With the holidays fast approaching, consider giving your family peace of mind with a smart home security system. After all, who wouldn't feel more secure knowing that you, or the appropriate authorities, will be notified if there's an intruder, fire, frozen pipes, carbon monoxide leak, or some other threat at home?
This month, we launch our inaugural PCMag Readers' Choice Award for home security systems and security cameras for home surveillance. Times are changing in home security thanks to DIY systems and devices that provide varying levels of protection. Home alarm systems can be self-monitored—right from your phone—or professionally monitored. In the self-monitored scenario, you are notified when an alarm event occurs. With professional monitoring, you pay a monthly fee and a monitoring center will alert you and the proper authorities when needed. Unlike traditional systems, most DIY systems don't require a long-term commitment. In fact, with some systems, you can activate professional monitoring only when you feel it's necessary, such as when you go away on vacation.
If you've invested in other smart home devices such as smart lights or thermostats, a smart security system can assist in getting a lot more value out of those devices. For instance, in the event your security system or camera detects motion, it can automatically turn on all your lights. Or, to save energy, your thermostat can adjust the temperature when you put your alarm system into Away mode.
Technology giants see a lot of potential to gain a strong foothold in your home via the home security market. Google purchased Nest, which has branched out from thermostats and smoke detectors to alarms and cameras. Amazon bought Ring, which has expanded its product line from video doorbells to full home security; Amazon also purchased security camera maker Blink.
As broadband has become more of a commodity business, Comcast, the largest ISP in the US, has added home security to its Xfinity-branded offerings. Meanwhile, traditional home security companies such as ADT and Vivint are working hard to remain relevant in this rapidly changing market.
We've seen a lot of interest among readers in purchasing security devices for their home. In a survey we fielded earlier this year, 42 percent of respondents were interested in outdoor cameras, 33 percent in smoke and carbon monoxide sensors, 31 percent in indoor cameras and 29 percent in an alarm system. If you're one of those considering taking the dive into home security, you'll benefit from the feedback of PCMag readers.
As with all our PCMag Readers' Choice Award surveys, we asked our respondents to rate their satisfaction on a variety of criteria. At the highest level, we asked about their overall satisfaction and their likelihood to recommend their security system or camera brand. We then dove deeper into the home security experience, asking questions about satisfaction with cost, setup, reliability, and services, as well as satisfaction with various features of these systems such as motion detection and smartphone control.
To learn more about how these devices work and the features that differentiate them, read our comprehensive guides to security systems and security cameras. To figure out which security products are delivering the most satisfying experience to their customers, read on.
The PCMag Readers' Choice survey for Home Security Systems and Security Cameras was in the field from October 15, 2018 through November 5, 2018. For more information on how the survey is conducted, read the survey methodology. Each person who completed the survey was entered into a drawing to win an Amazon.com gift card valued at $350.
You can win! Sign up for the What's New Now mailing list to receive invitations for future sweepstakes.
Home Security Systems
The market for do-it-yourself home security solutions is crowded right now. Back in 2009, however, SimpliSafe was a market disruptor when it went up against long-established companies like ADT, Broadview, and Protection One. But betting that consumers would be open to a DIY alternative has paid off; SimpliSafe wins the first PCMag Readers' Choice Award for home security systems.
Six companies received at least the requisite minimum number of responses to be included in our survey analysis. Two of the companies, SimpliSafe and Ooma, were founded in the Internet of Things era. Honeywell, a long-time manufacturer of home security equipment typically installed by other companies, is using its years of experience to provide DIY solutions. Two of the other companies, ADT and Vivint, are traditional home security companies working to maintain their foothold in a rapidly changing market. Lastly, Comcast, the nation's largest broadband service provider, is trying to expand beyond internet and television in the home to also offer security services.
SimpliSafe received the highest satisfaction ratings in several areas including overall satisfaction (8.8) and likelihood to recommend (9.0). All ratings are on a scale from 0 (extremely dissatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied). SimpliSafe also earned top marks for satisfaction with reliability (9.2), technical support (8.4), smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (8.6), water detection (8.7), power outage protection (8.9), and smartphone/tablet control (8.7).
