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Our top pick is ADT, thanks to its white-glove professional installation; we didn’t lift a finger to set up the wired system.
Updated March 7, 2025
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Spotty Wi-Fi and minimal cellular coverage are no problem for wired security systems, but perhaps you’re wondering if there are still any good hardwired security systems around. Aren’t they a thing of the past now? Well, many security companies, including ADT, Vivint, Ring, and Lorex, offer top-of-the-line wireless equipment as well as excellent wired devices that are ideal for larger dwellings and rural home security.
After six months of testing, we found ADT and Vivint to be the best options due to their customizable equipment packages and professional installation services. If you’re comfortable playing with your internal wiring, Ring and Lorex are great DIY alternatives. We’ll break down these four systems to help you choose the best one for your home.
>> Get Started: Home Security Systems: Your Options for 2025
The only way to make unbiased and trustworthy recommendations is to test products ourselves. So we buy the security systems, install them in our own homes, and test them for weeks and sometimes months. This approach helps us get a feel for the features, usability, response time, and app of each security system so we can give you our honest recommendations.
We do our best to compare apples to apples, which is why we install every home security system we test in the same environment. We use a two-story, 2,200-square-foot home owned by one of our experts. In our experience, testing security systems in a real home provides the most accurate results.
We also purchase the same equipment for each security system and place them in identical locations. You can see below our typical system setup.
Using our extensive experience in the security industry, we narrowed down the most important factors for hardwired home security systems. These factors are top priority:
Using this criteria, here’s how we scored our top picks.
Rating the Best Hardwired Home Security Systems
Unlike other review sites out there, you won’t find reviews for hammers, frying pans, and every other household item on our website. Our team of experts only reviews safety and security equipment. That means we know our stuff. The experts assigned to this review were:
Our experts at SafeHome.org have over 75 years of combined industry experience, making us the most accomplished home security team online. Since 2016, our work has been featured in several major outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Together, we have achieved:
Every recommendation we make is based on first-hand product experience and a thorough understanding of the home security industry. Now, let’s learn more about the best hardwired home security systems.
We think ADT is the best home security system on the market because of its high-quality equipment, professional installation, and award-winning monitoring service. While you can install a lot of ADT’s devices yourself, we recommend leaving the hardwiring to ADT technicians. You’ll pay a bit more for professional installation and monitoring, but we think it’s worth it.
The Nest Cam with Floodlight is one of the few ADT components we tested that requires hardwiring.
We found installation to be about as easy as installation gets, by which we mean we didn’t have to do it. While there’s an option now to self-install ADT equipment (see our ADT Self Setup review), we’ve come to love ADT for its white-glove professional installation service.
Our ADT installer even had to climb up a six-foot ladder to install our security camera.
We wound up paying over $200 for the install, but we’re glad we did. Hardwired systems can be tricky. Even the technician needed a couple of hours to complete the job, but when all was done, the system worked flawlessly. We’re not sure we could have pulled that off if we installed the system ourselves.
FYI: Only a few of the ADT equipment we tested were wired, like the base that plugged into an outlet and the Nest Cam with floodlight that required a junction box. The rest of the sensors were wireless. But even so, the hub easily covered our 2,500-square-foot home.
ADT operates the best security monitoring in the industry, with 12 centers located across the country. We especially love SMART Monitoring, which is included in all ADT professional monitoring plans. If an alarm is triggered, you’ll receive a text message within seconds. You can reply to confirm or cancel the alarm; if you don’t respond, ADT will follow up with a call.
Pro Tip: We found that setting up text alerts sped up ADT’s response to our break-in simulations. We used to get calls about 30 to 45 seconds after a sensor had been tripped. Now, we get a text in less than 10 seconds. If there’s a real emergency, we’d be able to verify and confirm it so ADT could immediately send police to our house.
Hardwired ADT systems cost upwards of $400. You can finance the equipment for up to 60 months, allowing you to get a system with no upfront costs. Monitoring starts at $34.99 for professionally installed systems, but you can save $10 by setting everything up yourself. Keep in mind that if you get security cameras, you’ll need ADT’s most expensive plan, which is $49.99 for professionally installed systems.
