To get the most accurate review possible, we tested a Vivint system that includes all cameras, a Smart Drive, a flood sensor, a lamp module, and Car Guard. If you’re going to shell out for Vivint equipment at Vivint prices, we think you might as well go whole hog. Get the Smart Home Video plan so that you can take full advantage of Vivint smart home and video features. But if the Smart Home Video plan is too pricey for your pocketbook, our next suggestion is the Smart Home plan. We don’t really recommend the Smart Security plan—Vivint’s strength is in its smart home connectivity, not its basic security devices. Vivint home security monitoring service starts at about $30 a month. If you want smart home integration (which we recommend), you’ll pay $40. And if you want video, you’ll pay a starting price of $45 a month. Oh, and for every camera you add to your system after the first one, it’s an extra $5 every month. If you reach the six-camera maximum, that pushes you up to almost $70, which is more than ADT’s most expensive plan. And ADT’s no slouch when it comes to prices. That’s not even counting the equipment costs, which typically start at around $599. We’ll dive more into the equipment a little later. To our understanding, when you go the non-contract route with Vivint, you can cancel at any time, with no fees or penalties. The cancellation requires 30 days to take effect, so you’ll likely have one final bill to pay after you’ve formally canceled. But altogether, it seems like a relatively painless process. However! You can only get the non-contract option if you pay for all of your equipment at the start. That means you’re looking at shelling out $600+ right off the bat. If you can’t afford that, you must take a loan through Vivint and repay it over a five-year contract (in addition to the cost of your monthly monitoring fees). And yes, that’s two years longer than the average industry contract, which is a pain. Read How Much Does Vivint Cost? to get a fuller financial picture. Most home security companies focus on, well, home security. In contrast, Vivint excels at smart home products. Vivint also stands out because it makes the majority of its own equipment. Systems like ADT and local providers buy devices from third-party manufacturers. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when you’re paying sky-high prices for security, it’s nice to get something special. Vivint equipment: The Car Guard tracks your car’s location so you’ll know if it’s stolen or disturbed. The outdoor and doorbell cameras use features called Smart Deter and Smart Sentry to identify and scare off lurkers and intruders. Essentially, if someone lingers on your property too long or tries to steal a package off your porch, the cameras will make a startling noise. The smart drive is basically a DVR for your cameras. It allows you to store security footage longer, which is helpful. But the real virtue is the continuous recording. That’s right! With the Smart Drive, your cameras will record all the time, not just when a motion event sets them off. That way, the cameras won’t accidentally miss something (which, sadly, happens with even the best security camera brands). As far as we can tell, even when you have the Smart Drive, you have to pay the monthly per-camera fee. So the drive won’t save you any money, especially since you have to pay for it along with your other equipment, but it’s still useful. Once we installed the Car Guard in Marco, our test Honda, the device gave us the following info:
Notifications any time the Honda left a location Notifications when the Honda was disturbed Information about recalls for the Honda’s parts Information about maintenance needs Battery level reports Fuel level reports Vehicle trip history
We loved the security we felt in knowing that if the car got damaged or stolen, we’d, one, immediately be notified and, two, be able to track its location. Not to mention the convenient maintenance info! The Car Guard feature will cost around $199 for the equipment, and you’ll pay $10 per month for one vehicle. For any additional device, you’ll pay another $5 per month. You can also use the feature for another area on your property you especially want to monitor, like a pond or outbuilding. Vivint has three smart home integrations: In both cases, though, you’ll have to practice specific wording to get the systems to do what you want. And note that while you can arm your Vivint system with voice control, you can’t disarm it without physically entering your code. While we’d also love to see some IFTTT or Zigbee compatibility, you’ll be able to get most smart home functionality with Vivint’s existing connectivity. Luckily, the tech showed up close to the beginning of the window. If he’d arrived on the noonish side of things, the installation process would have eaten up a whole workday. That’s not great news if you have an inflexible schedule! Overall, the installation process went pretty smoothly. The technician took most of our concerns into account when placing the equipment. But he was adamant about installing the outdoor camera in a location where we already had cameras instead of placing it in an area without camera coverage we’d picked out. And while he may have had a good reason for that, he didn’t clearly explain it. If you have any plans to move in the future, you will have to pay an additional fee of $129 to get your system reinstalled, which can be a bit frustrating. If you’re all about that professional installation and don’t want to lift a finger to install your system, Vivint is great at taking care of it for you. If you want a more DIY approach, Vivint may not be the best option and we’d recommend a different company that is known for its DIY equipment like Ring, Cove or SimpliSafe. When customers have good experiences with Vivint, they seem to be extremely good. But when they have bad experiences . . . let’s just say the pendulum swings severely in the opposite direction. As discussed in this Vivint review, the alarm system is very smart and relatively easy to use, and users love that. But Vivint suffers from repeated complaints about the following:
Deceptive sales tactics, such as inaccurate initial estimates or misrepresentations of Vivint’s contract terms Contract confusion, such as contracts being renewed without the user’s express permission Frustrating experiences when trying to move or cancel
Vivint has taken considerable strides in improving its reputation, and we commend the company for that. But we still see complaints about these issues more often than we would like to. That seems like it should be a given. But a lot of security companies outsource their customer service centers, so the person you’re talking to doesn’t even work for the security company. Everyone at Vivint—from the installation techs to the customer service reps to the monitoring staff—actually does work for Vivint, which should make things a bit more cohesive. If you went with a company like ADT, it’s really hard to tell who the person you’re talking to works for or who’s doing your installation. (Most of the time, it’s not ADT itself.) While it costs a lot and has some work to do to improve its customers’ buying experience, it has excellent equipment and smart home compatibility. In short, if you were hoping for a smart home system with solar attached, sorry. You’ll have to reach out directly to Vivint Solar if you want to power your smart home with energy from the sun. If you want a professionally installed home security system with awesome features and reliable service, Vivint is a good way to go. Yeah, you paid for that equipment, so it’s a shame that it won’t work independently. But that’s typically how it rolls with these services. There’s an exception, though. Vivint sells and installs some devices from other companies, like Kwikset smart locks, Nest thermostats, and Philips Hue smart bulbs. That equipment will work fine on its own without Vivint services. You’ll just have to use their branded apps, not the Vivint app. Professional monitoring doesn’t cross into the smart home realm, though. If you leave your door lock unlocked or a water sensor picks up on flooding, Vivint won’t respond to that. That’s your job. Check out our guide to get some more ideas on how to keep your home safe. If you want to scrap professional installation entirely, but you still want that ADT recognition, ADT offers a DIY system, ADT Self Setup with inexpensive professional monitoring options.
