Best wireless doorbell 2025: The best and loudest chimes to get your attention
Never miss another visitor or delivery with the best battery and plug-in wireless doorbells, tried and tested
Video doorbells may be all the rage, but they’re also expensive and can be a hassle to set up. If all you want is a loud heads-up when you have somebody at the door, a wireless doorbell will do the trick at a fraction of the cost. What’s more, today’s wireless doorbells can do so much more than “ding dong”. You can pick your favourite tunes, get flashing light alerts and adjust the volume to suit your hearing and your home.
What makes the difference between the best wireless doorbells and the also-rans? For Graham Speake, UK and Ireland country manager for Byron doorbells manufacturer, Smartwares Group, it comes down to a combination of features – a high open range, volume, sound quality and eco options. “Some doorbells will [also] allow you to mute the chime” he explains, “which is particularly useful in the evening if you have young kids and don’t want to be disturbed.”
A doorbell with a higher open range gives you more flexibility to move the chime around your home or garden and still hear it, while a light function is always useful. “If you are hard of hearing or if your doorbell is on mute,” he suggests “a doorbell with a visual alert [such as] a light will let you know when someone’s at your door”.
We’ve tested dozens of the top wireless doorbells, and on this page you’ll find our selection of the very best. Below you’ll also find our buying guide, where we explain what to look for when you choose a wireless doorbell, and any features you must have – or could easily live without.
Best wireless doorbell: At a glance
| Best battery wireless doorbell | Byron DBY-23561BS (~£20) | Check price at Argos |
| Best wireless doorbell for features | Honeywell Home DC515N (~£40) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best basic wireless doorbell | Byron DBY-22313UK (~£21) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best for houses with limited sockets | Tecknet HWD809 (~£20) | Check price at Amazon |
How we test wireless doorbells
We test wireless doorbells in a real-world setting, installing each one at the front door of a three-bedroom detached house.
In each case, we insert the required batteries into the bell-push unit and affix it to a panel on the doorframe. We then plug in (or pop batteries into) the chime units supplied, and check how they work in different locations in and around the house, including an outdoor home office some distance away, to see how well they can maintain their wireless connection.
We also measure the maximum volume level of the doorbell on its default chime, plus the maximum volume with its loudest chime. For chimes that come with a volume control, we also test the default chime at its lowest setting. We also check out the range of chimes available, and take a good look at any visual alerts.
Finally, with the chime unit indoors inside the front hallway, we take the bellpush for a walk to check if the doorbell still works at three different locations, roughly 20m, 40m and 80m away.
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The best wireless doorbells you can buy in 2025
1. Byron DBY-23561BS: Best battery wireless doorbell
Price when reviewed: £20 | Check price at Argos
- Great for… range, bright visual alerts, chime sound quality
- Not so great for… a wide range of chimes
This mid-range battery doorbell pairs a simple wireless bellpush with a lozenge-shaped chime, powered by three AA batteries. This works at an advertised range of up to 200m, and while I found I couldn’t consistently connect at 100m, I could still get the chime to ring – and at 60m it was pretty stable.
You only get eight bell sounds and tunes to work with, but they’re all usable and not too irritating, partly because the sound from the chime’s speaker is a cut above your average budget chime.
A glowing ring around the speaker grille gives clear visual alerts, and you can even switch the colour between cyan, purple, yellow, blue and amber with the tap of a button. It’s just as easy to mute the chime or adjust the tone or volume. At a maximum 86.5dBA the Byron just edges it as the loudest wireless doorbell on test, and if you want the convenience of a battery-powered chime, it’s the best on test.
Key specs – Power: 3 x AA batteries/CR2032 battery; Quoted range: 200m; Chimes: 8; Visual alert: Flashing blue ring; Volume levels: 5; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 24 months
2. Honeywell Home DC515N: Best wireless doorbell for features
Price when reviewed: £40 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… excellent range, clear visual alerts, timed hush features
- Not so great for… controls could be more intuitive
The Honeywell Home DC515N is a little more expensive than the Byron DBY-23561BS, but some extra features make it worth your while. The money buys you a simple bellpush powered by a CR2032 battery and a compact chime powered by three AA batteries. The latter measures 70 x 40 x 70mm (WDH), and it weighs around 193g with the batteries installed.
Nothing beats this one for visual alerts, with both a flashing coloured ring around the speaker and two bright LED lights on the top. What’s more, you can silence the alarm for three, six, nine or twelve hours at a time, by repeatedly pressing the button on the top.
The six volume levels take you from 55.3dBA at the lowest setting to 85.2dBA with the loudest chime. The DC515N’s range is excellent, with the chime working more consistently at the longest 100m distance we tested than the Byron doorbell above, which on paper has a longer claimed range. Even the chime sound quality is good. The DBY-23561BS is significantly cheaper, but if you want to avoid being disturbed or visual alerts are more important to you, this is the best wireless doorbell to buy.
