A complete home security system protects your entry points (doors and windows), detects motion inside your home while you’re away, and includes a keypad for arming and disarming the system. Ring makes some of our favorite systems, and you can pick up one during Amazon’s Prime Day sale for as much as 50% off.
The Ring Alarm 5-piece kit is a good place to start, and it might be all you need if you have a small home, condo, or apartment. It includes the central hub with battery backup, a keypad, a single door/window sensor, an indoor motion detector, and one range extender. Amazon has cut the price of this system in half, bringing its price down to $100.
Ring’s keypad has large, easy-to-read buttons for arming and disarming the system and–if you’re paying for professional monitoring–for summoning help in an emergency.
Wes Davis / IDG
If you need to protect more doors and windows, the Ring Alarm 8-piece kit comes with four of them (they cost $20 each if purchased separately), plus the other components listed above. Amazon has knocked 40% off the price of this system, bringing its price down to $150.
For larger homes, consider the Ring Alarm 14-piece kit. It comes with two keypads, so you can mount one at your front door and another at your back, garage, or side door; two motion sensors, and 8 door/window sensors, plus the range extender. This system also gets a 40% discount for Prime Day, for a final price of $199.
Ring Alarm Pro is on sale, too
The Ring Alarm Pro system, pictured up top, uses all the same components as the Ring Alarm, but with a higher-end hub that includes an integrated Eero Wi-Fi 6 router and a microSD card slot for local storage of video recordings from Ring security cameras. I personally use this system and swear by it. Amazon’s discount isn’t as generous—its 20% off the usual price—but you get a lot for $400: The hub with an integrated mesh Wi-Fi router, an Eero Wi-Fi 6 mesh Wi-Fi node, two motion sensors, eight door/window sensors, and a Z-Wave range extender for the sensors for $400.
Ring Alarm systems are (of course) compatible with the rest of the Ring product line, including its video doorbells, indoor and outdoor security cameras, floodlight cameras, smart lighting devices, and Alexa smart speakers and displays. You can also integrate certified third-party devices, including smart locks, smoke detectors, plug-in and in-wall lighting controls, and more (check out the Works With Ring page for the entire list).
Monitoring options
You can either self-monitor these systems—receiving alerts on your smartphone and triggering a local siren—or pay for 24/7 professional monitoring that will summon first- responders in the event of a police, fire, or medical emergency.
You can choose between two Ring Home subscription plans to service a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro system. The Standard plan costs $10 per month or $100 per year, plus $10 per month for professional monitoring. It provides remote viewing for all your Ring security cameras and video doorbells and cellular backup for the Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro base station. In case your broadband connection fails, the system will automatically switch over to a cellular network.
If you opt for the more powerful Ring Alarm Pro system, I’d recommend going with the Premium plan. It costs $20 per month or $200 per year, plus $10 per month for professional monitoring, but in addition to everything you get in the Standard plan, you get 24/7 recording for your Ring security cameras and video doorbells; AI video descriptions for the same; Ring Edge, to take advantage of the microSD storage on the Ring Alarm Pro base station; and—perhaps most importantly—24/7 internet backup for the Eero Wi-Fi router in that base station.
Get a Ring Alarm system for up to 50% off
For great Prime Day discounts on other tech products, check out the best of PCWorld’s Prime Day deals.
This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best DIY home security systems.
