Consequently, having a home alarm system is one of the best ways of preventing burglars and safeguarding your home. However, what is the approximate cost of a home security system on a per-month basis? Home alarm packages can include different gears and monitoring services, as well as contain different features. As a rule, the prices may vary from 15 dollars and up to 70 dollars and even more per month.
Here, let us discuss the various components that contribute to the monthly costs so that you can prepare for home security monitoring.
Home Alarm Equipment Costs
The initial cost of the equipment is perhaps the largest driver of the monthly cost of a home security system. The costs of equipment can start as low as $200 and may go up to $1,500 or more depending on the decision to buy or lease the gear and the level of setup that one wants to have.
For instance, a basic do-it-yourself alarm system with minimal door and window contacts may cost between $200 and $500 in total for the equipment. At the same time, a higher-end professionally installed and monitored smart home alarm with cameras, smoke detectors, automation, and other additional features costs from $1,000 to $1,500+.
If you decide to lease equipment rather than purchase it, you will not have to meet those high initial equipment costs. This means that you can afford to purchase the gear by paying slightly higher monthly charges instead. Therefore, lease options usually mean that the monthly cost will be lower than in the case of a classic rental, and this will be the subject of the next section.
Monitoring and Service Fees: Monthly
The other major factors that affect the cost of home security systems per month include the monitoring, maintenance, and support charges. If you buy the equipment outright, there is also an ongoing monitoring fee if you’d like authorities dispatched in the case of a break-in or fire.
Professional monitoring enables immediate notification and response from the police or any other emergency service if anything alarms your home. Otherwise, the system just makes sounds and alerts the owner directly without involving the police during an emergency. Basic plans start at $15/month for line monitoring and up to $70+ for high-end, interactive services.
Monitoring services and plans vary based on:
1. Connectivity modes - Wired such as a normal phone line connection and other wireless connections such as cellular connections, WiFi, and the rest. Cellular monitoring is usually the most expensive option but offers the highest level of dependability.
2. Level of monitoring services – From the lowest level of cheaper ‘set and forget’ alarms to fully realized services such as mobile alerts, automation, etc.
3. Contract length – Monitoring contracts of 36 months and over have high early termination charges but low monthly charges. This is more beneficial because month-to-month contracts are way more flexible.
It is important to note when comparing the monthly home alarm system costs that some may require you to buy the equipment at an additional cost and the monitoring plan fee inclusive of taxes and any installation costs. Allow me to provide two examples of different price ranges to illustrate the distinction.
Monthly Cost Breakdown Examples
Affordable Home Security Package
For instance, if you opt for an economy self-installed alarm system that comes with just door and window contact sensors at $299 and installation costs of $100. For monitoring, you choose a simple $19/month landline plan that has no annual contract.
Your monthly home security costs would be breakdown as:
Upfront equipment and installation: Then add $100 to get $399 for the total. Ongoing monitoring: $19/month
So, your initial investment is $399 and the other fee you should pay is $19 per month for the monitoring. Exclusion of costly equipment plus high-end interactive monitoring contributes towards low monthly costs of security.
Luxury Home Security System Plan
Now let’s consider a high-end configuration. A smart home alarm system with cameras, smoke detection, lighting controls, and other professional features costs $1,300. You also choose a better $40 per month cellular monitoring plan with a 3 3-year contract.
The monthly costs now look like:
Equipment (financed over 36 months): This is an example of the total cost that a client would be charged at $36 per month: Cost of Web Hosting = $1,300 Monitoring plan: $40 per month Total = $76 per month
After getting rid of the equipment costs, you will be charged more than $75 monthly for monitoring than $19 for basic monitoring. Sophisticated systems and monitoring become expensive very quickly.
How to Have a Low Cost of Home Security Each Month?
Here are some handy tips to minimize how much you pay per month for home alarm system monitoring: Here are some handy tips to minimize how much you pay per month for home alarm system monitoring:
- Instead, choose plain old telephone call line surveillance – it is as low as $15-$25 monthly which is cheaper by 50% than cellular services
- Sign up for longer 36+ months monitoring contracts to get up to 20% or more discount in many cases
- Buy equipment for cash to eliminate the monthly costs of financing.
- It eliminates the costs of professional installation which can cost anything from $100.
- Ask for a discount if you have the home security system installed together with cable or your insurance.
Home security systems cost from $30 up to $50+ per month for basic service packages that include monitoring and equipment. Thus, they can bring down their monthly alarm bills, if they follow the advice given above.
When selecting a home alarm company, make sure to obtain a total cost breakdown of the equipment, installation, annual monitoring contracts, warranty, and any other fees. This means you are in a position to forecast the home security system expense per month and make financially sustainable decisions.
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