Burglar Alarm Cost: How Quotes Are Built
Why two quotes for the same house can look nothing alike, and how to read them so you are comparing coverage rather than just a headline figure.
Compare Coverage, Not Just the Total
Alarm quotes are hard to compare because the scope is invisible in the price. One quote may cover the hallway, landing and two external doors. Another may cover every downstairs room, the garage and the loft hatch. The second one costs more because it protects more, not because anybody is overcharging.
So the useful question is not what an alarm costs, it is what each quote actually includes. Ours lists every detector and contact by location, states whether it is wired or wireless, names the panel, and prices the labour separately. If you want to trim it, you can see precisely what you would be giving up.
Detector and contact count
The single biggest factor. Each device is equipment plus the time to site, mount and program it, and a larger house simply needs more of them.
Wireless or wired
Wireless usually costs less to install in an occupied home because there is little cable work. Wired suits new builds, extensions and commercial fit outs.
Panel capability
App control, multiple set areas, user levels and signalling paths sit on more capable panels. Only pay for the ones you will use.
What is already there
Sound existing cabling, contacts and detectors can often be reused with a new panel, which turns a replacement into an upgrade.
Insurance Requirements Change the Spec
If your insurer has asked for an alarm, ask them for the requirement in writing before getting quotes. Some policies simply want a system fitted, others specify a grade, a signalling path or a maintenance regime, and each of those changes the equipment list.
We would rather quote to a written requirement than guess at one. Guessing high costs you money, and guessing low means an installed system your policy will not accept, which is the worse of the two.
Running Costs, Honestly
App notifications on the panels we fit most, Pyronix and Orisec, do not carry a monthly fee. Monitoring by a receiving centre is an ongoing service and does have an annual cost, and it is worth it on empty properties, premises holding stock, or where an insurer requires it. On a typical family home it usually is not necessary, and we will say so.
Beyond that, expect standby and device batteries to need replacing periodically, and a service visit when the system is old enough to warrant one. Both are predictable, and we will tell you when the system genuinely does not need attention yet rather than invoice you annually out of habit.
See also intruder alarm systems, servicing and repairs, and the CCTV cost guide.
Book a free alarm surveyFree Alarm Guides Before You Replace Anything
A good share of the systems we are asked to replace only needed a battery, a contact or a code reset. Start here.
- Texecom master and engineer codes
- Honeywell Galaxy Flex codes
- Older Menvier panel help
- Recovering a locked out panel
- Pyronix and Orisec app setup
- Tracing false activations
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about alarm pricing and quotes
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