Cove and Vivint are almost polar opposites. Vivint security systems use the latest technology installed by professional technicians to protect every inch of your home. As for Cove, the equipment might not be as high-tech, but it’s reliable. Plus, you can install all the devices yourself and be up and running in less than an hour. So which one do you choose?
Home security technology is rapidly evolving. New features like security cameras distinguishing between a random person and a family member who regularly pops in are becoming an expectation. Even during our time with Vivint, we felt like we were living in the future with the advanced features and how it incorporates AI into its devices. We’re talking about a bright future like The Jetsons instead of the wastelands of The Last of Us.
But not everyone might be comfortable trusting AI in the home, which is why there are also great alternatives like Cove available. With Cove, you can design your own home security system and install the devices yourself. If you need more equipment, it’s easy to integrate it. We still think Vivint is the better home security system, but in some scenarios Cove is a good option. Allow us to explain.
Everything that came with our Vivint home security system.
How Are Cove and Vivint Similar?
Cove and Vivint have more in common than being home security systems. These are some of the features both offer.
Professional Monitoring
To keep our equipment from being collections of bricks, we had to pay for a monitoring plan with both Cove and Vivint. These plans connect your devices to a monitoring center that is staffed with security professionals who respond to system alerts. Each monitoring plan is part of a larger package, and there are key differences between the packages from Cove and Vivint.
With Cove, there were two options to choose from. Both include 24/7 monitoring, protection from fires and flooding, text notifications, 24/7 customer support, 24-hour battery backup, and smartphone control. If you choose the cheaper plan, you miss out on camera support, Alexa and Google Home voice control, and the monthly equipment reward.
FYI: Cove’s $5 per month equipment reward is a great feature if you plan on expanding your home security system in the future. Plus, the $5 credit rolls over at the end of the month if it isn’t used. We used our credit on a new indoor camera, which we integrated with our security system in around three minutes. If we wanted to do the same thing with Vivint, we would have had to pay for a technician to install the camera for us.
We’d love to tell you how many plans Vivint has, but they don’t advertise them anywhere. What we learned after our conversation with a sales consultant is that you get 24/7 monitoring, cellular backup, and intrusion detection, to name a few. Home automation, security camera features, and cloud storage cost extra if you want this included in your package.
>> Recommendations: The Best Professionally Monitored Home Security Systems
Cellular Backup
If your Wi-Fi tends to drop out at the climatic moment of the latest binge-worthy TV show, you can rest assured your security system will stay online even if your Wi-Fi cuts out just as someone’s getting bumped off in “Only Murders in the Building.”
In these instances, Cove and Vivint will connect to the cellular network to keep your home security system online. It even stays operational during a power outage, as Cove and Vivint’s control hubs have a backup battery that lasts for 24 hours.
The Cove control panel connects to the hub and lets you control every aspect of your security system.
User-Friendly Apps
While Cove and Vivint have a control hub, we could manage every aspect of our security system through their apps as well. Some of the commands we used most in the apps were:
- Arm and disarm the system
- Receive notifications
- Livestream from the cameras
- Review footage from the cloud
- Speak to visitors from the video doorbell
- Adjust sensors and connected devices
The best part was that with both apps, we didn’t have to be connected to our home Wi-Fi to operate our systems. We could’ve been sitting on the couch in our living room or lying on a pool lounge chair at a resort, waiting for our third cocktail to arrive, and the app would’ve worked as long as it was connected to the resort Wi-Fi or a cellular network.
>> Read More: Best Home Security System With a Mobile App
Vivint’s app alerts you to everything from unwanted visitors to windows left open.
Voice Activation
When we left our phone in the other room, we could still get status updates or see what was happening on the cameras by using Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. (We have both in our home, don’t judge us.)
Both voice assistants allowed for voice-controlled arming and disarming, but we found more use for Vivint’s integration. That’s because Vivint works with non-Vivint smart home devices we already have, such as the Nest Thermostat and our Yale smart lock. Thanks to that, we were able to create a routine we named “Good Night!” that arms Vivint to Home mode, locks the front door, and sets the temperature to 72 degrees. Whenever we’d go to bed, we could just say “Alexa, good night!” to trigger all those actions.
FYI: You’ll need to pay for Cove Plus, which is an extra $10 a month, if you want to use Google and Alexa to operate your system. When we tested Cove, we used Alexa and Google Home to arm and disarm our system as well as get status updates.
Storage
Cove and Vivint offer multiple storage options for the footage their cameras capture. With Cove, you can insert a microSD card up to 128 GB into most of the cameras. This will give you approximately 120 hours of 4K footage. Alternatively, you can save videos to the cloud but there is an extra subscription cost for this service.
