ADT Home Security Systems Pricing and Package Costs

ADT knows home security better than most alarm companies. Proof of that is the fact that it topped our 2024 roundup of the best security systems. But being the 150-year-old company that it is, it seems that ADT knows how to do good business as well. We like ADT better now with its more transparent pricing, easier buying process, and lower equipment and monitoring costs.

The fact remains that buying a security system is a huge investment. So on this page, let’s zoom in on ADT’s prices to see if it’s worth it. We’ll also give you updates on what ADT has been working on, particularly the ADT Plus system that just came out and the new Trusted Neighbor feature that we’ve been excited about since April. Let’s start!

Before we go on, note that ADT sells two types of security systems. This page is all about ADT Control, a whole home security system with professional installation. Their second product line is called ADT Self Setup, which is a DIY system like SimpliSafe and Ring Alarm. To learn more about our experience with this new ADT system, read our ADT Self Setup review.

Also note that ADT is overhauling its offering. The new ADT Plus system is out, and it’s a system you can either have professionally installed for a fee (like ADT Control) or set up yourself (like ADT Self Setup). We’re working to get our hands on and test the new system, but for now, here’s more information about ADT Control.

Expert Take

From Gene Petrino, Retired SWAT Commander and Law Enforcement

“Residential burglaries have a very low clearance rate (10%-14%). That is, very few investigations end up in an arrest. I have responded to hundreds of burglaries during my career, and rarely was an arrest made when it was a delayed reporting. There are several reasons for this; however, the primary reason is lack of physical evidence that ties the suspect to the scene. This is where video security systems really shine, especially if there are multiple cameras that capture the incident.”

Packages & Monitoring

ADT offers three main packages1: Build Your Own, Smart Home, and Video and Smart Home. Each one comes with a varying number and type of security equipment. But, one thing we like about ADT is that you can customize your system to make it your own. The packages just give you a place to start; in particular the Build Your Own package. It’s like an open floor plan for those who want a custom security system.

If you need it, you can get help from an ADT security expert in building your system. They’ll give you a call or do an in-home walkthrough so they can suggest the best places to install sensors and which areas need extra security. There’s going to be some sales talk, but they’re not that pushy in our experience.

If you prefer to do it your way, though, you can build a system online. That’s one of the recent improvements ADT made. And sometimes, ADT throws in additional online-only deals. How it works is that you choose one from the three packages available, and then expand it with additional equipment. You’ll see your cart total as you add more pieces, making it easy to work with a budget.

ADT Packages and Monitoring Analysis

ADT Equipment Pricing

It may not seem like it, but ADT is actually quite flexible with its prices. Not that you can haggle – the prices themselves are set in stone – but you can choose how you want to pay.

The first option? Pay upfront. That means you’ll pay the full cost of the equipment so you only have to worry about the monthly monitoring fee going forward. If you go that route, though, expect to shell out hundreds of dollars upfront. The Build Your Own package alone starts at $499, while the Video and Smart Home package costs $1,586. And since these packages require professional installation, expect to pay another $99 or more.

The first payment option is a good way to keep monthly costs down to $29.99 to $44.99 (the cost of professional monitoring). But if it’s not practical for you to shell out hundreds of dollars in one go, you can opt for the second option: financing.

ADT offers equipment financing plans. You’ll pay monthly for 24, 36, or 60 months. It’s easier on the wallet, especially if you’re going to customize your system. Here’s the estimated monthly cost of each package:

Bear in mind that those monthly prices cover only the equipment cost. ADT also requires professional monitoring, which comes with a monthly fee too. Plus, you’d still need to pay for the professional installation service upfront, which again starts at $99.

Expert Take

From Gene Petrino, Retired SWAT Commander and Law Enforcement

“A key component to a good security system is redundancy. Motion sensors provide exactly that. I have responded to several residential burglaries where the suspects cut the wires to the siren that was affixed to the exterior of the home. They then smashed the sliding glass door to gain entry, further bypassing the door sensor. Fortunately, the homeowners had motion sensors which were activated, notifying them of the intrusion.”

ADT Monitoring Pricing

As for the monitoring service fee, it covers the cost of 24/7 professional monitoring and could cost you from $29.99 to $44.99. The price depends on the features you want like cloud storage and the hardware in your home’s system. A system that’s smart home capable with video monitoring will cost you the maximum of $44.99 per month, while a system with just security monitoring will cost you the least at $29.99 per month. There’s also a mid-tier option for $44.99 per month that includes security monitoring and smart home features, but no video.

