How to Pick a Home Security System

Installing a home security system can seem daunting, which is why some consumers opt for professional installation. With that service, a trained technician will come to your home, install and set up the system, and walk you through how to use it. Depending on the system you buy, you may be charged a fee for installation. Otherwise, it may be included at a reduced price or for no additional charge as part of a required multiyear contract for monitoring.

If you’re up to the task, DIY installation can save you some money and let you avoid the hassle of waiting for technicians to come to your home. DIY systems also tend to be easier to customize and expand over time with additional sensors and accessories that you can purchase at retail.

Contracts typically last two to five years. While they lock you into a security provider and commit you to a recurring monthly fee for professional monitoring, they do have a few upsides.

“A three-year contract is a good way to guarantee that monthly fees won’t increase,” says Kirk MacDowell, president of the home security consulting firm MacGuard Security Advisors. He says that having a contract can help ensure that your system will be maintained and updated with the latest software.

If you sign a contract, you’ll also often get the system hardware at a heavily reduced price or, in some cases, for free. But that doesn’t mean you’ll save money in the long run. For example, a Frontpoint system with three years of monitoring can cost upward of $1,869 with a contract and discounted hardware or $1,467 when you buy the hardware at full price.

Bottom line: If you want lower up-front costs, go for a contract. If you want to save money in the long run, don’t sign a contract.

Companies like to advertise that their systems start at just $200, $300, or $400. But the reality is that you can easily spend over $1,000 once you buy all of the components you want.

That base price usually includes only a handful of contact and motion sensors. One contact sensor for a DIY system, for example, could cost anywhere from $15 to $50. Depending on the model you choose, a security camera could cost $35 to $200. 

Home security systems are made up of many individual sensors—battery-powered devices ranging in size from a pack of gum to a large box of matches—and other components, such as keypads and alarm sirens.

Below, we define the parts you’ll usually find in basic home security systems, arranged in order of their importance to the overall system. Security system kits usually include a base station, a keypad (or touchscreen control panel), contact sensors, motion sensors, and key fobs.

• Base station: This is the brain of the security system, wirelessly connecting to all the sensors and components, and serving as a bridge between the individual components and the internet. This device usually includes a built-in siren and features backup batteries and backup cellular connectivity for power and/or internet outages.
• Contact sensors: These attach to doors and windows to alert you (and the authorities, if you have professional monitoring) when they’re opened or closed.
• Motion sensors: Great for rooms with multiple doors or windows, these sensors detect the movement of people. Some are calibrated so that pets won’t set them off.
• Keypad: With some systems, you’ll use a 10-digit keypad to enter access codes that arm and disarm the alarm. Some systems combine the keypad and base station into one device.
• Touchscreen control panels: Similar to a small tablet, a touchscreen may take the place of a keypad. You can arm and disarm the system on the panel, enter access codes, and control other smart-home devices.
• Key fobs and tags: Similar to a key fob for a car, these have arm and disarm buttons, and some let you simply tap the fob on the system’s keypad or base station to arm or disarm it.
• Range extenders: Most base stations have a range of a few hundred feet. For larger homes, some systems use separate extenders to increase the wireless range of the base station so that it connects to more distant sensors. In other systems, the wireless components themselves can serve as signal repeaters that extend the base station’s range.

Most security systems also offer a variety of add-on sensors and components—at an additional cost—for other types of monitoring, such as those for personal safety, fire, and carbon monoxide. Here are the most common add-ons you’re likely to see as you shop.

• Security cameras: While not required, most systems work with security cameras and video doorbells that allow you to see what’s going on at all times. They usually record footage when an alarm is triggered.
• Environmental sensors and alarms: Most systems work with environmental sensors and alarms to monitor your home for fire, water leaks, extreme temperatures, and more. These devices include smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, sensors that listen for the sound of those alarms, and leak and freeze sensors.
• Sirens: Stand-alone sirens can be placed away from the base station. If you live in a larger house, you might consider installing multiple sirens.
• Glass-break sensors: These sensors can detect the sound of an intruder smashing a window to get inside.
• Garage-door-tilt sensors: Placed on the interior side of a garage door, these sensors can tell when the door is open or closed.
• Panic buttons and pendants: Physical panic buttons are a quick and easy way to alert a monitoring service that you need help. Panic pendants work the same way, except they can be worn by the user, making them useful for someone who’s at risk of falling.

