Every Major Smart Home Security Company Ranked Worst To Best

Your first question when shopping for a smart home security system should be "what's the difference between a smart security system and a "dumb" one?" The answer to this question varies from brand to brand. For some, "smart" just means that you can watch the cameras' video feed on your phone. Meanwhile, other brands take the interoperability of their devices very seriously. But why would you ever need your security system to talk to your smart home? Say you've just installed some outdoor cameras. They will send an alert on your phone if they detect anyone getting too close to the front door or windows. Then, if you wish, you can sound the siren and call the police.

Isn't that what a smart security system is supposed to do? Sure, but that's not everything it can do. A smart camera can instead send a signal to the light switches, which will turn on the entrance lights for five minutes whenever someone gets too close to the front door, but not close enough to trigger the alarm. This adds an extra layer of deterrence that makes the whole system much more efficient. Does this always happen? No, and some brands of smart home safety make it harder to accomplish even simple automations like locking the house at night. That's why choosing a smart home security company is so important. Here are the top, ranked worst to best.

SimpliSafe brands itself as a security system you can install yourself, saving you money in the process. It can also be used independently from its home security subscription, a possibility which most competitors do not offer. That's only really useful if you're fine self-guarding your home with smartphone notifications and security camera streaming, which pretty much any security system provider agrees is inefficient. Plus, you won't have access to the recordings of your cameras. Camera recording alone costs $9.99 a month, while to put some watchful eyes (and AIs) on your home once the alarm is triggered, you'll have to part with $21.99 for the Standard plan. As you might imagine, costs only keep growing from here.

The Standard plan still doesn't include scheduling for turning the alarm on and off or setting up inconspicuous alerts that don't sound the siren. It doesn't even let you connect the system with the soon-to-be-improved Alexa and Google Assistant, the only virtual assistants supported. It's not much of a smart system without connectivity, so you get the Core plan for $31.99. And while you're at it, why not spend an additional $10 a month to actually put some eyes on your cameras after an intruder is detected but before the alarm is triggered. Sounds good, right? Oh, you'll also have to buy the $200 SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera Series 2, as well as one or two other cameras if you want to get the most out of this expensive service. Of course, you don't need all this, but knowing when to stop isn't as simple as SimpliSafe's branding implies.

ADT was a major home security brand decades before introducing smart interconnected systems. If its biggest strength is the name, the second is compatibility. The company's partnership with Google Nest makes those the most reliable devices to interface with ADT security, but it doesn't end there. Amazon Alexa products, as well as Apple TV and Watch (but not Apple Home), and a variety of smart locks and light bulbs are also compatible with ADT. However, the list of what this security system doesn't support is even longer. Especially damning is the discontinued collaboration with SmartThings. Far from simply removing compatibility with Samsung smart home devices, a lack of support for this parallel system based on purpose-built hardware left many users with a bricked security system.

For many, this would be reason enough to not trust ADT. Their main partner Google's unenviable position in the world of smart home security would be another. And yet, ADT may be a great choice for some users. If you already have a Google Nest and a Nest camera, or a third-party camera compatible with Nest, building a complete security system will be quite cheap. To save even more money, you can opt to install the whole thing yourself and take advantage of ADT's bundles of service plans and Google Nest hardware. That said, those plans are quite expensive and the cheapest ones don't include basic smart security functions like home automation and cloud video recording. Worse, most contracts can't be opted out of before their limits of 36 to 60 months, depending on the contract.

Vivint isn't the system to pick if you want to save money. Rather, it's the kind of security system to not put pricing on its website. Thankfully, you don't need to get on the phone to find an estimate of what you might have to pay to cover your house. Users and professional reviewers alike report monthly fees as high as $70, and that might not even include all the hardware you need. According to a number of former users, Vivint is also the kind of company to not always make the terms and conditions of its contract clear. Vivint allows users to buy their equipment via monthly payments with no interest rates that can last as long as five years and include the price of the subscription fee.

The problem with this formula is that the whole expense, the cost of the hardware as well as the five years of subscription, can't be opted out. This doesn't seem to be an issue for many users, but you should be aware of it if you're considering Vivint. This is far from the only puzzling upsell of this security company. While some of Vivint's devices promises some advantage over the competition, like the $400 Outdoor Camera Pro with active theft deterrence, others are just overpriced. Vivint's door/window sensor is $35 and its Environmental Sensor (for smoke, fire, CO2) is between $50 and $100. Arlo's all-in-one eight function sensor, for reference, is $30 and can do everything Vivint's sensors do.

