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With 12 monitoring centers across the U.S. and Canada, ADT proved to have the fastest and most reliable response.
Updated November 4, 2024
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The best professionally monitored home security systems provide peace of mind that self-monitored systems just can’t touch. You’ll pay a little more every month, but you’ll sleep more soundly knowing a professional is monitoring your system’s status and the authorities will be dispatched quickly if an emergency arises.
Not all professional monitoring is created equal though. When seconds count, you want a security system with snappy response times. After years of testing security systems, I’m sharing my top picks based on their monitoring service, costs, and, most importantly, response times. ADT was the clear winner, but SimpliSafe, Vivint, and Frontpoint also offer speedy response. Let’s dive in!
From Anthony Travaglia, Retired Police Officer, Home Security Expert
The best way to create unbiased and trustworthy reviews is by testing home security systems ourselves. We buy the equipment with our money, install the equipment in our homes, and test them for as long as we need to, even if it takes weeks or months. It’s the best way to get a feel for what it’s like to live with the systems and experience the response times, features, and apps first-hand. We then use what we learn to make our recommendations.
Several factors can impact testing home security systems, so we find ways to compare apples to apples. For example, we test all the equipment in the same house – a two-story, 2,200-square-foot home owned by one of our experts. Testing security systems in a real house helps us capture the most accurate results and give better recommendations.
We even buy the same devices for every security system and set them up in identical locations. You can see the places where we typically put devices below.
We considered multiple factors when narrowing down security companies with fast response times. It’s not just how quickly we get a call from the monitoring center. We’ve used our knowledge and experience in the industry to decide other important factors for these systems, and these are the top three:
Using these criteria, here’s how we landed on the top five.
Rating the Best Security Systems with Fast Response Times
Our experts exclusively cover safety and security equipment, so you’re not going to find reviews for everything here from electric razors to paint brushes like those other review websites. We are experts at testing home security systems only and giving readers reliable and trustworthy recommendations. The team members who worked on this review were:
Our team has over 75 years of combined experience, making us the most accomplished home security team online. Since beginning in 2016, our work has been featured in several major outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. As a team, we have achieved:
| ADT | SimpliSafe | Vivint | Frontpoint | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 9.2/10 | 9.2/10 | 9.1/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Response times | 30-45 seconds | 30 seconds | 30-60 seconds | 30-45 seconds |
| Contract length | 36 months | Monthly | 48 to 60 months | 36 months |
| Installation options | Professional or DIY | Professional or DIY | Professional | DIY |
| Monitoring cost | From $29.99 per month | From $19.99 per month | From $39 per month | $49 per month |
| Monitoring options | Professional | Professional or DIY | Professional | Professional |
| Review | ADT review | SimpliSafe review | Cove review | Vivint review |
ADT knows its stuff. It has been around for a century and a half and serves about 6 million people across the country. If you’ve ever used an ADT system, you’ll understand why you see so many of those little blue signs in people’s yards.
The company recently announced a partnership with Google, and now provides even higher-quality equipment. For more on that, read my review of the Nest Doorbell and my deep dive into the Nest Camera. Both are some of the most feature-rich and technologically advanced security cams I’ve tested.
What will you get for that monthly price? A whole lot of protection. ADT has 12 dedicated monitoring centers across the U.S. and Canada, each with its own redundancies built in. When I put the system to the test by simulating break-ins, I measured response times between 30 and 45 seconds — plenty fast when you compare it to the industry standard of about a minute. I was able to cancel each test alarm, but if you were in a true emergency situation, you’d tell the agent the alarm was legitimate, and they would dispatch the authorities.
Preparing to arm my ADT system
I should also mention that I received text alerts before I got the alarm calls. Those were faster by around 20 seconds. I could also cancel or confirm the alarms via text. That’s part of ADT’s new SMART Monitoring system, and it’s smart indeed.
ADT’s monitoring depends on the size of the system you select, which falls into three categories. It starts at $29.99 per month, but you may end up paying more if you have a lot of house to protect. If that’s your situation, you may be interested in my list of the best security systems for large homes. My system, which includes security cameras, cost me $44.99 just for monitoring. That doesn’t include the equipment fee yet, which I’m paying for monthly over a two-year period.
