Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm Review

We recommend Ring Alarm as the winner here, but not without concerns

Best for Monitoring
  • pro
    Monitoring price: $39.99/mo.
  • pro
    Starter equipment price: $199.00
Best Budget Buy
Ring
ring
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5
  • pro
    Monitoring price: $20.00
  • pro
    Starter equipment price: $199.99
Brianne Sandorf
Jan 30, 2023
Icon Time To Read7 min read

We compared Brinks Home vs. Ring, and we have to declare Ring the winner. It’s cheaper and has better equipment with good home automation. But we have concerns about Ring’s growing reputation issues, and some customers may still prefer Brinks Home.

Brinks Home pros and cons

Pros
  • Monitoring safety features
  • Broad home automation
  • Smart home devices
Cons
  • Pricier

Ring Alarm pros and cons

Pros
  • Inexpensive
  • Proprietary equipment
  • Broad home automation
Cons
  • Bad reputation

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Pricing and monitoring plans

Ring squeaks ahead of Brinks Home in the monitoring space due to lower pricing

Ring slightly tops Brinks Home in terms of monitoring. Brinks Home has some of the best safety-oriented monitoring service features out there, but it costs quite a bit more than Ring.

Brinks Home and Ring Alarm home security comparison
Home security company
Monitoring price range
Base equipment package price
Monitoring type
Details
Brinks
$39.99/mo
$199.00

Professional monitoring

Ring
$20.00/mo
$199.99

Self and professional monitoring

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST) Full Disclaimer

Ring also offers a free self-monitoring option.

Brinks Home monitoring pricing

Brinks Home has some handy monitoring features, like built-in panic buttons on its equipment. It also has a duress code feature (in case someone forces you to disarm your alarm against your will) and a service called ASAPer.

Brinks has some handy monitoring features.

Yes, the name is confusing, but basically, ASAPer is a way for Brinks Home to instantly reach out to your emergency contacts and to you when your alarm goes off. And if it’s a false alarm, ASAPer makes it easier for you to cancel before Brinks Home sends emergency responders to your home. Brinks advertises one of the fastest response times compared to other companies of only 30 seconds. 

Monitoring permits
Price Tag

Some states or cities require an alarm permit for a home security system. When you get a professionally installed system, the company typically applies for a permit on your behalf. When you get a DIY system, you usually have to research and obtain the permit on your own.

If you’re supposed to have an alarm permit but don’t, the police may fine you when you receive a false alarm (on top of any false alarm fees).¹

Brinks Home monitoring plans
Plan
Price
Mobile app access
Monitoring type
Learn more

Brinks Home Security

$39.99/mo
Icon Yes  DarkYes

Professional

Data effective 01/30/2023. Offers are subject to change.

Brinks requires a 36-month contract.

Brinks Home’s monitoring fee includes mobile app access and smart home and video support. That’s not true of most companies; Ring is one of the only other brands that offers all of that in a single fee. But Ring’s fee is much, much lower.

brinks equipment

Source: Brinks Home

Ring Alarm monitoring pricing

Ring has some of the cheapest monitoring among well-known national brands. It’s just $20 a month for the company’s professional monitoring service. That’s less than Netflix costs these days.

Ring monitoring plans
Plan
Price
Mobile app access
Monitoring type
Learn more

Basic

$3.99/mo. OR $39.99/yr.

Icon Yes  Dark

Yes

Self

Protect Plus

$10.00/mo. OR $100.00/yr.

Icon Yes  Dark

Yes

Self

Protect Pro

$20.00/mo. OR $200.00/yr.

Icon Yes  Dark

Yes

Professional

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST)

Ring Basic offers video storage for a single camera—but doesn’t help with your security system. However, Ring Protect Plus is good for monitoring your system and gives you storage for unlimited Ring cameras. That’s an outstanding deal.

The Protect Pro offers video recording for all of your devices, 24/7 professional monitoring, and cellular backup. 

Ring contracts?
Pin

Ring doesn’t require contracts of any kind. But you can pay for up to a year of monitoring in advance to get a discount.

Ring Alarm equipment

Source: Ring

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Security equipment

Ring has cheaper and more unique equipment than Brinks Home

Brinks Home sells some decent equipment, but it doesn’t make any of it. Instead, with Brinks Home, you’ll see items from manufacturers like Alarm.com and SkyBell.

On the flip side, Ring makes all of its own items.

