I’m a senior staff writer covering the smart home for Wirecutter. I have been writing about technology for more than 20 years, and I’ve written guides on outdoor security cameras, smart speakers, and smart bird feeders.

For this guide:

• I’ve tested more than 650 different smart-home products over the past seven years alone.
• We interviewed peers, home-security consultants, police departments, and insurance agents. We also sent security companies detailed questionnaires about their products and services.
• In accordance with Wirecutter standards, our staffers return or donate all products we’ve tested once assessment of them is complete (this may involve longer-term testing conducted by me and my colleagues). We never hang onto “freebies” once testing is done.

A security system with professional monitoring is the best way to find peace of mind about the safety of your family and the security of your belongings—you know that there’s always someone watching over your home, should the need arise. “An alarm system might sit there for 10 years and do absolutely nothing,” said Bob Dolph, a home security consultant who has spent decades in the business. “You only need it to work that one time.”

Although a home security system can’t stop a determined burglar from breaking into your house, it can discourage someone from breaking in if they know you have it, frighten someone away if they do get in, and summon help in case of an emergency. Security systems are effective enough that insurance companies typically offer a discount—as much as 10%—on home insurance premiums if you pay for professional monitoring.

Security systems aren’t just about crime prevention. Most allow you to customize them with extra sensors that can protect you and your household in the event of fires, floods, and frozen pipes.

Home security systems can also play a part in helping to watch over loved ones who need extra care. For instance, indoor cameras and motion and door/window contact sensors can alert you to how active a parent or grandparent is, as well as if they’ve accidentally left a door or window open. Also, many of these systems can integrate with other smart-home devices so you can use a smart speaker to arm or disarm the system with the sound of your voice, or trigger cameras and lights to turn on based on alerts or your location.

You can find two general types of security systems: professionally monitored and unmonitored. With a professionally monitored system, when an alarm goes off at your home, a support representative at the monitoring company receives a notification and then attempts to contact you (and, if need be, your local emergency services). An unmonitored, aka self-monitored, system leaves all the work up to you. That means you need to be on call, day and night, during work and vacation time, with a smartphone at hand in case a sensor is tripped and your alarm goes off, and then you have to be ready to determine whether police, the fire department, or other emergency services need to be dispatched. And you must make that call yourself. It’s a big difference, and it’s why we think a professionally monitored system is fundamentally more secure.

For this guide, we look only at DIY security systems that offer professional monitoring options—the key feature that sets a security system apart from a local alert system. We also insist on no-contract systems, because they cost less in the long run and allow you to be in total control of the equipment and monitoring services you use.

We don’t consider professionally installed systems, which usually cost substantially more, typically come with long and often onerous contracts, and rely on the same equipment and monitoring companies as self-installed systems. A good example is the Vivint Smart Home Security system, which we’ve reviewed and don’t recommend for most people.

After years of researching and reviewing security systems, we’ve also restricted our picks to systems that include the following:

• A useful package of sensors and accessories: A home security starter package should come with door/window contact sensors and motion sensors. The size of your home dictates which devices you need and how many of each. We also look at the add-ons offered, including cameras, smoke alarms, and water-leak sensors.
• An audible alarm: Signs and stickers could make a burglar think twice, but a piercing alarm should send them scurrying.
• Battery and cellular backup: You shouldn’t have to let your guard down when the power or Wi-Fi goes out. Most systems have battery and cellular backups, but the latter usually requires a subscription plan.
• Keypad: A smartphone app is a must for use when you’re away from home, but you shouldn’t have to fumble with your phone as you come and go. A keypad can sit by the front door, making it easy to arm and disarm the system.
• Fire prevention: Preventing break-ins is only one part of a security setup; most systems also offer protection against fire and carbon monoxide, although those devices cost extra.
• UL approval: We ask manufacturers if each system meets UL standards. For instance, the UL CP-01 listing (PDF) means that a control panel has features to reduce false alarms—that’s a good thing, since false alarms can cost you money. But since there’s no federal requirement to meet those standards, we don’t rule out systems on this basis.

To test each system, we spend weeks triggering motion and contact sensors, soaking water-leak detectors, setting off sirens, and cutting power to test battery backups. We also look at cameras, keypads, and iOS/Android apps, when available.

Keep in mind that the monitoring company’s reaction time has absolutely nothing to do with the speed at which your local authorities respond to the alarm—if they respond at all. Many municipalities have rules designed to limit the time and resources that police and fire departments waste on false alarms; you may even be fined if you have too many. For instance, Salt Lake City requires confirmation of an emergency from a responding private security guard before police are dispatched. Several cities, such as Los Angeles, also require a permit for you to even own and operate a home security system.

