7 min readSimpliSafe and Cove have a lot in common. Both these DIY home security systems have similar pricing, similar smart home integrations, and good customer service scores.
We have to give SimpliSafe a slight lead here because it has been around quite a bit longer than Cove, and people are more likely to recognize the name on the sign in your yard. We also like that SimpliSafe offers a smart lock, and it has a doorbell camera. But honestly, either of these systems is a good choice.
The winner: Tie. SimpliSafe and Cove have a similar price range and features
SimpliSafe and Cove monitoring plans have similar features—although SimpliSafe is slightly cheaper. Cove and SimpliSafe give you some extra perks for subscribing to the premium monitoring plans as well, which can be worth it.
Home security company | Monitoring price range | Base equipment price | Camera price range | Details |
 | $9.99-$27.99 | $122.48 | $99.00–$189.99 | View Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $14.99-$24.99 | $162.05 | $99.00–$199.00 | View Plans |
Data effective 6/21/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Whether you choose SimpliSafe or Cove, you’re going to need to subscribe to the higher-priced monitoring plan if you want to be able to control your security system with a mobile app. Without the app, you can’t check on your security system remotely or get alerts about alarms.
SimpliSafe’s monitoring plans are pretty affordable. Compared to companies like ADT, Vivint, or Frontpoint.
Plan | Monthly price | Mobile app access | Smart home support | Learn more |
| Free |  No | No | View Plans | |
| $9.99 |  Yes | No | View Plans | |
| $19.99* | No | No | View Plans | |
| Fast Protect | $29.99* | Yes | Yes | View Plans |
SimpliSafe’s Standard plan will give you 24/7 professional monitoring for about $20 per month, but we recommend upgrading to the Fast Protect plan. It’s $10 more per month, but you get some extra features we think are worth it.
Image source: Reviews.org
The Fast Protect plan gives you access to the mobile app, so you can arm and disarm your system from anywhere. You can also check if you remembered to arm the system before you left for work that morning. Without the mobile app, you’re in the dark about your system’s status unless you’re literally at home and can check for yourself.
For the extra money every month, SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect plan gives you smart home support. SimpliSafe doesn’t have very many smart home integrations, but you’ll need the Fast Protect plan if you want to connect your SimpliSafe security system to your Alexa or Google smart speaker.
If you opt for SimpliSafe's Fast Protect plan, you'll have access to homeowner's insurance discounts plus a 10% discount on equipment add-ons and a lifetime warranty on equipment as long as you maintain your subscription.
Cove’s monitoring costs slightly cheaper than SimpliSafe’s. If you opt for the $15-per-month Basic plan, you’ll get 24/7 professional monitoring but that’s about it. We recommend upgrading to the $25-per-month Plus plan.
Like SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect plan, Cove’s Plus plan gives you access to the mobile app so you can control your security system whether you’re at work, at the movies, or hanging on a Caribbean beach. You also need Cove’s Plus plan if you want Alexa or Google integration.
Image source: Cove
But Cove gives you some extra stuff you don’t get from SimpliSafe’s top-tier monitoring plan. Cove throws in your first. month free and a $5-per-month equipment credit that you can save up over time.
If you opt for Cove’s Plus plan, you don’t have to worry about your equipment breaking, because it’s covered by the lifetime warranty. And if you want to add sensors to your system, you can save up your $5-per-month credit to get some new stuff. Pretty sweet.
The winner: Tie. Cove has a fancier control panel, but SimpliSafe offers a smart door lock.
Cove and SimpliSafe have similar equipment offerings. The biggest difference is that Cove uses a touchscreen control panel, whereas SimpliSafe uses a more basic, button-style keypad.
If you need an extra keypad to put by a back door, then SimpliSafe will let you buy an extra one for cheaper. Cove doesn’t have a simpler backup keypad for extra doors. That said, we like the touchscreen panel overall. It’s a fancier experience.
Other than keypads/control panels, Cove and SimpliSafe offer almost exactly the same security sensors. SimpliSafe has separate smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms, whereas Cove has a combo model. SimpliSafe also offers a temperature sensor, which Cove does not. And thankfully, both Cove and SimpliSafe offer yard signs for proactive theif deterrence.
The biggest differentiator is that SimpliSafe offers a smart lock. Cove doesn’t have a smart lock, and it doesn’t integrate with any third-party models. So if you want to smartify your door lock, go with SimpliSafe.
The winner: Tie. Both SimpliSafe and Cove offer a selection of indoor, outdoor, and doorbell cameras.
SimpliSafe has two indoor security cameras, a doorbell camera, and an outdoor camera, whereas Cove has an indoor camera, an outdoor camera, and two doorbell cameras. Whether you opt for SimpliSafe or Cove’s cameras comes down to what you need covered.
We like that SimpliSafe offers a doorbell camera. We think video doorbells are the most useful security cameras you can get and they offer a lot of benefits.
Do you want to confirm if your package finally arrived? Or check to see if your kids get home from school okay? A doorbell camera can help.
