Vivint Security Review

Vivint Review Video

Want to see Vivint in action? We dive deeper into how the equipment works and show you how easy it is to operate the system from within the app. Vivint has upgraded its camera since we released our video review. But don’t worry, we’ll talk all about it below.

Vivint Basic Security System Components

For this review, we wanted to test as many Vivint components as we could with our limited budget – $1,200. Here’s what we ended up with:

• Vivint Smart Hub
• Motion sensors
• Glass break sensors
• Entry sensors
• Smoke and CO detectors
• Kwikset smart lock
• Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro

A big part of our bill was the $399 Outdoor Camera Pro. We know: It’s expensive even compared to Nest Cam pricing, which can go as high as $279. But this camera delivers value as Vivint’s flagship product. Its Smart Deter feature uses AI-powered detection, lights, and alarm sounds to deter burglars before they can enter your home.

>> Read More: Vivint Equipment and Monitoring Costs

We’re going to take a look at the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro in a bit, but for now, let’s talk about Vivint’s standard equipment. Let’s start with the device required for all Vivint packages – the Vivint Smart Hub.

Vivint Smart Hub

Vivint Smart Hub is one of the most functional screen panels we’ve tested. In addition to arming and disarming the system, we could also use it to control smart home devices, watch live streams from our cameras and answer a ring on our Vivint video doorbell. For comparison, our Cove review describes how the panel for that system has far less functionality.

The Vivint Smart Hub also features two-way audio which comes in handy during emergencies or false alarms. When we triggered our system during a break-in simulation, the Vivint monitoring center reached out via the hub. Instead of pulling out our phone to respond to the alert, we just told the agent our verbal passcode to cancel the alarm.

We also appreciate that the Smart Hub can maintain security through power and internet outages. The hub has a 24-hour battery backup so it can keep communicating with the battery-powered sensors during a power outage. If your internet goes down, the hub can switch from Wi-Fi to a cellular connection. In fact, we think Vivint is one of the best cellular security systems available.

Security Sensors

We added motion sensors, door sensors, window sensors, and glass break sensors to our Vivint package. All of them connected to our Smart Hub wirelessly. When one of them was triggered, the Smart Hub sent an alert to our smartphones.

We never expect much from sensors. They are the backbone of the security system, but their tasks are relatively simple. As long as they work – which Vivint’s did – we’re happy. If we’re being nitpicky, we’d say that the design isn’t up to snuff for a premium brand, and they stuck out like sore thumbs. By comparison, when we reviewed ADT, the technician installed better-looking sensors that matched the color of the door trim.

With that in mind, we recommend the recessed door sensor in place of the regular door sensor. The recessed door sensors are installed flush with the doorframe, so they won’t affect your door’s aesthetics. And since Vivint offers professional installation, you won’t have to worry about drilling your doorframe yourself.

Expert Take

From Gene Petrino, Retired SWAT Commander and Law Enforcement

“I have responded to more than one burglary where the security sensors were ineffective and allowed an intruder to gain access undetected. In at least two cases, the suspects removed the window panes to gain access. The sensors would only be activated if the window was opened, therefore, the alarm never activated, allowing the suspect free range inside the residence.”

Ping Indoor Camera

In addition to the equipment we bought from Vivint, we also dusted off a Vivint component we’ve been keeping in a box for years – the Ping Indoor Camera. Vivint no longer offers it, but it still worked.

The Ping camera was ahead of its time when it was released in 2016. Its 1080p video and 155-degree field of view are on par with current standards. The Ping camera also has a unique “call” button  that lets you make video calls with other people in your Vivint plan.

Ping can also see everything clearly in the darkness of night, but with limited quality and range. We used a couple of nightlights to improve both.

Even though you can’t get the Ping indoor camera anymore, it goes to show how good Vivint’s equipment is. We’ve had this device for more than eight years, and it still works as good as new.

Vivint Ping Vs. Indoor Camera Pro

Of course, we’re here to talk about what you can currently get from Vivint. Right now, the only indoor camera option is the Vivint Indoor Camera Pro. It still has industry-standard 1080p resolution, but now with HDR. The newer camera also has a 150-degree viewing angle and the “call” button is still there.

