How much does home security cost per month in 2026?

By published pricing as of August 2026: camera-only cloud plans run about $3 to $20/mo, DIY systems with 24/7 professional monitoring run about $8 to $35/mo, and professionally installed systems generally start between $25 and $55/mo before equipment. Equipment is always an additional cost.

What is the cheapest professional monitoring with published pricing?

Of the plans covered here, Kangaroo's Complete Protect is the lowest published price at $8.25/mo billed annually ($99/yr), followed by eufy's Plus Plan at $9.99/mo and then Scout's Always On+ and Ring Pro at $19.99/mo. Cheapest is not automatically best; coverage, cellular backup, and equipment ecosystems differ. See our cheapest professional monitoring guide for the trade-offs.

Can I have home security with no monthly fee at all?

Yes, if you accept self-monitoring with no emergency dispatch. Brands like eufy and Lorex are built around local storage with no required subscription, and Wyze, Blink, and Abode hardware works without a plan with reduced features. You give up 24/7 professional response, which is a real safety trade-off, not just a feature difference.

Why do ADT, Vivint, and Brinks not publish full prices?

Their pricing bundles equipment, installation, contract length, and promotions into a custom quote, so their sites publish only starting-at figures. ADT's own pages showed four different starting figures in August 2026 depending on install type and page. For those brands, the published number is a floor, not a price.

Do monitoring prices include the equipment?

No. Every monthly figure in this guide is service only. DIY brands sell hardware upfront at package prices published on their stores, while pro-install brands often finance equipment into the monthly bill, which is one reason their monthly figures run higher.

Home Security Cost Per Month: Every Plan Priced (2026)

As of August 2026, self-monitoring camera subscriptions run roughly $3 to $20 per month, DIY professional monitoring runs roughly $20 to $35 per month, and professionally installed systems run roughly $35 to $55 or more per month. The cheapest 24/7 professional monitoring with published pricing among brands covered here is Kangaroo at $8.25 per month billed annually; the priciest tier of the plans covered here is Ring's Virtual Security Guard at $99 per month. Equipment is a separate cost on top of every figure in this guide.

Figures researched 2026-08-13; each source below carries its access date. Prices change; treat any price here as "as of" its date.

The master price table (verified August 2026)

Every price below was pulled from the provider's own published pricing page in August 2026. Where a company does not publish a price, the cell says "not published" rather than an estimate. Prices exclude equipment, taxes, and promotional first-year discounts unless noted.

