SimpliSafe Home Security System Review

Like many people, I like the idea of keeping my family and my home secure, but I don’t like the idea of locking myself into a multi-year service contract during which I have to pay a high monthly monitoring fee. SimpliSafe (starting at $249.96) is a smart home security system that’s easy to set up and use, and keeps your home safe from intruders and environmental threats like fires and floods. It’s a seamless system that succeeds quite well at what it sets out to do—secure your home simply and flexibly, letting you monitor everything remotely with (or without) an affordable monthly plan. I’ve been testing SimpliSafe since we originally reviewed it back in 2015, and it continues to provide an ideal balance of performance, high-quality service, ease of use, and value, earning our Editors’ Choice award alongside ADT Command and Ring Alarm Pro. In addition, for the sixth year running, PCMag readers have named SimpliSafe their favorite smart home security system.

SimpliSafe Hardware Package Pricing

One of the best things about SimpliSafe is that it’s a completely flexible system, with seven preconfigured packages available. On the high end, there’s the Haven package ($519.86), which comes with 14 hardware components including the base station, a wireless keypad, a keychain remote, two motion sensors, four door/window entry sensors, a panic button, a 105-decibel siren, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, water and freeze sensors. The least expensive Foundation pack ($249.96), which is designed for small homes and focuses solely on basic home security, includes the base station, a wireless keypad, one motion sensor, and one entry sensor. SimpliSafe frequently offers steep discounts on these packages. For example, at the time of this writing, all the preconfigured packages were 40% off and included a free wireless indoor camera.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Additional components can also be purchased separately to create your own package, or expand on one. If you have a lot of first-floor windows, for example, you might want a glass break sensor ($39.99) or extra entry sensors ($14.99 each; the system supports up to 100 sensors). Or if there are multiple entryways in your home, you can opt for additional keypads ($69.99 each).

If you want a one-stop home monitoring solution that encompasses more than just security, adding environmental sensors makes sense. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are $59.99 each and you can hook them into your monitoring plan, which will alert you via email or text message when an alarm is triggered and send first responders to your door in the event of a fire. Water sensors ($19.99 each) detect and alert you of leaks and floods. And customizable temperature sensors ($29.99 each) alert you when it reaches a specific temperature you designate to, for example, help prevent pipes from bursting in extreme cold.

SimpliSafe has recently added packages that include cameras, but if you want to add them on, they’re $99 each for wired and $139.99 for wireless models. The 1080p, 140-degree range Wireless Outdoor Security Camera will run you $189.99. The $169 Video Doorbell Pro is a smart doorbell with an integrated 1080p camera, while the $119.99 Smart Lock allows keyless entry.

SimpliSafe Monitoring Plan Features and Pricing

For professional monitoring, there’s a basic $20 per month Standard plan that includes 24/7 coverage. If a sensor is triggered, SimpliSafe will contact you, and if you can’t be reached or if you don’t provide a safe word that you designate during setup, police will be dispatched. No cameras are required for this plan.

For $10 more per month, the Fast Protect plan includes everything offered in the Standard plan, plus Live Guard protection, which lets SimpliSafe agents check camera recordings and live video feeds for intruders or environmental threats like fires and communicate them to authorities, which SimpliSafe claims can lead to faster police and fire response times and better outcomes. In the case of an active burglary, the agent can also speak directly to the intruder via the Smart Alarm camera, letting them know the police are on the way in the hopes of stopping them in their tracks. Obviously, cameras are integral to this monitoring plan, and it’s worth noting that agents can only access your cameras during an active alarm triggering. This level of protection is unique to SimpliSafe; we’ve not seen competitors offering similar plans.

Another neat feature that comes with this plan is the ability to set up Secret Alerts. You can set up certain sensors in an Alert Only mode, without triggering alarms. Have a well-stocked liquor cabinet and unsupervised teenagers? Put an entry sensor on the door, set up a Secret Alert in the app, and you’ll be notified each time the cabinet is accessed

With Fast Protect, you also get a 10% discount on add-on equipment, as well as an extended warranty to cover the entire lifetime of any SimpliSafe products (without the Fast Protect plan, you get a three-year hardware warranty). You can also opt for a barebones $10 per month plan, which includes unlimited camera recordings with 30-day cloud storage, but no professional monitoring.

If you don’t want to pay the monthly fees, SimpliSafe can be used as a local alarm. So when a sensor is triggered, it’s up to you to contact the authorities. There aren’t any contracts or commitments, and you can start and stop service or change plans at any time. This flexibility is what makes SimpliSafe a compelling alternative to competitors like ADT Command or Vivint Smart Home, where monitoring fees cost more, ranging from $50 to $60 per month. And with those systems, you need to sign contracts and are subject to steep penalties for early termination. (To dive deeper, see our ADT vs. SimpliSafe comparison.)

Slick Looks, Simple Setup

The nice-looking, pear-shaped base station, which powers the system, is 8.5 inches tall and 4 inches in diameter at its widest spot, with a blue light at its base—it glows steadily to tell you that the alarm is on, and pulses to tell you there’s an error with one of your sensors. It’s available in either black (Obsidian) or white (Cloud) to fit in seamlessly with your home décor. Inside, there’s a siren, a backup battery the company claims will last up to 24 hours, and a SIM card for cellular communication, which means the system can still reach the monitoring service if your Wi-Fi is down or the power is out.

