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Today we will be comparing home security providers SimpliSafe and Cove Smart Home Security, and see how they stack up! We’ll go over equipment, monitoring plans, and more!

When you are shopping around for a home security system, you want to make sure you find a system that is going to fit your specific needs without you having to worry about updating to a new system in a few years. You want to make sure the system you are interested in works with the other branded equipment because some systems can be limited in their expandability. You also want to make sure that the monitoring services that are offered for the system fit within your budget. Today we will be taking a look at SimpliSafe and Cove Smart by going over their add-on equipment, monitoring services, apps and more.

SimpliSafe Control Panel

Just like many other security companies, SimpliSafe offers a wireless and cellular control panel for the main component of their system. It has a cone shaped design, and all of its functions are controlled through a separate push-button key pad. The SimpliSafe control panel is powered by an AC power source, and it includes a 24-hour backup battery. You don’t need an internet connect or phone line for your SimpliSafe system or control panel to work, but the SimpliSafe control panel will connect to your WIFI as a form of a backup. The SimpliSafe control panel and system only allow SimpliSafe branded equipment to be used with them. The SimpliSafe control pane is really expandable, and you can use a ton of SimpliSafe devices to it. When your system is triggered the SimpliSafe control panel will sound its built-in internal siren. It also includes chime features that will alert you to your system statuses or when devices have been triggered. At the base of the SimpliSafe control panel there is an LED indicator light that will change colors to show different system statues. They push button keypad is battery-operated, and you can completely control your SimpliSafe system as well as customize the features of your SimpliSafe control panel using the keypad.

Recommended: An alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option, our home security system at Link Interactive »

Cove Control Panel

Cove Smart has a really nice full-colored touchscreen control panel that they use to connect all of your security and environmental devices to one place. Their security control panel is called the Cove Touch Alarm Panel. The Cove Touch Alarm Panel has a slim design. It is a cellular security control panel which means you don’t need a landline or internet connection for it to work. All of the features of your system and control panel can be accessed right from the Cove Touch Alarm Panel’s touchscreen. You can create different user codes for your Cove Touch Alarm for different users that can be enabled and disabled at any time. The full colored touchscreen allows for you to quickly arm and disarm your Cove Smart security system with the touch of button. The Cove Touch Alarm panel is powered by an AC power source, and it includes a 24-hour backup battery. The Cove Touch Alarm Panel has a self-diagnosing feature that will automatically runs checks to make sure everything is working with your Cove Smart system. The Cove Touch Alarm Panel also includes a 2-way audio feature that will allow you directly communicate with your Cove Smart central monitoring station during an emergency. If your system or connected devices are triggered, The Cove Touch Alarm Panel will sound its built-int 84-decibel internal siren.

See our cutting-edge control panel by Qolsys »

Who wins?

The security panels offered by SimpliSafe and Cove Smart are pretty different from one another. We really like the simplicity of the SimpliSafe control panel, and the LED indicator light it a nice touch. Cover Smart’s Cove Touch Alarm Panel is super modern, and we really like that you can control your system and its devices right from its touchscreen. Because Cove Smart has a more modern control panel with nicer features, we are choosing them as our winner for this category.

SimpliSafe Equipment

SimpliSafe has an amazing selection of basic equipment for you to use with their SimpliSafe control panel. All the following devices are wireless and battery-operated. SimpliSafe offers door/window, motion, tilt, and glass break sensors. These sensors entryways sensors, and their names explain their functions. SimpliSafe also offers an external siren that can be placed anywhere around your home. For a quick way to disarm your system, SimpliSafe offers key fob remotes. Their key fob remotes will allow you to arm and disarm your system with a push of a button. SimpliSafe also offer push-button panic buttons that will let your central monitoring stating know help is immediately needed while triggering your SimpliSafe system. SimpliSafe offers water/leak, smoke/temperate, and CO sensors to keep your home safe from environmental dangers. These sensors will look for their various designated environmental factor and if a danger is detected they will make an audible alert while triggering your system. All the equipment offered by SimpliSafe is DIY (do it yourself), but they do offer professional installation of all your equipment for a one-time fee.

Recommended: An alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option called Link Interactive »

Home Automation

If you are leaning towards purchasing a SimpliSafe security system, keep in mind that you will be limited on how much you can expand your SimpliSafe security system due to it only being able to work other SimpliSafe branded equipment. The only home automation device that SimpliSafe is currently offering is their smart lock. The SimpliSafe Smart lock that comes in two parts; the lock, and the push-button keypad. The lock will fit over your existing deadbolt lock, and your existing key for your current deadbolt lock will work with your SimpliSafe smart lock. It works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network. You can create custom user codes that can be used to unlock and lock the SimpliSafe lock without the need of a key. You can also control the SimpliSafe smart lock through the SimpliSafe app.

Video Monitoring/Cameras

SimpliSafe does have a couple of video cameras for you to choose from that works great with their system. They offer their wireless indoor/outdoor cam which is call the Simpli Cam. The Simpli Cam is powered by AC power source so you want to make sure you have one nearby. It is super compacted, but despite its size it can capture video in stunning HD. It has night vision technology that allows you to see images when there is no light around, and it has motion sensors that will trigger it to start to record. You can communicate through your Simpli Cam using its two-way audio feature. SimpliSafe also offers their Video Doorbell Pro which is also a wireless camera. It has customizable chimes, and motion sensors that will send you an instant alert letting you know someone is at your door. It has a wide field of view so you don’t have to worry about your Video Doorbell Pro missing a thing. It can capture video in 1080P, includes advanced night vision, and 2-way audio.

Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive »

Cove Equipment

Cove Smart offers all the basic sensors you need to give your home total security protection. All the sensors offered by Cove Smart are wireless and battery-operated. Cove Smart offers door/window sensors that will protect the doors or windows of your home. They have glass break sensors that will listen for the sound of breaking glass in an area they are placed. Cove Smart’s motion sensors are great at detecting motion in an area, and they can provide coverage for larger areas of your home. Cove Smart offers key fob remotes that will let your arm and disarm your system with a push of button. To protect your home from environmental dangers, Cove Smart offers smoke, CO, and flood sensors. Their smoke sensor will look for rises in smoke, their CO2 sensor will detect dangerous level of CO gas, and their flood senor will detect water leaks and rises of water. If these environmental factors are detected, these sensors will make an audible alert while triggering your system. All the equipment offered by Cove Smart is DIY, but they do include a step-by-step setup guide for a fast and easy installation.

Recommended: An alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option called Link Interactive »

Home Automation

Cove Smart doesn’t have a huge selection of add-on equipment that you can buy directly from them, and they don’t really list if their system is compatible with other branded devices. You will need to contact them directly to find out if and what devices are compatible with their system. The only add-on equipment they offer is their medical button, which acts just a like a panic button. It’s waterproof and you can customize it alert sounds, and it has a flashing LED light. If the medical button is pushed emergency services will know that help is immediately needed. This device would probably fall more under basic equipment than an add-on device.

Monitoring/Cameras

Cove Smart is currently only offering one security camera that is produce by YI which is a well-known brand of security cameras. Cove Smart offers the YI Indoor Camera. This camera is wireless which means it connects to your home’s WIFI to work. It is powered by an AC power source, so make sure you have one nearby. The YI Indoor Camera can capture video in 1080P, and it has 111-degree wide angle lens. It has advance motion sensing technology that will trigger the YI Indoor Camera to start to record, and you can use its 2-way audio feature to communicate with whomever is around your YI Indoor Camera. It has night vision technology, and an advanced zoom feature that allows to really zoom in on your recorded and live video to get the finer details. The YI Indoor Camera has a Micro SD slot that allows you to use a Micro SD card to store your recorded video clips.

Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive »

Who wins?

There are a lot of similarities between the basic equipment offered by SimpliSafe and Cove Smart. They both offer wireless and battery-operated intrusion and environmental safety sensors. Their equipment is DIY, however SimpliSafe does offer professional installation as an option for a one time fee. SimpliSafe also has a larger variety of basic equipment that you can use with their system than Cove Smart. For these reasons, we are choosing SimpliSafe as our winner for this category.

SimpliSafe nor Cove Smart offer you a huge selection of add-on equipment to use with their systems. We do like that SimpliSafe offers a smart lock due to it being a really popular home automation devices that is used with most security systems. The YI Indoor Camera offered by Cove Smart has some really stand out features, and really like its ability to really zoom in on images. SimpliSafe however, offers just a slightly larger selection of video and home automation equipment for you to choose from than Cove Smart, and for this reason we are choosing them as our winners for this category.

SimpliSafe vs Abode App

To monitor your SimpliSafe or Cove Smart security system, they offer professional, self, and video monitoring services. Their self and video monitoring services are done through their apps which are free to download and work for smartphones. Their apps will allow you remote control of your system and any connected devices. You can arm and disarm your system, customize system features, receive push notifications for events, and stream live and recorded video all through their apps. Their professional monitoring services work the same in where you have a 24/7 professional monitoring station watching over your home for emergencies. Their month to month costs are the same, however with SimpliSafe you will be able to get a few more added features that are accessible through their app than that of Cove Smart.

Recommended: Check out Link Interactive. With Link Interactive you’ll get the Alarm.com app (the gold standard in home security), and top of the line security equipment at great affordable prices. See details »

SimpliSafe and Cove Smart are top brands of home security providers in the United States. SimpliSafe offers a well design system, and they offer a ton of basic equipment that will provide your home with total security protection. Cove Smart offers a really nice touchscreen control panel that is easy to use, and we really like the YI Indoor Camera that can be used with their system. SimpliSafe however has more equipment overall, and they offer the option for professional installation. For these reasons we are choosing them as our overall winner.

Recommended Alternative: Link Interactive

If you’d like a better bang for your buck without skimping on features and quality of service, take a at the Link Interactive home alarm system.

Link Interactive and SimpliSafe are very similar in terms of equipment and monitoring services. At Link we offer a more advanced control panel in the the Qolsys IQ 2 Panel with Alarm.com self-monitoring and third-party professional monitoring. We also offer cutting-edge video monitoring services, all at a much better price point than SimpliSafe.

We have thousands of 5-star reviews on various reputable third party review sites complimenting our awesome after-sales support! We encourage you take a look at our offer here, get a quote and compare. You can also call us direct at 1-877-826-5443 for further details and speak with a rep!