Brand	Cheapest paid tier	Pro-monitoring tier	Contract	Cellular backup	Price source
ADT (Pro Install)	not published (quote-based)	starts at $49.99/mo	ADT references a 36-month monitoring contract for pro install on its self-setup comparison page	included (ADT Base cellular alarm backup)	adt.com/monitoring-plans-security-services
ADT Blu (DIY)	$9.99/mo (Video Connect, cameras only)	$34.99/mo (Pro-Protect)	none; cancel or switch anytime	Pro-Protect plan only	adt.com/blu/monitoring
SimpliSafe	33 cents/day (Self Monitoring with camera recordings)	$1.10/day (Core); Pro and Pro Plus $1.66 to $2.66/day	no long-term contracts	built-in network backup listed as a system feature	support.simplisafe.com/pages/monitoring-plans
Ring	$4.99/mo (Ring Solo, one device)	$19.99/mo (Ring Pro); $99/mo Virtual Security Guard	plans auto-renew, cancel anytime	Alarm Cellular Backup listed on all four plans (requires Ring Alarm)	ring.com/plans
Vivint	not sold separately (system required)	starting at $24.99/mo; the same how-to-buy page also shows a "Starting at $44.99/mo" monitoring block	month-to-month available when equipment is purchased upfront; financing requires a services agreement	built-in cellular per Vivint's monitoring feature list	vivint.com/how-to-buy
Frontpoint	$0.50/day (Video-Only)	$1.48/day (Interactive); $1.65/day (Ultimate)	not stated on monitoring page	24-hour battery backup listed; cellular not itemized on the plans page	frontpointsecurity.com/monitoring
Abode	$8.49/mo (Standard, or $79.99/yr)	$26.99/mo (Pro, or $245.99/yr)	none; cancel anytime	Pro plan only (4G)	goabode.com/plans
Cove	$22.99/mo (Basic)	$22.99/mo (Basic; Plus $32.99, Premium $42.99)	none	not stated in the plans article we accessed	support.covesmart.com (monitoring plans article)
Wyze	$2.99/mo (Cam Plus, one camera)	$19.99/mo (Cam Unlimited Pro, includes 24/7 emergency dispatch); Wyze Home Monitoring price not published on the plans page we accessed	none	not listed on plans page	wyze.com/pages/service-plans
Eufy	$3.99/mo per device (cloud backup Basic; $39.99/yr)	$9.99/mo (Plus Plan, automatic 24/7 professional monitoring; $99.99/yr); a $4.99/mo Protection Plan adds tap-to-access dispatch	none stated	not stated	us.eufy.com/pages/professional-monitoring-service
Arlo	$7.99/mo billed annually (Secure, single camera; $9.99 billed monthly)	$24.99/mo billed annually (Premium with Emergency Response; $29.99 monthly). Premium with 24/7 recording: $39.99/$49.99	none stated	not listed on the plans page	us.arlo.com/pages/arlo-secure
Google Nest	$10/mo or $100/yr (Google Home Premium, formerly Nest Aware)	no professional monitoring tier; Advanced tier $20/mo or $200/yr	none	not applicable	store.google.com/us/product/nest_aware
Blink	$3.99/mo (Basic, one device; $39.99/yr)	no professional monitoring tier; top plan Plus ai $19.99/mo ($199.99/yr)	none	not applicable	blinkforhome.com/plans
TP-Link Tapo	$3.49/mo or $34.99/yr (Tapo Care, starting)	no professional monitoring tier	none	not applicable	tapo.com/us/tapocare
Brinks Home	not published (packages only)	starting at $29.99/mo; shop packages list $39.99 and $54.99/mo	contract for the agreed term, usually 36 months, per the Brinks help center	not stated on the pages we accessed	brinkshome.com help center (account fees article)
Xfinity	$10/mo (Smart Home self-monitoring, for Xfinity Internet customers)	$55/mo (Home Security pro monitoring; includes a $10/mo discount with Xfinity Internet)	no service term contract per the comparison chart	battery backup and cellular data listed for Home Security	xfinity.com/learn/home-solutions
Deep Sentinel	not published (quote-based)	not published; live-guard video monitoring sold by consultation	not stated	not applicable	deepsentinel.com
Scout	$9.99/mo (Always On, self-monitoring; $107/yr)	$19.99/mo (Always On+; $215/yr)	no annual contract	4G LTE backup on both plans	scoutalarm.com/pages/monitoring-plans
Kangaroo	$1.99/mo per camera (Cam Protect, billed at $23.88/yr)	$8.25/mo billed at $99/yr (Complete Protect with professional monitoring)	billed annually	not stated	heykangaroo.com/pricing
Lorex	$5.99/mo (Connect Cloud+, single camera; $59.99/yr); Multi-Camera $16.99/mo ($169.99/yr)	not included in Connect Cloud+ plans; Lorex's page references professional monitoring on its separate premium cloud plans	none stated	not applicable	lorex.com/pages/connect-cloud
Alder	not published (quote-based)	not published	not published	not published	alder.com

SimpliSafe and Frontpoint publish per-day prices rather than monthly ones. For rough comparison, SimpliSafe's Core plan at $1.10/day works out to about $33 over a 30-day month, and Frontpoint's Interactive plan at $1.48/day works out to about $44. Those monthly equivalents are our arithmetic, not the companies' published figures.

The three price bands

The 20 brands above sort into three bands, and knowing which band you are shopping in matters more than any single brand comparison.

Camera subscriptions ($2 to $20/mo). Wyze, Blink, Tapo, eufy, Google Nest, Arlo, and Ring's lower tiers sell cloud video storage and smart alerts, not emergency response. Nobody calls the police for you. If that is all you need, the honest comparison is in our guide to no-subscription security cameras, because several brands in this band (eufy, Lorex, and to a degree Wyze and Blink with local storage hardware) let you skip the fee entirely.