When you sign up with ADT, you’re also making a commitment. A 36-month contract, to be exact. The company offers a six-month grace period, but you’ll be paying a monthly fee for three years if you go with this system. If you ever needed to cancel, you’d have to pay a cancellation fee.
Other than that, ADT is a well-rounded system. I primarily recommend it to homeowners who are more likely to stay put in their homes for the next three years.
Did You Know? ADT often runs sales. So, if you think it’s the system for you, but the price tag is a bit of a hindrance, you may want to read my guide to ADT’s deals.
| Equipment cost | Packages starting at $269 |
|---|---|
| Monitoring options | Professional |
| Monitoring cost | Starting at $29.99 per month |
| Contract length | Starting at 36 months |
| Installation options | Professional or DIY |
| Smart platform integration | Alexa and Google Home |
Looking for something completely different? SimpliSafe swings to the other end of the spectrum, but still offers protections that are every bit as high quality as ADT’s.
What do I mean by that? SimpliSafe is one of the best DIY security systems on the market. That means you’ll install and set up the system yourself, and you’ll have a more active role in your protection. But when it comes to monitoring your system, SimpliSafe provides more than enough coverage.
Let’s talk about how SimpliSafe handles monitoring and how quickly the company responds to an emergency. SimpliSafe is one of the best options for self-monitoring, but if you go that route, the response time will depend entirely on how quickly you react to a notification sent to your phone.
Pro Tip: I found myself ignoring notifications when testing self-monitored systems in the past. It’s easy to get into the habit of swiping them away and missing something important.
I clocked SimpliSafe’s response time at 30 seconds flat. That’s very similar to ADT’s time, but I appreciated the video verification element of SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect subscription, giving its agents video access during emergencies. If they see something like broken glass, smoke, or an intruder making off with your TV, they can relay the important details to authorities en route, who will then be better prepared to handle the situation when they arrive at your home.
Similar to a lot of DIY systems, SimpliSafe lets you select from prepackaged systems or build your own using a list of components. I have more detailed information in my guide to SimpliSafe’s prices.
They also offer two options for professional monitoring: standard monitoring, which costs $19.99 per month, and Fast-Protect monitoring, which costs $29.99 per month.
Fast Protect monitoring relies on the company’s new Smart Alarm Indoor Camera for verification. It works like this: When I purposefully set off an alarm, the camera came to life and an agent was able to look at a live feed of my home to determine if an emergency was occurring.
Here’s SimpliSafe’s wireless indoor camera which pairs nicely with the Fast Protect monitoring plan.
When I was testing the system, they interacted with me using the two-way microphone and I was able to deactivate the alarm by providing a code word determined when I set up the system. (Don’t forget your code word!)
| Monitoring options | Professional and DIY |
|---|---|
| Installation | Professional and DIY |
| Smart platform integration | Alexa and Google Home |
| Equipment Cost | Packages starting at $249.96 |
| Monthly Monitoring Cost | From $9.99 |
| Contract Length | Monthly |
There’s no question that Vivint is one of the best security systems with home automation. You can clearly see that in the feature-rich Vivint Smart Hub (touchscreen control panel), in the indoor and outdoor security camera with A.I. Smart Deter, and in the customizable Vivint app.
When I reviewed Vivint, I was impressed by the quality of the equipment. But I’m not a big fan of Vivint’s 60-month contract or that they give customers only three days to cancel. Other companies like SimpliSafe give users a 60-day refund period; ADT even has a six-month money-back guarantee.
Vivint’s monitoring service starts at $39 per month. It’s not as good as ADT and its multi-redundant monitoring facilities, but Vivint does have two in-house monitoring facilities.
One of the text messages I got from Vivint during my testing.
As for response times, Vivint was the fastest. Well, that’s only if we count the text-based alerts. In typical security systems, the monitoring center will alert you via call. That usually takes 30 to 60 seconds. But these days, a lot of systems now offer text-based alerts, even ADT and SimpliSafe with Fast Protect. Vivint was one of the first to do it, and Vivint’s text-based alerts are still the speediest. In my experience, text alerts arrive in under 10 seconds, and you can confirm or cancel the alarm right then and there.
Here’s my experience with Vivint alarms:
Like I said, Vivint’s monitoring service costs as little as $39. That’s somewhat affordable if you consider that Frontpoint, my fourth pick for this list, charges every user $49 per month.
