ADT vs SafeTouch Comparison

There’s no getting around it. ADT offers higher quality services and products than SafeTouch at similar, and sometimes lower, prices. While it’s great to support local businesses, we only want the best of the best when it comes to our home’s security and that’s what ADT delivers.

We get it. You’re spending a significant amount of money on a home security system. Wouldn’t it be great to keep that money in your community by going with a local provider like SafeTouch? They only serve the Jacksonville area in Florida and Georgia, whereas ADT’s a nationwide brand. So, we decided to test ADT and SafeTouch in our home to find out if shopping locally pays off for home security.

As much as we’d like to tell you to support a local business, we found too big of a disparity between the quality of equipment and services that SafeTouch and ADT offers. In this guide, we’ll break down all the details so you can see exactly why ADT remains our favorite security system.

>> Read More: A Complete Guide to Home Security System in 2025

ADT vs. SafeTouch: Comparative Overview of Home Security Systems

Before we dig into the details, we want to provide a holistic overview. That way, as we compare each aspect of SafeTouch and ADT in detail, you’ll be able to see those details in context with their overall system.

Main Similarities Between ADT and SafeTouch

Even though we like ADT more than SafeTouch, they still share a few commonalities. Here are the main similarities between ADT and SafeTouch:

• Payments: Both ADT and SafeTouch offer financing options for their equipment. They allow you to bundle equipment and monitoring into a combined monthly payment with a maximum financing term of 60 months.
• Professional Monitoring: Not only do ADT and SafeTouch both offer professional monitoring, but they both run their own monitoring service. That means when you get a call about an alert, you’ll be talking to a member of their staff instead of a third-party company. Although, only ADT made our list of the best professionally monitored security systems because of its nationwide network of 12 monitoring facilities.
• Wide Range of Available Equipment: You can get almost any type of security equipment you need from both ADT and SafeTouch. ADT makes their own equipment, whereas SafeTouch sells Alarm.com equipment.
• Return Policies: When you buy an ADT or SafeTouch system, you have a trial period for the equipment so you can make sure it works for your home. ADT offers a six-month money-back guarantee. SafeTouch only offers 30 days.

Main Differences Between ADT and SafeTouch

After using both systems, we were surprised at the number of discrepancies between each company (some good and some not-so-good). Here are the main differences between ADT and SafeTouch that got our attention:

• Price Transparency: All of ADT’s pricing is readily available on their website, from their equipment costs to their monitoring fees. SafeTouch hides their pricing behind a required phone call.
• Installation Options: SafeTouch requires professional installation and that comes with a fee. ADT allows you to install your own security system for free, but they still offer professional installation if you need it.
• Contract Length: You don’t need to sign a contract at all with ADT as long as you’re willing to install your own system. SafeTouch requires a minimum 36-month contract.
• Camera Features: There’s no getting around it. ADT’s security cameras are more feature-rich. They offer Google Nest Cams which have facial recognition technology. Check out our Google Nest Cams review for all the details on why we like these innovative cameras as well as their drawbacks.
• Mobile App Quality: ADT made one of our favorite security system mobile apps. They make it easy to adjust any settings for your system, set up home automations, and respond to alerts. We found SafeTouch’s mobile app to be a bit clunky with a dated interface.
• Service Area: The service area for SafeTouch is very limited. They only offer security solutions for people in the Jacksonville, FL area which extends into Georgia. ADT offers their service nationwide.

ADT vs. Safetouch: In-Depth Comparison of Home Security Systems

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, let’s take a deeper dive into the many similarities and differences between ADT and SafeTouch. First on the agenda: contracts.

Contracts

Nowadays, only SafeTouch requires a 36-month minimum contract. ADT allows customers to forego a contract entirely, if they so choose. We decided to opt for ADT’s contractless system when we last tested ADT Self-Setup. Their professionally installed systems, however, still require a long-term contract.

ADT’s Contract Overview

We can review some of our contract details in the Account Management tab on ADT’s mobile app.

