HOME SECURITY VERIFIED
Vivint is our pick for the best home security system on the market today. We like that Vivint's equipment works as both an alarm system and a deterrent. Not only does Vivint alert you\u2014and the authorities\u2014if there's an emergency like a break-in or fire, but it also helps deter bad actors before they breach your home or swipe a package.\u00a0" } }, "@type": "Question", "name": "Is a home security system worth it?", "acceptedAnswer": "@type": "Answer", "text": "It would take around six years of paying for a home security system to match the cost of being burgled just one time. The average loss from a burglary is over $2,600. With the average annual cost of a home security system coming in around $400 after equipment, it\u2019s a preventative measure that\u2019s worth it. Plus, most burglars say they\u2019d skip a house that has a security system." ] }] "@context": " ", "@type": "Organization", "name": "SafeWise", "url": " ", "logo": " -Logo_dotcom-slogan.png", "sameAs": [ " ", " ", " +Safewise", " " ] "@context": " ", "@type": "Table", "about": "Compare the Best Home Security Systems" (function(w,d,s,l,i))(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-TPSHL8C'); skip to main content Home Security Security Buyers Guides
HOME SECURITY
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Home security can be confusing. To help you find the best home security system, we tried them all. We chose Vivint as the best security system because of its high-end equipment, advanced smart home features, and its ability to thwart theft. Don't count out these other picks, though. Each one has its own benefits.
Standout feature: SimpliSafe features RapidSOS (only one other system has this security monitoring feature) to speed up help in an emergency. It skips sending information to a monitoring center and sends it directly to 911 dispatchers so first responders get to you (wherever you are) faster.
What SimpliSafe monitoring do we recommend? Go with the Interactive plan. It gives you mobile app control of your SimpliSafe security system and includes email and text alerts. You can also access live video if you add a home security camera.
We're thrilled that SimpliSafe now has an outdoor camera. Protect your home inside and out when you add the affordable wireless camera with high-quality video to your SimpliSafe system.
On top of voice control, you can add smart lighting, smart locks, smart speakers, and smart smoke and CO detectors to your Abode security system. Plus, pro monitoring starts at a around $20 per month.
Even the best home security systems seem to slack when it comes to security cameras. Brands often offer a basic selection with basic features. Not Ring. It has everything from Ring doorbell cameras to Ring floodlight cameras with excellent video quality and advanced features:
Wyze Home Monitoring has just about every smart home gadget you can think of in its accessory line-up. Some of its offerings include security cameras, smartwatches, video doorbells, scales, a gun safe, and even a remote control car camera.
That depends on your budget and comfort with risk. Based on our comparisons of home security monthly fees, the median cost of professional monitoring is lower than ever at less than $30 a month. Some plans, like Wyze Home Monitoring, cost $10 or less each month.
A $40 or $50 per month monitoring fee can seem steep, but that adds up to $600 or less per year. Keep in mind that the more features and security devices you add to your system, the bigger the price tag.
Every month, more than 1 million visitors look to us for home security information and recommendations. Our honest reviews and expert insights come from hundreds of hours of hands-on tests, interviews with real customers, and meetings with technical pros, owners, and CEOs of large and small home security companies.
It's easier than ever to set up a smart home in which you can remotely control your lights, lawn mowers, thermostats, vacuums, and just about everything else from a smartphone app. Similarly, it's now simple (and relatively affordable) to monitor your home from pretty much anywhere with a smart security system.
Depending on your needs, you can go with a system that you monitor yourself, or pay a subscription fee to have professionals surveil your home 24/7 and contact your local fire or police departments when an alarm triggers. You can even take advantage of on-demand monitoring services when you're away on vacation. Of course, the more coverage you have, the more you should expect to pay.
Here are our top picks, as well as what you need to know before deciding how to secure and monitor your home. We also have a beginner's guide to setting up a smart home if you want to do more than just secure your property. And if you're curious, here's which home security brands our readers prefer.
