{"id":9543,"date":"2026-02-06T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T09:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valve.local.navirec.com\/home-alarm-system-buy-or-rent\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:33:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:33:04","slug":"home-alarm-system-buy-or-rent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/home-alarm-system-buy-or-rent\/","title":{"rendered":"Home alarm system: is buying or renting cheaper after three years?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-post-summary has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"is-style-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">In short<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taking the Start package (6 devices) as an example, over three years buying costs 865 \u20ac and renting 775 \u20ac, installation included. Renting stays cheaper for about four years. If you stay in the same home longer than that, buying is cheaper. In a rented flat or if you plan to move, rent. In your own house for the long term, buy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The price of a home alarm system is not one number but two: what you pay at the start and what you pay every month. When you buy, the first number is big and the second is small. When you rent, it is the other way round. Below is the real calculation for the Start package (for a flat: hub, keypad, door sensor, motion sensor, smoke detector, indoor siren) based on the GSMvalve price list. All prices include 24 % VAT.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buy and rent side by side<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-compare\"><table><thead><tr><th>Start package<\/th><th>Buy<\/th><th>Rent<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>At the start<\/td><td>385 \u20ac devices + 150 \u20ac installation<\/td><td>150 \u20ac installation<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Every month<\/td><td>9.18 \u20ac (app, connection, customer support)<\/td><td>17.36 \u20ac (devices + app, connection, customer support)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>After 1 year<\/td><td>645 \u20ac<\/td><td>358 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>After 3 years<\/td><td>865 \u20ac<\/td><td>775 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>After 5 years<\/td><td>1,086 \u20ac<\/td><td>1,192 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Which is cheaper<\/td><td>from about year 4<\/td><td>up to about 4 years<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Broken device<\/td><td>2-year right to claim, then a technician visit from 35.20 \u20ac<\/td><td>by the price list<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ending<\/td><td>the devices stay yours<\/td><td>3 months\u2019 notice, the technician takes the devices away<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The calculation is simple: the 385 \u20ac device price divided by the difference in monthly fees (17.36 \u2212 9.18 = 8.18 \u20ac) gives 47 months, a little under four years. That is how long it takes for buying to pay for itself. Installation is the same 150 \u20ac either way, so it doesn\u2019t affect the calculation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-cb0a7ccb wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buying: pros and cons<\/h3><ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checks\"><li>The devices are yours and the monthly fee is small<\/li><li>Buying extra devices doesn\u2019t raise the monthly fee<\/li><li>Cheapest in the long run<\/li><\/ul><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>535 \u20ac straight away<\/li><li>After 2 years you pay for repairs yourself<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Renting: pros and cons<\/h3><ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checks\"><li>Only installation at the start<\/li><li>Repairs and damage by the price list<\/li><li>If you move, you end it with 3 months\u2019 notice<\/li><\/ul><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Minimum 3 months<\/li><li>After about 4 years you have paid more than if you had bought<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-verdict has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><p class=\"is-style-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">Our advice<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rented flat, first home or planning to move in a couple of years: rent. Your own house or a flat where you plan to live for more than five years: buy. With the bigger packages (Plus, Premium), buying pays for itself in about the same time.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-faq kv-post-faq has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How much does a home alarm system cost?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMvalve Start package for a flat costs 385 \u20ac to buy or 17.36 \u20ac\/month to rent, plus 150 \u20ac installation and, when buying, a monthly fee of 9.18 \u20ac. The Plus package for a house costs 678 \u20ac or 23.56 \u20ac\/month. Prices include VAT.<\/p><\/details>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Can I buy out rented devices later?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, the buyout price is agreed based on the age of the devices. Get a quote if you have rented for more than a year and plan to stay.<\/p><\/details>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What does the monthly fee cover when buying?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">9.18 \u20ac\/month covers the app, the hub\u2019s mobile connection (SIM card), and 24\/7 customer service and technical support. Buying extra devices doesn\u2019t raise it.<\/p><\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"kv-post-links wp-block-paragraph\">Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/packages\/\">all packages and prices<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/build-your-own\/\">build your own kit<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/terms\/\">rental terms<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We ran the numbers for the Start package: buying with a monthly fee versus renting for a monthly fee. The answer depends on one thing: how long you will stay in that home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":9339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kv_meta":"Buy or rent a home alarm? For the Start package, renting is cheaper for about four years, after that buying wins. All figures include VAT.","kv_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9543"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10553,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9543\/revisions\/10553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}