If you opt to sign one, an ADT contract has upsides and drawbacks. If ADT raises their monitoring rates, you can choose to opt out of your ADT contract without any cancellation fees. That’s a protection we rarely see. There’s also a theft protection guarantee where ADT will reimburse you $500 for your homeowner’s insurance deductible if there’s a burglary in your home while your ADT system is active.

The drawbacks are fairly typical for the industry with one of the biggest being the cancellation fees. If you cancel early, you’ll need to pay a hefty cancellation fee equal to up to 75 percent of the remaining amount owed. That includes the monitoring fees for the length of the contract. There are also penalties for missing payments or a breach of contract that can result in ADT repossessing your equipment and a ding on your credit score.

>> Learn About: The Ins and Outs of Home Security Contracts

SafeTouch Contract Overview

Unlike ADT, you’ll need to sign at least a 36-month contract if you want a SafeTouch security system. That contract includes at least a $29.95 per month fee, an early termination fee, and a required pre-payment of the first month. While they don’t include a theft protection guarantee like ADT, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. We prefer ADT’s six month guarantee, but it’s better than nothing.

Pricing

Now, on to our “favorite” part: pricing. While you usually get what you pay for, we regularly find providers in the home security industry that offer great deals and others that we think over charge. Neither ADT nor SafeTouch overcharge, but we find ADT offers better deals. Let’s break down the details:

>> Check Out: The Most Affordable Home Security Systems of 2025

ADT’s Costs and Payment Options

ADT’s monthly fees for monitoring range from $24.99 to $49.99 per month. That does not include equipment costs or installation fees if you opt for professional installation. For equipment costs, ADT’s prices start at $269 for a starter pack to build off of. Here’s an overview of ADT’s equipment packages:

SafeTouch Costs and Payment Options

Unfortunately, SafeTouch keeps their pricing close to their chest. Just to find out how much they charge for a basic security system can feel like trying to get state secrets out of a highly trained federal agent. That’s why we did it for you, but they were adamant that their pricing varies for each customer. So, while we can give you a rough idea, you’ll need to call SafeTouch yourself for accurate pricing.

After our consultation with SafeTouch, we learned that their monthly rates start at $29.95 per month. But, that’s only if you already have home security equipment installed in your home and they may charge a fee to activate your equipment. Since SafeTouch requires a minimum 36-month contract, the price of your equipment will be added to that monthly monitoring rate. Professional installation for your equipment ranges from a flat rate of $99 to $199.

Equipment and Features

How do you know if the price tag of your security system is worth it? Well, you look at what you’re getting for the price. And that’s what we’re going to do here by comparing all of the equipment and features offered by ADT and SafeTouch. Overall, we found that ADT offers higher quality equipment with more advanced features.

ADT Equipment and Features

Just about any security equipment you could need, ADT offers. Every piece of equipment we’ve tested from ADT leads the industry as well. They keep evolving as well. For instance, we used to complain about their security cameras, but they partnered with Google a few years ago and now offer Google Nest Cams which are some of our favorite security cameras. Here’s an overview of the equipment and features you can expect from an ADT security system:

• Mobile App: Like we mentioned earlier, ADT makes one of our favorite mobile apps in the home security industry. We use it to not only control our ADT system, but also all of the smart home equipment in our house.
• SMART Monitoring: As part of ADT’s 24/7 professional monitoring service, you get access to their SMART monitoring capabilities. That means instead of calling you about alerts, they send a group message that includes everyone in your house. Anyone in your home can respond while keeping everyone on the same page.
• Medical Emergency Systems: The company offers medical alert units with two-way communication, perfect for seniors or others prone to medical emergencies.
• Video Verification: If you buy Google Nest Cams through ADT and subscribe to their Complete Monitoring plan, ADT’s monitoring agents will verify alarms using the footage from your cameras so that they can get emergency personnel to your house quicker.

All ADT security systems use Google Nest security cameras.