The biggest improvements are the local storage and AI detection. With the Indoor Camera Pro, you can save videos locally when you’re having a spotty internet connection through the on-board memory. It saves videos locally for about 10 days, in addition to the cloud storage that comes with the Vivint monitoring plan.

On top of that, you can set up recording parameters that trigger the camera to record. For example, you can set it to record when it sees your pet (making it a good pet camera), or a person. We saw a glimpse of how these recording rules work when we tested the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro (more on that below), and the level of customizations you can make is impressive.

>> Learn More: The Best Security Systems for Pet Owners

Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro

The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro is the Bugatti of the Vivint’s device lineup. At $399, it was priced like a Bugatti too. Even though it cost us double what security cameras cost in 2025, we’re convinced that it truly delivers enough value to justify the hefty ransom.

For starters, it has impressive video quality. It has a clear, 1080p HD resolution, but on top of that, it has a 4K image sensor. This improves the video quality, clarity, and color contrast. With so much going on outdoors, we appreciate the improved video quality.

The camera also features HDR, which helps with light distortion outside. In the sample footage above taken by our camera expert in his home, you can see that there are no glary or shadowy areas despite the high lighting contrast. That’s largely thanks to HDR.

Throw in the camera’s wide, 140-degree viewing angle, three times optical zoom, 10 times digital zoom, and powerful night vision, and you get an impressively clear camera quality day and night. It also had local storage, much like the Indoor Camera Pro.

What really impressed us was the Smart Deter feature. Using AI and by following the parameters we set, it detected intruders as well as prowlers. We created a virtual fence around our property and set how long people are allowed to stay within it. If someone lurks around for longer than that, it will flash its LED lights and sound an audible alarm.

For an extra $250, you can buy a Vivint Spotlight Pro to connect to the camera. If the camera detects a lurker or trespasser, the spotlight shines its light in their direction, and using AI, it can follow the intruder as they move around the camera’s field of vision. We’ve found that the Outdoor camera and spotlight are perfect for monitoring an area the size of a front yard and driveway.

The camera’s AI can also differentiate between humans, pets, and vehicles, which is very useful if there’s a busy street in front of your home. While cameras without this capability will alert you every time the neighborhood cat walks by, the Vivint Outdoor Camera only alerted us when it spotted an actual human.

One drawback of the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro is that it needs a power outlet to work. Sure, we didn’t have to worry about the battery running out, but it limited our placement options. We’re still happy we got the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro, although it’s pretty expensive at $399.99.

In comparison, the Nest Cam Battery we reviewed only cost $179. But the Vivint outdoor camera comes with built-in person detection plus a smart feature that detects and deters loiterers. The Nest Cam Outdoor requires a Nest Aware subscription starting at $8 per month to use its smartest features – facial recognition.

Expert Take

From Gene Petrino, Retired SWAT Commander and Law Enforcement

“I investigated an attempted residential burglary one time where the homeowner observed the suspects remotely from the security cameras walking into his backyard. Once he observed them attempt to pry open a door, he used the two way communication feature to scare them off.”

Vivint Doorbell Camera

Thankfully, the old Vivint Doorbell Camera seen above has been given an upgrade and now has 1664p HDR resolution compared to 720p. The Doorbell Camera Pro also has a 180-degree by 180-degree field of view and infrared night vision. However, you have to connect it to the internal wiring. If that’s an issue, you might be better off getting a Ring video doorbell.

Something the Ring Video Doorbell Pro doesn’t have is artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro knows the difference between delivery drivers and porch thieves. When someone is busted, the LED ring glows red and the 90 dB speaker lets the criminal know they’ve been caught on camera.

Another new feature is customizable surveillance zones. In the image above from the old Vivint doorbell camera, we’d get false alarms from people and pets on the sidewalk. But now we can exclude that area and focus the alerts to anyone walking up our stairs.

Like Vivint’s other equipment, the Doorbell Camera Pro will keep recording if the Wi-Fi or power goes down. It’s even capable of recording 24/7 thanks to the built-in SD card. We scrubbed through a day’s worth of footage in the Vivint app and had no issue finding clips we were looking for.

We think person detection is an essential doorbell camera feature, especially since our front door faces the street. Thanks to person detection, we didn’t get alerted of every car passing or every squirrel running by. We only received alerts when there were actual people at our door.

