Comparison

e vs SkyBell

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

e

Remotely control your home or business security system and view live video feeds. This app requires compatible security hardware and an eSecure 1.0 service account.

Highlights
  • Remote security control
  • Live video viewing
  • Home security
  • Business security
  • Compatible hardware integration
Features
Read full description

Protection 1 eSecure™ 1.0 This app provides lifestyle enhancing functionality by combining remote control security with the ability to view live video of your home or business. • This application works in conjunction with our other compatible security hardware products. • An eSecure 1.0 remote service account is required. • Call 1-800-GET-HELP for more information. *** NOTE: For existing eSecure™ users who are already using the version with the silver icon the version of eSecure 2.0™, with the blue icon will not work. Please contact Protection 1 for additional information. *** *** This version of eSecure is intended only for use with eSecure 1.0 compatible hardware from Protection 1. If your hardware is eSecure 2.0 compatible, please download our eSecure 2.0 app elsewhere in the App store. If you have questions, please contact Protection 1 for additional information ***

About

SkyBell

Monitor your home's entry points with HD video and two-way audio. Receive instant alerts for visitors or motion, and integrate with other smart home devices for enhanced security and control.

Highlights
  • HD video monitoring
  • Two-way audio communication
  • Instant motion and visitor alerts
  • Smart home device integration
  • AI-powered body and facial recognition
  • Customizable motion zones
Features
Read full description

Peace of mind starts at the front door. SkyBell pioneered the Video Doorbell category and now offers a variety of Video Doorbells, Security Cameras, Chimes, and other integrated smart home security solutions. Get instant alerts on smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches when someone is at your door or motion is detected in HD video with two-way talk on any of SkyBell’s Video Doorbells or Cameras. SkyBell sends a live video feed to your devices so you can hear and speak to the person at your door or in the house, whether at home, at work, or on the go - day or night. The SkyBell Gen5 App lets you integrate compatible smart home devices like smart locks and others into your SkyBell system, offering more home control than ever. The integrated AI provides body and facial recognition, with the ability to set custom motion zones to reduce false triggers by up to 95%. SkyBell keeps you connected to your home and those you love most. We aim to make homes and neighborhoods safer, one front door at a time!

Screenshots

e4 screens
SkyBell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SkyBell at 4.7 against e's 2.6. SkyBell also leads on ratings volume (10K vs 9) and review sentiment (41% vs 18%). e's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SkyBell holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyBell has 10K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of e's written reviews are positive against 41% of SkyBell's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
e versus SkyBell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametereSkyBell
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (9 ratings)4.7 (10K ratings) — better
Positive reviews18.4% of reviews40.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings910K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB70 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperProtection OneSkyBell Technologies, Inc.

Customer experience

e

All ratings9 ratings
Positive22.2%
Neutral22.2%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive18.4%
Neutral16.1%
Negative65.5%

SkyBell

All ratings10,473 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative51.5%

User reviews

e

From 9 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works well when set up
  • 👍 Convenient remote control
  • 👍 Keypad interface is cute
  • 👍 Useful for basic functions
  • 👍 Works with iPhone 5/iOS 7 (historically)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes on iOS 7
  • 🐛 Slow connection times
  • 🐛 Often doesn't connect
  • 🐛 Freezing and spinning
  • 🐛 Not working on iPhone 6

SkyBell

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Improved stability
  • 💡 New features like motion zones
  • 👍 Easy migration from old app
  • 🚀 Faster video loading

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Live view issues and crashes
  • 🐛 Unreliable motion detection
  • 🐛 Connectivity and login problems
  • 🐛 Downgrade from old app features

Bugs and requests

e

Reported bugs

63 issues
  • App needs updating
  • Does not work!!!
  • Update Please!!
  • App needs updating
  • Update badly needed
Show 58 more
  • App needs updating
  • Update needed!
  • Not working
  • Horrible App
  • Often doesn't connect
  • Freezing
  • Works some of the time only.
  • No longer working
  • App no longer working!
  • Recently broken?
  • Failing Communication Error message
  • Failure to communicate
  • Junk
  • Horrible not working on iOS 7
  • App doesn't work with iOS 7
  • Nominal before the update to ios7, now does not work at all.
  • Doesn't work anymore and was horrible before
  • Does not work on iOS 7
  • Crash after update to ios7.
  • Broke in iOS 7
  • Needs update
  • Bad after iO7
  • Worst app ever
  • Has been great
  • Doesn't work after iOS 7 update
  • It did work great
  • Reliability
  • Stinks
  • Horrible when it worked
  • Terrible
  • Great until ios 7
  • App not functional under iOS 7
  • Crashes under iOS 7
  • Need to fix...
  • No iOS 7 support.
  • Does not work with iOS 7
  • App won't work with iOS 7
  • No Bells and Whistles but works
  • Not happy :(
  • Inconsistent
  • Yeah it works but
  • App doesn't work at all & no updates for over a year
  • Too slow
  • Update please!
  • Old-fashioned, slow, and... useless under iOS6.
  • Too Slow and doesn't work!
  • Works, but slow
  • App works for me
  • Works Great!!!
  • Pure garbage!!!
  • Seriously?!
  • No fun with protection 1
  • No video
  • Functional but Barely
  • Crap
  • Very slow
  • SLOWWWWWW
  • Good app.....but

Requested features

12 requests
  • Update the app
  • Modern update needed
  • Update for iOS compatibility
  • Improve connection speed
  • Add logout option
Show 7 more
  • Update for iOS 7 ASAP
  • Enable addition of more than 2 mobile devices
  • Push message to keypad from phone
  • Alert notifications on security breach via SMS
  • Higher resolution graphics for icon and UI
  • Add video functionality
  • Improve UI design

SkyBell

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Videos not saving or available
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Inability to reconnect device after migration

Requested features

3 requests
  • Bring back old app's notification sounds
  • Allow multiple users to control the device
  • Improve video quality and zoom capabilities

In-app purchases

None

e

No in-app purchases

None

SkyBell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is e free?
e is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SkyBell free?
SkyBell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, e or SkyBell?
SkyBell is rated higher. e averages 2.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while SkyBell averages 4.7 from 10K ratings.
Do e or SkyBell have ads?
Neither e nor SkyBell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, e or SkyBell?
e ships an update every 2 months, and SkyBell every 2 months. Most recently, e was updated on October 4, 2026 and SkyBell on October 13, 2026.

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