Key specs – Power: 3 x AA batteries/CR2032 battery; Quoted range: 150m; Chimes: 9; Visual alert: Flashing blue edge light, flashing top lights; Volume levels: 6; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 12 months
3. Byron DBY-23612BS: Best fit-and-forget wireless doorbell
Price when reviewed: £25 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… not having to replace the batteries, decent sound quality
- Not so great for… long range use
Problems with dead doorbell batteries are a thing of the past with this Byron doorbell, which uses a self-powered bellpush that harnesses kinetic energy. You need to give the lower section of the bell-push a pretty forceful click and there’s no visual feedback to let callers know that the button has been pressed. However, there is a flashing blue bar on the plug-in chime unit to alert those inside the house.
The chime unit should be loud enough for most users, with three volume levels plus a silent mode, and it reaches 84.4dBA on the loudest of its 16 chimes. Even the lowest volume setting dishes out 67dBA with the default bell sound. You get a wider range of tunes than with the basic 22313UK, too.
Range might be an issue for some houses, with the chime failing to sound from more than 20m away in our tests, but we still had no problems with the doorbell on the front door and the chime unit placed anywhere in the house. As a solid, fit-and-forget doorbell, this one takes some beating.
Key specs – Power: Mains/Self-powered bellpush; Quoted range: 100m; Chimes: 16; Visual alert: Flashing LED; Volume levels: 4; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 24 months
4. Byron DBY-22313UK: Best basic wireless doorbell
Price when reviewed: £21 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… keeping things simple and plug-through design
- Not so great for… working at long range
Byron’s budget wireless doorbell keeps things simple, with a weather-resistant bell push and a plug-in chime. The bell push is powered by a single CR2032 button battery and has a glowing red ring to let you know when it’s been pressed.
The chime, meanwhile, has no glowing LEDs or flashing indicators, so it’s not so good for those with impaired hearing. However, it does have a plug-through mains socket so that you don’t lose a socket where it’s fitted. A single chime can be paired with up to six bell pushes, so it’s great for use if you have visitors to a front and back or side door. You can even set different tunes or tones for each to play.
You have three volume settings plus a mute setting, taking you all the way from 59dBA to an ear-splitting 83.6dBA. And while you only get 16 different chimes to play with, I found most fairly usable and not hugely irritating – plus you still get Christmas and Birthday tunes.
The wireless range isn’t quite as good as some. It failed to chime when we pressed the bell push at roughly 60m away, but with the button on the front door we didn’t have any issues connecting to the doorbell in different rooms of the house. There’s nothing too ingenious or pretentious about this one – it’s just a decent basic doorbell that works well.
Key specs – Power: Mains/CR2032 battery; Quoted range: 150m; Chimes: 16; Visual alert: No Volume control: Yes; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 24 months
5. Avantek CB11: Best wireless doorbell for convenience and range
Price when reviewed: £19 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… working at longer distances, unobtrusive chime
- Not so great for… too many novelty chimes, feels cheap
This Avantek wireless doorbell wins a lot of points for convenience. The chime unit is compact and unobtrusive, measuring a mere 70 x 78mm and protrudes only 26mm from the wall socket. The bellpush is also slim, and can attach to the door with either screws or an adhesive pad.
The fitting instructions are almost comically brief and the backplate is tricky to remove at first, but once it’s up and running the bell push works smoothly with a super-sized button and an LED indicator that flashes when it’s pressed.
There isn’t a huge amount of difference between the three volume levels, which run from 72.4dBA to 83.6dBA, depending on the tone or tune. Meanwhile, the 52 chimes go heavy on annoying tunes and novelty sounds, including two different dog barks, a cat’s meow and croaking frogs.
The sound can be a little tinny, especially at high volumes. Luckily, the CB11 makes up for this by being so usable at range. Long distances within the house didn’t phase it, and while it didn’t work at the claimed 300m range, it still worked at nearly 100m, which is very impressive for a doorbell this cheap.
Key specs – Power: Mains/CR2032 battery; Quoted range: 300m; Chimes: 52; Visual alert: Flashing LED; Volume levels: 5; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 24 months
6. Tecknet HWD809: Best for houses with limited sockets
Price when reviewed: £20 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… slimline chime unit, range of tunes
- Not so great for… limited connection range
The Tecknet HWD809 is another wireless doorbell with a battery-free bellpush, using kinetic energy captured when you click the button to send the wireless signal to the chime. In fact, it goes one better than the Byron DBY-23612BS by having a small blue LED indicator flash when callers press the button. The plug-in chime goes even bigger on visual feedback, with a bright, flashing ring around the speaker that changes colour in time with the tone or tune.