Brinks Home and Ring Alarm equipment pricing comparison
DeviceBrinks HomeRing Alarm
Door/contact sensor
Starts at$29.00
$19.99
Motion sensor
$59.00
$29.99
Flood detector
$49.00
$34.99
Learn more

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST)

This isn’t everything these brands sell. But there just isn’t much overlap between Brinks Home equipment and Ring equipment.

Brinks Home sells several smart home products, like thermostats, garage door openers, and door locks that Ring doesn’t offer. Likewise, instead of selling smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, Ring sells listeners that pick up on existing alarms. And Ring sells separate keypads and base stations, while Brinks Home sells control panels that serve both those functions.

We didn’t add camera prices to the equipment table since Ring’s cameras get quite complicated. More on that next.

Backups
Megaphone

Both Brinks and Ring have battery and cellular backup in case of an outage.

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Cameras

Cameras are Ring’s forte

Ring started as a camera manufacturer. It arguably makes better cameras than home security systems, while on the flip side, Brinks Home cameras are pretty meh.

Brinks Home cameras

To the best of our knowledge, Brinks Home cameras come from Alarm.com like most of its other equipment. There’s nothing wrong with Alarm.com, but the cameras just aren’t the best out there.

Brinks Home charges quite a bit for these cameras, too, which makes them even less desirable.

Brinks Home camera prices
Camera
Price
Storage type
Learn more

Indoor camera

$199.00

Cloud

Outdoor camera

$249.00

Cloud

Doorbell camera

$199.00

Cloud and local

Data effective 01/30/2023. Offers are subject to change.

Yi Indoor Camera

These cameras could get the job done, but they don’t meet most of our security preferences. They have limited fields of view, limited night vision, and even limited audio. (You can’t talk to visitors/intruders using your app, just through the Brinks Home control panel.)

Still, we do like that your video storage is included in your monitoring fee, and the local storage on the doorbell camera is a plus.

Ring Alarm cameras

Ring offers way too many cameras that we aren't even going to try to list them all. Instead, we've picked a few from each category to give you a sample idea. 

Ring Alarm camera prices
Camera
Price
Power source
Storage type
Learn more

Indoor Cam

$59.99

Plug

Cloud

Stick Up Cam Battery

$99.99

Plug

Battery

Spotlight Cam

$229.99

Battery

Cloud

Video Doorbell Pro

$169.99

Wired

Cloud

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST)

Ring makes a vast variety of affordable cameras with different power sources to meet different needs. But all the storage is cloud storage, and in order to record anything, Ring requires a paid plan.

The cloud storage is convenient since you can access it anytime from any connected device. But if you prefer the safety of a physical copy of all your videos, it’s not as useful.  You’ll have to download the videos and transfer them since none of the cameras have local storage built in.

As for the paid plans, they’re extremely affordable. Still, we don’t like paying extra to use something we already own.

Ring Alarm cloud storage plan price
Plan
Price
# days cloud storage
# cameras
Learn more

Basic

$3.99/mo. OR $39.99/yr.

60

1

Protect Plus

$10.00/mo. OR $100.00/yr.

60

Unlimited

Protect Pro

$20.00/mo. OR $200.00/yr.

60

Unlimited + professional monitoring

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST)

These plan prices are some of the best you’ll find, especially the $10 unlimited camera plan with alarm system monitoring. And 60 days of storage is more than enough for the average homeowner.

You can learn more about Ring cameras in our Ring camera review.

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Smart home integrations

These companies are fairly evenly matched in integration

Both Brinks Home and Ring Alarm offer good home automation options with multiple connectivity avenues. Brinks Home sells more smart devices, while Ring has more smart home compatibility.

Brinks Home smart home integrations:

  • Amazon Alexa
  • Google Assistant
  • Z-Wave

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integrations mean that Brinks Home can connect indirectly to most smart home devices. But if you’re looking for a direct connection, Z-Wave can provide it. Many smart home items use the Z-Wave protocol, making it easy to link them to other products.

As we mentioned earlier, Brinks Home also sells some smart home devices as add-ons to its packages. Smart locks, smart thermostats, and more are all available through Brinks Home sales.

Ring Alarm smart home integrations:

  • Amazon Alexa
  • Google Assistant
  • Z-Wave
  • IFTTT

Ring Alarm has all of Brinks Home’s connectivity with the addition of IFTTT. IFTTT can be a huge boon to a smart home because it creates smart home chains between multiple devices. For instance, you could set up a chain linked to the front door lock. When you open the lock, the front hall light could turn on and a speaker could start playing your favorite radio station.

