SimpliSafe Home Security Review: Still a Top DIY Choice

8.5

SimpliSafe Home Security

Like

• 
  Easy to put in and function
• 
  Great customizability

Don’t like

• 
  Limited good dwelling integrations

Product particulars

• Installation

  DIY set up

• Contract Required

  No

• Voice Assistant

  Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

• Additional Fees

  24/7 skilled monitoring payment, storage payment

• Service Bundles

  N/A

Is SimpliSafe purchase in 2023?

The dwelling safety class continues to be a aggressive mixture of professionally put in providers and DIY choices. Among them, SimpliSafe takes a hybrid strategy with gadgets which might be simple to arrange and set up your self mixed with the choice of 24/7 skilled monitoring. It’s nonetheless a comparatively good worth, significantly when put next with established names like Vivint and ADT, which may value lots of and even hundreds extra for a full-home setup.

SimpliSafe’s choices have not modified a lot because the final time we examined the system within the fall of 2021. You’ll discover the identical mixture of sensors, cameras and different gear as you construct out your system, and for essentially the most half, costs have held regular in recent times. That stated, the price of 24/7 monitoring, which was obtainable for $18 a month once we first examined it, has risen to $30 a month (you too can monitor issues your self with limitless storage for motion-activated digicam clips for $10 a month). Meanwhile, the price of non-compulsory skilled set up (which SimpliSafe says 97% of shoppers skip) has risen from $99 to $125. 

There’s additionally a sensible wi-fi indoor digicam that guarantees to permit SimpliSafe’s monitoring facilities to speak with anybody they see on digicam through two-way discuss, and has a built-in movement sensor. The digicam is $140, which is $40 greater than the usual wired digicam. 

Current opponents, together with Ring, Wyze, Abode, Arlo and others, have labored to muscle their means into the DIY safety market in recent times, so it is price buying round to seek out the finest safety digicam by itself. Still, as one of the well-rounded methods available on the market — and one that does not require you to name a salesman to listen to what it’s going to value to arrange — SimpliSafe is a sexy and easy choice for dwelling safety buyers in 2023. 

Our full overview, initially revealed in September 2021 and up to date in November 2023 to replicate current pricing adjustments, continues under.

SimpliSafe Home Security has fairly a monitor report. It received a CNET Editors’ Choice Award again in 2014 after exploding onto the still-burgeoning DIY dwelling safety scene. Then in 2018, when the third-gen system launched, it impressed us once more — and it is remained considered one of our high DIY dwelling safety picks ever since (solely Amazon’s Ring Alarm Pro system has bested its rating).

SimpliSafe’s dwelling safety packages begin at $245, technically talking, however you may nearly all the time discover them at steep reductions on the corporate’s website. At the time of right now’s replace to this overview, for example, the fundamental package deal solely prices $196 and essentially the most beneficiant one (which incorporates two out of doors safety cameras along with the bottom station, two movement detectors and 4 entry sensors) prices $560. I’ll do a extra thorough breakdown of the costs in contrast with opponents later within the overview, however suffice it to say, it is a strong deal.

The system is simply as succesful as earlier than, too. It works reliably, the gadgets on supply cowl the whole lot you’d want, and you’ll bag 24/7 skilled monitoring alongside your native alarm for $30 a month. That’s a steep enhance from earlier monitoring plans, which solely value $18 a month, however SimpliSafe lessens the sting by bundling in enticing options like a mobile backup in your system at no extra value.

In quick, SimpliSafe continues to be unbelievable — even when it is not fairly as dominant a price because it as soon as was.

Getting began

We’ve examined SimpliSafe quite a few instances, however our newest take a look at, in August and September of 2021, was of a package deal that totaled about $827 — or $630 if I opted for a free two-week trial of the 24/7 skilled monitoring service. Yes, the corporate incentivizes signing up for a month-to-month subscription.

Part of SimpliSafe Home Security’s enchantment is which you could additionally construct your personal customized system with the particular sensors that make sense in your residing house. To accomplish that, you may begin with the necessary base station and keypad, which collectively now value $80, down from $185, then add extra gadgets a la carte. Here’s the complete menu, plus what I paid:

Burglary sensors

• Entry sensor: $15
• Motion sensor: $30
• Wireless Outdoor Camera: $190
• Wireless Indoor Camera: $140
• Wired Indoor Camera: $99
• SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro: $169
• Glass break sensor: $35
• Panic button: $20

Hazard sensors

• Smoke and Carbon monoxide sensor: $60
• Smoke Detector: $35
• Temperature Sensor: $30
• Water Sensor: $20

Add-ons

• Keypad: $70
• Key fob: $25
• Siren: $60
• Yard signal: $4

I used three entry sensors, one movement sensor, considered one of every digicam, together with a glass break sensor, leak detector (now known as a water sensor), freeze detector (now known as a temperature sensor), panic button and key fob. The single greatest think about my complete value was the three cameras — with out them, my complete with a subscription would’ve ended up at $272 (extra on the cameras later).