The chime is slimmer than the average – measuring just 60mm across – and with a mains pass through will be an easier fit into some sockets. It gives you four volume levels plus a silent mode, and has a staggering selection of 60 chimes. Needless to say, the vast majority of these are mind-mangling novelty efforts, including dog barks and bird noises, but Sound of Music fans are unusually well-catered for.
With volume levels maxing out at 84.5dBA, it shouldn’t have any problems being heard. Range could be an issue, however. I found the connection was patchy with the bellpush carried even 10m away from the front door.
Key specs – Power: Mains/Self-powered; Quoted range: 300m; Chimes: 60m; Visual alert: RGB LED ring; Volume levels: 5; Mute: Yes; Warranty: 18 months
Tested but not recommended
Honeywell Home DC311N
Price when reviewed: £25 | Check price at Amazon
The cheaper sibling of the DC515N above has a good range but fewer chime sounds and no flashing alerts. While it’s fine, the more expensive model is better value.
Avantek SPY 4-315
Price when reviewed: £25 | Check price at Amazon
This older set with one pushbutton and dual chimes is good for the money, but Avantek’s CB11 just edges it on range.
How to choose the best wireless doorbell for you
What types of wireless doorbell are there?
While it’s getting hard to find a wireless doorbell with a traditional brass bellpush, there’s otherwise plenty of choice. Whether you prefer a classic button bellpush or a high-tech style with a bigger button, there are plenty of options out there. You can even find mechanical bell pushes that harvest kinetic energy to send the wireless signal instead of relying on a battery.
ess doorbell for you
What types of wireless doorbell are there?
There’s a wide selection of wireless doorbells available, with designs ranging from traditional push-button efforts to minimalist units that barely look like doorbells at all. Your first decision however is whether to go for one that uses a plug-in chime unit, or one where both the doorbell and the chime run on batteries.
The bigger question is whether to go for a wireless doorbell with a plug-in chime, or a chime that runs on batteries. Plug-in chimes are often slimmer and smarter looking, and most will have some kind of visual alert to let you know when the doorbell’s ringing, even if you have impaired hearing or the chime volume turned right down. What’s more, you don’t need to worry about the battery running out.
The downsides are that they permanently occupy a mains socket (some have a passthrough, though), which means you have some restrictions over where you situate them, especially if you want to keep any visual indicators in your field of view.
Battery models, on the other hand, can be placed almost anywhere and carried around with you, which could be useful if you don’t want to miss a visitor while you’re working in an outside office or doing some gardening. In some cases, you can get the best of both worlds by buying a twin pack, containing the bellpush, a battery chime and an additional plug-in chime.
Be aware, however, that wireless doorbell manufacturers can make some extraordinary claims about range – we’ve seen some quote up to 400m. However, this will be reduced by intervening walls, changes of elevation and interference from appliances and Wi-Fi. It’s unlikely you’ll either see this kind of range in real-world use. But then you probably don’t need it; after all, 100m is a long, long way, and most of us don’t live on a country estate.
Do I need selectable chimes?
It’s hard to find a new wireless doorbell without at least a dozen chimes, and some of these are growing more sophisticated, giving you cheerful tunes, Christmas and birthday themes or doorbell variations on popular classics. More chimes isn’t necessarily an improvement, though, and most of us could do without cat and dog sounds, croaking frogs or unlicensed snippets from Disney theme tunes. Bear in mind that the speaker sound quality isn’t usually that great, and you’ll be listening to the chimes at ear-splitting volumes.
Volume control is a definite plus. Most of the doorbells we’ve tested have a similar maximum volume level, but if you live in a flat or a smaller terraced property, you might not need as loud a chime as in a larger home. Some chime units even have a mute function, so you can turn the chime off if, say, you’re getting callers in the evening but don’t want to wake up the kids.
What other features should I look out for?
Some wireless doorbells support multiple wireless channels, allowing you to switch frequencies if you’re having problems with interference. Others allow you to pair multiple bellpush units with one chime, or multiple chimes with one bellpush. In some cases, you can assign a different tune or tone to each bellpush, so that you know which door a caller is standing at.
Given where most doorbells are situated, it’s also worth looking for some kind of weather-proofing on the bellpush, and preferably an IP65 rating for protection against dust and water. This should ensure your doorbell stays working for years to come.
Most bellpushes use a CR2032 battery, which may last anywhere between six months and three or four years, depending on the bellpush and the battery. The new self-powered models with kinetic buttons don’t need any battery, which saves you the bother of replacement and is also good for the environment. However, in testing, we’ve found that these have more limited range than battery-powered models.
Finally, it’s worth noting that some makes are stronger on sustainable manufacturing than others. Some bellpushes and chimes now use between 50% and 100% recycled plastics in their housings, while some manufacturers have moved to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard packaging.