Know More:ADT contracts can last up to 60 months if you finance your equipment. To compensate, the company gives you six months to decide if you’re happy with your ADT equipment and service.
ADT understands the value of hardwired systems and continues to offer some wired components. But, it’s true that ADT’s number of wired equipment is dwindling. Still, we appreciate that ADT continues to make sure their systems are reliable despite them being mostly wireless. While testing our ADT system, a powerful thunderstorm knocked out our internet, but ADT kept working. It kept connected to the monitoring center using the wireless cellular network. We’d argue that cellular monitoring is much more reliable than the wired, landline systems ADT used to offer.
>> Learn More: The Best Security Systems That Don’t Require a Landline
ADT’s equipment range has improved with additions like the Nest Cam with Floodlight.
That’s not the only thing ADT improved over the last decade. Even though ADT’s equipment isn’t quite as sophisticated as Vivint’s, it is top of the line. Not only are ADT cameras highly rated, but every system comes with full smart platform integration with both Google Home and Alexa. You can even get the Google Nest Cameras we recently tested with your ADT system. This allows you to automate your ADT system for full voice control.
| Equipment Cost | Packages starting at $349 |
|---|---|
| Monitoring Options | Professional or DIY |
| Monitoring Cost | Starting at $24.99 per month |
| Contract Length | Monthly |
| Installation Options | Professional or DIY |
| Smart Platform Integration | Alexa and Google Home |
While Vivint offers wireless equipment, it also has several devices requiring a wired connection. Like ADT, Vivint sends a professional to take care of it. In fact, there’s no option to install Vivint equipment yourself. They’ll also select the best locations for maximum coverage. Proper placement is especially important for the outdoor camera, which uses AI to detect and deter intruders.
You won’t have to lift a finger while installing your Vivint home security system. Much like ADT, they send someone to set up every device. Our technician even explained why they chose specific spots around our home. This expertise was particularly valuable.
Installation Specialist Don, installing the Vivint Outdoor Camera.
Installation costs start at $99 and go up depending on the number of devices you have. Vivint quoted us over $200 for a decked-out system complete with cameras, some smart home gear, and each type of sensor Vivint offers. We think that’s a fair price, considering that Don – our technician – did more than install our equipment. He also helped us set up automations for the Nest Thermostat and smart lock we got from Vivint.
Pro Tip: We originally wanted to put the outdoor camera above the front door on our porch, but our Vivint installation specialist recommended it to be mounted on an exterior wall. Indeed, the camera ended up getting a clearer view of our driveway and a wider portion of the front yard.
Vivint’s monitoring prices start at $29.99 per month, but you’ll need to speak to a consultant for a price. It can go up to $49.99 per month, or maybe even more depending on the type of equipment you’re getting installed. Unfortunately, unlike ADT, Vivint doesn’t advertise its prices online, so you’ll have to speak with a consultant to get a more accurate quote.
The technician’s placement of the outdoor camera gave us a better view of our driveway.
We also know that Vivint sends text messages when an alarm is triggered. You can respond to let Vivint know if it was a false alarm or to send help. Like ADT, these messages are sent instantly and are followed up with a phone call if there’s no response.
FYI: We’re an Android household, so we set our phones to prioritize SMS from Vivint by pinning the conversation. That way, they always appear at the top of the notifications. You can do the same on an iPhone.
All Vivint security systems are personalized, so you’ll need to discuss your requirements with their team. Brace yourself – we know some of their devices are more expensive than other brands like Cove and SimpliSafe. The outdoor camera alone costs $399.
The good news is you can finance the equipment for up to five years, though this locks you into a Vivint contract. If you pay upfront, you’ll only be charged the monthly monitoring fee.
Vivint’s equipment is top-of-the-line. The cameras have exceptional image quality regardless of the time of day, and now they’re powered by AI, they can distinguish between people who live in your household and visitors. It even detects prowlers. During our simulation tests, we had our friend hang around the house. The Outdoor Camera with Spotlight Pro instantly shone a light on him and tracked him until he was out of sight.