• Security Sensors: Entry and motion sensors make up the backbone of an ADT security system so much so that they offer two versions of their entry sensor. They also offer glass break sensors, although Google Nest Cams can also detect the sound of shattering glass.
• Environmental Sensors: ADT provides smoke, heat, water leak, and flood sensors. They also have a carbon monoxide detector.
• Keychain Fob: With this small keychain fob device, you can either arm or disarm your security system with ease.
• Smart Home Integration: ADT offers some of their own smart home equipment through their Google partnership, but they can also integrate with thousands of third-party smart home devices.
• Trusted Neighbor: Speaking of smart home capabilities, we like the way ADT uses the facial recognition in the Google Nest Cams with their Trusted Neighbor feature. It allows you to automatically let specific people in your home at certain times or during alarms. We used it to let our cleaner in every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and our neighbor during active alarms.

SafeTouch Equipment and Features

When directly comparing with ADT’s equipment and features, SafeTouch doesn’t offer quite as much. Their equipment is also designed and created by a third party instead of in-house like ADT. Here’s what SafeTouch offers in terms of equipment and features:

• Crash & Smash Protection: Some burglars try to break home security equipment to prevent an alarm from sounding. SafeTouch detects these efforts and automatically sends an alert to their professional monitoring center if someone tries to break the control panel.
• Security Sensors: Just like ADT, SafeTouch offers the security sensors we look for including entry sensors, motion sensors, and glass break sensors.
• Home Automation Devices: SafeTouch offers home automation devices including smart thermostats, smart plugs, garage controllers, and smart door locks, however, they cannot integrate with thousands of third-party smart devices like ADT can.
• Mobile App: With the app, you can remotely control your security system whenever and wherever using your smartphone.
• Cloud Storage Options: This feature is useful if you want to save surveillance videos for future use.
• Lifetime Warranty: One thing SafeTouch offers that ADT lacks is a lifetime warranty. It’s included in their monitoring plan. That means as long as you maintain an active monitoring subscription from your equipment installation date, all equipment will stay under warranty.

ADT vs. SafeTouch: Installation

It used to be that ADT required professional installation just like SafeTouch. They now offer DIY installation for all of their equipment. You can still get it professionally installed, but it’s an option. SafeTouch, on the other hand, still requires professional installation. They charge the same fees for professional installation as ADT, too, at $99 to $199.

Of course, we like the option that ADT provides, but even if you go for professional installation, we thought the experience was better with ADT too. Sure, they both have in-house technicians. It’s just that ADT’s 150 years of experience really shows. For instance, when we had our ADT system installed, they added brown covers to our entry sensors they installed on our brown door to better match our decor. That’s one of the reasons we put them at the top of our list of the best professionally installed security systems.

>> Learn More: How to Install a Home Security System: It's Easier Than You Think

Here’s what the brown cover on our ADT entry sensor looked like against our brown door.

Professional Monitoring

It’s tough to self-monitor a security system. Every single time an alert gets set off, you need to pull out your phone, check the live feed of your cameras and then determine a course of action. Or, if you don’t have security cameras, you need to physically go to your house to see what set off the alarm.

Thankfully, both ADT and SafeTouch offer 24/7 professional monitoring services to help you respond to alerts. They both use an in-house monitoring team, too, which we appreciate. As a nationwide brand, though, we felt more confident in ADT’s monitoring service. If there was a natural disaster at one of their monitoring centers, they still had eleven others to pick up the slack. SafeTouch only runs one monitoring center, so if it goes down, your monitoring goes down too.

ADT vs. SafeTouch: Which Security System Is Best for Me?

To put it bluntly, we recommend ADT over SafeTouch in just about every circumstance. Unless you have your heart set on supporting a local business, ADT offers better services and products at lower prices. There’s no getting around it.

There’s also the aspect of transparency. SafeTouch makes it intentionally difficult to acquire pricing until you're talking to a salesperson. That’s a practice we want to see gone from the home security industry. ADT makes all of their pricing from their equipment to their monitoring fully transparent, which we appreciate.

While we wouldn’t recommend SafeTouch if ADT isn’t right for you, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Head over to our list of the best ADT alternatives to find the best option for your needs.

FAQs About ADT vs. SafeTouch