We commend ADT for lowering its monitoring costs, making its services more affordable and competitively-priced. Did you know that at one point, ADT’s monitoring ranged from $40 to $60 per month? We’re glad that’s no longer the case.

The new pricing makes ADT one of the more affordable choices for professional monitoring. For example, it’s cheaper than Frontpoint’s sole monitoring option that costs $49.99 per month. That plan includes features similar to ADT’s top-tier subscription (security monitoring, smart home, and video security), but costs $5 more. And for people who only want professional monitoring and nothing else, Frontpoint is more expensive by $20. Just think how much you’ll save throughout your three-year contract term – over $700!

We also think that ADT’s pricing is fair since its monitoring service is one of the best out there. It has 12 monitoring centers, for starters, each in a different state. That gives ADT backup on top of backups, so it never really goes offline. And keep in mind, each of those nine facilities come equipped with backup generators and servers.

Feature-wise, we also learned from our testing that ADT has a new way to alert customers. That is, through the SMART Monitoring messaging system. It’s a text-based system that alerts multiple members of a household at once. And since it’s like a group chat, it makes collaboration between family members a lot easier.

In our experience, SMART Monitoring alerts come through about 15 seconds faster than the alert phone call from ADT. That’s another advantage. You can cancel or verify the alert through the messaging system, too. That means potentially faster dispatch in case of an emergency.

We have to warn you that ADT systems still need a monitoring plan, so that $29.99 to $44.99 monthly fee comes with all systems and you can’t avoid it. If you want to have a system that lets you get rid of the monthly fees, there are ADT alternatives with optional monitoring. Abode security comes to mind. It offers home security without monthly fees. But, if you want 24/7 monitoring, you can sign up on a month-to-month basis to avoid a contract. This lets you opt in and out as must as you want.

In contrast, ADT comes with a contract. That’s why we don’t suggest it if the monthly fee will stretch your budget or if you think your budget might change in the next few years. Most of the contracts are for three years, so make sure you can keep up on the payments for the whole time. On the bright side, though, signing a contract means your rate is locked in for the whole term. This protects you from raising rates and let’s face it, most prices go up over the years, not down. Case and point, SimpliSafe’s plans and Cove’s plans both just went up in price. Cove’s monthly rates jumped from $14.99 to $17.99, while SimpliSafe’s monitoring fee was raised to $19.99 and $29.99 for the two plans that it sells.

Expert Take

From Gene Petrino, Retired SWAT Commander and Law Enforcement

“Timing is vital to the apprehension of a burglar. The sooner that law enforcement is notified, the more likely they are at catching the criminal in the act. Additionally, it reduces property loss as the burglar knows their time is limited before police arrive. I remember one incident in particular where the homeowner had a self-monitoring system. They received the alert on their phone, and they were able to see two subjects inside the residence. We responded to the residence and surrounded the house.”

ADT Pricing vs The Competition

ADT’s pricing for its equipment and 24/7 monitoring service tend to run higher than the competition. But, when it comes to your home’s security, we think it’s better to pay a bit more to get top-tier service than to pay a lot less and put your home at risk. It’s all about getting the most value for your money. And in that case, ADT is a clear top choice.

Not only does ADT provide good equipment, it also offers good monitoring. The $29.99 to $44.99 that you pay per month gives you access to ADT’s monitoring network. Like we talked about before, it has a lot of backup measures in place to keep the network up at all times.

Here’s one more thing that gives ADT its value. It gives a wide choice of security equipment. And better yet, the system itself works together to give you and your home a high level of protection. For instance, with a video package, ADT cameras can record every event that happens in your home.

Of course, if you want to keep your costs down, make sure to check out all of the ADT deals. ADT’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in the past have included free security camera or video doorbells, $100 prepaid gift cards and free system installation, which costs around $100.

Smart Home

Being an old company doesn’t mean that ADT is out-of-date. In this case, you can teach an old dog new tricks. In fact, it’s still one of today’s industry leaders for innovation and technology. ADT showed this off with the new smart home technology and home automation it added in the ADT Pulse system. Back in the early 2010s when other brands were still working on adding smart home products, ADT beat them to the punch with the ADT Pulse system. We tested it back then and we can say now that it was a strong precursor to the smart home security system ADT offers today, called ADT Control.

As for ADT Control, it just keeps getting better. On top of third-party smart products like smart locks and lights, ADT works with one of the leaders of smart security, Google Nest. This Google-made brand offers smart security cameras with face recognition, person detection, and a bunch of other features that can make your home smarter and more secure. Aside from cameras, ADT also works with smart thermostats, speakers, and displays from Google Nest.