Setup requires placing the base station in a central location within 400 feet of your sensors and 100 feet of your keypad(s), and plugging in the included power cord. The base station integrates a 802.11n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio, adding another layer of connectivity with SimpliSafe’s monitoring service. The Wi-Fi is a boon for those living in rural areas who wouldn’t be able to use the monitoring service because of patchy cellular coverage. If you’re concerned about IoT threats, you don’t have to connect SimpliSafe to your Wi-Fi network; the monitoring works just fine without it, though you won’t receive firmware updates. If you’re also looking to upgrade your home network, consider another one of our top DIY security system picks, Ring Alarm Pro, which doubles as a mesh router.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The small, squarish entry sensors are powered by inexpensive, user-replaceable CR2032 coin cell batteries that last several years, and the system will warn you when they need to be replaced. Installation requires no wiring or drilling; I simply pulled off the battery-activation strips, peeled the backing on the 3M Command-like strips, and adhered each component after naming and pairing it with the system (more on that below). Components are easy to move around without damaging your walls, and you can take the system with you to your next home, which is a welcome feature.

The keypad, also available in black or white (and powered by four standard AA batteries), features a pressable 2.5-inch LCD that shows status and lets you toggle through menus seamlessly. The proximity sensor is a nice touch, illuminating the keypad for nighttime use. The large screen also makes the system setup process easy, since you just pair all the components using simple step-through menus on the display. Each component has a small button you press to pair it with the system. Once you do, the keypad will walk you through the naming process. Or, if you prefer, you can also set everything up in the app.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Setting up my test system, which included installing two keypads, pairing six entry sensors, two motion sensors, the siren, and environmental sensors, establishing a PIN, and testing the system, took me about 45 minutes. I’m confident that the base Foundation package could be set up in less than 30 minutes. But if you don’t want to set the system up yourself, Pro Setup starts at $124.99, which seems reasonable when you compare the overall costs of professional-install services like ADT or Vivint.

A Sharp Focus on Simplicity

SimpliSafe offers no support for Zigbee, Z-Wave, IFTTT, or other home automation protocols like some other popular smart home security systems such as Abode’s iota. That means little integration with third-party cameras, lights, door locks, or video doorbells. In most cases, you can install these devices alongside the SimpliSafe system, but you’ll have to use a separate app to control them independently.

The company explained to me that this limited integration is by design. The system is meant to be, well, simple. While additional platform integrations are always being explored, there are no full-scale plans in this regard, the company says.

Still, there’s an August Smart Lock integration (if you don’t opt for SimpliSafe’s own Smart Lock). You can arm your system or check on its status on an Amazon Echo or Google Home device. Enabling the SimpliSafe Home Control skill in the Alexa app is simple, and supported commands worked well in testing, including “Alexa, tell SimpliSafe I’m leaving” (to arm the system in Away mode), “Alexa, tell SimpliSafe good night” (to arm the system in Home mode), and “Alexa, ask SimpliSafe if my home is secure” (for system status). There was little lag between the voice command and the base station announcing status or changes in system modes. The Alexa integration only works with the latest version of SimpliSafe hardware, and the system can’t be disarmed via voice (for obvious reasons). You can arm or disarm the system from your wrist if you subscribe to the Fast Protect plan and download and install the SimpliSafe app on your Apple Watch.

SimpliSafe in Action

With just three available modes, arming and disarming SimpliSafe is very straightforward. Home mode activates the door and window sensors, while Away mode activates both the entry sensors and the motion sensors. Test mode helps you set up the system and allows you to periodically ensure that all the sensors are in working order. The base station loudly and clearly announces your actions as you enter various modes. The volume can be adjusted on the keypad or in the app.

When the alarm is armed and a sensor is triggered, the keypad will beep, and you have 30 seconds to enter your PIN. If you don’t enter it, the base station siren activates and sends an alert to SimpliSafe, and the company will contact you via phone and ask you for the safe word that you designated during setup. If you don’t get the call, or you don’t provide the safe word, the Emergency Dispatch Center will send the police (or firefighters in the case of the smoke detector). Text notifications allow you to cancel an alarm or request emergency assistance with a text message, which is even more convenient.

I like that SimpliSafe contacts you first. For me, police officers showing up at my door because I fumbled my PIN is one of the greatest fears that comes with having an alarm system in my home. To be doubly safe, the time period allowed for PIN entry can be notched up to 250 seconds, and it can be varied by sensor.

In my testing over the course of several years now, all entry and motion sensors have worked properly (and have stayed in place without issue!), and the base station and siren continue to do their jobs of loudly announcing accidental breaches—and SimpliSafe’s monitoring service has contacted me promptly each time.

Online Dashboard and Mobile App

Full use of the SimpliSafe app (available for Android and iOS) and Online dashboard (at SimpliSafe.com) were once gated behind the highest service tier, but now you can access them with any of the three monitoring plans. Both are straightforward and easy to use, and either will let you control the system, including arming and disarming it.

(Credit: SimpliSafe)

You can also view your System Event Log, change your PIN, assign up to four guest PINs, and choose an optional Duress PIN, to use when an intruder is coercing you to disable the alarm. Enter it, and the alarm will stop sounding, but SimpliSafe will immediately send the police. You can also tweak settings like siren volume, entry and exit delay time, and manage and rename sensors in the Dashboard. Most of these controls are accessible on the keypad too, which is welcome.

SimpliSafe or Something Else?

We continue to praise SimpliSafe for its ease of use, flexibility, and affordability. And so do our readers, naming SimpliSafe their favorite home security brand for the past several years. It lets anyone add a home security system in less than an hour, learning to use it is a breeze, and you don’t have to sign any contracts to get access to affordable monitoring plans that can be turned off at any time. Like with competitors, the pricing of those monitoring plans has inched up in the past few years, but SimpliSafe has added features including its unique FastProtect plan with 24/7 LiveGuard protection. If you’re really into home automation, systems from Abode or Vivint might be more compelling choices, with their support for several smart home protocols and compatibility with many more existing devices. And the Ring Alarm Pro is also worth considering if you want your security system to double as a mesh network system. But for everyone else, SimpliSafe is worth a serious look.

How to Choose a Home Security System