Ring, SimpliSafe or a Professionally Installed System? How to Choose Home Security

DIY kits from Ring, SimpliSafe and Google Nest have made home security easier to start than ever. You can order a starter kit online, stick sensors on a few doors and be up and running in an afternoon. So why do homeowners still pay for a professionally installed system?

The honest answer: for some homes, a DIY kit is the right call. For others it leaves gaps that only show up when something goes wrong. Here is how to tell which camp you are in.

What DIY kits do well

• Low cost to start. A starter kit with a base station, a few sensors and a camera costs a few hundred dollars, and you can add pieces over time.
• Quick setup. Most devices are battery powered and pair with an app, so there is no wiring.
• Renter friendly. Nothing is drilled or hard-wired, so the system can move with you.
• Optional monitoring. Most brands sell professional monitoring as an add-on, so you can choose self-monitoring through the app or pay monthly.

If you have a smaller home, a handful of entry points and you are comfortable maintaining the system yourself, a DIY kit can be a sensible choice.

Where a professional installation earns its cost

• Design for the whole property. A professional looks at every entry point, sightline and blind spot before choosing equipment, instead of starting from what came in the box.
• Wired cameras and reliable power. Hard-wired, PoE cameras do not depend on batteries or a strong Wi-Fi signal at the edge of your property, and they record continuously to local storage.
• One system instead of several apps. A professionally installed system can tie cameras, alarm, door locks, gates and lighting together, so arming the house can also lock the doors and turn on the exterior lights.
• Someone accountable when it fails. With a DIY kit, troubleshooting is your job. With a professional system, a local team installed it, knows it and supports it.
• Monitoring that matches the risk. Professionally monitored systems can add video verification, so a real person sees what tripped a sensor before police are dispatched.

What each option costs

DIY kits typically run a few hundred dollars up front, plus an optional monitoring subscription.

A professionally installed residential system from Livewire typically runs $2,000 to $10,000 or more installed, before monitoring. What moves the number:

• how many doors, windows and cameras the system covers;
• whether cameras are wired or wireless;
• access control, gates or smart locks;
• how much video you want to keep, and for how long.

Livewire's professional monitoring plans start at $39.99 a month. See the plans and add-ons on our home security page.

Questions to ask before you decide

1. How many entry points and outdoor areas do I need to cover? A townhouse and a five-acre property are different problems.
2. What happens when the Wi-Fi goes down or a battery dies? If the answer is "the camera stops recording," decide whether you can live with that.
3. Do I want security to work with the rest of my home? Locks, lights, shades and gates can all respond to the alarm, but only if they are part of one system.
4. Who do I call when something stops working? Be realistic about how much time you want to spend troubleshooting.

The bottom line

Choose a DIY kit if your home is small, your needs are simple and you are happy to maintain it yourself. Choose a professionally installed system if you want the whole property covered, cameras that do not depend on batteries, one system that ties into the rest of your home, and a local team responsible for keeping it working.

Still deciding? Read our earlier take on professional versus DIY installation, or book a consultation and we will walk your property with you.