When it involves the sensors, SimpliSafe’s pricing is properly positioned: It’s not as low-cost as Wyze’s Monitoring system, the place movement and leak sensors are each $9 every, and entry sensors are $24 for 3. But it is constantly cheaper than, say, Abode’s comparable gadgets (Abode’s entry sensors, for instance, are $40 every, although you will get them at a major low cost by catching a sale or getting a six-pack).

Even although SimpliSafe’s gadgets value a bit greater than Wyze’s trade low, they really feel far more strong, and so they look higher, too. In my time with SimpliSafe, all of the sensors carried out as anticipated.

Once your system arrives, it is as much as you to put in it your self. SimpliSafe made this actually, very easy. Each sensor comes with a preapplied sticky tab on its removable backs. Just peel and stick — no wiring vital. If that you must transfer one thing, the sensors detach from their backings, exposing the sticky tabs for simple removing that will not harm your partitions. The solely factor you may have to plug in is the bottom station.

That stated, SimpliSafe does supply skilled setup assist for $125 if you happen to want it, but in addition says 97% of its clients set their methods up themselves.

With your sensors in place, you may put the keypad into pairing mode, then pair the whole lot up by urgent a button on every sensor, then giving it a reputation on the keypad. From there, you may make any closing tweaks to the system settings by logging in to SimpliSafe’s net portal, or by utilizing the SimpliSafe app. The entire course of took me lower than an hour; it is not fairly so simple as with Abode (the place all of the gadgets got here already paired), however it’s about as painless as self-installs can get.

SimpliSafe fees $30 a month for the interactive plan, which incorporates 24/7 skilled monitoring alongside different options just like the mobile backup, alarm texts and video alarm verification. The different choice is to watch your system your self with a $10 month-to-month plan that features limitless storage of motion-activated digicam clips for as much as 5 cameras. Both are smart sufficient, however it’s a disgrace that SimpliSafe eradicated the middle-ground plan that provided 24/7 monitoring for $18 a month.

How it really works

The SimpliSafe Home Security system’s sensors preserve in fixed contact with the bottom station, which relays the whole lot to your cellphone (or, in an emergency, to authorities) through Wi-Fi. The base station additionally features a 24-hour battery backup and a fee-free mobile connection to the corporate’s monitoring service — if the facility or the Wi-Fi ever goes out, it’s going to nonetheless be capable of name for assist. This cell backup is considered one of SimpliSafe’s standout options, and it is one of many huge methods the service differentiates itself from extra inexpensive options like Wyze and Ring Alarm, which do not supply that further security measure (though the more moderen and costlier Ring Alarm Pro does).

SimpliSafe’s strategy additionally separates essentially the most delicate system parts from the keypad, the half that beeps and asks for a PIN if the alarm is ever tripped. In many instances, that beeping keypad might be the very first thing that an intruder would attempt to smash as a way to shut down the system, however doing so would not make a distinction.

The system provides three modes throughout use: Off, which is fairly self-explanatory; Away, which arms the sensors; and Home, which leaves some sensors on however disarms issues like movement detectors so you may transfer round inside with out setting something off. By default, SimpliSafe offers you 30 seconds to disarm the system upon entry (you may customise that size of time within the app).

To disarm the system, press the off button on the important thing fob or within the app, or enter your code utilizing the keypad. You can assign particular codes to particular customers or friends, and you too can set a duress code for conditions the place somebody is forcing you to disarm the system in opposition to your will. Punch it into the keypad, and it’ll seem as if the alarm is canceled and the system disarmed, however SimpliSafe will nonetheless ship within the authorities.

If you are paying $30 a month for the complete system controls, you can arm and disarm the system from the SimpliSafe app, or arm it in your means out the door with a fast voice command to Alexa or Google.