DIY professional monitoring ($8 to $35/mo). Kangaroo ($8.25), eufy's Plus Plan ($9.99), Scout ($19.99), Wyze Cam Unlimited Pro ($19.99, dispatch only), Ring Pro ($19.99), Cove ($22.99), Abode ($26.99), SimpliSafe Core (about $33/mo at $1.10/day), and ADT's DIY Blu line ($34.99) all sell 24/7 monitoring with no long-term contract. This band is where most price-sensitive buyers who still want dispatch should look. See cheapest professional monitoring for the head-to-head.

Professionally installed systems ($35 to $55+/mo). Vivint (from $24.99 by its own pages, though the same how-to-buy page also shows a $44.99 starting figure), Brinks (from $29.99, with $39.99 and $54.99 plans on its shop packages), ADT Pro Install (from $49.99), and Xfinity Home Security ($55) bundle installation, service, and often contracts. The monthly fee is higher partly because it subsidizes equipment and installation. Whether that trade is worth it is the subject of our DIY vs professional monitoring cost comparison.

What the monthly fee actually buys

A professional monitoring fee, in every plan we reviewed, covers some combination of: a 24/7 monitoring center that receives alarm signals, human agents who verify the alarm and call emergency dispatch, cellular backup so the alarm still reports when your internet is down, and app features (video history, smart alerts, remote arming).

Two line items deserve attention. First, cellular backup is frequently gated to the top plan: ADT Blu includes it only on Pro-Protect ($34.99), and Abode only on Pro ($26.99). A cheaper self-monitoring plan on the same hardware usually reports over Wi-Fi only, which means a power or internet outage takes your alarm reporting down with it. Second, video features are often a separate axis from monitoring: ADT Blu charges $10/mo more when cameras are added to a system plan, Ring gates 24/7 continuous recording behind a $3/mo per-camera add-on, and Abode charges $9.99/mo per camera for 24/7 recording. The advertised headline price is rarely the configured price.

Safety note: self-monitoring plans put alarm response on you. If you sleep through a 3 a.m. notification, nothing else happens. That is the core trade, and it is why we do not treat the cheapest row in the table as the default recommendation. Our full analysis of when dispatch is worth paying for is in is professional monitoring worth it.

Quote-based pricing and why some cells say not published

ADT Pro Install, Vivint, Brinks, Alder, and Deep Sentinel either do not publish complete pricing or publish only "starting at" figures. Their final monthly price depends on equipment package, home size, contract length, and current promotions, and is delivered through a sales call. That is not inherently bad (bundled pricing can net out cheaper than DIY when equipment subsidies are counted), but it means published comparisons like this one can only show the floor, not your quote.

ADT is the clearest example of the problem: in August 2026 its own pages showed monitoring "starting at $24.99/mo" for self-setup, "starts at $45.99 per month" and "starting at $56.99/mo" for pro install on one comparison page, and "starts at $49.99 for Pro Install" in its monitoring FAQ. All four figures are ADT's. The only way to know your number is to get an actual quote.

If you are down to the monitored-system band, we can pull real quotes from professional monitoring providers for your specific home through a short questionnaire at /quote. It is the fastest way to turn the "starting at" ranges in this table into actual numbers.

Annual billing, first-year teasers, and other price traps

Three patterns in the current price lists are easy to misread.

Annual-only framing. Kangaroo's $8.25/mo is billed as $99 once a year; there is no true monthly option at that rate. Arlo's headline $7.99/mo requires annual billing ($9.99 billed monthly). Scout discounts roughly 10% for annual payment. Always check the billing period behind a "per month" number.

First-year teaser pricing. Blink's Basic ai plan is $49.99 for the first year, then $69.99/yr. The renewal price is the real price.

Rising subscription prices. Several major brands have raised subscription prices in the last few years; Blink, for example, raised Basic from $3 to $3.99/mo and Plus from $10 to $11.99/mo effective October 2025, per its own support page. We track documented increases across brands in the Subscription Creep Index. When comparing systems you plan to keep for five to ten years, a provider's pricing history is a fair input alongside its current price.