Person detection on the Vivint Smart Hub.
If an alarm is triggered, Vivint instantly sends a notification to cancel the alarm. We had 30 seconds, which is enough time to check the live feeds. If you don’t respond in time, they’ll call to check on you. The response time is in line with the industry average, but we’d like the option to reduce the delay to about 15 seconds. In our opinion, 30 seconds is plenty of time to break in, grab our valuables, and take off.
FYI: Vivint also sends text alerts like ADT. We’re an Android household, so we set our phones to prioritize SMS from Vivint by pinning the conversation. That way, they always appear at the top of the notifications. You can do the same on an iPhone.
Product Specs:
| Equipment Cost | Contact Vivint for a quote |
|---|---|
| Monitoring Options | Professional |
| Monitoring Cost | Starts from $99.99 |
| Contract Length | Up to five years when financing equipment |
| Installation Options | Professional |
| Smart Platform Integration | Alexa and Google Home |
Ring doesn’t come with a lot of strings attached. Unlike ADT and Vivint, you have choices when it comes to equipment and monitoring. That makes it a great option for anyone wanting more control over their security. Our full Ring Alarm review goes into this in more detail.
Ring Alarm (2nd Gen) equipment.
You can get someone from OnTech to install Ring equipment, but it’s easy to do it yourself. Ring displays step-by-step instructions on their app every time you connect a new device. Wired setups take longer since you have to find an outlet (some even require a junction box) or worry about positioning equipment. Even so, we went from opening our Ring equipment boxes to a fully installed system in around half an hour.
The Ring Doorbell we installed came with all the mounting tools needed out of the box.
Pro Tip: Once you have one Ring camera set up, it’s easy to add more. You can even group cameras and change their sensitivity settings at once.
Ring only offers self-monitoring plans that start from $4.99 per month. That’s for each camera, but the plan comes with video event storage for up to 180 days, live feeds, and person and package alerts. Professional monitoring is an extra $10 per month, but it’s only available on the Standard ($9.99 per month) or Premium ($19.99 per month) plans.
We recommend upgrading to the Standard or Premium plans for reasons beyond the professional monitoring add-on. One is that they cover unlimited Ring cameras installed at your address. Both packages also include cellular backup, extended warranties, and doorbell calls, which are displayed as actual calls on your phone instead of notifications.
At first glance, Ring looks cheaper compared to full-service security systems like ADT and Vivint. Professional installation is optional, and unlimited cloud storage plans begin at $10 per month. But, it’s not comparing apples to apples.
Since you don’t have to buy the whole system at once, you can spread out the cost of your Ring Alarm security system without financing. For example, we bought the Ring Indoor Cam to review for $60 one day and then came back a month later to buy a Ring Doorbell camera.
>> Compare: Best Ring Alternatives
FYI: Adding equipment to an existing pro-installed system isn’t as easy. With Vivint, for example, we had to schedule another installation appointment when we decided to test the Vivint doorbell camera. You don’t need that with DIY systems like Ring, since you can just set up new equipment yourself.
We were drawn to Ring because it’s one of the few companies that offers a hardwired doorbell. You can even install it where your original doorbell was and use the same wiring. That’s what we did when we tested the Ring Doorbell Elite.
Our Ring Floodlight Cam also required hardwiring, for which we paid a local electrician.
Ring’s not just about doorbells; it produces a wide range of cameras. We added a Ring wired indoor camera for just $60. It let us keep an eye on our cat, and with two-way speakers, we were even able to talk to him. Keep in mind that Ring doesn’t offer a fully hardwired system. Components communicate via Wi-Fi. Hardwired, in this case, means the equipment plugs into outlets. But, you still get the advantage of not worrying about changing batteries or recharging components, no matter how often you use cameras.
| Monitoring Options | 24/7 professional and DIY |
|---|---|
| Installation | DIY |
| Smart Platform Integration | Alexa and Google Home |
| Equipment Cost | From $244.95 |
| Monthly Monitoring Cost | $20 |
| Contract Length | 1-12 months |
During our review of Lorex, we learned they only sell security cameras. But, they are some of the best security cameras on the market. While you’ll have to install the devices and monitor the system yourself, there are still plenty of good reasons why you should have these in your home.