Here’s the thing, though: the monitoring fee is only one of the many aspects of Vivint’s pricing. You also need to buy the equipment either upfront or via financing and pay a professional installation fee starting at $99, which could go up to $199.
Pro Tip: I took up the financing option and was able to spread the payments over 60 months. This can drop package prices to between $10 and $30 per month, which is much more manageable.
Vivint’s equipment packages are also not the cheapest. They start at $599, so you can see why Vivint didn’t make my list of the most affordable security systems. Vivint’s most basic equipment package costs twice as much as The Foundation kit offered by SimpliSafe.
| Monitoring Options | Professional only |
|---|---|
| Installation | Professional |
| Smart Platform Integration | Alexa and Google Home |
| Equipment Cost | From $599.99 |
| Monthly Monitoring Cost | From $40 |
| Contract Length | 48 to 60 months |
Last but not least, we have Frontpoint. It serves as a bridge between the peace of mind of a traditional system and the flexibility of a DIY one. You’ll install the Frontpoint system yourself, but you’ll be able to pay over time for your equipment and enjoy the benefits of professional monitoring.
When I reviewed Frontpoint, I thought there was a lot to like. The system itself is extremely easy to set up. Every component was installed in minutes, and I didn’t have any problems getting everything to communicate over the network. I had a bit of a problem with one of the door sensors losing connectivity, but after some quick troubleshooting over the phone, it was smooth sailing.
Frontpoint offers only one monitoring package, but it comes with quite a few perks — including text verification and video analytics for smarter monitoring — and fewer false alarms. When I was testing the system, I was able to change the sensitivities on my cameras and set up activity zones and virtual trip wires to keep my phone from buzzing all day and night. If you’ve ever had a DIY security camera, you know exactly what I mean.
Pro Tip: On my first night with the Frontpoint system, I noticed a radioactive-like green glow from the hub. Thankfully, I could set a timer in the app so it would automatically dim the power light at certain hours so I could sleep in peace.
But let’s talk about what happens when an alarm is triggered. First, Frontpoint’s monitoring center will send you a text notification or give you a call, based on your preference, to verify the alarm event. Depending on your response, they can have authorities on their way in a hurry.
In my experience, it took Frontpoint between 30 and 45 seconds to respond to an alarm going off. Similar to SimpliSafe and ADT, the system is certainly speedy.
Frontpoint’s monitoring costs $49 per month, which is pretty pricey considering that SimpliSafe starts at $19.99 and ADT starts at $29.99 per month. But here’s the thing: You won’t have to worry about paying a higher fee if you upgrade your system, because that’s all Frontpoint charges for monitoring. Big or small, you will pay $49 to use your Frontpoint system. You certainly get more bang for your buck if you have a large system though.
A close-up of the Frontpoint Indoor Camera.
On that note, it’s easy to build a large system with Frontpoint. Starter packages are cheap; even cheaper than SimpliSafe. The smallest bundle costs $79. Comparing Frontpoint and SimpliSafe, the former offers more equipment options, too. It has garage door sensors; SimpliSafe doesn’t.
| Equipment cost | Packages starting at $79 |
|---|---|
| Monitoring options | Professional |
| Monitoring cost | Starting at $49 per month |
| Contract lengths | Monthly or 36 months |
| Installation options | DIY |
| Smart platform integrations | Google Home, Alexa, and Siri |
We have to give an honorable mention to the security company that sent the cops to my home. While simulating a break-in, I was a little too late to disarm the alarm. The next thing you know, an officer is at my front door checking that everything is ok.
It took about 30 seconds for Cove to respond to the alarm, which is on par with the other security systems on this list. However, it only has one monitoring plan with camera support, which costs $27.99 per month. You also have to pay extra for cloud storage unless you want to use SD cards. So you can see why it didn’t make our top picks.
>> Read More: Cove Security System Pricing 2024
One thing I want to make clear is that when I talk about response times, I’m talking about the time it takes for the alarm company to get in touch with you to confirm the validity of an alarm, not how long it will take first responders to arrive at your home.
Creating a ground zone for the ADT Outdoor Camera to minimize alerts.
The time it takes for authorities to arrive at your property will depend on multiple factors, including the size of your police force, how easy it is to get to your home, and how busy the police are at the time of the call.