As part of our vetting process for home security systems, we look at the security and data-privacy practices behind our picks. This process includes long-term testing and tracking of app, firmware, and policy updates, as well as hardware and security incidents. Should any privacy or security issues be found with any of our selected products, we’ll report it here and, if necessary, update or alter our recommendations.

During our testing, we read the manufacturer’s privacy policies for our picks, specifically looking for sections that stray from what we consider to be standard in the category. For instance, most security companies say that in certain circumstances, they will cooperate with police and may turn over camera footage with your permission or by court order. Also, some companies offer “visual verification,” which allows the monitoring center to view cameras in case of an active alarm.

Most security companies say that they share data with third parties; however, “third parties” typically refers only to the partner monitoring companies that support the security systems, and the “data” collected merely concerns which type of alarms or alerts are triggered (and when), as well as the address where emergency services would be sent. Ring says that it will share customer data with third-party and app analytics services, but customers can opt out of that. SimpliSafe told us that it also shares information with app developers at Google Firebase and the analytics company Heap to keep tabs on the user’s app experience and make improvements.

If you opt to use security cameras, consider only those models made by companies that provide robust cybersecurity and privacy protections. Our top pick and our runner-up pick include two-factor authentication, which does a good job of ensuring that access to your camera and video recordings is restricted. The Abode Smart Security Kit is the only one of our picks that currently makes 2FA an option—Ring and SimpliSafe require it.

One especially daunting topic is how companies encrypt video, a process that keeps outside entities and companies from accessing your data and video recordings. All three companies that produce our picks encrypt video in transit and at rest, which means when it’s moving (such as from your device to the cloud) as well as when it’s not moving (like when it’s stored on a hard drive). Ring is the only one of our picks that offers encryption from end to end (as an opt-in feature). That means your videos can’t be accessed by anyone, including Ring, even if the footage is requested by law enforcement via a subpoena or court order.

Top pick

Ring Alarm Pro

The best DIY security system

This system works with almost every type of security accessory, offers options for internet and power backup, and has a built-in Wi-Fi 6 router.

Buying Options

$300 from Amazon

$300 from Home Depot

$300 from Best Buy

Ring Alarm (2nd Generation)

If you don’t need the Eero router

The original Ring system is easy to use and inexpensive to set up, and it has more camera add-ons than any of our other picks.

Buying Options

$300 $198 from Amazon (14-piece kit)

You save $102 (34%)

$300 $198 from Ring (14-piece kit)

You save $102 (34%)

$200 $120 from Amazon

(five-piece kit)

$200 $120 from Home Depot

(five-piece kit)

$200 $120 from Best Buy

(five-piece kit)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Works with Ring

The Ring Alarm Pro system is the most comprehensive DIY home security system we’ve tested. It’s easy to set up and use, it allows you to customize it with a large selection of compatible add-ons, and it features an affordable monitoring plan, starting at $20 per month or $200 per year (see below for more details). The Ring Alarm Pro system can’t integrate with as many third-party smart-home devices as our other picks can, but it does have a built-in Eero Wi-Fi 6 router (more on that below), which can replace your existing router or create a mesh network to improve your Wi-Fi’s speed (see our guide to the best mesh-networking kits for more info). The Eero router also provides backup internet access via a cellular connection (as part of a Ring Home Premium plan), should you have a power or internet outage.

However, if you already have a mesh Wi-Fi network, don’t want one, or don’t need backup internet, opt for the original Ring Alarm system instead; it performs almost exactly the same way but costs about $50 to $100 less, depending on your starter package.

They’re always on call. Ring is the only one of our picks to offer both 24/7 monitoring and 24/7 customer service, which is available over the phone. In contrast, SimpliSafe customer service is available only from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, while Abode has live phone support from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

It works really well. Measuring a deafening 113 dB on our sound meter, the Ring Alarm system has the loudest siren of any system we tested. The Ring Alarm Pro came close, tying with the Abode system for second at 104 dB. Both Ring systems sent us smartphone alerts within 4 seconds of the alarm being triggered, with email alerts as an option, as well. You can configure the siren on the base station to go off from 0 to 180 seconds after a triggering event. If you dismiss an alarm within 30 seconds, the monitoring service will not call you. Ring also has a “customizable police response” option, which means you have to okay a police response versus the monitoring company just sending them.