Cove is one of the cheapest security system you can get. It's often running sales with products between 30% and 70% off, but the equipment doesn't need a discount to be affordable. The entire system can also be installed DIY, saving even more money. While the Cove Hub and Touch screen panel combined are quite expensive, a total of $300, most other devices easily beat the competition while being of comparable quality. Door and window sensors are $15, cameras can be as cheap as $50, and the monitoring, while explicitly required, is a middle-of-the-road $19.99 with no required long-term contract. Cove also offers some affordable security cameras and video doorbells, available at $50 and $100 respectively.

Things aren't as rosy if you want a more complex system, though. Alexa and Google Home integration, as well as camera support, are locked behind the more expensive $29.99 monthly tier. Though this fee includes "lifetime" hardware warranty (meaning you'll receive support until you unsubscribe), it doesn't include improved compatibility with home automation systems. Overall, Cove is a great deal if you're looking for a simple security system, but you might want to look elsewhere for more complex solutions.

Arlo makes a lot of home automation devices like active deterrence cameras and battery powered video doorbells, which gives it a leg up when it comes to smart home security. That experience might be the reason Arlo supports so many different integrations, including Google Home, Alexa, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, and IFTTT. It also works with Home Assistant, though it is dependent on a community-made integration, and it's supposed to eventually support Matter as well, the much needed open-source smart home protocol. Matter support is especially important because it theoretically allows to continue using all your expensive devices in case Arlo decides to retire from the home security business.

Arlo's integrations put the smart in smart home security, but this extensive interoperability doesn't come cheap. The more affordable package from Arlo includes the essential hub and two All-in-One sensors at the non-insignificant price of $199.99. The sensors have multiple functions like motion sensitivity, smoke alarm, and CO2 detection, but they're a bit expensive for something you need to install on every large window and exterior door in your house. A cheaper sensor with entry detection would have been welcome. Arlo also offers a multi-tier subscription model which is required if you want to access the recordings on newer Arlo cameras. The easiest and cheapest way to get a subscription is in a bundled with some equipment, which makes it hard to buy just the thing you need. The Essential Video bundle, for example, includes three years of mid-tier subscription and two cameras, but no hub nor sensors, which will set you back an additional $300 dollars.

Even though it's most known for the front door security video doorbell, Ring is a big name in the world of smart home security. For those who already own the Ring doorbell, it makes sense to complete the package with the company's alarm system. The sensors come at an affordable $19 each, but might require the contact sensor riser for an additional $9, while the essential Base Station is $119. Indoor cameras start at $60, while a fancy 2K, low light outdoors camera is about $100. All in all, some of the most affordable devices in the smart home security business.

At $10 a month, Ring's standard plan is also quite cheap, even if it doesn't include the quite standard Live View feature. The ability to watch the video feed of your cameras is limited to 30 minutes at a time unless you pay for premium. But not even this $19.99 plan comes packaged with the two major features that can turn this assortment of webcams and sensors into a security system. Alarm Professional Monitoring, which empowers Ring to contact police and emergency services when the alarm is triggered, comes at an additional $10 a month. Alternatively, you could spend an eyewatering $99 a month and have a group of professionals to keep an eye on your front door 24/7 with Virtual Security Guard.

The polar opposite of its near homonym Adobe, Abode is possibly the smallest of the eight biggest brands in the business of smart home security. Still, it's not hard to see how Abode found its loyal userbase. Where most brands limit their compatibility to one or two smart home ecosystems, Abode is compatible with a variety of devices from many different manufacturers, including Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Nest and Hey Google, Home Assistant, and a lot more. You don't even need a subscription to the monthly security plan to add Abode products to your interconnected smart home. The Standard plan is quite cheap, too, coming at just $69.99 a year. This plan's only drawback is that it doesn't include automatic emergency monitoring, meaning that you'll have to figure out by yourself whether an alarm notification requires immediate intervention.

If there's anything that fails to impress about Abode's offering, it's the security systems themselves. Take the $379 all-in-one Iota bundle, which is not very all-in-one. With just a hub, a single door/window sensor, and a keyfob, you'll need to do a lot of extra shopping to get a full security system. To be fair, this bundle is often discounted and the price can be lowered even more by getting a yearly plan along with the security. Meanwhile, the hub is more than a simple hub, doubling as a security camera, a motion sensor, and a siren. Other items you might want to add to this bundle include a video doorbell for $100 and a few door/window sensors at $30 each. The price adds up quickly, but keep in mind that Abode gear often goes on sale for as much as 50%.

We selected those smart security system based on the price of both hardware and surveillance services, user experience with the equipment, software, and customer service, and the systems' compatibility with the most popular smart home hubs. Other factors that contributed to our ranking included the ability to install the system without paying extra and the clarity of pricing options.