Home Security Systems & Alarms

ADT vs SimpliSafe: The True 5-Year Cost

By the Home Security Systems & Alarms editorial team · Research-based (no hands-on testing) - see how we evaluate · Last updated July 10, 2026

This is independent, research-based guidance. We are not affiliated with ADT or SimpliSafe and are not paid to recommend either one. Some provider links on this site may become affiliate links in the future; as of July 2026 we have no active affiliate partnerships. Read our full disclosure. Every dollar figure below is a list-price estimate as of July 2026, not a quote - promotions, financing, taxes, and permits move real numbers, so confirm current pricing with each provider before you buy.

The sticker price is the wrong number to compare. Over five years, the monthly monitoring line decides the total, and the two companies charge for it in structurally different ways. A self-monitored SimpliSafe setup can cost around $250 across five years; SimpliSafe with professional monitoring runs roughly $1,600 to $2,200; ADT's self-install line lands near $1,900; and ADT professionally installed reaches roughly $3,700 - plus a 36-month contract you pay to leave early. The honest question is not "ADT or SimpliSafe" but "how much monitoring do I actually want, and do I want to be locked in."

"ADT is expensive and SimpliSafe is cheap" is the internet's summary, and it is roughly true but badly incomplete. Both companies sell more than one product line, the monthly fee matters far more than the equipment, and ADT now sells a self-install system that competes directly with SimpliSafe on price. This page breaks the decision into the four costs that actually add up over time - equipment, installation, monitoring, and the contract - then shows five clearly-labeled 5-year scenarios so you can find the one closest to your situation.

Why five years, and why the monthly line dominates

Home security is a subscription wearing a hardware costume. You pay once for equipment and then every month for monitoring, and because monitoring repeats, it quietly becomes the largest number on the receipt. Five years is a fair window because it covers a typical ADT contract-and-renewal cycle and roughly the service life of a DIY kit before you replace a sensor or two.

Here is the arithmetic that drives everything below: a monitoring plan billed monthly costs its rate times 60 over five years. So $22.99/month is about $1,379, $32.99 is about $1,979, and $49.99 is about $2,999. A difference of $27 a month between two plans is about $1,620 over five years - more than the entire equipment cost of most systems. That is why a $250 versus $269 equipment gap is noise, and the monitoring choice is the signal.

The 5-year scenarios, side by side

These are estimates, not quotes. Each assumes list equipment prices before promotions, standard residential monitoring, no mid-term rate increases, and no taxes or alarm-permit fees (which apply to both brands equally). Monitoring is figured at the current rate times 60 months.

ScenarioEquipment (one-time)Install / activationMonitoring (60 months)~5-year total
SimpliSafe, self-monitored (no plan)~$250$0$0~$250
SimpliSafe, Standard monitoring (~$22.99/mo)~$250$0~$1,379~$1,629
SimpliSafe, Core monitoring (~$32.99/mo)~$250$0~$1,979~$2,229
ADT Self Setup, pro monitoring (~$24.99/mo)~$400$0~$1,499~$1,899
ADT Pro Install (~$49.99/mo)~$599~$99~$2,999~$3,697

Two things jump out. First, the range within each brand is wider than the gap between the brands: a self-monitored SimpliSafe and a Core-plan SimpliSafe differ by nearly $2,000, driven entirely by the monitoring choice. Second, the two middle rows - SimpliSafe with professional monitoring and ADT's self-install line - land within a few hundred dollars of each other, which is why the real comparison is rarely the cartoon version of "cheap versus expensive."

Line by line: where the money goes

Equipment

SimpliSafe packages list from about $250 (The Foundation entry kit) up to roughly $730 for a large multi-camera setup, and steep 30-70% promotions are near-constant, so the effective price is often lower. You own the equipment outright on day one. ADT's equipment ranges from about $269 for a basic hub-and-sensor starter to $1,449 for a full package with cameras and a video doorbell; on systems of $599 or more ADT offers 0% financing spread over 60 months. Financing does not make equipment cheaper - it moves the cost into your monthly bill and, on the professionally installed line, ties it to the contract term.

Installation and activation

SimpliSafe is designed to be self-installed with adhesive mounts and no tools, so there is no installation fee. ADT Pro Install includes a technician visit, and the installation or activation fee typically runs from about $99 to $199 depending on the package and any promotion. ADT's self-install line (marketed as ADT Self Setup) skips the technician and the fee, which is a large part of why it is cheaper.

Monitoring

This is the decisive line. SimpliSafe's professional monitoring lists around $22.99/month for the Standard plan and about $32.99/month for the Core plan (naming and figures have shifted slightly in 2026, with one plan reported near $19.99 - confirm the current rate when you buy), and it can also be run with no plan for local siren and app alerts at $0/month. ADT professionally installed monitoring starts around $49.99/month and scales toward $59.99 with more equipment; ADT Self Setup professional monitoring starts around $24.99/month, with a camera-only self-monitor option near $9.99. Because this number repeats 60 times, a seemingly small monthly difference is the biggest swing in the whole comparison. If you are unsure how much monitoring you truly need, our monitoring decision guide walks through when the fee earns its keep.