Frequently asked questions

How much does home security cost per month in 2026?: By published pricing as of August 2026: camera-only cloud plans run about $3 to $20/mo, DIY systems with 24/7 professional monitoring run about $8 to $35/mo, and professionally installed systems generally start between $25 and $55/mo before equipment. Equipment is always an additional cost.
What is the cheapest professional monitoring with published pricing?: Of the plans covered here, Kangaroo's Complete Protect is the lowest published price at $8.25/mo billed annually ($99/yr), followed by eufy's Plus Plan at $9.99/mo and then Scout's Always On+ and Ring Pro at $19.99/mo. Cheapest is not automatically best; coverage, cellular backup, and equipment ecosystems differ. See our cheapest professional monitoring guide for the trade-offs.
Can I have home security with no monthly fee at all?: Yes, if you accept self-monitoring with no emergency dispatch. Brands like eufy and Lorex are built around local storage with no required subscription, and Wyze, Blink, and Abode hardware works without a plan with reduced features. You give up 24/7 professional response, which is a real safety trade-off, not just a feature difference.
Why do ADT, Vivint, and Brinks not publish full prices?: Their pricing bundles equipment, installation, contract length, and promotions into a custom quote, so their sites publish only starting-at figures. ADT's own pages showed four different starting figures in August 2026 depending on install type and page. For those brands, the published number is a floor, not a price.
Do monitoring prices include the equipment?: No. Every monthly figure in this guide is service only. DIY brands sell hardware upfront at package prices published on their stores, while pro-install brands often finance equipment into the monthly bill, which is one reason their monthly figures run higher.

