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ADT
SecureScore™: 9.2/10
Most experienced provider, with 150 years in business
Google partnership makes integration with other Google products seamless
When you own a home you’re proud of, you want to keep it safe. Whether it’s protecting your home against criminals, floods, or fires, a home security system can help you protect your home no matter where you are. You can keep an eye on it when you’re on vacation, and help keep your family safe every night when you go to bed. How do you find the best home security system? We’re here to help.
We’ve tested over 60 home security systems to help you figure out which one will best fit your home and budget. After researching and testing that many systems, we can confidently recommend the three best options for homeowners and tell you how to choose among them. Let’s get started!
What to Look for in a Home Security System for Homeowners
High-quality equipment: When it comes to security equipment, the range in quality is pretty massive. You need a system that offers security cameras with good picture quality, reliable sensors, and strong connectivity.
Professional monitoring: To get a discount on your homeowners insurance by installing a home security system, the system usually needs to be professionally monitored. We’ve found that 24/7 professional monitoring is also the best way to secure your home.
Home-automation capabilities: Owning a home is a lot of work. If your security system can help automate your home, it makes your life a whole lot easier.
Price: Whether you’re buying a new car or a home security system, nobody wants to get ripped off. We go for systems in the $500 to $1,000 range, with monitoring under $50 per month. There are certainly cheaper options though.
Company reputation: If you’re paying a monthly subscription for a home security system, the company can change its prices or offerings at any time — not to mention tech support and customer service. Reputation matters a lot to ensure you get a fair deal today and tomorrow.
Comparison of the Best Home Security Systems for Homeowners
With its iconic blue yard signs you can see across the nation, ADT’s reputation really does precede it. The company leads the industry with top-tier equipment and monitoring, leveraging its 150 years of experience. Even though ADT isn’t exactly cheap, you’ll get one of the highest-quality security systems available. We tested the system extensively in our home, and we found it’s a safe bet for homeowners.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
Siren is loud enough to scare away burglars
The equipment is actually very well-made
Customer service went the extra mile (kudos to Patty and Ian)
The system is professionally installed
Paid hardly any money upfront
ADT now partners with Google Nest for security cameras and smart home equipment
Trusted brand with 150+ years of experience in security
Cons:
No “silent arming” option from control panel
I spent hours troubleshooting their outdoor camera
Requires a monthly monitoring fee
Requires long-term contract
No DIY installation option
Installation tech left old equipment in our home
Our Experience:
ADT Equipment
ADT Control Panel
There isn’t a single piece of equipment in ADT’s lineup that we can point to as the best in the industry, but the consistent quality across all its products makes it the best overall. The company also offers enough products for a comprehensive approach to home security. Its leak, heat, smoke, and carbon monoxide sensors let its professionals monitor your home for more than criminals and escalate as needed for your safety.
After ADT partnered with Google, its cameras got an upgrade. We used to complain about the blurry 720p resolution on ADT’s video doorbell, but now that it sells Google Nest cameras, every security camera features industry-standard 1080p resolution. (If you want a higher resolution than 1080p, check out our list of the best 4K security camera systems.) Some of the company’s devices even offer a unique AI-powered facial recognition feature you just won’t find with most other brands.
The only thing we really miss about the old ADT cameras is the outdoor camera’s ability to operate in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most security cameras work only in temperatures as low as -4 degrees. For a closer look at ADT’s cameras, read our ADT home security cameras guide.
Pro Tip: You can still get those old ADT cameras if you need extra-low-temperature capabilities. Just call the company and they should be able to include one in your package. Keep in mind that they no longer manufacture the cameras, though, so they could run out at any time.
ADT Monitoring
We haven’t seen a system that offers better professional monitoring than ADT. Between its nine monitoring centers — compared with the average of three or four with other brands — and running all monitoring in-house, ADT brings reliability to a new level. It does, however, come at a cost. A starting price point of $45.99 per month also makes ADT one of the most expensive options for a monitored home security system. That’s why we never recommend it to renters.
If you own your home, money doesn’t grow on trees. You can bring down the cost a bit with one of ADT’s Self-Setup packages, which start at $24.99 per month. This new ADT offering cannot be financed though. And the lower-cost packages come with an additional fee if you have any security cameras by requiring a Nest Aware subscription that will run you another $8 per month.
Even though ADT costs can add up, remember that you’re paying for 150 years of experience keeping homes secure.