Vivint sells a DVR that lets you save up to 10 days of 24/7 video recording. You can even watch the footage on your smartphone. If you don’t want the DVR, most of the security cameras can store 20 to 90-second clips for up to 14 days. There is also a slot for SD cards, but the storage limit is different for each camera type. We ended up paying for cloud storage, which stores video clips and photos for up to 30 days. The extra cost was added to our professional monitoring fee.
Cove and Vivint Differences
There are significant differences between Cove and Vivint that may make it easier to decide which home security system is right for you. These are the three that stand out most.
Installation
The biggest difference between Cove and Vivint is how equipment gets installed. With Cove, we could either pay up to $129 for a professional to do it or set up the system ourselves.
We’re always looking for ways to save on our home security, so we installed our system, and we’re glad we did. Cove’s devices are some of the easiest to install and don’t require any trade skills. We got our system up and running in about 20 minutes with just a handful of tools, which shows us that installing a home security system is easier than you might think.
Our tester installed Cove security cameras on their front porch.
As for Vivint, we needed to arrange an appointment with a specialist to come out and configure our devices. Professional installation was needed, and it wasn’t free. We paid $200 for the service. On the bright side, we’ve seen Vivint offer free professional installation deals before. So if you see one like that, grab it. You’ll save a lot of money.
Pro Tip: If you plan on moving homes soon, wait until you’re in your new place to get a Vivint system. Otherwise, you’ll need to fork out another $129 for someone to install it again.
Contracts
When we got our Cove system, we didn’t need to sign our name on any dotted lines. All we had to do was pick our equipment, choose a monitoring plan, set up the devices, and let it do its thing. There were no contracts, so we could cancel our plan any time.
It was slightly more complicated with Vivint. The main reason was that their equipment was expensive, so we chose to finance it. This meant that in addition to the monthly monitoring costs, an additional payment with a contract was required to pay off the devices.
A Vivint contract can last up to five years. The silver lining is that unlike other security systems, which lock you into plans and then hike the price yearly, Vivint charges the same amount for the life of the agreement. This also acts as a buffer against periods of rapid inflation. Even if everything else around you is getting more expensive, your Vivint monitoring fee will remain the same.
If you have the money to pay for the devices upfront, you don’t need to sign a contract with Vivint. You can pay month-to-month like you would with Cove.
>> Check Out: The Ins and Outs of Home Security Contracts
Smart Home Add-Ons
If you want to transform your place into a Smart Home, you’ll want to choose Vivint. Cove doesn’t integrate with third-party devices besides Alexa and Google Assistant.
Vivint, on the other hand, offered us a range of smart devices they sell directly, including:
- Smart thermostats
- Lighting controls
- Smart garage controls
- Smart locks
We even integrated third-party equipment we already had installed in our house, such as smart locks, light bulbs, and other Z-Wave-compatible devices. When we tested Vivint, we set up automations so that we never forgot to switch off lights, lock doors, or arm our security system.
Some of the notifications we could activate from the Vivint app.
Comparing Monitoring Costs
As we mentioned earlier, you need a monitoring plan for your Cove and Vivint equipment to work. A lot of the features within the plans are similar, but there are a few that could make your decision about which security system to buy a little easier.
Cove Monitoring Costs
Here’s an overview of Cove’s two monitoring plans, both of which are available for every Cove system:
| Feature | Cove Basic | Cove Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Alexa and Google Home voice control | No | Yes |
| Camera support | No | Yes |
| $5 per month equipment reward | No | Yes |
| Smartphone control | Yes | Yes |
| Cellular backup | Yes | Yes |
| Text-based alerts | Yes | Yes |
| 24/7 alarm monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Environmental monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| 24/7 customer support | Yes | Yes |
| Equipment warranty | 1 year | Lifetime (as long as you’re subscribed) |
| Price | $19.99 per month | $29.99 per month |
You’re not missing out on much if you choose Cove Basic. However, some bonuses like the lifetime warranty and equipment credit in Cove Plus can reduce the cost of your Cove security system in the long term.
However, if you plan on including security cameras in your security system, you’ll have no choice but to subscribe to Cove Plus. We ran into the same situation when we tested ADT, which only has one monitoring plan for camera support. The good news is that Cove’s plan is cheaper than the ADT package, which comes in at $44.99 per month. Although it does include a lot of extra features, such as video verification and custom alerts.
>> Learn More: ADT 2025 Packages, Plans, Cost & Pricing
Vivint Monitoring Costs
Monitoring fees with Vivint start from $29.99 per month and can go as high as $50 per month if you include automation features and cloud storage. Regardless of the plan, you’ll get 24/7 professional monitoring. We got to experience this feature when we went out to a late dinner and an alarm triggered at 11 p.m.