In our opinion, person detection is an essential doorbell camera feature, especially since our front door faces the street. Thanks to person detection, we didn’t get alerted of every car passing or every squirrel running by. Instead, we only received alerts when there were actual people at our door.

Kwikset Smart Lock

A smart lock is one of those smart home devices that can make your home safer, especially if you tend to be forgetful about locking your doors. We got Kwikset-branded smart locks from Vivint. That wasn’t a surprise. Very few security companies actually make their own smart locks. Most of the time, they partner up with a smart lock brand.

In all fairness, the Kwikset smart lock we got was impressive. We got to control it (lock/unlock) using the Vivint app. We also liked that it has a physical keypad for locking and unlocking without keys. It even gave us the option to share up to 30 temporary codes to other people – from guests staying over to our pet sitter.

And even though the Kwikset lock wasn’t a Vivint product, we had fun connecting it to other home automation devices and creating automated actions. For us, that meant having the doors unlock when the smoke alarm went off, which brings us to our next point…

Vivint and the Smart Home

We’re huge smart home nerds, so imagine our excitement to see that Vivint home automation works with both Alexa1, Amazon’s voice assistant, and Google Assistant, Google’s version. Let’s talk about how we could command our Vivint system with Alexa vs. Google Assistant.

Voice Control

We used Alexa to control our Vivint-compatible Philips hue lights, smart thermostat from Nest, and Kwikset smart lock. Additionally, we used Alexa to arm our Vivint security system, although we couldn’t disarm it with our voice for security purposes. Lastly, we had Alexa show our live-streamed footage on our Echo devices, like the Amazon Echo Show 8 we reviewed, along with our Fire TV. It was great to see our footage on the big screen!

Google Assistant performed the exact same functions as Alexa, except we viewed our footage on our Google Nest Hubs and Google Nest Hub Max instead of the Echo Shows. You can read our Google Nest Hub review and our Nest Hub Max review for more details about these smart displays.

Third-Party Integrations

We mentioned earlier using Alexa to control our Philips Hue lights, Nest’s smart thermostat, and Kwikset’s smart lock. But these are just a few of the products you can integrate into the Vivint app and create automations with. Vivint is compatible even with garage door controllers, smart sprinkler systems, and other smart home gadgets that most smart security systems don’t work with.

Better still, we found Vivint’s automation features impressive. You can automate smart home functions so that everything in your home responds to your daily routine. Whenever we arm our security system in Away mode, our doors lock and our smart thermostat goes into energy saving mode. It helps us save money on bills, while also making our home more secure.

Z-Wave and Zigbee

Having third-party integrations is nice and all, but the fact remains that smart home brands are divided. What’s more, the smart home landscape is always changing. One moment, two brands work together, but before you know it, they no longer do. That’s why protocol-based integrations are also nice to have.

Z-Wave and Zigbee are widely-used smart home languages – basically, wireless protocols. If two devices use the same protocols, they can most likely keep working with each other no matter what. You only need a hub that supports the protocol to orchestrate them. That’s where Vivint comes in, because the Vivint Smart Hub can understand both Z-Wave and Zigbee. And given Vivint’s impressive automation capabilities, you can build a harmonious smart home system pretty easily. We know we did.

The Vivint App

The Vivint app was our home away from home, a way to arm and disarm our system, control connected devices, speak through two-way audio, live stream footage, view cloud storage, and receive notifications when we weren’t at home.

In terms of usability, we had no issues with the Vivint app. It has a sleek, modern look, and it is easy to navigate through the menus. If you use dating apps, you’ll get the hang of it quickly as you can swipe left to arm “Staying” mode and right to arm “Leaving” mode.

We did experience a little lag whenever we streamed live camera feeds, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for us. Just a quick relaunch of the app usually solved the issue.

Installing Vivint

We were lucky to have timed our purchase with a Vivint deal that gave us free professional installation, but since we’re talking about costs here, we asked the technician and he told us that the service typically costs $199. Again, that’s a little pricier, since most installation services charge about $100. If you look at it, though, you’d be happy that a trained technician will be doing all the work. Vivint security systems are sophisticated, and installing one is definitely not a job any regular Joe can do.

