Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe

We felt a sense of satisfaction after installing our SimpliSafe and Ring security systems. It took us less than an hour to unbox the equipment, set it up, and have them operational. That’s why they’re two of our favorite DIY home security systems.

But after spending a few months with them, we noticed some similarities and differences. For example, Ring has a great selection of security cameras but SimpliSafe has a broader selection of equipment that includes glass break sensors and sirens. We also preferred speaking to SimpliSafe’s customer service team over Ring. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why SimpliSafe came out on top.

First, we compared the key similarities and differences between Ring and SimpliSafe. Then, we went through installation, professional monitoring, customer support, and the company’s respective mobile applications.

Key Similarities of Ring vs SimpliSafe

We discovered some key similarities from our assessment of the two companies.

• High app ratings: Both the Ring — Always Home app and the SimpliSafe app had high ratings, four stars or higher on iOS and Android.
• Month-to-month contracting and self-monitoring options: Neither Ring nor SimpliSafe forced us to sign long-term contracts or pay for professional monitoring.
• DIY or professional installation: We installed both systems ourselves, although both companies had professional installation options.

Key Differences of Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe

We also considered how the two systems differed:

• System components: We noticed that SimpliSafe offers more home security system components, but when it comes to security cameras, Ring has more. SimpliSafe has three security cameras and a video doorbell, while Ring has dozens of them.
• Monitoring cost: Ring is more affordable than Ring, with professional monitoring that includes cloud storage for unlimited cameras starting at $19.99 per month. With SimpliSafe, monitoring and camera recording costs $31.99 at a minimum, and that’s for a maximum of only 10 cameras.
• Home automation: Ring is more smart home-friendly. In addition to working with Alexa and Google Home (which SimpliSafe also does), Ring works with Z-Wave home automation devices such as smart locks.

Next, it was time to see what each system was made of.

System Components of Ring vs SimpliSafe

We bought the Ring Alarm Security Kit, which came with a base station, keypad, contact sensor, motion detector, and range extender. We already had the Ring Stick Up Cam Wired and the Ring Video Doorbell, so we used that with our security system. SimpliSafe’s was a bit more extensive and included a glass break sensor, panic button, key fobs, and a siren. We should note that SimpliSafe also offered a video doorbell, but the system we bought didn’t include it. We had to buy the doorbell post-testing for our standalone SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro review.

Installing Ring vs SimpliSafe

We could have requested professional installation with Ring and SimpliSafe. But it would have meant paying over $100 for the courtesy. We’re glad we didn’t. Setting up both security systems took less than an hour. Here’s how it played out.

Installing Ring Alarm

When we installed our Ring alarm, we learned the importance of syncing one component at a time.

Our installation took longer than it should have. We tried to sync all of our Ring components to the base station at once and that seemed to overwhelm the system. We’re not sure if it was our network connection or what, but we had to let our Ring system sync one component at a time.

Another thing we noted was that the contact sensors went on our doors and windows in the opposite way than we were used to. The larger part went on the door or window itself, while the smaller part went on the frame.

In a nutshell, we found following the video tutorials helpful with installing Ring. Using the tutorials, our installation process only took about 10 minutes.

>> Learn More: See our full Ring Alarm Review

Installing SimpliSafe

The SimpliSafe system was easy to install and didn’t require any drilling or special tools. The sensors themselves were peel-and-stick. It was the most fool-proof installation type of all time, and the sensors felt very secure on the wall. Once we put up all our sensors, we only had to plug in our base station and sync our system to the SimpliSafe app.

A+ for installation, and professional installation, while nice, was probably not necessary.

>> Learn More: See our full SimpliSafe Home Security Review

Installation Winner

It was no contest — SimpliSafe was much easier to install than Ring. For a company that branded itself for its simplicity, this definitely tracked. We also loved that professional installation was an option, even though the system was easy enough to install ourselves.

>> Learn More: See our pick for the Best Professionally Installed Security Systems

Professional Monitoring with Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe

With professional monitoring, a team of professionals oversaw our home’s security from its call center. If one of our alarms went off, a team member called to check-in, and, if necessary, contact emergency services for us. This was really helpful when we were away from the house or otherwise preoccupied when a potential security breach occurred.

>> Learn More: See full details on SimpliSafe pricing and monitoring options

Professional monitoring was the area where Ring and SimpliSafe differed the most. Both companies gave us the option to self-monitor or pay monthly, but it’s the features included in the premium monitoring options that varied.

SimpliSafe’s premium monitoring option, called Fast Protect, allows for video verification of incidents as well as two-way communication between SimpliSafe technicians and intruders. This is called Live Guard protection and it’s supported on the Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera.

It also includes:

• Alerts for Flooding and Extreme Temperatures
• Video Incident Verification
• Cellular Backup
• Unlimited Camera Recording
• 30 Days Cloud Storage
• HD Live View
• Text Confirmation of Alarms
• Remote Arm and Disarm
• Arm System with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Watch
• Extended Warranty
• Discount on New Hardware Purchases

As far as costs go, SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect monitoring will run you $31.99 per month. Not bad in the scheme of things. You can also get their standard monitoring which only includes 24/7 professional monitoring for $21.99 per month.

Let’s look at Ring’s monitoring. They have three plans, none of which include professional monitoring. Instead, these plans offer cloud video storage with some other premium features. If you want to add professional monitoring, that will cost you an additional $10 per month, and you can only add it to the Standard and Premium plans.