These complicated chains can sometimes be set up through other interfaces, like through Alexa commands, but IFTTT has long been known as one of the best cause-and-effect platforms out there.

The one downside to Ring’s home automation is that the company doesn’t sell very many branded smart home devices of its own. You can get a smart Ring light bridge and a few lights, but you won’t get locks, thermostats, or some of the other most popular smart home products.

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Customer service

Ring has some reputation problems

Brinks Home isn’t the most beloved of home security systems. The company has a habit of buying up other companies’ contracts, creating confusion and dissatisfaction in the customers it acquires. And it just really seems like Brinks Home has struggled to find its footing in the home security industry.

But on the other hand, Ring is the center of an extreme amount of controversy. Internal and external privacy issues, including Ring’s partnership with police, have left many customers and potential customers wary of using Ring devices and apps.

We think those who want a less conflicted customer experience would be better served by Brinks Home.

If you need help at any time, you can call either of these companies. Brinks Home is available any day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST, while Ring’s hours are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

  • Brinks Home customer service number: 800-447-9239
  • Ring Alarm customer service number: 800-984-1596

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm: Which is better?

When it comes down to it, we recommend Ring over Brinks Home—but with the caveat that some conscientious users will find Ring distasteful. In those cases, Brinks Home would be the better choice.

  • Prices and monitoring plans: Ring Alarm. Ring’s low, low prices are hard to beat, even with a solid monitoring service like Brinks Home’s.
  • Security equipment: Ring Alarm. Ring makes its own security equipment, which comes at a less expensive price than Brinks Home’s generic devices.
  • Cameras: Ring Alarm. Ring is king when it comes to cameras, while they’re a weaker point for Brinks Home.
  • Smart home integrations: Draw. Brinks Home sells more smart home devices, though Ring has more integration options.
  • Customer service: Brinks Home. Brinks Home is a lot less controversial than Ring, which has a big ethical quagmire to sort through.

If neither of these services are doing it for you, you may want to read our DIY Home Security Systems Review and Best Home Security Systems.

Brinks Home and Ring Alarm home security comparison
Home security company
Monitoring price range
Base equipment package price
Camera models
Details
Brinks
$39.99/mo
$199.00

Indoor, outdoor, doorbell

Ring
$20.00/mo
$199.99

Indoor, outdoor, doorbell

Amazon.com List Prices (as of 01/30/2023 1:00 MST)

Methodology

When we rate home security systems, we primarily look at the following five aspects:

  • Price
  • Equipment
  • Cameras
  • Home automation
  • Customer service

Our ratings also include hours of research and hands-on testing. For instance, we’ve tested the Ring security system in the past, which informed some of the opinions in this review.

Usually, we’ll choose the winner of a versus comparison based on how many categories each company wins. But if a company does something really well or egregiously poorly, we might more heavily weigh those aspects over others.

Brinks Home vs. Ring Alarm home security: FAQ

Not necessarily.

You can have a perfectly safe security system without a security camera setup. For instance, you could get a Brinks Home system and opt out of the lackluster cameras, and your home would still be well protected.

But if you want to know everything that happens on your property or live in a larger home and can’t quickly get from one room to another, we strongly encourage looking into a security camera.

Brinks Home has some great monitoring services, including built-in panic buttons, and duress code features, but the prices are steep.

The company offers a single monitoring plan and charges a flat fee of $40 a month for monitoring services, which also includes smart home support and video storage.

Ring offers one of the cheapest options out there. It's only $20 a month for the companies professional monitoring services, that price is hard to beat. Ring also offers a free self-monitoring option.

That depends! Ring offers a wide variety of camera options and affordable self and professional monitoring plans. But Brinks Home has a ton of extra safety features and advertises some of the fastest emergency response times than any other system.

If you are looking for a more affordable option, we'd recommend Ring. If you're looking for extra safety features and a reliable system, go with Brinks Home. 

Sources

Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon.com. This content is provided “as is” and is subject to change or removal at any time. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Reviews.org utilizes paid Amazon links.

Brianne Sandorf
Written by
Brianne has a degree in English and creative writing from Westminster College. She's spent the last 10+ years writing professional, research-based content about technology, luxury retail brands, chicken sandwiches, and everything in between. Before joining Reviews.org, Brianne wrote safety and security content for ASecureLife.com. Her pieces and quotes are published across the web, including on MSN.com, Social Catfish, and Parents.com. Brianne loves to read, write, travel, cook, and spend time with her family. Contact her at brianne@reviews.org.

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