Modern house with large windows glowing warmly against the night

SimpliSafe vs Ring Alarm

Two systems you install yourself, sold on the hardware and decided by the subscription that runs behind it for the next ten years.

Scroll

Written by Theo Ramsay Systems editor

Published

Updated

Start with the answer

The monitoring subscription decides it

These two systems are not really compared on hardware. The question that separates them is what you pay each month to have a human dispatch the police, because the box is bought once and the plan is paid every month for as long as you own the house.

Ring starts cheaper and stays cheaper on paper: a plan covering every device at one address, with 24/7 professional alarm monitoring, sits at roughly $19.99 a month. SimpliSafe’s entry plan with 24/7 professional monitoring is listed around $22.99, and its plans that add agent video verification climb from there.

What that gap buys is the part worth arguing about. SimpliSafe’s higher tiers let a monitoring agent open your camera feed during an alarm, see what is happening and speak through it before deciding whether to dispatch. Ring sells an equivalent live-agent service separately, and it is the most expensive line either company offers.

Neither locks you into a contract, and both sell on their own site. Home Palais never collects your name, your phone number or your address, and there is no quote form anywhere on this page.

Head to head

Where the two security systems diverge

SimpliSafe

The security company that also sells cameras. More expensive monthly, and the only one of the two where agent video verification is part of the alarm plan rather than a separate product.

Entry plan with 24/7 professional monitoring $22.99

Longest trial of the two 60-day money-back period

  • Self-monitoring plan listed at $9.99 a month
  • Entry professional-monitoring plan listed at $22.99 a month
  • Higher tier at $32.99 adds agent intervention during an alarm
  • Month to month; no contract required

Ring Alarm

The camera company that also sells an alarm. Cheaper every month, deeper video history, and the live-agent service priced as a premium product rather than a tier.

Plan including 24/7 professional monitoring $19.99

Far longer than the alternative Up to 180 days of video history

  • Entry plan listed at $4.99 a month, one device
  • All devices at one address from $9.99 a month
  • Professional alarm dispatch on the plan at $19.99 a month
  • Month to month; a discounted annual option exists

Ring is the cheaper system to run and the better one to own if you already have its doorbell and cameras: one plan covers the whole address, the video history is far deeper, and professional dispatch costs less every month. SimpliSafe is the better alarm. Its middle tier puts a human on your camera feed during the alarm itself, which is the difference between a dispatch and a verified dispatch, and police in a growing number of jurisdictions respond differently to the two. Buy Ring for cameras with an alarm attached, and SimpliSafe for an alarm with cameras attached.

Side by side

The home security terms that decide the bill

Plan prices as published by two independent reviewers, each linked with the date it was checked. Both companies sell through storefronts that change prices and rename tiers frequently, so treat these as the shape of the offer rather than today’s checkout total.

Term SimpliSafe Ring Alarm
Self-monitoring Listed at $9.99 a month. App alerts only, with no one dispatching on your behalf. Listed at $4.99 a month, covering one device only.
Professional monitoring From $22.99 a month for 24/7 monitoring with dispatch. From $9.99 a month for every Ring device at one location, without professional dispatch.
Agent intervention From $32.99 a month, where an agent can view the camera feed during an alarm, speak through it and verify before dispatch. Higher tiers extend this to 24 hours. $19.99 a month, or about $200 paid annually, covering the alarm and every camera at the address.
Contract Month to month. No term commitment on any plan. Sold separately at roughly $99 a month. This is the equivalent of SimpliSafe’s agent intervention, priced as its own product.
Equipment Sold as packages; reviewers list starting prices between roughly $125 and $250 depending on the kit and the promotion running. Up to 180 days of event history, with continuous recording available for a few dollars a month per camera.
Backup Cellular backup included, so the alarm still reports if the broadband goes down. Month to month, with a lower effective rate if paid annually.
Trial 60-day money-back period on equipment. Starter kits listed from around $199.99, with cellular and battery backup on the base station.

Plan names in particular move: the same $22.99 SimpliSafe tier is called Standard by one reviewer and Basic by the other, and Ring has renamed its plans more than once. Compare what a tier does, not what it is called, and check the current price on the provider’s own site before you buy.

The two providers

Check the current system price, then decide

Both companies sell on their own site. Home Palais never collects your name, your phone number or your address, and there is no quote form anywhere on this page.

SimpliSafe

The security company that also sells cameras. More expensive monthly, and the only one of the two where agent video verification is part of the alarm plan rather than a separate product.

Self-monitoring
Listed at $9.99 a month. App alerts only, with no one dispatching on your behalf.
Professional monitoring
From $22.99 a month for 24/7 monitoring with dispatch.
Agent intervention
From $32.99 a month, where an agent can view the camera feed during an alarm, speak through it and verify before dispatch. Higher tiers extend this to 24 hours.
Contract
Month to month. No term commitment on any plan.
Equipment
Sold as packages; reviewers list starting prices between roughly $125 and $250 depending on the kit and the promotion running.
Backup
Cellular backup included, so the alarm still reports if the broadband goes down.
Trial
60-day money-back period on equipment.
See the plans at SimpliSafe

Terms from Security.org's Ring Alarm and SimpliSafe comparison Checked August 12, 2026

Ring Alarm

The camera company that also sells an alarm. Cheaper every month, deeper video history, and the live-agent service priced as a premium product rather than a tier.