Vivint’s monitoring team quickly got in touch with us to see what was going on. Fortunately, we also bought security cameras. We pulled up our indoor camera feed and saw that it was just the babysitter, so we called off the alarm. But it was good to know we would get a fast alert in case it was a criminal.
Equipment Costs
Cove and Vivint let you build your own home security system. These are some of the products we recommend from each company:
| Device | Cove | Vivint |
|---|---|---|
| Hub | $150.00 | $399.99 |
| Alarm panel | $150.00 | N/A |
| Motion sensor | $50.00 | $100.00 |
| Key remote | $30.00 | $50.00 |
| Glass-break sensor | $50.00 | $100.00 |
| Window sensor | $15.00 | $50.00 |
| Smoke and carbon monoxide detector | $95.00 | $100.00 |
| Flood sensor | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Panic button | $30.00 | $50.00 |
| Outdoor camera | $129.99 | $399.99 (Outdoor Camera Pro)
$649.98 (Spotlight Pro + Outdoor Camera Pro) |
| Indoor camera | First one is free, and every additional camera is $59.99 | $149.99 (Indoor Camera)
$249.99 (Indoor Camera Pro) |
There is a significant price discrepancy between Cove and Vivint. But there’s also a big difference in the quality of the equipment. Vivint’s devices are state-of-the-art and powered by AI to keep your home safe while Cove’s are designed with a lower price point in mind.
Cove has partnered with Eufy to offer serviceable products with some good features. The outdoor camera can distinguish between people and objects using AI. But the indoor camera can’t, so when our curtain gently blew in the breeze, it triggered a recording. This made it difficult to go through our clips and find the moments we wanted to keep.
All the equipment we purchased for our Cove security system.
Our cameras from Vivint were top-of-the-line. They featured powerful zooming and impressive image quality no matter the time of day. Impressively, the outdoor cameras were able to identify prowlers and light them up with a spotlight for both the camera and nearby potential witnesses to see. The camera’s spotlight can follow a suspicious person until they move out of range, lighting them up like a lone figure on a Broadway stage the entire time. We tested this by having our friend slowly creep by our house and sure enough, our Vivint spotlights pointed them out.
FYI: Vivint’s AI technology can distinguish between humans and animals. We love cat videos as much as the next person. But we don’t want to review hours of footage every time our cat gets the zoomies and triggers the cameras. Plus, it saves on storage space.
What Happens When an Alarm Is Triggered?
Cove and Vivint use the internet or a cellular backup connection to notify their respective monitoring services. Monitoring agents will then reach out to you over text to see if it's a false alarm. If you don't respond, an agent will call you to check in. If needed, they may contact first responders to respond.
We saw the results firsthand when we were running scenarios on our Cove setup. Let’s just say we didn’t cancel an alarm quickly enough resulting in the cops showing up at our front door. Despite our mistake, we felt a little safer knowing how fast the cops would arrive in a real emergency.
FYI: Cove’s InstaText is an automated service that sends you a text message to confirm or cancel a triggered alarm. It’s included in both Cove monitoring plans. Cove also has three monitoring centers across the U.S. so that someone is always available in an emergency.
We set up the Vivint system to send text alerts to us and our listed contacts. While we were on vacation, we included our nephew who was housesitting for us in our listed contacts. That way, he would get our security system’s alerts as well and could check them out for us immediately.
Cove and Vivint don’t respond to just security alerts though. They offer equipment that monitors safety concerns such as fire and gas leaks and can call fire and medical responders to the scene.
Cove or Vivint: Which One Should You Choose?
Cove is an excellent, affordable security system you can not only design but install yourself. It might not have an extensive range of equipment or smart home automation features, but it has the standard features you need to protect you and your home.
However, if you want a more comprehensive security system, we recommend Vivint. Its AI-powered equipment can integrate with all your smart home devices. You can check if doors are closed properly, turn on a fan when you need fresh air, and manage every aspect of your equipment in its app.
Plus, your Vivint cameras won’t record every movement that occurs. It’s smart enough to know the difference between you hanging around outside and a suspicious loiterer. While you might pay a little extra, the safety measures and peace of mind it offers are priceless.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vivint will always try to contact you first via the control panel or your primary contact number to verify the alarm. If you can’t be reached, they will send police to your home. You’ll need to pay for a Cove Basic or Cove Plus monitoring plan for the equipment to work. Vivint is a subsidiary of NRG Energy. Some of the other companies it has acquired include Reliant Energy, Smart Home Pros, and Goal Zero. There are no contracts with Cove. You need to give a 30-day notice before your next payment, but you can call any time to cancel your plan without penalties. Whether you finance the devices or pay upfront, you will own the Vivint equipment forever. However, the items won’t work with other systems, so you’ll always need to pay for monitoring if you want them to work.
