In short
The price of a home alarm system is made up of the devices (Start for a flat 385 €, Plus for a house 678 €), installation at 150 € and the monthly fee (9,18 € when you buy, 17,36–23,56 € when you rent). Alarm protection for a flat costs 645 € in the first year if you buy or 358 € if you rent, and 865 € or 775 € over three years. All prices include VAT.
- Work out the total cost over at least three years
- When you buy, extra devices don’t raise the monthly fee
- A patrol is an optional extra cost
When you ask about the price of an alarm system, you often get one number back: the price of the devices. The real cost is higher. On top come installation, the monthly fee, sometimes a patrol and, years later, batteries. Below you’ll find all GSMvalve costs in one place, with examples for a flat, a house and a summer house, plus a short overview of what other solutions cost. Prices include VAT and installation costs the same anywhere in Estonia.
What makes up the price of an alarm system?
- Devices. When you buy, you pay for the devices once: Start for a flat (6 devices) 385 €, Plus for a house (11 devices) 678 €, Premium for a large house (18 devices) 835 €. When you rent, the devices are part of the monthly fee: Start 17,36 €, Plus 23,56 € and Premium 31 € a month. Extra devices cost extra, for example a door sensor is 30 € or 1,24 €/month.
- Installation. One visit, usually a couple of hours: 150 €, or 200 € for Premium and for 18 or more devices. No cables are run, and the sensors are fixed with small screws. The Panic Button package for elderly people you install yourself, and you only pay for setup at 18,60 €.
- Monthly fee. When you buy, the monthly fee is 9,18 €: the app, the hub’s mobile connection and customer support. Extra devices don’t raise it, whether you have 6 devices or 30. When you rent, the devices, app, connection and customer support are all in one monthly fee.
- Patrol. Optional. GSMvalve is not a security company, and the alarm goes to your phone and the phones of users you have added. You can add a patrol through a partner. The price depends on the area and is shown on a separate line in the quote.
- Batteries. The sensors run on batteries for years. The app shows the battery level, and the batteries are standard ones you can replace yourself.
- Call-outs and repairs. When you rent, repairs are charged by the price list. When you buy, you have a 2-year right to claim, and after that a technician call-out costs from 35,20 € (including half an hour of work).
- Ending the contract. The rental contract has no fixed end date, the minimum period is 3 months and the notice period is 3 months. With the Start package, that means another 3 × 17,36 = 52,08 € after you give notice. When you buy, the devices stay yours.
How much does an alarm system cost for a flat, a house and a summer house?
Three typical situations: Start for a flat, Plus for a house and Start with a water leak sensor for a summer house, because in winter nobody is there to spot a leak in time. The totals include installation and are rounded to whole euros.
| Flat (Start) | House (Plus) | Summer house (Start + water leak sensor) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devices, buying | 385 € | 678 € | 422 € |
| Installation | 150 € | 150 € | 150 € |
| Monthly fee, buying | 9,18 € | 9,18 € | 9,18 € |
| 1 year, buying | 645 € | 938 € | 682 € |
| 3 years, buying | 865 € | 1 158 € | 902 € |
| Rent per month | 17,36 € | 23,56 € | 18,60 € |
| 1 year, renting | 358 € | 433 € | 373 € |
| 3 years, renting | 775 € | 998 € | 820 € |
Here’s how the sums work. A flat, buying, first year: 385 + 150 + 12 × 9,18 = 645,16 €. Renting: 150 + 12 × 17,36 = 358,32 €. Over three years, buying adds 36 monthly fees, or 330,48 €, and renting adds 36 rent payments, or 624,96 €. The summer house rent is 17,36 + 1,24 = 18,60 € a month.
In all three examples, renting is still cheaper over three years, because the devices you bought haven’t paid for themselves yet. Buying becomes cheaper in roughly the fourth year: for the Start package, 385 € divided by the 8,18 € difference in monthly fees gives 47 months. For the Plus package, 678 € divided by 14,38 € is also about 47 months, and in the summer house example 422 € divided by 9,42 € is about 45 months.
What do other alarm solutions charge for?
Prices vary between providers, but the types of cost are similar. It helps to know where they usually hide:
- Security company monitoring. A monthly service fee for the control centre, often a joining or installation fee and sometimes a separate charge for each patrol call-out. The contract may be long-term, and ending it early can cost money.
- Kit from a shop. A one-off price for the devices, and some features (notifications, cloud, mobile connection) may need a subscription. You install it yourself.
- Cameras only. The devices, and often paid cloud storage to keep the videos. The more cameras, the more storage.
- Smart home devices. A base station and devices, sometimes with a subscription for the security features. A siren and backup power often have to be bought separately.
Tip. When you compare offers, ask every provider for the same three numbers: the total cost in the first year, the total cost over three years and what it costs to end the contract. Then the offers are easy to compare.
Is it cheaper to buy or rent an alarm system?
Renting is cheaper for about four years, after which buying is cheaper. In a rented flat, a first home or if you plan to move, renting makes more sense, because up front you only pay for installation and the first month. In your own house for the long term, buying is cheaper and extra devices don’t change the monthly fee. You’ll find a longer calculation with a 5-year example in the post buy or rent.
If none of the packages fits your home, build your own kit on the build a package page. You add devices one by one and the price is worked out straight away for both buying and renting. We reply to requests within one working day, and a request doesn’t commit you to anything.
Summary
Always work out the price of an alarm system over at least three years. With GSMvalve, alarm protection for a flat costs 775–865 € over three years and for a house 998–1 158 €, all costs included. If you plan to move within a couple of years, rent. If you’re staying longer than four years, buy. A patrol is an extra cost only if you really need one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a home alarm system cost?
The GSMvalve Start package for a flat costs 385 € to buy or 17,36 €/month to rent, and Plus for a house 678 € or 23,56 €/month. Installation is 150 €, and when you buy there’s a monthly fee of 9,18 €. Prices include VAT.
Does the monthly fee go up if I add sensors?
Not when you buy: the GSMvalve monthly fee of 9,18 € stays the same however many devices are on the hub. When you rent, each device’s rental price is added, for example 1,24 €/month for a water leak sensor.
How much does a patrol cost?
A patrol isn’t included in the GSMvalve price, because GSMvalve is not a security company. You can add a patrol through a partner, and the price depends on the area. Leave your number and we’ll call with an exact price for your home.
What does it cost if a device I bought breaks?
For the first 2 years, the consumer’s right to claim applies. After that, a GSMvalve technician call-out costs from 35,20 €, including half an hour of work. Repairs to a rented device are also charged by the price list.
Read also: buy or rent · build your own kit · all packages and prices
Written by the GSMvalve team
Still have questions?
