud servers, cutting notification latency from 2-5 seconds down to milliseconds. It also keeps footage private since video never leaves the home network, continues working during internet outages, and avoids the $5-$15 monthly subscription fees typically required for cloud-based person or package detection. _daily.dev surfaces comparisons like this for anyone weighing local versus cloud AI in their next camera purchase._ ### Can I use open protocols like RTSP and ONVIF to avoid vendor lock-in with security cameras? Yes, cameras supporting RTSP and ONVIF let you stream footage locally to any receiver you choose rather than being tied to one brand's app or cloud service. This is especially useful for self-hosted setups, where RTSP cameras can be paired with Home Assistant and Frigate NVR to get offline object classification for people, vehicles, pets, or packages. _developers building self-hosted smart home setups can track open protocol support trends on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [My security cameras stopped sending footage to the cloud, and I saved $85 a year](https://daily.dev/posts/my-security-cameras-stopped-sending-footage-to-the-cloud-and-i-saved-85-a-year-5xnmhi2cf) · XDA Developers · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [My doorbell tells me who's at the door before I look, and the recognition runs on the NAS in my cupboard](https://daily.dev/posts/my-doorbell-tells-me-who-s-at-the-door-before-i-look-and-the-recognition-runs-on-the-nas-in-my-cupb-gqyxrmlq7) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Cost effective AI Vision for Home Cameras without any hardware upgrades.](https://daily.dev/posts/cost-effective-ai-vision-for-home-cameras-without-any-hardware-upgrades--2m2swveo9) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I'd rather build a Raspberry Pi security camera than ever pay for Ring again](https://daily.dev/posts/i-d-rather-build-a-raspberry-pi-security-camera-than-ever-pay-for-ring-again-gwa2a09aw) · XDA Developers · 9 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#computer-vision](https://daily.dev/tags/computer-vision), [#local-ai](https://daily.dev/tags/local-ai) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local AI, and I'm saving $180 a year","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2"},"datePublished":"2026-08-08T21:00:17.625Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T20:44:55.735Z","description":"Advances in camera SoCs with embedded NPUs now enable real-time AI object detection to run locally on the device itself, eliminating the need for cloud...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/84f78bff673556ec56e88d50db02e027?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/84f78bff673556ec56e88d50db02e027?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"tech-news,computer-vision,local-ai","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I ditched my Ring doorbell for a $50 camera with local AI, and I'm saving $180 a year"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-ring-doorbell-for-a-50-camera-with-local-ai-and-i-m-saving-180-a-year-14nmp8vs2#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the advantages of local AI processing on a security camera versus cloud-based AI like Ring uses?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Local AI processing runs detection directly on the camera's onboard NPU instead of streaming footage to cloud servers, cutting notification latency from 2-5 seconds down to milliseconds. 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