ADT Home Automation
ADT locks its most powerful automation features behind its midtier Smart Home packages. Even without ADT’s automation capabilities, you can still connect it to a variety of smart-home devices, including:
Google Home
Amazon Alexa
Kwikset locks
LiftMaster garage openers
All Z-Wave–compatible products
We used the Kwikset integration to ensure all of our doors were locked anytime our security system was armed. You can also do that with any ADT smart door lock option. Integrating with Google Home let us just shout, “Arm the security system,” as we ran out the door. During our test, we also paired it with our Alexa devices to test the integration. It worked, but it wasn’t as smooth as with Google Home.
What do you get with ADT’s automation capabilities? All these integrations become a lot more powerful. You can set schedules for any of your smart-home devices and set actions for specific triggers. What we really loved, though, was the geofencing feature. Basically, ADT connects to your phone’s location data to automate your house based on the location of your phone.
When we walk out into our backyard, for instance, the lights automatically turn on and then turn back off when we walk inside. Pretty neat. Most useful, though, is that our ADT system automatically disarms as we approach the front door. Those are just two examples of how we use geofencing to automate our house.
We definitely liked ADT’s home-automation capabilities, but it doesn’t integrate with rental platforms like Airbnb, which is a drawback if you want to rent out your home for a bit of extra income.
If you have more ambitions as a homeowner than only installing a security system, Vivint could be a good choice. Vivint sells a whole lot more than home-security products, including some offerings, like solar panel installations, that may surprise you. That means you can fully retrofit your entire home with smart products, solar power, and a state-of-the-art security system.
FYI: In our hands-on testing of Vivint, we found it’s the smartest home security system available for homeowners.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
Wireless smart security system
Smart home automation
7-inch touch screen smart hub
Award-winning mobile app
Indoor and outdoor cameras
Professional installation
Customized to your home
100% cellular monitoring
Lifetime warranty
Cons:
Pricey equipment packages
Contract required for at least 42 months
$100 installation fee
Short cancellation window
Our Experience:
Vivint Equipment
Vivint Smart Home Equipment
Just like ADT, Vivint’s products aren’t cheap. Instead of providing a lot of budget options, Vivint targets homeowners who want the latest technology — and its equipment shows it. It offers a slightly more affordable starter package than ADT, but it’s pretty bare bones, with just a couple of sensors, an LCD touch-screen base station, and a mobile app.
It’s a nice option to start with the bare-bones package you can add to later, but pretty much every home needs more than just a couple of sensors for adequate home security. Sensors alone are not going to make the premium you pay for Vivint products worth the cost, so we recommend at least the Premium Package, which is the package we bought when testing Vivint. It comes with a video doorbell, a security camera, Vivint’s smart hub, and sensors.
Even though Vivint’s security cameras feature the standard 1080p resolution, they stand out due to their wide FoV and 4K image sensors. The Google Nest doorbell cams that ADT sells, for comparison, have only a 145-degree FoV, whereas Vivint’s have a 180-degree FoV. Those two qualities make for security cameras that can capture everything while still providing great video quality and effective people detection.
We liked the video doorbell so much that we tested and wrote a complete review of Vivint’s doorbell camera by itself. The security cameras are where you really start to see the difference in quality that makes the premium you pay for a Vivint system well worth the cost.
FYI: Your Vivint technician will install your smart-home products along with your security system if you buy them all at once. That makes it super easy to bring smart-home technology to your home.
Vivint Monitoring
Vivint monitoring is a bit less expensive than ADT, but it’s still pretty high. Just like ADT, you still get monitoring services run completely in-house. Compared to ADT, though, Vivint doesn’t have quite as many monitoring centers or 150 years of experience. One thing that gives Vivint an edge over ADT is that its sales sometimes include discounted monitoring. Here’s a quick overview of Vivint’s monitoring options and pricing:
We can’t say enough good things about Vivint’s home-automation capabilities. For all the basic automation we could set up with ADT, we could also do it with Vivint using the IFTTT standard. It lets us set the same triggers and events as ADT using geofencing with our phones to automatically turn on our lights as we move around our home.
Vivint takes things a step further, though, with lurker detection in its cameras. Using AI technology, Vivint cameras can identify someone prowling around outside your home. When it detects a lurker, the system automatically engages your Vivint smart door locks, turns on any nearby outdoor lights, and sounds your camera’s built-in alarm.
We love the feature, because it took our home security up a notch — especially since most burglars choose a different house if they spot any type of alarm.1 What do you think they’ll do if a spotlight shines on their face and they hear the doors automatically lock and a siren start blaring? Most bad guys will move along.