Over the last eight years, the market for DIY home security systems has seen a wave of new entrants, including ADT, Arlo, Cove, Ecobee, Eufy, Kangaroo, Ring, Roku, and Wyze. There were even three DIY offerings that came and went—systems made by Google Nest, Honeywell Home, and Samsung SmartThings.

The ones that have survived have one thing in common: They all compete heavily on price. Arlo, Eufy, and Ring have starter kits that cost $200 or less. Kangaroo, Roku, and Wyze have kits that cost $100 or less.

Many of those companies also offer very competitive professional monitoring plans. For example, Eufy, Kangaroo, and Roku charge $100 per year for professional monitoring.

Ring and Wyze are bucking the trend, at least when it comes to paying for professional monitoring. Ring used to charge $100 per year for monitoring, but it has raised its prices over the last four years while adding features—such as backup home internet service—for its Ring Alarm Pro system. (Notably, the system was also one of the first on the market to double as a mesh WiFi router.) Wyze used to charge $5 per month or $60 per year, but it raised its prices to $10 per month or $100 per year back in 2022. Fortunately, those moves haven’t spurred competitors to increase their prices.

In addition to more options and generally lower prices, we’re also seeing tighter integration with other smart-home products. For example, ADT is offering a new feature for its ADT Plus system called Trusted Neighbor. It uses the facial recognition capabilities of Google Nest cameras and doorbells to recognize people that you trust, say, a friend or a dog walker, and let them into your home by unlocking a door and disarming the alarm system.

More integrations similar to ADT’s Trusted Neighbor are likely to be possible as the smart-home industry continues to adopt a communications standard called Matter. Through that standard, smart-home devices from different manufacturers can talk to each other without the need for partnership agreements between companies.

The standard already has support from hundreds of companies, including ADT, Amazon, Apple, Arlo, Google, Resideo (maker of Honeywell Home), Samsung, SimpliSafe, Vivint, and Wyze. Matter-certified products are available for purchase, but no security systems work with the standard yet.

What Do You Want to Monitor?
While all home security systems guard against burglary, consider whether you want additional forms of protection. You can set up a security system—using some of the sensors defined above—to alert you to fires, high levels of carbon monoxide, leaks and floods, and extreme temperatures. Some systems offer panic pendants you can wear and activate in the event of personal injury. Keep in mind that if you pay for professional monitoring, some providers might charge higher monthly rates for those additional features.

Smart-Home Integrations
Many home security systems now double as smart-home hubs, allowing you to automate and control connected locks, lights, thermostats, and more from a single app on your smartphone.

And if you have other smart devices, the integrations can add convenience. For example, some systems can automatically arm and disarm your alarm system when you lock and unlock a smart lock. Others can automate your home’s lighting to make it look like you’re home when you’re not.

Alarm Permits
Some municipalities require that anyone running their own security system with professional monitoring obtain a permit so that authorities have a record of all alarm systems in their jurisdictions.

Check with your police department to see whether it requires alarm permits and whether there’s an associated fee. (Some fees are charged at the time you obtain the permit and some are charged annually.) Yonkers, N.Y., where Consumer Reports is based, requires permits but doesn’t charge residents a fee. Dallas, on the other hand, requires its residents to pay an annual fee of $50 for alarm permits.

Best Time to Buy a Security System
If you want a deal on a new security system, especially a DIY one, the best time of year to buy is the holiday shopping season. That’s when we usually see the steepest discounts. Your next best bet to score a deal is around Amazon Prime Day during the summer or fall.

We used to test security systems in our labs, but we recently changed our approach to now use a survey of thousands of CR members who own security systems instead. That allows us to evaluate elements of the systems that we couldn’t test in our labs, such as tech support, pricing transparency, and professional monitoring services. As a result of that change, we no longer have ratings for some home security brands due to an insufficient sample size. Those brands include Abode, Cove, Ecobee, Kangaroo, and Roku.

Our first survey collected data from over 11,000 CR members. They helped us evaluate security systems for 12 key attributes: alarm/sensor reliability, value for price paid, security camera satisfaction, helpfulness of alerts, tech support, quality of wireless connections, smartphone app functionality, pricing transparency, ease of setup, ease of use, the ability to expand the system, and, for those with professional monitoring, their satisfaction with that service.

CR members answered questions about those attributes on a scale from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied. (They could also say when an attribute didn’t apply, such as for those whose security systems didn’t include a camera or an app.) Our survey team then took the results and turned them into an Overall Satisfaction Score for every brand used by at least 100 members in our ratings.

For more information on our survey process and standards, see our Research & Testing page.