Our Lorex indoor camera connected to Wi-Fi but plugged into a power outlet.
As with Ring systems, Lorex systems are entirely DIY installations. Unfortunately, Lorex doesn’t make it easy. We didn’t have step-by-step instructions in the app. However, we still managed to set everything up in about an hour. That includes untangling wires and hiding them so they’re not an eyesore.
We eventually had to use a drill to hide the wire dangling from our ceiling-mounted Lorex camera.
Did You Know? The fewer cables, the better. Lorex offers PoE cameras that use the same cable both for power and connectivity. They are significantly easier to install than the ones we tested that had to be plugged in using a power cable and connected to the DVR via an Ethernet cable.
Monitoring is DIY as well, but that doesn’t mean you need to stare at livestreams 24/7. The system sends push alerts when it detects a problem, and you can use the Lorex app to see what the commotion is. Unlike Ring cameras, you don’t need to worry about cloud storage. Lorex cameras have local storage so you can save and review footage for free.
That being said, we would have still preferred having professional monitoring. That’s not possible with Lorex right now since it doesn’t offer security sensors (unless it adds video monitoring like SimpliSafe has). Our recommendation is to still have a security system supplementing Lorex. That’s worth exploring because Lorex doesn’t require any monthly fees.
We mentioned earlier that there are plenty of Lorex cameras available. Prices range from $60 to over $1,000 for a single camera, and bundles start from around $450. However, you can always start off with one camera and add new equipment as your needs evolve. We used the Lorex Solution Finder to help us put together the perfect system for us. It’s a great tool if you’re not sure where to start.
This Lorex outdoor camera cost us less than $100, which is below the average price of outdoor cameras.
>> Save More: Lorex Black Friday Deals
While installation took us an hour, we didn’t have any issues once everything was up and running. Since Lorex is one of the best no-subscription camera systems, we used local storage for our recordings. Lorex also sells DVRs and NVRs for continuous recordings or 24/7 coverage.
We admit we could have been more diligent with monitoring since we missed a few notifications. That’s why we rely on professional monitoring, which has teams responding to alerts in seconds. However, we liked Lorex’s personalized notifications. The cameras use facial recognition to tell the difference between people, animals, and packages. Most of the notifications we received were for deliveries, which didn’t require a call to 911.
>> Check Out: The Best Facial Recognition Cameras of 2025
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or PoE |
|---|---|
| Power | Wired, battery, or PoE |
| Field of View | Up to 180° |
| Resolution | Up to 4K |
| Storage | Free local, optional cloud |
| Smart Platform Compatibility | Alexa and Google Home |
Our Brinks security system with the plug-in control panel and hardwired SkyBell doorbell.
Brinks is an old-school security company, meaning a lot of its equipment is hardwired. Unfortunately, it also means some of its practices are a little outdated. Like Vivint, Brinks doesn’t advertise monitoring prices on its website. However, the fine print states that you need to sign up for a three-year contract if you want to become a customer.
When we reviewed Brinks, we found the equipment to be reliable, especially as it connects to the cellular network in case the Wi-Fi or power goes out. ADT, Vivint, and Ring also have this feature.
So why would anyone invest in a traditional wired security system when there are plenty of wireless options available? Well, there are a number of benefits to hardwiring your equipment.
That said, the best wired systems are actually from brands that offer both wired and wireless equipment. In this day and age, we don’t recommend using a fully wired security system. Burglars know they’re easy to tamper with – just a pair of wire cutters will do the trick. Plus, smart features like home automation require connection to the internet, which is usually wireless.
What we do recommend is using a mix of wired and wireless components. Really, the only pieces of equipment that are good when wired are security cameras, some smart home gadgets (such as smart thermostats), and control panels (as long as they have cellular and battery backup). Sensors work best when they are wireless and battery-powered.
