How Much Is ADT?

Some home security systems quickly escalate in cost, and ADT is one of them. With equipment, monthly monitoring, and installation and cancellation fees, you’re looking at potentially spending a whole lot of dough.

In this piece, we’ll break down the ADT costs to give you a better idea of how much you’re spending and what you’re getting in return. (Spoiler: as one of the most expensive systems we review, ADT isn’t the best value for everyone, but it’s going to depend on what you want.)

You need to either buy your ADT equipment outright or pay for it in monthly installments. Or some ADT dealers give you free equipment when you enter a contract.

Of course, it’s not truly free, because security companies typically already roll their equipment price into the contract length and monthly fees. But at least you’re not spending a ton up front or paying a separate equipment fee every month.

The equipment you receive from ADY could include any of the following:

• Keypads/control panels/hubs
• Sirens
• Environmental sensors
• Door/window sensors
• Motion sensors
• Carbon monoxide/smoke detectors
• Smart locks
• Smart lights
• Smart thermostats
• Garage door controllers
• Indoor cameras
• Outdoor cameras
• Doorbell cameras
• Medical alert devices

We wish we could tell you how much this equipment costs and how long your repayment commitment would be for those who will pay out of pocket. But ADT doesn’t usually share equipment prices. The company suggests that the equipment needed for each home varies so widely that it doesn’t make sense to talk price before a consultation.

Be that as it may, in today’s age of research-based shopping, we think withholding prices is a disservice to users.

If you look at this table and think, “What does this mean?” let us explain.

• The Essentials Plan and Complete Monitoring Bundle are landline-only. Your monthly fee will be much lower, but most of ADT’s best features won’t be accessible (including the Command app).
• The Premium Bundle II + Cellguard plan includes a cellular monitoring connection.
• The ADT Command Tier 1 Remote Access plan finally gets you access to the app (formerly known as the ADT Pulse app, now known as ADT Command).
• The ADT Command Tier II Video Security plan adds 24/7 video surveillance.
• The ADT Command Tier III Video Security + Home Automation brings you—yup, you guessed it—smart home automation features.

Every plan comes with around-the-clock professional ADT monitoring, which means that ADT will watch your system for any breaches.

So you bought an ADT package, and you know your monthly monitoring fee. Are you done? Not yet!

With ADT, you gotta pay to get set up, and you gotta pay to get out. Or, in other words, you must pay both installation and cancellation fees.

You’ll have to pay $99 to $199 for professional installation, depending on your equipment package.

ADT’s cancellation fee is 75% of the remaining contract. So, if you signed up for 36 months at $27.99 and want to cancel halfway through, ADT will require $377.87 to let you off the hook. And that’s not counting any money you still owe on an equipment payment plan, if you have one.

If you finish your contract and don’t want to sign up for a new one, you won’t have to pay a cancellation fee. But to be safe, check in with ADT shortly before your contract expires. Some customers have found themselves erroneously signed up for contract renewal.

We don’t want to sound like cop outs, but ADT costs are pretty relative.

If you’re looking for the cheapest system possible, then no, ADT isn’t worth it. It’s $ compared to most of the rest of the market. You can get a perfectly good system from another home security company at a fraction of the cost.

If you’re looking for the Prada of home security, then yeah, ADT is a good choice. When you can afford it, the name alone carries intrinsic value.

To learn more about ADT, check out our comprehensive ADT review.