Cove vs. SimpliSafe 2024

SimpliSafe and Cove are two of the best DIY home security systems available today, which is why we wanted to see which is the better choice.

We prefer SimpliSafe because of its affordable, high-quality, easy-to-install equipment, and professional monitoring, which starts at $21.99 a month. There’s even a free plan if you like keeping an eye on things yourself.

But there’s a lot to like about Cove as well. Their devices also require little effort to install, and they have a fast response when an alarm is triggered.

In this article, we compare Cove and SimpliSafe on everything from the equipment to home automation features. We evaluate their customer service teams and response times.

Let’s take a look.

Key Similarities

Cove and SimpliSafe have more in common than being DIY home security systems. Some are:

• Ready-to-use equipment: Depending on the number of devices, your security system can be operational within 20 minutes. Follow the steps from the primary hub, set up pin numbers, and activate. It’s that easy.
• Professional installation: If you’re worried about setting up your equipment correctly, Cove and SimpliSafe can send a professional to install it. Prices start from $124.99 for SimpliSafe and $129 for Cove.
• No contracts: Cove and SimpliSafe are two of the best home security systems without lock-in contracts. However, there are some differences in how the equipment works when you stop paying for a monitoring plan.

Key Differences

There are a few features that made a difference in our experience using SimpliSafe and Cove in our home. The ones that stood out to us are:

• Self-monitoring plan: SimpliSafe let us avoid monthly fees with their free self-monitoring plan that includes livestreaming and notifications. Cove required us to purchase their Basic or Plus plan for the equipment to work.
• Secret alarms: You can choose who gets notified when an alarm is triggered with SimpliSafe. It’s useful if you don’t want intruders to know that police are on the way.
• Rate-lock guarantee: Cove lets you lock in the monitoring rate for as long as you’re a customer. It seems like SimpliSafe raises their prices each time we test their system.

Comparing the Equipment

Both brands offer the essential equipment we expect in a home security system. But SimpliSafe has a more extensive range and multiple packages if you don’t know what devices you need. Here’s a comparison between the equipment Cove and SimpliSafe offer:

SimpliSafe manufactures all of its products, whereas Eufy makes Cove’s cameras. They produce award-winning technology, and their cameras are smart enough to distinguish between humans and pets roaming around the house. Check out our review of the Eufy 2K Camera to see the results of our tests.

We liked that Cove’s cameras have local storage. Cove sells cloud plans that retain footage for 30 days at an extra $2.99 per month per camera. But you can insert a micro SD card up to 128 GB to keep costs down.

While the cameras are solid, we weren’t fans of some of the other equipment. The door sensors are bulky and don’t fit in every entryway. We were lucky they fit in ours. And the window and glass-break sensors stand out for the wrong reasons.

Meanwhile, SimpliSafe makes it easy to choose your home security equipment. You can complete a quiz on their website about your home, and SimpliSafe will recommend equipment, or you can select one of the pre-built packages featuring everything you need to stay safe. Here are the packages SimpliSafe offers:

Equipment winner: SimpliSafe has a more extensive product range that’s also more aesthetically pleasing. We also appreciated how easy they made it for us to choose the equipment we needed for our home.

Ease of Installation

Even if you don’t know the difference between a Phillips-head and a flathead screwdriver, you can install a Cove or SimpliSafe security system. Most of the devices don’t require any tools to install.

All we did was choose a space on our bookshelf with the best coverage of the room and set our camera on it. For the sensors, we peeled off the sticker and stuck it to our doors and windows.

Even SimpliSafe’s wired devices, like the video doorbell we reviewed, didn’t make us mess around with wiring. We plugged it into a spare socket and were good to go.

If you want a hand setting up your security system, Cove and SimpliSafe can send out a professional. This can give you peace of mind knowing every device is in the perfect spot with maximum coverage.

Installation winner: We’re calling it a draw. Cove and SimpliSafe make setting up a home security system easy, even if it’s your first DIY project.

>> Learn More: Cove Home Security System Review for 2024

Monitoring Costs

SimpliSafe offers a free self-monitoring plan that allows you to use all your security equipment. If you want to use your Cove devices, you’ll need to pay for one of their packages.