Requiring to add professional monitoring might seem pricey, but if we look at the total cost, Ring still comes out as the more affordable option. You can get a monitoring plan with 180 days of cloud recording for unlimited cameras for as low as $19.99 per month if you go with the Standard plan. With SimpliSafe, the Standard ($21.99) plan doesn’t include cloud recording at all.

Custom Motion Detection

We learned that all Ring Plans had custom motion detection, which basically combined person detection and activity zones. Person detection was pretty self-explanatory — our Ring Stick Up Cam Wired or Ring Video Doorbell could tell the difference between people, pets, and inanimate moving objects like cars. That led to more specific and important notifications. We were so glad not to get a new notification every time our cat moved.

Next, we tried out activity zones. Activity zones let us divide the area we recorded into three parts while we focused specifically on one.

For example, if we had outdoor cameras, we could tell it to ignore the street. As a result, we didn’t receive tons of false alerts. SimpliCam from SimpliSafe recognized humans’ unique heat signatures, so it can tell the difference between humans and animals.

Secret Alarms

SimpliSafe’s Core Plan came with secret alarms. We’d never heard of this, so we had to look it up on the company’s website.2

Through our reading, we gathered that having a secret alarm meant we could be the only people in our homes aware that an alarm went off. Instead of having the alarm sound, a dead giveaway, we could silence the alarm and receive a mobile notification. We hadn’t seen this feature from any other security company, and we thought it could be useful for a liquor cabinet or safe.

Video-Verified Alarms

Another feature only available with the SimpliSafe Core Plan was video-verified alarms.

If someone triggered our alarm, professional monitors were notified immediately via a one-minute clip of security footage. If they saw a robbery happening in real-time, they alerted the police for us. Studies showed that video-verified alarms lead to higher arrest rates, according to SimpliSafe. Made sense to us!

It was no secret, SimpliSafe’s subscriptions were much more expensive than Ring’s, with its least expensive option coming in at about $5 more per month than Ring’s most expensive. When we considered that Ring had twice the amount of cloud storage, the price difference seemed even more stark.

Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe Contracts

We were ecstatic when we discovered that both SimpliSafe and Ring offered flexible month-to-month options rather than the binding three-year contracts some companies forced on customers. Ring did offer a one-year contract option which lowered the monthly cost slightly. Regardless of whichever contract we chose, we were able to rest assured that if we needed to cancel, there would be no fees for doing so.

Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe Moving Policies

Moving seemed easy with both Ring and SimpliSafe. Since both systems were typically self-installed, we knew we could just pick up either system and go, entirely without fees. We were also grateful that with SimpliSafe, we could pay a professional $125 to install our system. Ring’s installation was more expensive. We were quoted $170 for a professional to install our small system, but the cost may vary depending on how many devices need to be set up.

Monitoring Winner

Price-wise, Ring is more affordable and offers more features at the same price point as SimpliSafe. However, SimpliSafe offers more advanced features, albeit with pricier subscriptions. Both are great options, but for different types of users. As for us, we preferred SimpliSafe’s scalability, albeit the higher price tag.

>> Learn More: Full details on Ring Alarm’s pricing and monitoring options

Customer Support with Ring vs SimpliSafe

Both Ring and SimpliSafe offered customer support over their websites and phones. SimpliSafe even threw in an email option, which we liked.

Each company’s customer ratings differed based on where we looked. Both companies got perfect overall ratings from the Better Business Bureau, which meant they advertised truthfully and responded to any customer complaints, among other things. However, both companies got under two stars from customers on the BBB, a notoriously tough crowd.

Top System for Customer Support

Both companies offer consistently outstanding customer support, based on our experience and reviews of other users. It’s a tie.

The Ring App vs the SimpliSafe App

The last thing we wanted to discuss was each system’s mobile app. We knew that with smart security systems, our apps were basically our mobile command centers. Given that, we wanted to ensure both brands’ mobile applications connected easily to their respective systems and were user-friendly.

The Ring — Always Home App

On the Ring — Always Home app, we could live-stream footage, arm and disarm our system, control any connected devices, get crime and safety alerts from our neighborhood, receive notifications, speak through two-way audio, and review cloud storage.

The app had ratings of 4.1 at the Google Play store, and a 4.6 at the Apple store.

“App is nice and clean. Easy to use. A couple of annoying things/bugs:
– schedules are not shared between devices.
– you can get notification of an event, but when you go to check it in the app, it’s not there.
After a refresh it may appear, but you can’t click on it. You have close and reopen the app to view,”

Android user Luke Glanford wrote in a four-star review.

The SimpliSafe App

The SimpliSafe app offered the same features as the Ring app, so we could control our security system, check out our live streams, get notifications, and review footage.

Around the time of this Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe showdown,  the SimpliSafe app got an influx of good reviews, which brought its rating up to a 4.8 in the Apple store and a 4.5 in the Google Play store.

Top System App

SimpliSafe won, because it’s more straightforward and easier to navigate. Ring’s app, on the other hand, can be confusing to use, especially if you have multiple Ring products like security cameras and video doorbells.

Recap of Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe

Ring is a great home security system if you want to prioritize cameras over other equipment like environmental sensors. You’ll also get access to a great app that you can use to manage your system and monitoring plans that won’t break the bank.

But we’re still recommending SimpliSafe. It has a broader range of equipment that caters to all types of homes, from apartments to mansions. While the monitoring plans are more expensive, they offer better protection with features like Active Guard that can make intruders think twice about breaking in. So it’s the security system we want to keep our home safe.