Best Self-Monitored Security Systems

Whether you’re a smart home junkie or you just want to get a notification the next time your creepy neighbor Marv tries to wander into your backyard, self monitoring home security systems let you keep an eye on your property all by yourself. With just a smartphone, you can have total control over your alarm system and smart home devices.

But most of the popular home security systems on the market require professional monitoring and high monthly subscription fees. Here are the four best self-monitored alarm systems that let you DIY for less (or sometimes even free).

Self-monitored systems are easiest to use when you have an intuitive (ideally free) app, cameras that provide motion detection and other notifications, and opportunities to connect your system to additional smart home and security devices.

If you're deciding between a self-monitoring or professional monitoring plan, the difference between the two ultimately lies in who is responding to security alerts.

With a self-monitoring plan, any alerts sounded by your security system will go to you first, usually through your system's mobile app or hub. From here you can decide the next step to take, whether that's calling the police or dismissing the alert.

On the other hand, professionally monitored systems send alerts to a monitoring center to be assessed by a trained professional. From there, you will decide what action to take. This streamlined process can come in handy if, for example, you experience an intruder. A professional will already be prepared and connected to authorities and can send help in less time than if you were to call the police yourself. 

Fortunately, both options will increase your home's security as well as your own safety. So you'll just have to decide how often you want to check alerts and how well you react to emergencies. And, of course, how much you're willing to pay.

Abode supports multiple smart home protocols so you can add on extra devices.

Abode is like the friendly kid on the playground at recess. It gets along well with just about everyone. That's why we've named Abode the best self-monitored home security system for smart homes. Abode makes it easy to integrate smart home devices into your system, and it has a bunch of different third-party integrations, including standard Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols.

Abode doesn’t charge extra for you to self-monitor your home security system. You have free access to the mobile app included with your security system, and you can arm, disarm, and check on your system from anywhere using your smartphone.

Keep in mind that the free Basic plan doesn’t give you cellular back-up or let you set up any system automations. That means if your power goes out or your Wi-Fi dies, then your home security system goes down with it. We think it’s worth the extra monthly cost to have a cellular back-up. And if you want 24/7 cloud-based video recording, beware that you'll need to get it as an add-on with either the Standard Plan or the Pro Plan. 

Abode’s cameras aren’t the best we’ve seen. It does offer an indoor camera and an outdoor cam that can work as a doorbell camera. That said, we’ve seen more and better options from Nest and Ring.

View Plans | Read Full Abode Review

Scout lets you control your home security system with button-free RFID stickers.

Scout Alarm is a bit of a unique security system. It lets you control things with little RFID tags or stickers. If you haven’t heard of RFID before, it stands for Radio Frequency Identification. And with Scout, it means you can put an RFID sticker on just about anything and use it as a key to arm and disarm your alarm system.

Scout’s RFID feature gives you an easy way to control your system that doesn’t require typing a code into a keypad or pulling out your phone. When you’re walking into your house with your arms full of groceries (or small children) it can be way easier to just swipe a key tag at Scout’s door panel. It's also a convenient solution for your children to use themselves. It's a lot easier for a seven-year-old to scan a keycard instead of memorizing a code.

If you really want a keypad, you can get one. Scout sells them on the side so you can use both buttons and key tags as you wish.

Scout has a self-monitoring option for its system, but it doesn’t let you do it for free. Unlike every other company on this list, Scout Alarm makes you pay a monthly fee to have access to the mobile app so you can self-monitor your system.

Plan on spending about 10 bucks per month just to control your security system from your phone and get alerts. Scout also has limited camera options, so it’s not our first choice for equipment either. Although, its doorbell camera is super affordable at only $99.

View Plans | Read Full Scout Review

Ring Alarm keeps costs low with affordable starter kits and equipment.

If you want an easy, self-monitored security system you don’t have to dump a lot of cash on, then Ring Alarm is an excellent choice. The Ring Alarm starter kit costs only $199.99, and it offers a base station and all your standard sensors, including door and window sensors, motion detectors, and flood sensors.

Ring Alarm is affordable and easy to use. You set up all the equipment yourself, and the system even works with Z-Wave so you can add on third-party smart home devices. Ring doesn’t worry about a lot of bells and whistles. You get a basic keypad, a base station, and standard sensors, like window sensors.

Ring doesn’t offer its own smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, but you can get a “smoke and CO listener.” This little device listens for your regular smoke detector (or carbon monoxide sensor) and sends you an alert if it hears the siren go off.

Ring’s self-monitored security system is great, but its cameras have a few more question marks attached to them.

Sure, Ring offers outdoor, indoor, and doorbell cameras with top-notch features like HD recording and two-way audio. But Ring cameras have come under fire in the last year for a host of security issues that consumer watch groups say Amazon (Ring’s parent company) hasn’t properly addressed.¹

Since the accusations first came out, Ring has added some new security features like two-factor authentication. But you should decide for yourself if you think Ring’s features justify the flaws.

View on Amazon | Read Full Ring Alarm Review

The SmartThings hub gives you central control over all your different smart home devices.

Samsung SmartThings is more than a security system; it’s a home automation powerhouse. SmartThings works with dozens of different third-party smart devices and home security sensors to create one unified system you can control through the SmartThings app. All you really need to get started is the Samsung SmartThings hub.

Samsung SmartThings offers some of its own security equipment and sensors, including a multipurpose sensor you can put on doors and windows. The multipurpose sensor includes includes a temperature sensor so you can get alerts if a room gets too hot or too cold.

SmartThings also offers its own indoor camera. It has some pretty good features, including 1080p video and advanced object detection.

But you don’t have to rely on SmartThings equipment alone. SmartThings allows for various integrations, so you can add on other security sensors, smart home devices, and security cameras from a bunch of other companies, including Yale, TP-Link, Arlo, and August.

SmartThings also doesn’t require a monthly subscription cost. You have full access to the mobile app for free.

SmartThings offers a second, professionally monitored security system as a collaboration with ADT. You get ADT equipment and monitoring but with all the smart home functionality of the SmartThings system.

Just keep in mind that the ADT kit doesn’t support self-monitoring. Be sure you’re going for the regular SmartThings equipment if you want to take charge of things yourself.

The big appeal of Samsung SmartThings is that you can control all the different smart devices you have in your house from just one app. Otherwise, you’d need a separate app for every different device.

But SmartThings can’t totally get rid of all those other apps. If you use security cameras, you’ll still need to keep those individual apps around so you can view your camera’s livestream.

View on Amazon 

DIY security is more popular than ever, and you have a bunch of different options for self-monitored home alarm systems.

• Abode doesn’t have the best camera, but it offers free basic self-monitoring, and it gives you some popular smart home protocols.
• Scout Alarm connects with both Z-Wave and Zigbee, plus it gives you RFID control over your system. But you have to pay a monthly fee to self-monitor your system.
• Ring Alarm has super affordable and functional security equipment, but its cameras suffer from security flaws.
• Samsung SmartThings lets you connect all your smart home stuff and make it worth together. Plus, you can self-monitor your equipment for free.

Do you have a self-monitored home alarm system? Do you prefer professional monitoring? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

We compare and rank home security systems based on five key factors:

1. Price
2. Equipment
3. Smart home integrations
4. Security cameras
5. Customer experience

For self-monitored security systems, we also closely examine how expensive and how good the self-monitoring is.

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