Sources

Ring Solo $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr; Multi $9.99/mo; Pro $19.99/mo with 24/7 professional monitoring; Virtual Security Guard $99/mo; cellular backup listed across plans; 24/7 recording add-on $3/mo per camera; plans auto-renew until canceled: https://ring.com/plans (accessed 2026-08-13)
ADT Blu monitoring: Video Connect $9.99/mo, Self-Protect $14.99/mo, Pro-Protect $34.99/mo; no long-term contract; cellular backup only on Pro-Protect; +$10/mo when cameras added to a system; life safety add-on +$3/mo: https://www.adt.com/blu/monitoring (accessed 2026-08-13)
ADT Pro Monitoring starts at $49.99 for Pro Install (ADT FAQ); ADT systems include cellular alarm event backup: https://www.adt.com/monitoring-plans-security-services (accessed 2026-08-13)
ADT self-setup page: monitoring starting at $24.99/mo for self setup; pro install starts at $45.99/mo; pro install with 36-month monitoring contract starting at $56.99/mo: https://www.adt.com/own-vs-rent-security/self-setup (accessed 2026-08-13)
SimpliSafe residential plans: Self Monitoring 33 cents/day, Standard 76 cents/day, Core $1.10/day, Pro & Pro Plus $1.66 to $2.66/day: https://support.simplisafe.com/pages/monitoring-plans (accessed 2026-08-13)
SimpliSafe: no long-term contracts or hidden fees, cancel anytime; built-in network backup and up to 24-hour backup battery listed as system features: https://simplisafe.com/home-security-shop (accessed 2026-08-13)
Vivint monitoring starting at $24.99/mo (how-to-buy and cost guide pages); other Vivint pages display 'Starting at $44.99/mo'; month-to-month agreements available when equipment purchased upfront; standard HomeProtect monitoring listed at $29.99/mo in offer terms: https://www.vivint.com/how-to-buy (accessed 2026-08-13)
Vivint alarm monitoring article: 'alarm monitoring with Vivint starts at $24.99 per month': https://www.vivint.com/resources/article/how-much-does-alarm-monitoring-cost (accessed 2026-08-13)
Frontpoint plans priced per day: Ultimate $1.65/day, Interactive $1.48/day, Video-Only $0.50/day, In-App Safety Button $0.17/day (marketed as from $4.99/month); 24-hour battery backup on monitored plans: https://www.frontpointsecurity.com/monitoring (accessed 2026-08-13)
Abode Standard $8.49/mo or $79.99/yr; Pro $26.99/mo or $245.99/yr; contract-free; Pro includes 4G cellular backup; camera-only plan $3.99/mo per camera; 24/7 recording add-on $9.99/mo per camera: https://goabode.com/plans/ (accessed 2026-08-13)
Cove monitoring: Basic $22.99/mo, Plus $32.99/mo, Premium $42.99/mo; no contracts: https://support.covesmart.com/simple-pre-purchase-information/%2Ft%2F18b77f%2Fwhat-are-coves-monitoring-plans (accessed 2026-08-14)
Wyze Cam Plus $2.99/mo (single camera), Cam Unlimited $9.99/mo ($99/yr), Cam Unlimited Pro $19.99/mo including 24/7 emergency dispatch; no contracts; Wyze Home Monitoring plan exists (price not shown on plans page): https://www.wyze.com/pages/service-plans (accessed 2026-08-13)
eufy cloud backup Basic plan: 1 device $3.99/mo or $39.99/yr, priced per number of devices: https://service.eufy.com/article-description/Introducing-Cloud-Storage (accessed 2026-08-13)
eufy markets cameras and local storage with no monthly fees: https://www.eufy.com/eufy-local-security (accessed 2026-08-13)
eufy professional monitoring: Protection Plan $4.99/mo ($49.99/yr) with tap-to-access dispatch; Plus Plan $9.99/mo ($99.99/yr) with automatic 24/7 professional monitoring: https://us.eufy.com/pages/professional-monitoring-service (accessed 2026-08-14)
Arlo Secure US pricing: single camera $7.99/mo billed annually or $9.99 billed monthly; Plus (unlimited cameras) $17.99/$19.99; Premium with Emergency Response $24.99/$29.99; Premium with Emergency Response and 24/7 video recording $39.99/$49.99: https://us.arlo.com/pages/arlo-secure (accessed 2026-08-13)
Google Home Premium (formerly Nest Aware): $10/month or $100/year Standard, $20/month or $200/year Advanced: https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_aware (accessed 2026-08-13)
Blink plans: Basic ai $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr (first year $49.99); Plus ai $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr (first year $149.99); legacy Basic $3.99/mo ($39.99/yr) and Plus $11.99/mo ($119.99/yr): https://blinkforhome.com/plans (accessed 2026-08-13)
Blink October 2025 price change: Basic monthly $3 to $3.99, Basic yearly $30 to $39.99, Plus monthly $10 to $11.99, Plus yearly $100 to $119.99: https://support.blinkforhome.com/en_US/subscriptions/blink-subscription-plan-changes (accessed 2026-08-13)
Tapo Care starting at $3.49/month or $34.99 a year: https://www.tapo.com/us/tapocare/ (accessed 2026-08-14)
Brinks Home monitoring fee starting at $29.99 per month; monitoring plan is a contract for the agreed term, usually 36 months: https://brinkshome.com/help-center/articles/Understanding_Your_BrinksHome_Fees (accessed 2026-08-14)
Brinks shop package monitoring prices $39.99/mo and $54.99/mo: https://brinkshome.com/shop (accessed 2026-08-13)
Xfinity home solutions: Smart Home self-monitored service $10/mo for Xfinity Internet customers; Home Security professional monitoring $55/mo (includes $10/mo discount with Xfinity Internet); no service term contract; battery backup and cellular data listed for Home Security: https://www.xfinity.com/learn/home-solutions (accessed 2026-08-14)
Scout Always On (self-monitoring) $9.99/mo or $107/yr; Always On+ (24/7 professional monitoring) $19.99/mo or $215/yr; no annual contract; 4G LTE cellular and battery backup on both plans; camera cloud storage $2.99/mo per camera: https://www.scoutalarm.com/pages/monitoring-plans (accessed 2026-08-13)
Kangaroo Complete Protect $8.25/month billed at $99/year including 24/7 professional monitoring; Cam Protect camera plan $1.99/month per camera billed at $23.88/year: https://heykangaroo.com/pricing (accessed 2026-08-14)
Lorex markets no monthly fees; Connect Cloud+ plans: Single Camera $5.99/mo or $59.99/yr, Multi-Camera $16.99/mo or $169.99/yr (up to 10 cameras); page references professional monitoring on Lorex's separate premium cloud plans: https://www.lorex.com/pages/connect-cloud (accessed 2026-08-14)
Alder sells via free quote; no published monitoring price list on its site: https://alder.com/ (accessed 2026-08-13)
Deep Sentinel sells live-guard monitoring via consultation/quote; no published residential plan price list found on its marketing pages: https://www.deepsentinel.com/ (accessed 2026-08-13)