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:

* 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.

*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 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:

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.