Data effective 6/21/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Other than its Video Doorbell Pro, SimpliSafe has a wired indoor camera. The camera is pretty basic, but it’s a decent option to let you watch your pet while you’re at work or check in on your kids while they’re with the babysitter.
SimpliSafe's newest camera, the wireless indoor camera, offers more advanced features. When coupled with SimpliSafe's Fast Protect Plan. You'll be able to enable 24/7 live guard protection that allows agents to see and speak to intruders during an alarm. The wireless indoor camera also has a built-in motion sensor, which is a great choice for high-traffic areas you want to keep an extra eye on.
Image source: Reviews.org
If you want an outdoor security camera, SimpliSafe can get the job done, or you can opt for a variety of other weatherproof security cameras.
Cove has an indoor camera and a wireless outdoor camera that’s easy to install wherever you need it in your yard. We also like that Cove’s cameras have both local and cloud storage. You don’t have to pay a monthly fee for cloud storage if you don’t want to, and local footage is more secure from hackers.
Data effective 6/21/2023. Offers are subject to change.
Cove’s cameras have motion detection, but they don’t have human detection (like its doorbell cameras do). That means you can’t adjust the settings to only alert you when the camera spots a human. Without that kind of differentiation, motion alerts can get annoying fast, especially if you put your camera in a high-traffic area where a lot of cars pass by.
Cove claims its cameras will ignore things like waving tree branches and flying insects, so its motion detection does have some very basic smart functions. But still, we prefer that SimpliSafe’s cameras can tell the difference between people and cars.
The winner: SimpliSafe integrates with August smart locks, while Cove doesn’t support any smart locks
If you want a security system that will work with all your smart home devices, then neither SimpliSafe nor Cove is the best choice. Both of these security systems have similar smart home integrations, and they’re both … meh.
Cove works with Amazon Alexa and Google Nest smart speakers, but that’s it, end of list.
Cove smart home integrations:
SimpliSafe is ever-so-slightly better. It works with Alexa and Google, and it integrates with August smart locks. August smart locks are some of the most popular smart door locks out there, so it’s nice that SimpliSafe works with them.
SimpliSafe smart home integrations:
SimpliSafe also offers its own smart door lock. Like August locks, the SimpliSafe Smart Lock modifies your existing deadbolt which makes installation easy.
If you want a better smart home security system, we recommend Abode, Ring Alarm, Frontpoint, or Vivint.
The winner: Cove. Cove has a better Trustpilot score and longer support hours
Cove gets better customer service scores than SimpliSafe: it has an impressive 4.6 stars on Trustpilot compared to 3.8 stars for SimpliSafe.1,2 We have to acknowledge that SimpliSafe also has over 16,300 customer reviews on Trustpilot whereas Cove has only about 5,000, but still.
SimpliSafe also has more restricted customer service hours than Cove does. Cove offers 24/7 support, but you have to call SimpliSafe between 8:00 a.m. and midnight Eastern time.
Cove also has a live chat option, which SimpliSafe does not.
This one is pretty close: SimpliSafe and Cove are both pretty affordable and have basic cameras, doorbell cameras, decent customer service, and a couple smart home integrations.
At the end of the day, even if the pricetag is a little bit more, we’re suckers for smart home tech, which is why we give SimpliSafe a slight win for offering smart lock options. But both Cove and SimpliSafe are good choices for a DIY home security system.
Home security company | Monthly monitoring price range | Camera types | Smart home integrations | Details |
| $9.99-$29.99 | Indoor, outdoor, doorbell | Alexa, Google, August locks | View Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $17.99–$27.99 | Indoor, outdoor, doorbell | Alexa, Google | View Plans |
We look at the same five things with every security system we review:
We’ve been writing about the Cove security system since it first came out in 2018, and we have a SimpliSafe system installed for long-term testing so we can see how it holds up over time.
We found both Cove and SimpliSafe to offer extremely compelling home security offerings. Across monitor pricing, security equipment, and cameras, the two companies tie.
SimpliSafe does have an advantage when it comes to smart home integration as it can integrate with August Smart Locks. However, Cove has been customer service scores and a 24/7 service/live chat option, and is slightly cheaper.
No. Ring is a different home security equipment company and its products are not compatible with the Cove system. However, Cove offers its own equipment to compete with Ring's offerings.
Cove products include door sensors, window sensors, motion sensors, glass break detectors, smoke CO detectors, flood sensors, medical buttons, key remotes, and a collection of indoor/outdoor/doorbell cameras.
Yes. Cove monitoring will cost you a monthly free, anywhere from $17.99/mo. - $27.99/mo.
Both Cove plans, Basic and Plus, include 24/7 professional monitoring, environmental monitoring, cellular backups, automated system checks, a 24-hour battery backup, and more.
The more expensive Cove Plus offering includes smartphone control, smart home integration with Alexa and Google Assistant, a lifetime equipment warranty, and a lifetime monitoring rate-lock guarantee.
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