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With the smart home becoming such a big deal these days, many are opting to get their own do-it-yourself smart home security system. There are a bunch of great home security systems out there, but which ones are the best ones to pick up? That’s a pretty good question, and it does all depend on what you are looking for in your security system, and what smart home products (if any) you already own in your home.
We have rounded up the best smart home security systems that are currently available. These are all do-it-yourself systems, so you can set it up all by yourself and not worry about paying a monthly fee. These are all smart home security systems that are currently available, not those that have been announced and are on pre-order.
Ring Alarm
The Ring Alarm is the perfect option for those that already own the Ring Video Doorbell or some of Ring’s other cameras and floodlights.
Ring actually offers its Alarm in a five and eight-piece set. So depending on what you want to secure in your home and how large your home is, the Ring Alarm will work well for you. It comes with a base station, contact sensor, motion detector, keypad, and range extender, and these can also be bought individually, if you need more contact sensors, or motion detectors in your home.
You’ll be able to get alerts on your phone when doors and windows are opened or motion is detected in your home. So you’ll know if someone is home, but you will also know when your kids get home, which can also be a pretty nice feature to have.
The Ring Alarm does work in-conjunction with the Ring Video Doorbell, as you can see who is coming into the house with the doorbell too. The Ring cameras aren’t necessary for the Ring Alarm, but they do work together quite nicely. Amazon Alexa support is available, allowing you to arm and disarm the alarm with your voice. Alexa can also give you the status of your alarm.
Ring Alarm is free – besides the initial price to buy the alarm system. But you can also sign up for a 24/7 monitoring service, similar to what ADT offers. That will cost you $10 per month, but that is not necessary, which is a good thing to see.
You can pick up the Ring Alarm from Amazon for just $159 right now, it is normally$199 but for Presidents’ Day, it is discounted 20-percent. You can grab it from the link below.
Ring Alarm - Amazon - $159Nest Secure
The Nest Secure is another good option, particularly if you already are invested in Nest’s ecosystem. Unlike the Ring Alarm, the Nest Secure does work with the cameras, to expand your home security system. Ring only works with it so you can see it all in the same app.
With the Nest Secure, you can get the Nest Guard, two Nest Detect sensors, and two Nest Tags. The Nest Guard is the base station that you will use to arm or disarm the alarm. While the Nest Tags can be given to the kids, and they are able to touch the Tags to the Guard when they get home to disarm the alarm. The Nest Detect works on doors and on windows, so you can get alerts when someone opens a window or a door.
As is the case with the other security systems on this list, Nest will also give you notifications when there is movement in your home, or a window/door is opened. And if you have Nest cameras in or outside of your home, it will show you the clips of what happened in your home, seamlessly. Which is a really cool feature to have.
Google Assistant does work with the Nest Secure, unfortunately Amazon Alexa doesn’t. This is largely due to the fact that Google and Amazon don’t really get along, and Nest is owned by Google. With the Google Assistant, you’ll be able to arm or disarm the alarm and you can also ask for the status of your alarm.
The Nest Secure is available for $299 right now, and that is also on sale, since its regular price is $399. You can pick it up from Best Buy using the link down below.
SimpliSafe Home Security System
SimpliSafe is a good option for those that want a complete security system for their home, without spending a ton of cash.
This comes in a five, eight, nine or 12-piece kit, with different sensors included. It comes with the base station, keypad, entry sensor, motion sensor, and key fob. Allowing you to see when people enter your home and when they are in a specific area of the house with the motion sensors. The other models will include more entry and motion sensors as well as more key fobs.
The key fob is not necessary, but it does make it easier to disarm the alarm when you get home. You can still disarm it in your SimpliSafe app, as you’d expect. The app, is still important to have downloaded though, because it will give you notifications when someone comes into the home or motion is detected, so you know what is going on.
The SimpliSafe Home Security System is a pretty good option for a lot of people and it costs $229 and goes up from there. There are no monthly fees either. So it’s $229 and that’s it. You can pick it up from Amazon from the link below.
SimpliSafe Home Security System - Amazon - $229Wink Lookout Smart Security Starter Kit
The Wink Lookout Smart Security Starter Kit is one of the cheaper options on this list – though the Ring Alarm is the same price normally. It does come with the Wink Hub and also works with its other products. There are around 400 devices that work with the Wink Hub.
With the Wink Lookout, you will get the Wink Hub 2, as well as a motion sensor, Siren and Chime, and two door/window sensors. As usual, you can buy extra motion and door/window sensors for your home, if you want some more for your home to keep an eye on everything.
Wink will also give you notifications when someone enters your home or it sees motion inside your home. So you can see when someone is there that shouldn’t be there. Of course, this also works to tell you when your kids get home from school, so that you know that they got home safely. That’s always an important thing for parents. When you get notifications, you’ll be able to sound the siren in your home. It can be set so that it won’t go off automatically, in case you do have it set to tell you when your kids get home from school.
Wink Lookout works with all the major protocols that you would expect, this includes Bluetooth LE, Z-Wave and Zigbee. So no matter which one you have, you’ll be covered.
This one, unfortunately, does not work with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. That is probably not that big of a deal, since you can really only arm or disarm the system with your voice, so it’s not that big of a deal.
You can pick up the Wink Lookout Smart Security Starter Kit from Amazon for just $199. You can get additional sensors for an additional price – starting at around $99. The Wink Lookout Smart Security Starter Kit can be picked up using the link down below.
Wink Lookout Smart Security Starter Kit - Amazon - $199Wrap Up
There aren’t a whole lot of options out there for good do-it-yourself home security systems just yet. That seems to be a part of the smart home industry that is still catching on. And this is because most people just get a couple of security cameras and call it a day. But there are some pretty good options out there that will work with your cameras that you have in your home. If you are looking for a system to work with your existing cameras, then the Ring Alarm or the Nest Secure is going to be the best option.
With alarm companies charging a lot more than they should, and it’s an amount you have to pay each month, many are opting for these do-it-yourself options. Since you won’t need to worry about paying another company to watch you in your own home. Now Ring does have an option for 24/7 monitoring. But this isn’t something you have to use. It’s an optional service, which is a really good option to have available, because some people do want that 24/7 monitoring. And for just $10 per month, that’s not a bad price either.
All of the do-it-yourself smart home security systems on this list are definitely worth picking up. If you have any other smart home products in your home, then your options are a bit different. But if you don’t already have some smart home products in your home, then any of these will work out pretty well. And they are all priced pretty similarly. Between $199 and $299, which isn’t bad at all.