Amazon's Ring announces a major change, and users aren’t happy

If you use a Ring video doorbell for your home, get ready for a price hike. The security company, which is owned by Amazon, has announced that it is increasing the price for its cheapest subscription plan next month, and users aren't too thrilled about it.

“Starting March 11, 2024, the price of a Ring Protect Basic subscription will increase from $3.99/month or $39.99/year to $4.99/month or $49.99/year,” said the company in the announcement on its website.

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The company also clarified in the announcement that users who have subscriptions that renew before March 11 will be charged $3.99 monthly or $39.99 yearly for the renewal term, but once it ends, the price will increase. 

The last time Ring increased prices for its Basic plan in the U.S. was in 2022 where the previous price was $3 a month or $30 a year. The change was justifiable as users were getting new features with the price increase, unlike with this year's.

The move from Ring comes amid the company’s recent announcement that it will also be hiking its prices by 43% for its U.K. customers enrolled in its Basic subscription plan, which is higher than the upcoming price increase in the U.S. Users in the U.K. currently charged £3.49 ($4.41) a month or £34.99 ($44.19) a year for the plan will see the price increase to £4.99 ($6.30) a month or £49.99 ($63.13) a year on March 11.

Users have already taken to social media platform X to express their frustration with Ring’s announced price increases with some users threatening to cancel their subscription as a result.

#RingDoorbell

Seriously??? Why the huge increase? pic.twitter.com/nkCPQPibn3

— poofey one 🟧🌊💙🌈 (@poofeyone) February 9, 2024

@ring doorbell subscription cancelled. I know prices go up every year but near double? No thanks rather buy another brand of doorbell that doesn’t charge silly sub fee and save over the long run.

— ʙᴇᴄᴄᴀ (@_becca92) February 9, 2024

#RingDoorbell another price increase?!! Guess what, i'm canceling as soon as i install my security cameras this weekend.

— The Vega Review (@360Dogg) February 9, 2024

More than 10 million people in the United States have Ring doorbell cameras. Ring’s Basic subscription is the only plan offered by the company that is increasing in price. Its Plus subscription is the second-cheapest plan, and it is priced at $10 a month or $100 a year. The company’s most expensive plan is Pro, which costs $20 monthly or $200 yearly.

Amazon has so far been on a roll this year with adding extra costs for its services. On Jan. 29, the online retail giant began adding advertisements to Prime Video movies and TV shows, and began charging customers an extra $2.99 per month to stream content without ads, a service that was once free.

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