The short answer
With self-monitoring, your alarm and cameras alert your phone and you decide what to do, with no monthly fee. With 24/7 professional monitoring, a monitoring station watches your alarm day and night and can send help, for about $30 a month with us. Neither is right for everyone. It mostly comes down to how reliably you can respond to an alert yourself.
This is one of the questions we're asked most. The good news is that you don't have to decide when you buy the system: you own the alarm either way and can switch later. Here's how each option works, what it costs, and who it tends to suit.
How Self-Monitoring Works
When a door opens or a motion sensor is triggered while the alarm is armed, the siren goes off and your phone gets an alert. You open the app, check your cameras, and decide what to do: call the police, ask a neighbour to look, or turn it off if it was the dog walker using the wrong code. You can arm and disarm from anywhere.
The upside is no monthly fee and full control. The catch is that it all depends on you. If your phone is on silent at night, you're in a meeting, or you're on a flight, the alert waits until you see it.
How 24/7 Professional Monitoring Works
With monitoring, your alarm also signals a monitoring station that's staffed around the clock. You still get the same alerts on your phone, but if you miss one, someone else is watching and can send help.
Our monitoring plan includes cellular backup, so the alarm can still reach the station if your internet goes down. It also comes with a monitoring certificate you can send to your home insurer.
What Each One Costs
| Compare | Self-monitoring | 24/7 monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | None | About $30 a month |
| Contract | None | None, change or cancel when you like |
| Who responds | You | The monitoring station, plus alerts to you |
| Cellular backup | Available on request | Included |
| Insurance certificate | No | Yes |
For comparison, traditional alarm companies in the GTA typically charge $40 to $80 a month for monitoring, usually on a 3-year contract. Over three years, that's roughly $1,440 to $2,880, compared with about $1,080 for ours.
Saving camera recordings is a separate thing from alarm monitoring. Live view and alerts are free. To save and look back at video, you can add a camera plan from a few dollars a month, or, with some cameras, store video at home with no plan.
Home Insurance and Monitoring
Many insurers give a discount for a monitored alarm, so it's worth a quick call to yours. Ask what they need to see. Some insurers specifically ask for a ULC-listed monitoring station. Our 24/7 monitoring isn't ULC-listed, but it comes with a monitoring certificate you can send to your insurer. If the discount is your main reason for monitoring, check with your insurer first.
Which One Fits Your Home?
Self-monitoring tends to suit you if
- Someone is usually home or close by
- You check your phone often and don't mind acting on an alert
- Cameras and phone alerts are your main goal
- You'd rather not pay a monthly fee
Professional monitoring tends to suit you if
- You travel often or are away for long hours
- Your phone is on silent at night or at work
- You want a discount from your home insurer
- You want someone watching when you can't
It doesn't have to be a permanent choice. Some homeowners start with self-monitoring and add monitoring later, or turn it on before a long trip. With no contract, that's up to you.
