You may hear a radio commercial for The Monitoring Center on the radio and are tempted to get a home alarm system from them. They talk about their $9.99/month pricing in every ad, which sounds like a great deal. The truth is that the costs, both upfront and ongoing, are far higher than what they'd like you to believe.
The prices differ based on if you already have a home alarm system and if you don't.
If you don't already have a system, then there's the initial cost of the system. To get a home alarm system from The Monitoring Center you'll be spending between $399 to $499 for the basic system. These systems are mainly Honeywell and are installed by a The Monitoring Center installer. Both are wireless, however, they have hardwired options for a higher price.
There's also a one-time setup charge of $99.
Then with the monthly monitoring, the $9.99/month price is only for a system that can go through a standard landline phone line. So if you have no phone line or want additional features you'll be paying more. Plus, this rate jumps to $12.99 after your first year on all packages, so regardless of what other features you get you will be paying $3/month more after your first year.
If you want a system that goes through broadband you'll be paying $17.99/month, so $8/month more. If you want GSM cellular backup, you're paying an additional $199/upfront and then $10/month more. And if you want interactive features like arming and disarming your system through your smartphone, you'll be paying $15/month more.
Comparing these prices with Think Protection shows how high The Monitoring Center really is. Think Protection is $12.99/month for monitoring through broadband with the ability to arm and disarm your system from your smartphone. The Monitoring Center charges $24.99/month for this for the first year and then it bumps up to $27.99/month!
The Monitoring Center requires a 1-year contract to be signed and your first year of monitoring paid upfront.
They have a 1-year warranty on equipment but if you have problems with your system after you're paying $79/hour for service.
Additional equipment is priced extremely high at The Monitoring Center. An additional door contact is $52/each, as opposed to only $29.99/each with Think Protection. Additional motion detectors are $130/each, as opposed to only $39.99/each with Think Protection - TMC is 3 times more expensive!
So comparing The Monitoring Center to Think Protection the costs are:
Upfront:
The Monitoring Center: $399-$499 for the system + $99 setup fee
Think Protection: $229.99 for the system
Monthly:
The Monitoring Center: $24.99/month Year-1, $27.99 Year 2+
Think Protection: $12.99/month
Cellular Backup Charges:
The Monitoring Center: $199/upfront, $10/month more
Think Protection: $99.99/upfront, $3.99/month more
Contract:
The Monitoring Center: 1-Year contract that must be prepaid
Think Protection: No contract!
Warranty:
The Monitoring Center: 1-Year Warranty
Think Protection: 3-Year Warranty
Total Cost Over 3 Years For All Above:
The Monitoring Center: $697 - $797/upfront, $419.88/Year 1 Monitoring, $911.76 Year 2-3 Monitoring
Think Protection: $299.98/upfront, $611.28/Year 1-3 Monitoring
With Think Protection You Save Between $1217.38-$1117.38 By Choosing Us Instead Of The Monitoring Center!