Voice control is a strong focus of ADT as well. It works with Google Assistant so you can use your voice to arm, disarm, and check the status of your ADT system. ADT is not closed off to other voice assistants, though, as it also works with Alexa,2 the other popular voice AI.

Sadly, ADT doesn’t work with Siri, so it may not be the best choice for users that own Apple smart home products. If that’s you, check out our list of the best security systems for Apple.

Aside from Google and Alexa, ADT also works with home automation devices from Kwikset, Liftmaster, Sonos, and anything that supports Z-Wave. Here are just a few of ADT’s add-on smart home options:

• Smart light bulbs: ADT’s smart light bulbs let you control your lights remotely and even dim them with either the app or your voice. You can make custom scenes which lets you group lights with each other to set them all to the brightness level. This lets you turn all of them on and off with one button as well. On top of that, you can set up schedules so that the lights turn on and off at set times. You can change the time they turn on and off based on the day of the week too. There’s even an away mode that mimics the normal light patterns you use when you’re home. Using this mode can make it seem like you’re home, even when you’re not.
• Smart thermostats: One way to bring down your heating and cooling costs is to use a smart thermostat that can be put on a schedule. ADT’s version lets you control your home’s climate from your phone and set schedules to cut down on your energy bill. We liked that the system told us if the house got over 75 degrees. We loved to make scenes that connect the thermostat to the lights. For instance, we had our lights turn off as soon as the thermostat was set to 60 degrees since that’s the temperature we use when we aren’t home. Combining these two IoT devices made our lives more convenient and saved us money on bills, a win-win! ADT’s smart thermostat works with most HVAC systems as well as heat pumps. You can find out if ADT works with your system or heat pumps from your expert installer.
• Garage door gadgets: Next, ADT offers a garage door remote that sends you an alert if you leave the door open. When you get an alert, you can use the built-in controls to close it. It connects to the ADT app so you can control the door right on your phone and get notified when it closes or opens.
• Smart plugs: Finally, ADT sells one of our favorite smart home devices, smart plugs. Smart plugs can turn off lights along with any of the device you plug into an outlet remotely. We found it easy to set up the plugs with our non-IoT devices which turns them into smart home devices. We used the plugs to dim lights, even on lamps that don’t have a dimmer switch. These plugs are can be used for a lot of things from lighting to coffee makers to flat irons. You can also set the plugs on schedules and use Alexa to control them with your voice.

In fact, ADT sells most of these IoT products, like smart locks and smart plugs, on its website.

Although ADT is the oldest security company in the United States, it can compete with the best of them in terms of smart home integrations. And that’s great news, as smart home tech keeps getting more popular year after year.

About ADT Trusted Neighbor and ADT Plus

Speaking of smart home tech getting better, ADT has a new smart security feature equivalent to handing out trusted neighbors a copy of your keys. It’s actually better, because instead of giving them access to your house anytime (which is what happens if they have a physical key), ADT lets you set parameters on when they are allowed to use their access.

Trusted Neighbor has three main components – the Google Nest Doorbell (or other Google Nest Cams), the ADT+ app, and a compatible smart lock. All those components come with the new ADT Plus security system.

First, the Nest Doorbell acts as your doorman, checking the faces of anyone who approaches your front door. If a person you added to your Trusted Neighbor list approaches, it sends a signal to the ADT+ app. The app uses numerous other signals to verify their identity (e.g. from their own ADT+ app), and once verified, the security system will disarm and the door will unlock.

You can control a lot of things to make the experience safer, more secure, and more convenient. For example, you can set time-based rules that limit their access to certain times of the day. You can also set event-based rules. For example, your trusted plumber can only use their access if your water sensor detects leaks.

ADT has launched Trusted Neighbor following the release of the ADT Plus, a revamped ADT system that works with ADT’s professional monitoring service and can either be self-installed or installed by a technician. As for price, ADT Plus is most similar to ADT Self Secure, which means it’s slightly cheaper than the professionally-installed ADT system we tested.

Overall Value

It’s no secret how ADT has stayed in business for so long. With robust 24/7 monitoring, hardware you can count on, and professional installation through Dish, we felt confident our home was secure at all times with ADT. Although ADT isn’t the most affordable home security system around, given how long the brand has led the market, you know you can trust their service. That’s true particularly when it comes to 24/7 professional monitoring and cellular backup. That being said, ADT has made a ton of changes through the years. It stayed in front of the rest of the market by integrating with Alexa and Google as well as making easy-to-use apps for control from your phone. So while there are options you can choose that cost less, ADT still gives you a ton of value.