FYI: Our home wasn’t targeted by burglars while testing Vivint, but we found in our break-in simulations that these active deterrents are extremely effective. Note that most other brands don’t offer these features.
SimpliSafe may have started off as a renter-friendly security system in 2006 (and it still is the best security system for renters), but that doesn’t make it any less of a great option for homeowners. We love the system’s versatility; you can DIY the installation or have it installed by technicians, you can monitor it yourself or buy professional monitoring, and you can customize your own security system from scratch or go with a pre-made package. If you prefer to be in the driver’s seat, SimpliSafe is simply one of the best choices out there.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
Affordable, easy-to-use equipment
Installation is a breeze
System is extremely responsive
App is well designed and intuitive
New monitoring is a major security bonus
Cons:
Keypad is a little finicky
Mounting system could use some work
Some pieces of equipment are a little bulky
Our Experience:
SimpliSafe Equipment
SimpliSafe equipment
Some might consider SimpliSafe too simplistic in terms of equipment options, just because it’s a DIY, wireless security system. We didn’t find that to be the case.
SimpliSafe offers nearly everything a home might need for security, including door and window sensors, motion sensors, and garage door sensors. It even offers hazard sensors like smoke alarms and temperature sensors. All in all, we learned that our SimpliSafe base station could support up to 100 individual sensors. Of course, we needed less than 20 sensors to protect our home, but it’s nice to know it can support that many devices.
Did You Know? Even though SimpliSafe started out as a system for people in apartments, its support for up to 100 sensors makes it a great choice for mansions too. That’s why it made our list of the best home security systems for large homes.
SimpliSafe offers security cameras too. We tested the SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera Pro and loved it. It’s battery-powered so it didn’t need to be plugged in or hardwired. It also paired seamlessly with our SimpliSafe app for live streaming.
What we truly want to highlight though is the Smart Alarm Indoor Camera. SimpliSafe didn’t offer it yet when we made our SimpliSafe review, but it is one of the brand’s recent innovations. It shows that SimpliSafe is innovative and not just a simplistic DIY option for renters. So what does it do? The Smart Alarm uses advanced detection to detect possible break-ins. Lots of cameras do that, but with the SimpliSafe Fast Protect plan, it can send alerts to SimpliSafe’s monitoring center. An agent would be able to confirm the alert via live streaming and even use two-way talk to speak with the intruder. The only other system with a similar monitoring feature is the Deep Sentinel system we reviewed.
SimpliSafe Monitoring
Live camera monitoring is just one of the many features SimpliSafe offers with its Fast Protect monitoring plan. Now, that’s the more expensive of the two professional monitoring plans that SimpliSafe offers, but at only $29.99, it’s an inexpensive option for high-quality 24/7 monitoring.
Features
Standard Plan
Fast Protect Plan
24/7 professional monitoring
Yes
Yes
Cellular backup
Yes
Yes
Text-based alerts
No
Yes
Basic home integrations
No
Yes
Video verification
No
Yes
Live video monitoring for Smart Alarm
No
Yes
Monthly price
$19.99
$29.99
First off, the Fast Protect plan includes cellular backup. It makes SimpliSafe capable of sending alerts even when your internet is down. Our internet provider gets lots of service issues, so we’re glad SimpliSafe has backups in place.
Fast Protect also includes text-based alerts. These alerts come before a monitoring agent calls you, giving you a quick way to waive off or confirm alarms. We accidentally triggered an alarm while testing SimpliSafe and as soon as we got the text, we flagged it as a false alarm by replying with our secret code. We didn’t have to wait for a call or speak with anyone, which was certainly convenient.
Lastly, Fast Protect offers video monitoring. Remember Smart Alarm’s live monitoring? That feature is exclusive to the camera, but the other SimpliSafe cameras get video verification. The monitoring center will get brief live video access during emergencies, but no two-way audio.
All in all, those features make SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect more than capable of monitoring houses of any size.
SimpliSafe Home Automation
So far, so good for SimpliSafe, but the one area that needs major improvement is home automation. Put bluntly, SimpliSafe lacks any useful home automation integrations. It doesn’t work with smart lights, smart locks, or smart thermostats, unlike ADT, Vivint, and Frontpoint.
The only integrations SimpliSafe offers are with Alexa and Google Assistant. Those might be enough for some, but not if you’re trying to build a home automation system built around your security system. Those integrations allow you to connect and control SimpliSafe using Alexa or Google Assistant’s smart speakers and displays. You can also add SimpliSafe to your Alexa Routines or Google Home automation.
