Best DIY Home Security Systems of 2025
The best DIY brands from our owner satisfaction survey offer great tech support, reliable alarms and sensors, and transparent pricing
DIY home security systems have become a popular alternative to professionally installed systems. Even ADT, whose systems historically could only be bought through an installer, now allows you to buy its systems directly from the company and install them yourself.
There are many things to consider when choosing a DIY home security system. Is it easy to set up and use? Do the sensors and alarms work reliably? Does the company have good tech support and transparent prices? Those are just a few of the attributes we use to evaluate home security system brands in our ratings, which are based on a Consumer Reports survey that asked over 11,000 CR members about their experiences owning security systems.
Best DIY Home Security Systems With Professional Monitoring
Almost all DIY home security systems offer a professional monitoring service. It’s often an optional subscription, but some systems do require the service. Systems that require professional monitoring often impose multiyear contracts, which usually lock in monthly fees and subsidize the cost of the system hardware.