The monitoring plan is optional but essential. Ring allows you to self-monitor and not sign up for a subscription. But going that route means that when your alarm is triggered, you’ll only get smartphone alerts—you won’t be able to arm or disarm the system at all using the app. Professional monitoring is available as a $10 monthly add-on to the subscription plans (which also start $10 per month). It’s still a bargain compared with our other picks, with both plans including cellular backup and 180 days of video storage for cameras. The top-tier plan, Ring Home Premium ($20 per month), adds in 24/7 video recording for select wired cameras, 24/7 internet backup, Ring Edge, and Eero Secure.

It can get super-fast Wi-Fi. The Ring Alarm Pro has a built-in Eero Wi-Fi 6 router. That means the base station can both serve as the brains of your security system and replace your current Wi-Fi router, depending on your service. If your home is particularly large or has struggled with Wi-Fi coverage in the past, you can also set up the Eero router as a mesh Wi-Fi network, which can extend and improve your Wi-Fi’s range and performance with extra Eero 6 Extenders. Eero claims that its network covers 1,500 square feet and can support up to 75 connected devices at a time. Although we didn’t test that many devices, we did put an extender by the front door to ensure a strong connection with outdoor cameras. When connected to our home internet, the Eero router actually gave us speeds a little better than promised, up to 900 Mbps.

There’s a backup plan for the backup plan. The base station has a built-in battery that provides 24 hours of backup power (confirmed by our testing), which is comparable to that of SimpliSafe’s system. However, with Ring Alarm Pro, you can also add up to three backup power packs for an additional 24 hours of power, depending on usage. The Ring Home Premium plan also includes 24/7 internet backup, which is powered by AT&T, in case your Wi-Fi goes down. Speeds on this backup connection are noticeably slower than normal, though we were able to live-view security cameras and even stream Netflix while connected to the Eero router. The backup connection includes 3 GB of data, which you’ll eat through quickly if you’re viewing cameras, watching movies, and doing anything else you normally do on the web—it’s really designed for short-term emergency situations. (Should you need, you can purchase additional data for a reasonable $3 per gigabyte.)

You have a lot of hardware options. Ring’s system doesn’t integrate with a lot of third-party smart-home systems and devices, but Ring does offer a lot of compatible accessories, including a smoke/CO listener, the First Alert Z-Wave Plus Smoke/CO Alarm (2nd generation), a water-leak sensor, a glass-break sensor, and even a sensor for when you want to monitor doors or windows that are cracked open a little. It also has more indoor, outdoor, and doorbell camera options than any other system we’ve tested. The Ring Alarm Pro base station also incorporates the features of the Ring Smart Lighting Bridge, a tiny box that can wirelessly connect Ring lights to your home network.

Ring also offers service add-ons. If you’re looking to beef up your security, Ring has two opt-in services (which we have not tested). Alarm Guard Response is a service that will send out an eyewitness to verify an event before sending emergency services. It’s available only in areas where your town or municipality requires verification, and it costs $75 per response. The other service, Ring Virtual Security Guard, costs a steep $99 per month but is like having your own personal security team to monitor your camera activity for suspicious activity and intervene as necessary.

Ring has improved its privacy policies. No company we cover has encountered more controversy for its products and service than Ring. There have been reports of hacking and even incidents citing Ring’s own employees spying on customers. Ring has worked on cleaning up its practices by adding mandatory two-factor authentication and settings that allow customers to opt out of law enforcement requests and the ability to view and manage all services and users linked to your Ring account from the app (under Device Settings). Ring is also the only one of our picks to offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for cameras, which means no one can access your video content except you, even in the case of a subpoena from law enforcement, though complying is a pretty common practice with most video cameras.

How the Ring Alarm has held up

Editor Jon Chase has been a Ring customer since May 2020, and he says that he has never had an issue with false alarms—except in instances where he forgot to disarm the system. “One weekend, I tripped it and then turned it off using the app, but I instantly received an automated call asking me to acknowledge that I had turned off the alarm. It works great, and I haven’t had the fear of false alarms and the cops showing up, as I’ve had in the past.”

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You may need a subscription plan. Ring allows all system owners to receive smartphone notifications, but you will need a Ring Home plan to use the Ring app to arm and disarm the system. And professional monitoring is now a $10 add-on to the Ring Home Standard and Ring Home Premium plans, which are from $10 to $20 per month.

You may need an extra app. One of the bonus features of the Ring Alarm Pro system is its built-in Eero Wi-Fi 6 router. That said, to set up and manage the Eero router’s features, you need to download the Eero app. So this one product uses two apps—plus the Alexa app, if you plan to add a smart speaker to your system. However, once you set up the router, you probably won’t consult the Eero app much.

It doesn’t always play nice with others. Ring doesn’t offer as much integration with third-party smart-home devices, since it supports only Alexa and everything under the Works with Ring umbrella. If you want more integration and the ability to arm, disarm, and check the status of your security system by voice, we recommend the Abode Smart Security Kit.