Of course, you could time your purchase to coincide with Vivint special offers, but ultimately, just prepare yourself for the professional installation cost.

Another thing to note is if you’re moving residences, you’ll have to pay $129 to get your system re-installed. That is a bit of a burden, which is why Vivint isn’t very renter-friendly. For those that want DIY installation, check out our review of Ring Alarm.

Did Vivint Work Well?

Over the course of a year, we didn’t encounter any day-to-day problems with our Vivint system. In fact, we liked using the touch screen panel to monitor and control the system while at home, and the app while we were away. We also found the equipment to be very durable; not one component has broken or stopped working.

Vivint Monitoring and Pricing

Professional monitoring is pretty much mandatory for Vivint customers. Although you can cancel your security monitoring plan down the line and keep your Vivint system, doing so will deactivate all of Vivint’s smart features. Essentially, it will turn into a local alarm, relying on sirens to alert you. You’ll also have to use the touchscreen panel to control the system every time, since the app will no longer work for you.

Our preference is to sign up for the professional monitoring plan. It’s more convenient and statistics suggest it’s more effective to leave monitoring to the professionals. Several studies show that burglaries typically happen during the day, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., which is when most people are away from their homes.2

Another thing to keep in mind with Vivint is that there’s likely going to be a contract, especially if you finance your equipment. The contract can be up to five years, and canceling before the end of the term will result in hefty cancellation fees. You will also have to pay the remaining cost of the equipment.

There is one sliver of good news, though. For the first 72 hours after signing a contract, you have the option to cancel your monitoring agreement without penalties. You’ll receive a full refund provided that you can send back the equipment in good condition. 72 hours is a small window – other companies allow returns for up to 30 days – but it’s better than nothing.

That 72-hour window applies to most Vivint customers, but customers 65 years old and above enjoy a more relaxed return policy. Rather than three days, they are given 60 days to fully test out the system and return it if it doesn’t work out for them.

Monitoring & Pricing Overview for Vivint

Vivint’s monitoring service can cost anywhere between $30 to $50 per month, which is about the same range as ADT but a little more expensive than SimpliSafe. The final cost depends on factors like how many security cameras you own, if you want home automation features, and the tax rules in your state.

Our Vivint technician told us that we can have up to six cameras, but the highest-tier service plan is needed to enjoy features like video verification. It’s also an extra $5 per month per camera for cloud storage.

Overall, we’d say that in terms of pricing, Vivint is certainly on the higher end. Ring Alarm costs only $20 a month for professional monitoring and cellular backup and even throws in 180 days of cloud storage. So for those on a budget, Vivint definitely isn’t for you. On the brighter side, Vivint does offer deals occasionally. Pay special attention to Vivint’s Black Friday deals, as they’ve been impressive in previous years.

Support with Vivint

There’s no harm in asking for help! Vivint offers support via phone and live chat. We have had mixed experiences with the customer support team. When we first chatted with a representative, the connection dropped and the conversation ended. The next time we tried to click on the “Support Chat” button, it was not clickable. As we much prefer chatting online over speaking on the phone, this was a bit annoying.

As for support during the buying process, Vivint makes you call and speak to their representatives. We called to ask about Vivint’s discount packages, and after 25 minutes of getting the runaround, we still did not have all the information we wanted. All in all, it was not the best experience. Vivint definitely wasn’t on par with Frontpoint, whose representatives were helpful when we reviewed Frontpoint’s system. If you have questions about Vivint, we suggest checking our Vivint FAQ page before calling.

Conclusion

Sure, Vivint is not the most affordable security system on the market. But it is a completely different experience to brands like SimpliSafe, Cove, and Frontpoint. The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro is one of the best outdoor cameras we’ve used, and Smart Deter uses AI to detect prowlers inside a virtual fence we created. You might pay a lot of money upfront, but you won’t have to install the system or worry about monitoring your property. It sounds like a pretty good deal to us.

There’s no question that Vivint is one of the best home security systems around. That is, if it’s what you’re looking for and it’s within your budget. Its inflexible monitoring contract and high fees are its biggest downsides, but if you can live with those, Vivint offers one of the most technologically-advanced home security systems on the market.