If the alarm is ever tripped, your cellphone will ring and a SimpliSafe consultant will ask if the whole lot’s OK. They’ll additionally ask in your protected phrase — a secret password of your selection that acts like an additional vocal PIN for the system. Fail to provide it, and so they’ll nonetheless ship the authorities, it doesn’t matter what else you say. Like the duress code, it is a good, further layer of safety.

SimpliSafe additionally allows you to specify which sensors will set off an entry delay and which of them will set off an on the spot alarm. You’ll most likely need an opportunity to disarm the system if you happen to journey a contact sensor or a movement detector, for example, whereas a glass break sensor alert may benefit an on the spot alarm with no delay (once more, you may personalize this, in case you are vulnerable to dropping plates or have youngsters round the home).

You may set secret alerts that may ship you a SMS, e mail or app notification with out tripping the alarm in any respect. Hide a contact sensor on the within of your liquor cupboard, for example, and you will get an alert in case your teenager ever tries to sneak a sip.

You’re on, cameras!

SimpliSafe’s system has been amongst our favourite dwelling safety methods for quite a few years — however that does not imply it does not have room to develop. Sure, the sensors — these essential bits of connective tissue for any good dwelling safety system — supply strong worth for the worth, however the cameras aren’t fairly as unmitigated successful.

These days $99 indoor cameras and $169 video doorbells are pretty normal gadgets, even while you’re shopping for them stand-alone from high manufacturers like Google Nest, Amazon Ring or Arlo — and SimpliSafe’s choices merely do not stand as much as these high gadgets.

The video doorbell provides all of the fundamentals you’d anticipate, like two-way discuss, movement alerts, night time imaginative and prescient, dwell feed monitoring and storage (with digicam plans beginning at $10 per thirty days). But its wide-angle lens means you do not get an incredible view of your precise doorstep, the place packages are often left. What’s extra, the doorbell cannot be arrange wirelessly — which is an actual bummer, since many shoppers searching for DIY dwelling safety kits will not have doorbell wiring, or will not be allowed by their landlord to fiddle with it.

The indoor digicam, which once more comes with all of the fundamentals, like a 120-degree area of view, movement detection and night time imaginative and prescient, is a bit more spectacular. It features a privateness shutter, like Arlo’s indoor digicam, and individual alerts utilizing warmth sensing.

The out of doors digicam prices $190, however you may get loads out of it: dwell monitoring, two-way discuss, 8x digital zoom, night time imaginative and prescient and a built-in siren. The out of doors digicam was a breeze to put in and use, and I cherished that it got here with a built-in highlight. The one disappointment there was that I could not manually management the sunshine, setting instances for it to activate or off, or just switching it on once I needed.

For $190, although, the out of doors gentle/digicam is a strong deal.

System efficiency

SimpliSafe’s strategy to DIY safety is interesting, however it’s all for nothing if the sensors do not work reliably properly. Back in 2018, we put the sensors via a weeklong battery of checks, and the outcomes have been strong.

The open/closed contact sensors have been essentially the most dependable, triggering the alarm each time they have been purported to. The movement detector carried out properly, too. It was capable of distinguish between folks and small pets simply advantageous, and it caught our reviewer strolling via the room about 95 p.c of the time. The different 5%: a take a look at the place one thing appeared to hiccup and it was a couple of minutes earlier than any movement was sensed. That wasn’t an incredible consequence, however it was the one true misfire throughout a number of days of testing.

The leak detector (water sensor) was one other standout, firing off an alert as quickly because it entered water in every of my checks. The one downside to that degree of sensitivity — it additionally went off at one level when somebody picked it up and moved it. That’s not an enormous deal although, particularly for one thing you are going to toss beneath your sink and overlook about.

Next up, the freeze detector (temperature sensor). By default, it’s going to ship an alert if it ever senses ambient temperatures under 41 F or above 95 F, however you may set these thresholds to no matter factors you want. It labored as anticipated over the long term, however it solely takes readings and sends them to the bottom station as soon as per hour. That’s a contact extra sluggish than you need for particularly delicate temperature monitoring, however for most individuals, it’s going to do the job you want it to do.

The closing barrage of checks was aimed on the glass break sensor. Like the identify suggests, it’s going to sound the alarm if it ever hears a window break — and SimpliSafe claims that its calibrations are exact sufficient to differentiate between a damaged window and a damaged plate. Translation: It was time to interrupt some stuff!

We began by making an attempt to trick the sensor into sounding a false alarm. We tried dropping a light-weight bulb, loudly clinking glassware collectively, taking part in glass-breaking sound results at full quantity and even tossing keys in opposition to the wall, as one follower advised on Twitter. Nothing labored — the glass-break sensor wasn’t fooled.

