How we work out alarm costs

Our approach

We calculate estimated alarm costs using three honest steps:

1. Size the kit your home needs from your answers (doors, windows, floors, cameras)
2. Price only what is published or reported per provider, with every figure dated and sourced
3. Total the cost of ownership over 12/24/36 months with plain arithmetic

Kit sizing assumptions

Our calculator makes these assumptions about what kit you need. You can edit them on the results page:

• Door/window sensors: doors + windows
• Motion sensors: floors (editable 0-6)
• Keypads: 1
• Hubs: 1

These are our assumptions about typical requirements, not claims about what any provider would fit.

Price sources

Every cost figure has:

• A source: where it came from (provider's own page, third-party review, etc.)
• A checked date: when we last verified it
• A status: observed (read from source) or verified (double-checked by us)

Freshness rules

A figure is usable in our calculator only if:

• Status is "verified"
• Checked date is within 45 days of today
• For third-party reported figures, the source date is within 180 days of today

If a price expires, we don't show it rather than using stale data.

"From" prices

Some providers (like Verisure) give starting prices that increase based on your specific requirements. When we show a "from" price, it means:

• The provider publishes or reported a starting price, not a fixed price
• Your quote will likely be higher if you need more kit than the starter package
• We can't estimate the extras cost because unit prices aren't published

Total cost calculations

Our 12/24/36-month totals use simple addition:

upfront cost + (monthly fee × months)

This assumes the monthly fee stays the same and no extra kit or services are added. Real costs may differ.

Provider ordering

We show providers in the order that fits your chosen monitoring type first (professional or self-monitored), then alphabetically. Never by commission.

What we don't do

• No hidden multipliers: We don't adjust for region, property value or brand premium
• No invented prices: If a provider doesn't publish a figure, we say so rather than guessing
• No fake reviews: We haven't tested any of these systems

Comparisons

Our comparison pages show side-by-side facts from each provider's published information and verified third-party sources. Where a provider hasn't published something (like cancellation terms), we say "Not published / not verified" rather than filling the gap with guesswork.

Desk research statement

We haven't installed or tested any of the alarm systems shown on this site. Our comparisons use each provider's published information and the dated third-party sources listed on each page. This is desk research, not hands-on testing.