Again, those integrations are not totally bad. They still enable SimpliSafe to “talk” with other smart home devices. Our gripe with those integrations is that they’re not direct. For example, SimpliSafe communicates with Alexa, and then Alexa communicates with other smart home devices. The problem with that is that they’re not reliable. We have an Alexa Routine that triggers SimpliSafe to arm when we lock our Yale smart lock, but it only works eight times out of 10. With a system like Vivint, the control panel interacts directly with connected smart devices so automations run more reliably.
FYI: Vivint’s home automation is far more advanced than SimpliSafe, but that’s just one of the many factors you should consider when comparing them. See how they stack up against each other in our Vivint and SimpliSafe comparison.
Instead of focusing on automating your home or trying to beat every other company’s monitoring, Frontpoint gives you quality products for a reasonable price and great customer service. It markets itself to people who prefer easy-to-use technology with plenty of smart-home features. If you value quality customer service and technology that simply works, Frontpoint delivers.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
High-quality GE equipment
Easy DIY installation
LTE cellular monitoring
Home automation
Geofencing feature
Cons:
Somewhat expensive monitoring
Limited service hours
Touch-screen panel sold separately
Outsourced monitoring service
Limited keypad functionality
Our Experience:
Frontpoint Equipment
Frontpoint equipment
Frontpoint’s equipment didn’t wow us. Its build quality is solid and most of its products’ specs meet industry standards, but it doesn’t have any stand-out equipment like Vivint’s doorbell camera or the patented motion detector in the Ring Alarm security system we tested. We also compared Frontpoint and Ring Alarm to find out which provider offers better security for your home.
I even have a couple of component gripes, like every video doorbell featuring only 720p resolution. The lack of clarity became a problem when we were testing the system. I do, however, appreciate that it works in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. It also has a 165-degree FoV. That’s better than the Google Nest video doorbell, but not as impressive as Vivint’s 180-degree FoV. The indoor and outdoor cameras also suffered from a narrow FoV, but they at least had 1080p resolution.
All the other components worked really well, with a solid build quality. The only real issue with Frontpoint’s equipment is the narrow FoVs on its indoor and outdoor cameras, as well as the low resolution on its video doorbell. Otherwise, we liked the system through and through.
Did You Know? A lot more than resolution goes into the quality of a camera. You can have two cameras that both shoot in 1080p resolution that look worlds apart in terms of quality. The image sensor, field of view, bit rate, and frames per second all impact the quality of a video. Read our guide on how to assess a security camera’s video quality for a full rundown.
Frontpoint Monitoring
Even though Frontpoint doesn’t excel in any of its equipment offerings, its monitoring pricing structure lets you build out a fully capable security system for a reasonable price. You can buy all the sensors and cameras you want and still pay only $49.99 per month for monitoring. That’s one of the reasons we like Frontpoint for homeowners instead of renters with smaller spaces. With ADT and Vivint, you need to be careful with how many cameras you add, because they raise your monthly monitoring costs.
In that $49.99-per-month monitoring cost, you also get:
Complete cellular connectivity
Additional warranty protections
Cloud storage for video clips
Access to the mobile app
Mobile alerts
Activity history
Frontpoint ends up being a lot more cost-effective than ADT or Vivint for homeowners who want a complete security system. Learn more about Frontpoint’s unique pricing structure in our guide to Frontpoint’s costs and pricing.
Frontpoint Home Automation
Frontpoint can integrate with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but the integrations are not very powerful or smooth. We needed to call support to get help integrating our system with Google Assistant. Turns out, we needed to download an Alarm.com action before connecting Frontpoint to Google Assistant for some reason. Even once we got them connected, we couldn’t automate any devices like we could with ADT and Vivint. The integrations gave us only voice control over our security system.
That isn’t an issue with DIY systems overall either. SimpliSafe integrates really well with both Google Home and Amazon Alexa while enabling automation through IFTTT.
Where Frontpoint impresses is with its cameras’ trip-wire alerts and its in-app “rules.” For instance, we set up a scenario in which our Frontpoint system automatically armed at 9 p.m. and locked the smart lock on our front door.
Product Specs:
Monitoring Options
Professional only
Installation
DIY
Smart Platform Integration
Alexa and Google Home
Equipment Cost
From $219.99
Monthly Monitoring Cost
$50
Contract Length
1-36 months
Can I Get a Discount on My Homeowners Insurance If I Buy a Security System?
One way you may be able to offset the cost of your home security system is through discounts from your homeowners insurance provider. Some providers offer discounts because a security system lowers the risk of you making an insurance claim.