That all made for a promising begin, however then we tried breaking a small pane of precise glass. (We stole it from an image body — apologies to the CNET Smart Home staging crew!) To our shock, that did not set the glass break sensor off, both. Maybe it thought it was a plate?

The staff at SimpliSafe advised we attempt dialing the sensitivity up — turns on the market’s a slide swap on the again of the sensor with three settings. We set it to “excessive” and tried once more, this time with an precise window bought at a junk retailer. That did the trick — throughout a number of checks, the glass break sensor caught us smashing the window each time.

In the top, we would name {that a} profitable consequence, however we would undoubtedly advocate beginning together with your glass break sensor set to “excessive” and dialing down from there as wanted. As for us, the glass break sensor could be one that we might be snug skipping.

Smart safety, sure; good dwelling platform, no

Something else price occupied with as you are looking for a house safety system is whether or not you are taken with one thing that can tie in with a bigger dwelling automation platform. If so, SimpliSafe won’t be your only option. 

Sure, the SimpliSafe system works with Alexa and Google Assistant, and it provides an integration with Nest that’ll allow you to monitor your thermostat from the SimpliSafe app and tether its dwelling and away modes as to if or not your system is armed. That’s adequate for many, however if you wish to add issues like good bulbs and good switches to your setup, you may have to regulate them individually out of your safety system. As talked about already, you are additionally caught with SimpliSafe’s cameras — and there are loads of cameras that we like higher.

Meanwhile, the SimpliSafe Smart Lock is an honest and comparatively cheap addition to the system, however it is a bit extra restricted in options than some stand-alone good lock opponents.

The space of good dwelling integration feels significantly underdeveloped since Amazon shook up the good dwelling safety trade in late 2021 with its best-in-class Ring Alarm Pro — which not solely provided safety measures to rival SimpliSafe’s, but in addition loads of shocking and genuinely helpful integrations with issues like cameras, lights, video doorbells, Alexa and Wi-Fi 6. 

Other considerations

With an old-school, wired safety system, you’d should dwell with the concern that somebody might deactivate your system by slicing a wire. Wireless methods like SimpliSafe eradicate that problem — however what if somebody manages to dam the system’s wi-fi transmissions? Wouldn’t which have the identical impact? As commenter Joe Duarte factors out, safety researchers haven’t any scarcity of questions like these about SimpliSafe and different methods prefer it.

We seemed into jamming again in 2015, and examined SimpliSafe’s protections in opposition to it. The firm says that it makes use of a proprietary antijamming algorithm to detect if a classy thief is making an attempt to mess together with your system. If it does, SimpliSafe will instantly notify you about it. That’s what occurred once we examined it out. With the proper gear, we have been capable of block a transmission to the bottom station, however not with out SimpliSafe sending us an alert informing us of the jam. 

Bottom line: Jamming assaults like these are completely attainable, but in addition exceedingly uncommon and tough to tug off. A SimpliSafe consultant claims that, so far, the corporate has no report of any buyer ever being jammed. Even so, if a would-be thief have been to attempt it, they’d come up in opposition to a practical layer of protection. That’s greater than sufficient for me — simply make sure that to concentrate to any interference alerts, and do not simply dismiss them.

As for different considerations like replay assaults the place a hacker would attempt to intercept your keypad’s code, SimpliSafe says that each one system transmissions are encrypted, and likewise factors out that its {hardware} permits for over-the-air firmware updates, making it a lot simpler for the corporate to answer evolving threats and vulnerabilities in actual time.

SimpliSafe Home Security: Final ideas

SimpliSafe’s strategy combines do-it-yourself enchantment with dwell monitored peace of thoughts. The SimpliSafe system provides glorious worth relative to the competitors, it is remarkably simple to arrange and use, and it does not really feel (or look) like a compromise decide. In reality, its layers of safety are about as complete as DIY safety will get. We’d prefer to see extra good dwelling integration as SimpliSafe continues to develop, however the firm can be rising in different methods — introducing an outside digicam, for example, and partnering with RapidSOS to enhance 911 response instances.

We’ve seen new competitors emerge from names like Ring, Wyze, Abode, Vivint and ADT. Shopping round is all the time clever, however for most folk taken with easy dwelling safety, we really feel assured saying that SimpliSafe is among the many finest choices available on the market.