Simplisafe are a well-known player in the home wireless alarm market. Here’s a comparison of hardware costs, features, cost of ownership and grading according to UK and European alarm standards.

Hardware

For the simplest comparison, we’ve compared the Simplisafe custom package with the Boundary Small House Bundle.

The Boundary external siren is fully IP45 rated and is not susceptible to varying weather such as heavy rain or snow. The Simplisafe external siren can be mounted outside but does need to be protected by a porch or awning.

Costs of Ownership

Most alarm system owners keep their system on average for seven years or more. That’s why it’s useful to compare costs over time. Especially when there’s a monthly fee. To save you time here’s a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) comparison between Boundary and Simplisafe.

Worth Knowing

• The monitored TCO costs for Boundary include:
• Professional installation worth £199
• Annual onsite audit by one of our installation engineers
• Annual remote audit to check system performance and highlight any issues
• Replacement of all batteries within the sensors
• The Simplisafe Pro plan at £12.99 does give 24/7 monitoring but does not include guard dispatch
• There is no option with Simplisafe to have the system installed. The Boundary monitored system includes a professional installation service
• Simplisafe does not offer a direct police response (see certifications below)

Alarm Standards and Certification

* Product grading currently in progress and will be complete shortly after launch
** SSAIB certification only applies to our professionally installed product and does not extend to DIY installs

For your alarm system to be professionally monitored and registered with your local police force it must:

• Be a system that has a minimum grade 2 rating
• Have the system installed by an NSI or SSAIB certified company
• Be monitored by an Alarm Receiving Centre that is also certified by the NSI or SSAIB
• The supplying company be registered with the local Police force on their Compliant Systems list
• Have a URN (Unique Reference Number) issued by the local Police force after installation

If your system doesn’t meet these key criteria then it won’t receive a Level 1 response from the Police in the event of a break-in. Instead, the monitoring company will confirm a break-in before contacting keyholders and calling the Police via 999. Unfortunately, this is no different from a member of the public calling the Police to report a break-in and simply will not provide a rapid response.

Features

The Boundary system is packed with features and the table below shows a direct comparison with Verisure:

The Verdict

Simplisafe is a good albeit basic system. But as you can see, Boundary is one of the most secure and feature-packed alarm systems available. It’s been designed and built from the ground up by UK security experts and software designers to solve the problems of traditional alarm systems with leading-edge technology thinking. For protection against all known threats and a system you can control easily from your phone, there’s only one choice.