How much you can save depends on your provider and your policy. We’ve seen discounts anywhere from 2 percent to 15 percent. Typically you’ll get a discount only for comprehensive coverage plans that include the possessions in your home. Providers also usually require an actively monitored security system to offer a discount.
How to Make the Most of Your Security System as a Homeowner
Getting a home security system is a great first step to securing your home, but there are a few best practices you can follow to make the most of your system.
Leverage smart-home automation: Integrating your smart-home devices and creating automated workflows makes it more likely that your security system will be armed every time it needs to be.
Use the mobile app: As soon as you get your system installed, download the mobile app and start getting used to it. Being able to keep tabs on your security system from anywhere unlocks its full power.
Create custom alerts: If you always rely on the preset alerts, you’ll get a lot of false alarms. Enough false alarms will cause you to start ignoring them. Customizing them makes sure every alert stays meaningful.
Regularly test your system: Components in your security system can break, so make it a monthly habit to test each part of your system. It may take a while the first time, but you should be able to test the whole system in under 15 minutes once you get used to it.
Will Installing a Security System Damage My Home?
A home is the most expensive thing most people will ever buy, so it makes sense to be concerned about the installation process damaging your home. We’ve all heard horror stories of a simple repair turning into a major problem because of a bad contractor. Unfortunately, that can happen with security system installations too.
Even though bad installers exist, the chances of it happening are next to none. A professional technician installs about three new systems every day. That’s about 750 systems per year. If technicians were damaging a significant amount of homes, it would be a massive story you’d definitely hear about. Most DIY systems now use the same type of adhesive strips as command strips, making it really easy to install yourself without any risk of damaging your home.
We do a lot more than research when we test systems. It may start with researching the top security systems to find which products we want to test, but then our process turns personal. We order each system to understand the full customer experience, from discovering the company to using the system in our day-to-day life.
Once we order a few of the best systems in a given category, we schedule our professional installation (if the provider offers it) and get ready to use the new system. That gives us a feel for how far in advance you need to schedule installation.
With our system installed, we start testing. First we go through every component and make sure it works. By simulating different package-theft and break-in scenarios, we test that all the motion sensors and entryway sensors work. We then check the camera quality, and we really start understanding the system as a whole. We keep using the system for as much as a few months until we feel that it’s fully integrated into our daily routine.
Bottom Line
When you own your home, everything becomes your responsibility. There isn’t a maintenance crew ready to fix anything that breaks or regularly scheduled replacements of fire alarm batteries. You also can’t rely on a landlord to provide a safe space for you to live.
A security system can help protect your home with alarms and smart-home integrations to help you stay on top of your home maintenance. It also may get you a discount on your homeowners insurance to offset the cost.
Which provider is right for you? After testing over 60 home security systems, we recommend ADT for reliability, Vivint for smart-home automation, or Frontpoint for DIY installation, customer service, and simplicity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Security Systems for Homeowners
ADT is easily the most popular home security system in America. With 150 years of experience, ADT is a household name. You’ve probably even seen the company’s blue-and-white yard signs in your neighborhood.
No, most modern security systems feature battery and cellular backup for the entire system. When the power goes out, the battery backup kicks in to power the system and the cellular backup connects your system to your provider’s monitoring center. The backup systems keep your security fully functional even during power outages without requiring a generator.
There are options for DIY home security systems. Frontpoint is one of the top options for homeowners. Unfortunately, ADT and Vivint require professional installation. Check out our list of the best DIY home security systems for more recommendations.
Frontpoint is a great budget option. Its systems are fully scalable, so you can get the basics initially and then build out your system over time as your budget allows. As you build your system, you keep the same monthly monitoring fee too. SimpliSafe is another great option for homeowners on a budget. SimpliSafe is our No. 1 pick overall, so read our SimpliSafe review to see why it ranks so high.
We really like ADT’s professional monitoring. It’s very reliable, with nine fully redundant monitoring centers. All of its monitoring is run in-house, which keeps it in control of the monitoring quality for a more consistent experience.
SafeHome.org only uses high-quality sources to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
As a home security expert and Managing Editor for SafeHome.org, Rob Gabriele has written and edited over 1,000 articles related to home security. His expertise is in smart home protection with thousands of hours of testing and research under his belt. Formerly a reporter and producer for the USAToday network, Rob has been a writer and editor for over 10 years. He holds a Master’s of Science with an emphasis on writing from the University of Montana, and he currently lives in Indianapolis, IN.