The contract

SimpliSafe has no contract and no cancellation fee on any plan; you can stop, pause, or downgrade monitoring whenever you like and keep using the equipment. ADT's professionally installed monitoring requires a term - commonly 36 months, or 24 in California - with an early termination fee of up to 75% of your remaining monthly charges. Cancel a $49.99 plan at month 12 of 36 and you can owe up to about $900 to stop a service. ADT Self Setup, by contrast, is month-to-month. The contract is not a cost you see on the sticker, but it is a real financial commitment: for the full fee math and every legitimate penalty-free exit, see our guide on how to cancel ADT and when you can avoid the termination fee.

The comparison people actually get wrong

The lazy framing pits ADT Pro Install (about $49.99/month, contract, technician) against SimpliSafe Standard (about $22.99/month, no contract, DIY) and declares SimpliSafe the obvious winner on price. That is fair if you specifically want a professionally installed, full-service system from a national brand. But if price is your priority, the fairer fight is ADT Self Setup versus SimpliSafe - both self-installed, both month-to-month on the self-install tier, and only a few dollars a month apart. At that point the decision turns on things the price table cannot capture: equipment quality, app experience, camera options, and how each company's monitoring center actually performs. Choosing on the "$50 versus $23" headline can send you to the wrong SimpliSafe-vs-ADT matchup entirely.

Who each one is for

ChooseBest forThink twice if
SimpliSafe (self-monitored)Cost-sensitive buyers, renters, and anyone comfortable responding to their own phone alerts; the lowest possible 5-year totalYou want a monitoring center to call the police when you cannot answer your phone
SimpliSafe (professional monitoring)People who want 24/7 dispatch without a contract, and the flexibility to cancel or downgrade anytimeYou specifically want a technician to install and configure everything for you
ADT Self SetupBuyers who want the ADT monitoring network and brand but on a DIY, no-contract basis at a mid-range monthly priceYou are choosing ADT mainly for professional installation - that is the Pro Install line, not this one
ADT Pro InstallHomeowners who want a technician-installed, full-service system from a large national brand and will accept a 36-month termYou value the lowest total cost or the freedom to cancel anytime - the term and monthly rate are the trade-off

Put your own numbers in. The scenarios above use round list prices; your promotion, package, and monitoring tier will shift the total. Our five-year cost calculator adds up equipment, fees, monitoring, and add-ons for two setups side by side, so you can compare the real total instead of the advertised monthly price.

How we built these numbers

Equipment and monitoring figures are list prices gathered in July 2026 from each company's published pricing and cross-checked against several independent industry price guides (Security.org, SafeHome, SafeWise, HomeGuide, NerdWallet). Contract terms and the early termination formula come from ADT's own published residential and monitoring terms. We used round equipment estimates within each brand's documented range rather than a single package, and figured monitoring at the current monthly rate times 60. We did not include taxes, alarm-permit fees, or false-alarm fines because they apply to both brands and vary by city - though they are real, so check what your city charges using our false-alarm fine and permit index. We did not lab-test either system; this is documented-research pricing, not a hands-on review. Before buying, confirm the current rate and package with the provider, because promotions in this category change constantly.

Frequently asked questions

Is SimpliSafe cheaper than ADT?

In almost every scenario, yes. SimpliSafe has no installation fee, no contract, and an optional no-monitoring tier, while ADT's professionally installed line carries a higher monthly rate and a 36-month term. Over five years the gap between a self-monitored SimpliSafe setup and an ADT Pro Install plan can top $3,000. The gap narrows to a few hundred dollars once you compare ADT's self-install line against SimpliSafe with professional monitoring.

Does ADT lock me into a contract?

ADT's professionally installed monitoring does, commonly for 36 months (24 in California), with an early termination fee of up to 75% of the remaining monthly charges. ADT Self Setup is month-to-month. SimpliSafe has no contract on any plan.

Can I use SimpliSafe with no monthly fee?

Yes. Without a plan, SimpliSafe still sounds its siren and sends app notifications; you simply do not get a professional monitoring center dispatching help. That drops the monitoring line to $0 and is why the self-monitored scenario has by far the lowest 5-year total - at the cost of no one calling for help when you cannot.

What about equipment I already own?

Neither brand's proprietary equipment transfers to the other, and ADT's panels generally cannot be monitored by a third party. If you have an older wired system on the wall, reusing it is often the cheapest path of all - see our guide to using old ADT equipment without a contract before you buy anything new.

Still deciding on the bigger picture? If the contract is what worries you, our no-contract security system comparison covers the month-to-month field beyond these two brands, and our choosing guide walks the whole decision from the top. Whatever you pick, our home security checklist covers the low-cost basics - locks, lighting, entry points - that protect your home regardless of which system you run.

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