ADT offer two types of alarm systems, one with a keyholder response and the other with police response. Here’s a comparison of hardware costs, features, cost of ownership and grading according to the UK and European alarm standards.
Alarm Systems
We compared the Boundary Small House Bundle with ADT’s Keyholder Alarm and ADT’s Police Response Alarm. Here’s a table to show the alarm systems we compared:
| Boundary | ADT Keyholder | ADT Police | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Hub | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Contact Sensors | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Motion Sensors | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| External Siren | 1 | Decoy* | Decoy* |
| Key Fobs | 2 | Not available | 4 |
* Neither the ADT Keyholder nor the Police Response packages include an audible external siren. It’s unclear if this is available for an extra charge. The decoy sirens do have a flashing light.
Costs of Ownership
On average, homeowners keep their alarm system for seven years. Here we compare the total cost of ownership* (TCO) over time, including upfront purchase costs and ongoing monthly subscriptions.
In the table below, ‘Monitored’ refers to 24/7 monitoring by an alarm receiving centre (ARC) and police dispatch if a burglary is confirmed.
| Boundary | ADT Keyholder | ADT Police | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Hardware Cost | £509 | £198* | £599 |
| Non-Police Response Monthly Fee | £9.99 | £29.99 | - |
| Police Response Monthly Fee | £25 | - | £36.00 |
| TCO (1 year) | £628 | £558 | - |
| TCO (2 years) | £749 | £918 | - |
| TCO (3 years) | £869 | £1,278 | - |
| TCO (7 years) | £1,348 | £2,717 | - |
| TCO Monitored (1year) | £1,008 | - | £1,031 |
| TCO Monitored (2 years) | £1,308 | - | £1,463 |
| TCO Monitored (3 years) | £1,608 | - | £1,895 |
| TCO Monitored (7 years) | £2,808 | £3,623 | |
| Cost for 2 extra movement sensors | £60 | £150 | £150 |
*Total cost of ownership: an estimate of all the direct and indirect costs involved in buying and using a product over its lifetime.
**The ADT Keyholder system is £99 plus an additional £99 for the smart home integration
Contract Length
Our monthly plans don’t require a contract. You pay monthly and can cancel anytime.
The minimum contract term for an ADT Keyholder package is 18 months and 36 months for Police Response.
Installation
With the Boundary alarm, you can choose between self-installation and pro installation (for an additional fee). With our Pro plan you also get free annual maintenance, completed by a Boundary engineer.
Both ADT packages require professional installation – this is included in the costs above.
Alarm Standards and Certification
| Boundary | ADT Keyholder | ADT Police | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPCC System Type | A | Not clear | A |
| Product Grading | 2* | Not clear | 2 |
| URN Issued for monitored systems? | Yes | n/a | Yes |
| NSI/SSAIB Approved Company? | Yes - SSAIB** | Yes | Yes |
| NSI/SSAIB Approved Installation? | Yes - SSAIB | Yes | Yes |
| NSI/SSAIB Approved Monitoring? | Yes - NSI Gold | Yes | Yes |
| Approved for Level 1 Police Response? | Yes | Keyholder only | Yes |
* Boundary alarm is currently being tested to meet required standards but has not yet completed the testing process. Police response plans will be available 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
Features
The Boundary system is packed with features and the table below shows a direct comparison with ADT:
| Boundary Plus | ADT | |
|---|---|---|
| Remote 'over the air' updates | ✔ | ✔ |
| Mobile App | ✔ |
✔ |
| Mobile App Quality | Excellent | Average |
| Cellular Backup | Optional Upgrade |
Optional Upgrade |
| Mains Failure Battery Backup | ✔ | ✔ |
| Neighbourhood Watch App | In development | - |
| Smart Home Integration | ✔ | ✔ |
| IFTTT Support | ✔ | - |
| Occupied Home Simulation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Geofencing Alarm Reminders | ✔ | ✔ |
| Night Set Reminder | ✔ | - |
| Automated Keyholder Calling | ✔ | n/a |
| Contract Length | 30 Days | Min. 18 months |
The Verdict
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.
All of the data has been gathered in September 2020. We have tried to make sure the systems are similar to Boundary but this isn't always possible. All features and other comparisons are taken from publically available information displayed on the company website.