You might think because of those benefits we mentioned that wireless systems are less reliable. And indeed, in certain situations, wireless systems are not as dependable as wired ones. But generally, we don’t have a problem recommending wireless systems. In fact, here’s our list of the best wireless home alarm systems. We’ve personally tested and vetted those.
Frontpoint was one of the first 100-percent wireless systems we tested.
Wireless technology has nearly caught up with wired technology in terms of reliability. They can even cover large homes. Our top-pick systems for large homes all offer wireless equipment. Unless there’s a specific reason you’re opting for a wired system – like if your Wi-Fi is unreliable or you don’t get good cellular coverage for reliable alert transmission – either type of system will work for you.
Pro Tip: Mixing wired and wireless equipment also works. For example, you can have wireless sensors but wired security cameras. That setup worked out great for our ADT system with a Nest Cam with floodlight.
Our home security research supports the idea that security systems in general help in keeping burglars out and helping homeowners feel safe. For example:
Adding a wired Ring Doorbell helped us monitor our package deliveries and prevent package theft.
The truth is that wired security systems do just as much as wireless ones in deterring burglars. The main difference is that they’re more reliable in certain situations. A wireless system might stop working when Wi-Fi is down, but wired systems offer alternatives like landline connectivity or local video storage. Security systems with cellular backup are more common now, too.
FYI: Cellular backup uses cellular signal when the primary communication line is unavailable. For example, our Vivint system switched to cellular signals during a power outage that turned off our Wi-Fi router.
From Anthony Travaglia, Retired Police Officer, Home Security Expert
The key to success in protecting your home is choosing the right security system for the job. That can mean different things if you’ve opted for a wired one.
Pro Tip: Comparing two or more security systems can help you in finding the best-value system for your home. We made a tool just for that – see our security system comparison tool.
Hardwired home security systems are becoming more difficult to find as more companies go the wireless route. The good news is that there are still some companies out there that believe in this type of system. That means the only real challenge is deciding which one is right for you.
ADT and Vivint provide the best professionally-installed wired systems. And we love that both offer state-of-the-art features, from ADT’s 12 monitoring centers to Vivint’s A.I.-powered cameras. There are also options out there that efficiently mix together wired and wireless equipment. Ring is one, with its wireless security system and several wired camera and doorbell options. Lorex is another, but it focuses mostly on security cameras. No matter which one you choose, you can rely on these systems to stay online 24/7 and watch over your home.
Need answers about hardwired home security systems fast? Check our FAQ section below.
ADT makes the best hardwired home security system. It offers high-quality components and the industry’s best professional monitoring for an affordable price. Professional installation means you can be certain equipment is placed in the best possible locations to secure your home, and you can choose between wired and wireless systems.
Wired home alarm systems are better in some circumstances. Wired systems won’t go down just because your Wi-Fi goes out. In fact, if you live in a rural area, you may not be able to get a Wi-Fi signal at all, making a wired system a necessity. However, Wi-Fi does offer some convenience, especially when it comes to installation.
Vivint is not a better home security system than ADT. While Vivint offers some of the most technologically sophisticated equipment on the market, ADT is a close second. ADT has more monitoring centers. You also get a six-month money-back guarantee with ADT, and it’s easy to move if you need to. Plus, ADT charges much less than Vivint for its systems.
Wireless systems sometimes make use of power cords. Wire-free systems operate with no cords whatsoever. Communication occurs via Wi-Fi or cellular connection, while components receive power from batteries, solar panels, or Power over Ethernet (PoE) setups.
Cellular backup helps eliminate issues created by Wi-Fi connections. Some wired systems communicate using Wi-Fi. Even if the components are wired together, they may employ Wi-Fi to communicate outside your home. This means that they can be vulnerable to Wi-Fi outages. Systems with cellular backup switch to cellular if the Wi-Fi should go down. Cellular almost never goes out, meaning it’s virtually impossible for your security to go down.