Runner-up

SimpliSafe

Easy, reliable monitoring

This kit is affordable and easy to install and use, and it works reliably. The optional monitoring plan is only a few dollars more than the one for our top pick, but doesn’t provide video storage.

Buying Options

$250 $125 from Best Buy

(8-piece kit)

$224 from SimpliSafe
(with Fast Protect Monitoring plan)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, August Smart Locks

SimpliSafe is a close second to Ring, offering consistent response times and a straightforward installation at an affordable price. Its system doesn’t have as many optional accessories as our top pick does, but SimpliSafe sells its own doorbell, indoor and outdoor cameras, and smart lock, all of which work very well—just not as well as the options from Ring. It’s also the only one of our picks to offer free self-monitoring that sends smartphone alerts whenever a device is triggered and allows you to arm, disarm, and check the system status via the app. (We recommend professional monitoring, but we still appreciate the option for people who are on a budget or want monitoring only during certain months.)

You get several monitoring options. For $22 per month, you can add around-the-clock professional monitoring and a cellular connection with the Standard Monitoring plan, which enables the hub to communicate with the monitoring service without requiring a landline connection. The $32-per-month Core plan (previously known as Fast Protect) adds 30 days of video storage for up to 10 cameras and Video Verification, an opt-in feature that permits the monitoring service to view live video inside your home to confirm whether there’s an actual emergency before they call in the cavalry—a system intended to reduce false alerts (and, as noted above, a requirement in some communities). The company even offers a $10 self-monitoring plan, which includes 30 days of video storage for up to 10 cameras.

You can choose your response. In every one of our tests, the RapidSOS monitoring service called exactly 44 seconds after the SimpliSafe alarm sounded. The service was always polite, and for security it requires a safeword to restore the peace. The company also has an option for Fast Protect alarm texts, which send you a text message when the alarm triggers, a handy option for canceling any false alarms with a text reply before you actually have to talk to someone. Fast Protect also includes Critical Alarm Notifications, an opt-in service that bypasses Do Not Disturb settings or muted smartphones in case of an emergency. We are currently testing this feature and will update this guide with our results.

The extras work well. SimpliSafe has a variety of add-ons, including a wireless 1080p outdoor camera, an indoor 1080p camera, and a smart video doorbell; none are on a par with our picks in those respective categories, but they work well with the system and allow for the Video Verification feature. SimpliSafe also offers a door lock, which you can lock and unlock via the app or the included PIN pad that attaches to the outside of your door; it works well and has just been updated, so you can now set it up through the app. The Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Security Camera also has a feature called Intruder Intervention, which allows the monitoring service to live-stream and communicate with intruders inside the home in real time. This feature is available only with the Core plan; you also need to opt in to it, as well as Video Verification, through the SimpliSafe app. (The company plans to expand this service to the outdoors soon.)

Voice prompts aid setup. Unlike the base stations from Ring and Abode, SimpliSafe’s base station provides voice prompts during setup, as well as when the system is arming and disarming. This is a great addition, especially since the impending alarm can cause a little panic sometimes, particularly when you are trying to rush out of the house.

Some smart-home features are limited. SimpliSafe’s system also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to arm and check the system using only voice commands. Unlike our other two picks, it doesn’t allow you to disarm the system using the sound of your voice. It also doesn’t work with many third-party smart-home devices, such as Ring cameras and doorbells.

How SimpliSafe has held up

Supervising editor Daniela Gorny has been a SimpliSafe customer since 2021, and she says that she appreciates being able to adjust the sensors’ sensitivity. “The first time we went out of town, we had a false alarm, but I think it’s because our doors can jiggle a bit with the wind and make it seem like they’re open. The lights going on and off in our living room have also sometimes triggered the motion sensor.”

Best for

Abode Smart Security Kit

Best security system for smart-home enthusiasts

Abode offers more smart-home integration than any other security system we tested, which allows you to tie it into smart-home devices from different manufacturers.

Buying Options

$200 $130 from Abode

You save $70 (35%)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, IFTTT, Z-Wave, Zigbee

If you already use a bunch of smart-home devices and want a security system that can integrate with many of them, you might prefer the UL-certified Abode Smart Security Kit. It is compatible with sensors and accessories that communicate wirelessly using Z-Wave, Zigbee, and AbodeRF (radio frequency), as well as many popular third-party platforms. However, the Abode kit isn’t as pretty as either of our other picks, the add-on cameras don’t work quite as well, and it costs more for most accessory devices.

