Best No Contract Home Security Systems

SimpliSafe has a 60-day money-back guarantee. When you add that to the no-contract freedom, you’ve got a system that’s well worth trying out. In our in-home trial, SimpliSafe had the fastest and easiest setup of all the security systems we’ve tested. Plus, SimpliSafe’s equipment costs were substantially lower than comparable systems from other companies. For the SimpliSafe Essentials kit and a few extras, we paid only $301.56. Most home security companies would charge $500-$1,000 for a similar package.

The hardware itself has a cool, modern design. The base station is a sleek tabletop tower that glows a soft blue, like a sophisticated smart lamp. The software, however, isn’t going to wow you with sophistication. We found the SimpliSafe keypad interface to be a lot like texting on a cell phone circa 2001. A move toward touchscreen technology would be a definite improvement in the future. SimpliSafe does, though, have the technology to integrate with Alexa and Google Home for easy voice control, which we appreciate.

SimpliSafe’s equipment packages start at $244.96 and go up to $699.90. Or you can build your own package starting with a base station and keypad and adding on motion sensors and other equipment like a panic button or one of their flagship products, the $99 SimpliCam. For more details on that, check out our SimpliCam review

SimpliSafe’s monitoring is pretty affordable, too. Packages start at just $17.99 per month. When we tested our system, we opted for professional monitoring, and we recommend you do, too. It’s one of the more affordable monitoring plans we’ve seen, and it comes with 24/7 service, priority dispatch, and a user-friendly mobile app. We found ourselves using the app to manage our system about 75% of the time, so we would not recommend going without it.

To read about our full experience with SimpliSafe, check out our hands-on SimpliSafe review.

Frontpoint’s hub design is sleek and modern, with an iridescent sheen. It uses a dual-path connection, which means it’ll connect to your cellular service first, and if the cell service is down, it’ll automatically connect to your Wi-Fi. This is the best connection type you can get.

Their equipment packages start at $129, and Frontpoint’s monitoring plans will run you $49.99 per month. Keep in mind, though, that there are no self-monitoring options with Frontpoint, so this is something you’re going to have to factor into your budget. The good news is it includes 24/7 service and cellular backups in case the power goes out. Get the full picture in our Frontpoint cost and package guide.

Plus, Frontpoint has some advanced features that are worth talking about. For instance, it lets you customize “scenes.” There are four preset scenes built in: Home, Away, Sleep, and Wake Up. But you can also create your own customized scenes. When we tested the system in our home, we made a nighttime routine scene that armed our system silently and forced bypass of our bedroom sensor (so we could leave the window open) — with the simple tap of a button. Many other home security systems require each step to be done manually in the app, so this was a huge time saver.

Frontpoint also lets you customize the instant notifications you receive. Like other brands, Frontpoint sends its notifications via email, SMS text message, or push notification. But they won’t just notify you if an alarm is triggered. They’ll let you know about any event you set as a trigger. When we tried out the system at home, we were very happy to get a “Left Open” alert one morning when we’d forgotten to shut one of our doors. The alert arrived just in time to fix the problem before leaving the house for the day.

And we wouldn’t be doing the Frontpoint system justice if we didn’t mention its geo-fencing feature. Frontpoint uses your smartphone’s GPS to put a virtual “fence” around your home. When you leave the area without arming the system, you’ll receive a notification reminding you that your home isn’t secure. This feature alone may bring you a lot of peace of mind. To read about our full experience using Frontpoint Security, have a look at our in-depth Frontpoint review.

Looking for an affordable security system with innovative equipment? abode has a sleek, modern look in classic black-and-white. It’s got the smallest entry sensors we’ve ever seen. And the iota Gateway hub has a built-in HD camera. Most impressive, however, is abode’s CUE — a native home automation platform that turns your security system into a wireless home wizard.

CUE not only integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant, like many other home security hubs, it also integrates with your smart lights, your garage door sensor, and even your Bose speakers. (Yes, you can set unique chimes, crank up the volume of your siren, and more.)

You can also use CUE to create custom automations, like arming your home 15 minutes after sunset. Not only can it set up a geo-fence like Frontpoint does, but it can automatically close your garage door when you leave the geo-fence boundary. Pretty neat. Oh, and all this with no stressful contracts to deal with!

Abode’s equipment packages start at $150 and run up to about $330, depending on what you need. They also sell a whole array of security products to add on including cameras, motion sensors, panic buttons and door/window sensors. All of these are affordably priced, but check to see if you can get a deal. Right now, for example, their outdoor siren is discounted by $50.

Abode’s affordable self-monitoring option makes it one of our top-rated systems with no monthly fees. You can self-monitor and tap into abode’s home automation features, or you can sign up for professional monitoring. Here’s a breakdown of those options:

• Standard for $6.99 per month: self-monitoring and home automation
• Pro for $21.99 per month: professional monitoring, cellular backup, and more

Read our latest abode review to find out if this is the right system to protect your home.

Cove’s decision to ditch contracts and instead focus on a quality security experience was a good one. Because, let’s face it, homeowners don’t need any extra stress wondering if they’ll need to lawyer up just to switch home security companies. The same goes for mysterious cancellation fees. Those horror stories you’ve heard on the Better Business Bureau website about customers getting stuck with $2,000 final bills on backfiring equipment? You shouldn’t have to go through any of that with Cove.

Cove’s home security plans have changed in recent years – now rather than purchasing individual plans, monitoring is built into the price of the security package you purchase. A basic plan costs $17.99 per month, and a Plus plan runs $27.99 per month. If you opt for the more expensive plan, you’ll get access to all of your equipment from your smartphone, so it’s usually what we recommend.

And while we’re talking about price, we should mention that right now all of Cove’s offerings are 65 percent off sitewide, and they’ll even throw in an additional security camera with the purchase of a new system. Definitely a good time to buy if you’re interested, because we don’t know how long this deal is going to run.

Other Cove Plus perks include a lifetime warranty on all Cove equipment and a locked in rate. But even if you go with the Basic plan, both Cove’s InstaText and RapidSOS services are fully available, so your home is protected 24/7 even during a power outage.

In terms of equipment, let’s just say that Cove is wireless, lightweight, and à la carte, so you won’t get stuck with a bunch of stuff you don’t need. Installing your security system is a half hour’s work. Though if you absolutely don’t know the right end of a screwdriver, Cove will send Hello Tech to your home, starting at $79. Read about our own 12-minute installation in our Cove security review.

Scout offers a curated home security experience. Its lower-than-average prices place Scout among the most affordable security systems of the year, as well as the best systems that work with IFTTT.

And speaking of affordable, their security kits are almost rock bottom. Their small kit — suitable for a small house or apartment — costs $229 and the large package for larger properties costs $319. You also have the option of customizing a system from scratch to ensure you’re getting everything you need and nothing you don’t.

And when it comes to monitoring you’ll have two options with Scout:

• Always On (aka self-monitoring) for $9.99 per month: 4G LTE cellular backup, a mobile app, and text, email, and push notifications.
• Always On+ for $19.99 per month: all the same benefits as Always On, plus 24/7 professional monitoring and free cloud storage for your first camera or doorbell.

You get several smart home integrations with Scout — notably Alexa and Google Assistant. They continue to add more integrations over time.