Ooma, which may be better known for its VoIP phone service, received very high ratings for satisfaction with the cost of the system (9.2) and the recurring cost of monitoring and service (9.4). Bear in mind that unlike the competitors, Ooma doesn't offer professional monitoring. Instead, if you opt into one of its paid subscriptions, Ooma can automatically contact 911 when an alarm event occurs. Ooma's approach, which costs between $4 and $6 per month, is certainly cheaper than SimpliSafe and others, which may run $15 to $30 a month or more. If monitoring is important to you, consider very hard whether Ooma's lack of professional monitoring is adequate. Ooma received an overall satisfaction rating of 8.3 and likelihood to recommend rating of 8.7.
The other companies had overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend ratings below 8.0, with Comcast's Xfinity Home service bringing up the rear. The company received a 6.8 for overall satisfaction and 6.1 for likelihood to recommend. Satisfaction with the cost of the initial system was only 6.9 and satisfaction with the recurring cost of service was 6.0.
Sadly, these last two ratings weren't even the lowest in our survey. ADT, which requires a multi-year commitment, had a satisfaction rating of 6.6 for the cost of the system and an abysmal 5.2 for the recurring cost of monitoring and service. No wonder consumers are eagerly looking into alternative solutions.
See all of our survey results for Home Security Systems and Security Cameras.
WINNERS: HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
SimpliSafe
SimpliSafe revolutionized home security nearly a decade ago and its customers are very satisfied with the company's approach. It's a clear winner of our first Readers' Choice Award for home security systems.
Security Cameras
When we polled our readers earlier this year about what type of home security equipment they wanted, they told us they were more interested in outdoor and indoor security cameras than an alarm system. Security cameras can be very helpful in alerting you to an event or showing you what happened after the fact. You can typically access live and recorded video from anywhere, though often there's a recurring cost associated with storing video in the cloud.
It's important to realize that cameras are a complement to a home security system, not a replacement. While they can do things like detect motion, today's camera offerings will not automatically contact emergency services or a monitoring center should help be needed.
The home security camera market is very crowded with a number of products that range in price and capabilities. Our PCMag Readers' Choice Award winner for our inaugural survey of home security cameras is...SimpliSafe.
The company is fairly new to the security camera market having released its SimpliCam in mid-2017. Customers, however, indicate it was worth the wait. While it is a fairly simple indoor-only camera, the SimpliCam received the highest ratings for overall satisfaction (8.5), satisfaction with reliability (8.7), and satisfaction with smartphone and tablet control (8.7). Only 7 percent of SimpliSafe respondents said they needed to contact technical support over the last year, the lowest percentage among all brands rated.
Three other companies—Wyze, Blink (owned by Amazon), and Nest (owned by Google)—were close behind SimpliSafe in overall satisfaction, receiving identical ratings of 8.3. Wyze, which was founded by four former Amazon employees, makes very inexpensive cameras that have certainly impressed PCMag's analysts. Not only did the company earn the highest likelihood to recommend rating (8.8), it received excellent ratings of 9.5 for both satisfaction with the cost of the cameras and satisfaction with recurring costs. That's probably because there are no recurring costs with Wyze; it offers free access to the last 14 days of recordings and does not charge a monthly fee.
Blink received the highest rating for satisfaction with the installation experience (9.3), followed closely by Wyze (9.2) and SimpliSafe (9.1). It also finished right behind Wyze in likelihood to recommend (8.7).
Nest had the lowest percentage of units needing repairs in the last 12 months (2 percent), but it had the worst ratings among all companies for satisfaction with the cost of the cameras (6.7) and satisfaction with recurring costs (5.9).
Netgear recently spun out its line of Arlo cameras into a separate business, but they had the second lowest ratings on these measures. Satisfaction with the cost of Arlo cameras was just ahead of Nest (6.8) but it did far better in satisfaction with recurring costs (7.8). Arlo had the lowest satisfaction with reliability rating (7.6) and the highest percentage of cameras needing repair in the last year (11 percent).
See all of our survey results for Home Security Systems and Security Cameras.
WINNERS: SECURITY CAMERAS
SimpliSafe
As its name implies, SimpliSafe focuses on simplicity and that focus seems to be working for its customers. The company, which offers the simple SimpliCam, wins our first PCMag Readers' Choice Award for home security cameras.