Abode plays well with others. Abode supports every major smart-home platform, so you can incorporate more smart-home devices into your system than with any of our other picks. That support includes Google Nest cameras, Philips Hue bulbs, Ecobee thermostats, and Schlage door locks, among others.

Placement isn’t easy—or pretty. Unlike our other two picks, the Abode hub needs to be connected to your network router with an Ethernet cable. (The Abode Iota uses Wi-Fi, but we don’t recommend that system.) We found the Abode Gateway hub to be less attractive and a little bulky compared with our other picks, about the same size as a standard router. In addition to network and cellular connections (with a paid Pro Plan subscription), the base station has a backup battery that’s good for five hours, which is 19 hours less than the backup power on the Ring and SimpliSafe base stations.

It costs a bit more. The Abode starter kit comes with fewer devices than our other picks. For $180 to $280, you get the Gateway and just one door/window sensor, one motion sensor, and a key fob. At $300, only the Ring Alarm Pro kit is more expensive, but in addition to the base station with the built-in Eero router, that kit includes a keypad, four window/door sensors, one motion detector, and a plug-in range extender.

You’ll need a subscription plan. Abode offers two subscription plans. For $7 per month or $70 per year, the Standard plan adds 10 days of events and video storage as well as CUE automations—which, similar to IFTTT, allow you to create multi-step conditional triggers and Routines in the Abode app that can factor in details such as the weather, the time, and the phone locations of family members. The $24 Pro option adds 24/7 pro monitoring and cellular backup. Without a subscription, you can access the Abode app to arm or disarm the system and live-view cameras, but you don’t get smartphone alerts or recordings.

Abode-branded devices don’t work as well as others. We’ve tested a few of the Abode cameras, the Abode Wireless Video Doorbell, and the Abode Lock, and we don’t think any of them work as well as the cameras and locks associated with our other picks (or any of our standalone picks). For instance, we found that the Abode Cam 2 worked best when used with 24/7 video recording, an optional, $10-per-month add-on to Abode’s subscription plans. Otherwise, the camera is limited to capturing up to 30 seconds of video, and it leaves huge gaps between clips. We also tested the Abode Water Leak Sensor, which worked well but is the only such sensor among our picks that doesn’t also summon a monitoring service when it sends a smartphone alert.

How Abode has held up

Wirecutter senior software engineer Eric Dulcet has been an Abode customer since 2021, and he says he’s still very pleased with his purchase. “I’ve actually leaned into the ecosystem a lot more and bought smart fire/CO detectors, smart plugs, and the Abode smart bulbs, and started toying around with the CUE automation system. No issues with anything there, and everything was easy to set up.”

If you want a compact multitasker: The Arlo Home Security System combines multiple features into the least amount of devices. The hub has an integrated keypad, a siren, a motion detector, and the ability to listen for smoke and CO alarms. The sensor combines eight sensors into one, monitoring for entry, tilt, temperature, light, motion, water leaks, and smoke/CO alarms. However, we had issues setting up those sensors. On top of that, Arlo doesn’t currently offer a glass-break sensor, the subscription is more expensive than those of our picks ($25 per month), and you have to pay an extra $80 (plus the subscription fee) to get a battery and cellular backup.

Although they worked well, we dismissed the Ecobee Smart Security system and the Eufy Security 5-Piece Home Alarm Kit due to lack of add-ons. Also, both systems don’t offer any type of cellular backup. The Wyze Home Security System is missing cellular backup and fire protection, and we no longer recommend using Wyze products.

We like that the Abode Security Kit (which is different from the Abode Smart Security Kit) is smaller than our pick, but any of our other picks—or even the Arlo system—would be a better buy. Also, this one doesn’t currently support carbon monoxide detection.

We don’t recommend ADT’s Front Door Protection, Frontpoint Security, or Scout because of the cost of the system and/or the monitoring plans. We also dismissed the Ooma Smart Security system because the monitoring option isn’t currently available in Alabama, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, or Virginia.

We eliminated the Abode Iota and the Cove system due to issues we encountered during testing. While the Abode Iota had several problems with the internal camera and false alarms, the Cove system would repeatedly freeze up and lock us out.

The Abode Edge Camera uses ultra long-range HaLow wireless with a range of more than a mile. It also has a rechargeable battery that Abode says will last about a year on a single charge. Other features include object detection, facial recognition, and anomaly detection. It can be used with and without our pick, the Abode Security System, but to capture video, you'll need a cloud plan (starting at $7 per month or $70 per year).

We’re also planning to test glass-break sensors from Ring, SimpliSafe, and Abode, and we will update this guide with our findings.

This article was edited by Jon Chase and Grant Clauser.