Generally it takes officers 30 to 60 minutes to respond to an alarm, but those response times can speed up greatly depending on the information the alarm company provides. If there is a medical emergency, for example, response will be prioritized.
From Anthony Travaglia, Retired Police Officer, Home Security Expert
Verified response laws were put in place to cut down on wasted police effort. False alarms are extremely common, and if police had to respond to every single one, they wouldn’t be available to deal with the actual life-threatening scenarios that should demand their attention.
Nearly every alarm company is under some form of verified response law. That means a triggered alarm alone isn’t enough to send authorities. It must be confirmed as an actual event by the homeowner. That’s why response times are so critical. If it takes several minutes for the alarm company to reach out and verify the alarm, it may be too late.
Did You Know? Several security companies offer video verification, where they can access your camera live stream to see if you need help or if you’ve entered the pin code.
When I talk about response times, it’s inevitable that someone will bring up self-monitoring. Don’t get me wrong — self-monitoring is better than nothing, and it certainly has its benefits in terms of costs. I always recommend professional monitoring when possible though. To learn why, check out my guide to ADT vs. DIY systems.
It’s also worth remembering why you got a home security system to begin with. Our recent research shows the top five reasons are:
Simply put, self-monitoring places all the responsibility on you, the homeowner. You have to pay constant attention to your phone to make sure nothing is wrong at home. What if you’re on a road trip or out at the movies? Will you miss an important text that says your motion detector picked up something in the hallway when no one is supposed to be there? It’s better, in my opinion, to leave that responsibility to the professionals and sleep easier at night knowing someone is watching out for you.
Whatever your budget, you can choose a home security system known for fast response.
Here are the features you should look for:
You return home, toss your keys on the table, and leisurely turn off your alarm system. A 30-second delay is a long time, especially for intruders who study how to disable alarm systems, so the best home security systems with ultra-fast response times offer adjustable delay. The feature allows you to adjust the preset delays to suit your needs.
Smash-and-bashing the control panel is a go-to move for criminals. With tamper protection, your control panel and other devices have built-in tamper detection. If they’re rattled, shaken, or smashed — or if the wiring is disturbed — the alarm sounds and alerts are sent. That allows the monitoring center to take immediate and direct action to protect you and your home.
Cellular monitoring is the industry standard for reliable coverage and lightning-fast response times. No landline is required. Instead, your home security system connects to cell towers in the area (just like a cell phone) to deliver around-the-clock protection. The best systems with cellular monitoring send immediate alerts and are processed in a matter of seconds.
Redundant monitoring is a powerful feature that brings in backup when needed. Multiple servers, strategically located monitoring centers, and even assigning a landline to back up a cellular connection are all forms of redundant monitoring. Rapid response requires a secure connection and a reliable monitoring center. That’s why redundancy is key when it comes to home security.
It’s no secret that top home security companies hire the best of the best. In an effort to deliver superior service and fast response times, high-quality staffing cannot be overlooked. Companies scour the field searching for highly skilled, reliable, and trustworthy emergency responders. If you’re looking for a speedy response, don’t forget to assess the people behind the products and services.
Help is on the line mere moments after the glass shatters — if your home is outfitted with glass-break sensors. These helpful home security devices ensure the fastest response times possible. Simply mount the sound-sensitive devices near your windows. They constantly listen for the frequency of breaking glass. When triggered, the alarm sounds and help is summoned before your home is looted.
Get help at the push of a button with a panic button. Panic buttons are ideal for older adults who live alone. Mount them in the shower, in the kitchen, near stairs, and in other high-risk areas to make sure help is always close at hand. They also help during home invasions. A streamlined way to sound the alarm and send alerts, panic buttons are critical for reliable and rapid response.
Get quick-draw home security with a remote control. The wireless technology puts your home security controls in your pocket or purse. Many companies offer keychain-size remote-control devices that let you arm and disarm your system, summon help with an emergency alert button, and control other security functions. If you want fast response times, remote controls have your back.
The best security systems with fast response times all have something in common: mobile access. It enables you to tap into your system on the go. Access, monitor, and control features such as indoor and outdoor security cameras, smart lights and thermostats, door locks, and the security system itself. Mobile access takes the top features and puts them in your smartphone.