Single device
Listed at $4.99 a month, covering one device only.
Whole address
From $9.99 a month for every Ring device at one location, without professional dispatch.
Professional monitoring
$19.99 a month, or about $200 paid annually, covering the alarm and every camera at the address.
Live agent service
Sold separately at roughly $99 a month. This is the equivalent of SimpliSafe’s agent intervention, priced as its own product.
Video history
Up to 180 days of event history, with continuous recording available for a few dollars a month per camera.
Contract
Month to month, with a lower effective rate if paid annually.
Equipment
Starter kits listed from around $199.99, with cellular and battery backup on the base station.
See the plans at Ring Alarm

Terms from SafeHome's SimpliSafe and Ring comparison Checked August 12, 2026

The decision

Which security system, and when neither

A DIY security system is a small hardware purchase followed by a decade of subscription. These are the conditions under which each is the better bet, and the condition under which neither is.

SimpliSafe

Choose SimpliSafe if

  1. You want an alarm first and cameras second, and you want the monitoring to be the strong part.
  2. Agent video verification during an alarm matters to you, and you would rather have it inside the plan than as a separate purchase.
  3. You want the longer money-back period to test coverage in your own house before committing.
  4. You have no Ring hardware already, so there is nothing to keep you in that ecosystem.

Ring Alarm

Choose Ring Alarm if

  1. You already own Ring cameras or a doorbell. One plan covers every device at the address, which is where its price advantage really sits.
  2. Video history matters more to you than alarm response, and 180 days is worth paying for.
  3. You want the lowest monthly cost with professional dispatch still included.
  4. You are comfortable that the live-agent service is a separate premium product rather than a tier.

What it is not

What a DIY security system does not do

Both of these are self-installed systems with a subscription behind them. That is a genuinely good product for most houses, and it is worth being clear about the parts the advertising leaves out.

  • It does not guarantee a police response. Many jurisdictions require an alarm permit, charge for false alarms, and prioritise verified alarms over unverified ones. Check your city’s ordinance before you rely on dispatch.
  • It does not work without power and connectivity forever. Cellular and battery backup cover an outage, not an extended one.
  • It does not lower your insurance premium by much. A discount usually exists, and it is usually small; ask your insurer what evidence they need before assuming it.
  • It does not replace locks, lighting and sightlines. A camera records what a deterrent would have prevented.
  • It does not come without a subscription in any meaningful form. Self-monitoring means you are the one who has to notice, at three in the morning.

How we compare

How this security system comparison is made

Both providers publish their plans on storefronts built in JavaScript, which cannot be cited as a stable page and change price without notice. Rather than print a figure with no source, this page takes its terms from two independent reviewers that publish structured plan tables, each linked with the date it was checked, and says where the two disagree.

Neither company was contacted, neither reviewed this page before publication, and neither can pay to change its position on it. The links can earn a commission once the affiliate programmes behind them are live, at no cost to you, and that arrangement is set out on our affiliate disclosure page.

System questions

What homeowners ask before buying a security system

Do I need professional monitoring at all?

Only if you want someone other than yourself to act on an alarm. Self-monitoring is genuinely cheaper and genuinely worse at four in the morning, on holiday, or in a meeting. The honest question is not whether the feature is worth it but whether you will answer the phone.

Is either one locked into a contract?

Neither requires one. Both sell month to month, and Ring offers a lower effective rate if you pay annually. That is a real change from the traditional alarm industry, where a three-year term was the norm.

What is agent video verification, and does it matter?

A monitoring agent opens your camera during an alarm, sees what is actually happening and can speak through it before deciding to dispatch. It matters because an increasing number of police departments treat verified alarms as a higher priority than unverified ones, and because it stops a dispatch over a cat.

Can I move the system to a new house?

Yes, on both. That is the practical advantage of a self-installed system over a professionally installed one: the equipment is yours, it is wireless, and moving it is an afternoon rather than a new contract.

Do I need an alarm permit?

In most American cities, yes, and the permit is usually inexpensive. False alarm fines are not. Look up your municipality’s alarm ordinance before the system is monitored rather than after the first fine arrives.

Will this lower my homeowners insurance?

Usually a little. Most insurers offer a discount for a monitored system, typically in the low single-digit percentages, and they will want a certificate from the monitoring company. Ask what documentation yours requires before you assume the discount covers the subscription.

Plan prices on this page are taken from two independent reviewers, checked on the dates shown, and both providers change price and rename tiers without notice. Confirm the current figure on the provider’s own site before you buy. A security system is not a guarantee of police response, and nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy one.

Keep reading

Related home security and protection guides

Cost calculator