The Vivint Smart Home security system is a full-blown home security system that gives you 24/7 monitoring and full control over door locks, cameras, thermostats, and lights. You can even monitor your cars while they are on the road. This pricey system provided speedy emergency response times in testing and is easy to control via a colorful, 7-inch touch-screen video panel, a mobile companion app, or Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.
Ease of use, affordability, and flexible configuration and monitoring options make the SimpliSafe Home Security System one of our top choices for a DIY home security system. We love that SimpliSafe offers preconfigured packages for homes of all sizes and that plenty of low-cost components are available for DIY setups. This system was easy to install and worked as intended, plus offers professional monitoring at a reasonable cost, should you require it.
The Ring Alarm Pro is a hybrid DIY home security system that doubles as a Wi-Fi 6 mesh router. It earns high marks for its easy setup process, reasonably priced monitoring options, and ability to bring Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to all corners of your home. It has an auxiliary battery that keeps everything running for up to 24 hours and uses a cellular radio to provide internet connectivity in the event of a power loss.
The Blue by ADT Home Security System is a smart choice if you already have one or more Blue by ADT cameras and want to build a DIY security system around those devices. This system is easy to install and is highly expandable, plus, as mentioned, lets you either monitor by yourself or with the help of a professional.
The Ring Alarm Security Kit is an affordable five-piece DIY home security system that is expandable and offers professional monitoring at a reasonable price. It works with the entire Ring lineup of video doorbells, indoor and outdoor security cameras, and lights, as well as with lots of third-party Z-Wave and Zigbee smart devices including door locks and smoke alarms. The system performed wonderfully in our tests and is easy to install. Add-on components are comparable in cost with those for SimpliSafe or Abode systems.
The Cove Home Security System is a customizable DIY home security system that features a colorful, 7-inch touch-screen hub and a quality selection of reasonably priced add-on components including door and window sensors, a glass break sensor, CO and smoke detectors, and a flood sensor. You can also purchase a medical alert pendant that can connect you with the monitoring service in the event of an emergency. Monitoring plans are affordable, too, especially if you pay for the hardware upfront.
The Frontpoint Home Security system is a smart DIY security system that comes with pre-paired sensors and offers a wide selection of cameras and add-on components, including a heat and smoke detector, a glass-break sensor, and a motion sensor. The Wi-Fi-enabled hub also features a Z-Wave radio that lets you pair lots of third-party devices, a cellular radio that connects to an emergency response center, and an RF radio that communicates with Frontpoint sensors. The system performed flawlessly in testing and is easy to manage either via the web portal or a mobile companion app.
A word about wireless protocols before we go further: In a perfect world, all home security components would use the same wireless standard to communicate with the main hub, but factors such as power requirements, signal range, price, and size make it virtually impossible to settle on just one. For example, smaller components such as door and window sensors typically use Z-Wave or Zigbee technology because they don't require a lot of power and can run on smaller batteries. They also operate in a mesh topology and can help extend the range of networked devices. However, neither protocol provides the bandwidth that you get with Wi-Fi, which security cameras rely on to provide smooth video streaming, for instance. Moreover, a hub connects and controls Z-Wave and Zigbee devices, whereas you can control Wi-Fi devices on your home network from an app. Finally, Z-Wave and Zigbee devices use AES 128 encryption and operate in a closed system with a dedicated hub, making them more secure than Wi-Fi devices.
Any smart security system worth its salt offers components that work together seamlessly and adhere to custom rules. For example, you can create rules to have the lights turn on when a sensor detects motion, have your doors unlock when a smoke alarm goes off, or set a camera to begin recording when a sensor triggers. Some systems store recordings locally on an SD card or a solid-state drive, whereas others offer cloud storage. Local video storage is a good choice for do-it-yourselfers on a budget, but you have to be careful not to overwrite video you might need later. Cloud storage makes it easy to house and access videos, but it can cost hundreds of dollars per year depending on your subscription. Some systems offer both cloud storage and local storage, and some provide a dedicated storage drive that gives you DVR capabilities with time-lapse recording, thus making it easy to find a video event that took place at a specific time. 041b061a72