Cove Monitoring Costs

If you plan to keep your Cove system long term, Cove Plus can be worth it. We liked the lifetime equipment warranty, so we don’t need to curse our devices when they stop working on the 366th day.

Cove Plus also helps you scale your security system with a $5 per month equipment credit. The lifetime monitoring rate-lock guarantee is another favorite of ours. Especially as SimpliSafe lifted its prices twice over the past three years.

>> Check Out: Cove Home Security System Cost and Pricing in 2024

SimpliSafe Monitoring Costs

We prefer SimpliSafe’s plans since they include a free self-monitoring option. There’s also a paid self-monitoring plan that’s cheaper than Cove, which includes unlimited cloud storage and smart home integrations.

If your internet tends to drop out every now and then, like ours does, you’ll still be covered with SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring plans as they include cellular backup. We liked the Fast Protect plan most with its video-verified alarms and live guard protections. That means SimpliSafe’s monitoring agents could speak through our indoor camera to thwart intruders.

Monitoring winner: Despite the price increases, we like that SimpliSafe has a free self-monitoring plan so you can use the devices you paid for. If you want to use your Cove equipment, you have no choice but to sign up for a plan.

Reviewing the Apps

You can run your Cove or SimpliSafe security system from the hub. We found it easier to manage it from our phone app.

The Cove app lets us monitor, arm, and disarm our system. We could also set up Recipes. These are custom automations using an “if this happens, do that” statement. One we cooked up was for our door sensors. We set a rule for the cameras to start recording if a door opens.

We also received notifications, livestreamed footage, and spoke to visitors using the two-way audio on devices outside our house from the app.

The SimpliSafe app is similar and works with the free self-monitoring plan. We activated and deactivated the system as well as received alerts when alarms were triggered. It didn’t have automation features like Cove, but we could create schedules to automatically arm the system when we left for work each morning.

App winner: Both are easy to use and let you manage your entire system, but we liked Cove better, as we could set up custom automations for our devices.

Third-Party Product Integration

You can integrate Cove and SimpliSafe with Alexa and Google. This feature isn’t available on all monitoring plans though.

The functionality differs between Cove and SimpliSafe. If you want to arm and disarm your system or bring up the livestream from the cameras, you’ll want to go with SimpliSafe. Cove wouldn’t let Alexa activate our setup when we asked, and we had issues getting live footage on Echo devices.

Cove integrates better with Google Home. We could bring up our event history and control our connected devices. The livestream works well with Nest Hubs for SimpliSafe and Cove. We even cast the footage to our TV to see what we would look like on the small screen.

Third-party integration winner: SimpliSafe worked better with our Alexa and Google devices. While the functionality is lighter compared to other security systems, we like that we can perform primary tasks like arming and disarming.

Assessing Customer Service

Getting in touch with Cove and SimpliSafe was easy. We had a few questions we needed answered and tested a few contact methods.

The fastest way to speak to someone is to use the old-fashioned phone method. SimpliSafe is available every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST. Cove is ready to take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Both brands offer 24/7 live chat, which is what we used to get help. The agents were responsive, answered our queries, and guided us through the website.

Customer service winner: Cove takes this category with its 24/7 customer service, regardless of how you choose to interact with them.

Reviewing Response Times

If a situation arises, Cove uses its state-of-the-art technology to send your digital information directly to emergency services. This means you don’t need to provide as many details to operators when you’re in distress, and personnel can arrive on the scene prepared and ready to take action.

SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring service is outsourced to COPS. They help customers across countries and have multiple contingencies in case one of their centers is unavailable. However, if you have chosen one of the self-monitoring plans, you’ll need to contact 911 dispatchers yourself if you want help.

Response time winner: It’s a draw. You can rely on Cove and SimpliSafe to spring into action if you find yourself in an emergency.

Overall Winner: Cove or SimpliSafe?

We love that Cove is easy to set up, has local storage on its cameras, and lets us set up automations for tasks we’ll forget to do while we’re leaving the house.

But SimpliSafe is the better home security system.

The free self-monitoring plan has more features than most, like livestreaming and notifications. We could use the app to access recorded videos with the paid self-monitoring plan. Plus, the products are nicer to look at and integrate better with Alexa and Google devices.

Whether you’re paying for a monitoring plan or not, we recommend installing a SimpliSafe security system in your home unless you’re on a tight budget.