Best Home Security Companies in Austin.How to pick the right one.
Nine companies that sell monitored security in Austin, compared on what each one publishes: monthly price, contract, local office and who watches the alarm. Every figure is quoted from the company’s own site, dated October 15, 2026.
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Who are the best home security companies in Austin? The companies you’ll compare.
The companies Austin homeowners compare most are Smith Thompson, All Star Security, Alert 360, Central Security, Vital Security and True Protection, which all have Austin offices, plus the national brands ADT and Vivint and the DIY option SimpliSafe. Alamo Smart Home also serves Austin. The best fit for you comes down to price, contract and service, so compare those side by side.
Alamo is on this list too. Everything below comes from each company’s own website. If a company doesn’t publish something, we mark it as not published instead of guessing.
Local and regional companies with an Austin office
- Smith Thompson. Texas company that runs its own UL-listed monitoring facility. Publishes three no-term-contract plans starting at $16.95/mo. Office on North Mopac.
- All Star Security. Locally owned, office on W 45th St. Publishes $19.99/mo and $29.99/mo no-contract monitoring and will monitor existing systems.
- Alert 360. Founded in 1973, Austin office on Metric Blvd. Publishes four packages priced per day, on a 36-month agreement.
- Central Security. Veteran-owned, serving Austin since 2012. Customer buys the equipment. No 3-year contract or credit check. Prices are not published.
- Vital Security. Office near River Place. Installs Qolsys, DSC, 2GIG and Honeywell, and monitors existing systems. Prices and contract terms are not published.
- True Protection. Serving Texas since 2011, office on Fortview Rd. No long-term contracts, Alarm.com platform, 637 reviews averaging 4.9 on its own page. Prices are not published.
National brands and DIY
- ADT. Two Austin addresses listed. Prices and contract length are not on its Austin page. You call for a quote.
- Vivint. Austin store on I-35. Monitoring “starting at $24.99/mo”, with equipment bought upfront or financed through a third party.
- SimpliSafe. Self-installed kit, no local office. Professional monitoring from $1.10/day with no contract.
How do Austin home security companies compare on price and contract? What each one publishes.
Of the nine, only Smith Thompson, All Star, Alert 360, Vivint and SimpliSafe publish a monitoring price. Smith Thompson’s $16.95/mo is the lowest published rate. Alert 360 is the only one whose published offer requires a 36-month agreement. Four of the six local companies say no long-term contract.
We read everything below on each company’s own website on October 15, 2026. “Not published” means we couldn’t find it on the page we read. The company may still offer it, so call and ask.
| Company | Monitoring price (as published) | Contract | Austin office | Monitoring center (as stated) | Equipment | Reviews (on own site) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Thompson | $16.95, $21.95 or $29.95/mo | “No term contract” | Yes, 7000 N Mopac | Own facility, “UL Listed” | $89 one-time ($499 smart plan) | No count published |
| All Star Security | $19.99 or $29.99/mo | “No Contract” | Yes, 305 W 45th St | Not published | From $299 install; $349 with GC2 panel | BBB A+, no count |
| Alert 360 | $1.41 to $1.74 per day | 36 months, approved credit | Yes, 11500 Metric Blvd | “Five Diamond response” | $315 to $790 per package | No count published |
| Central Security | Not published | No 3-year contract | Yes, Mearns Meadow Blvd | Links to UCC | “Purchased by the customer” | No count published |
| Vital Security | Not published | Not published | Yes, River Place Blvd | Not published | Not published | No count published |
| True Protection | Not published | “No long-term contracts” | Yes, 1823 Fortview Rd | “UL-Certified”, “5-Diamond” | Not published | 4.9 from 637 reviews |
| ADT | Not on Austin page | Not on Austin page | Yes, W Braker Ln | Not on Austin page | Not on Austin page | No count published |
| Vivint | From $24.99/mo | Month-to-month if equipment bought upfront | Yes, N I-35 | Not published | Upfront or third-party financing | Not shown on its Austin page |
| SimpliSafe (DIY) | $1.10/day pro monitoring | None, cancel any time | No | Not on plan page | Self-installed kit | Not checked |
| Alamo Smart Home | $19.99 or $24.99/mo | None required | No office yet; local technicians | UCC: UL-listed, Five Diamond | Bought once, customer owns it | 4.9 from 1,300+ Google reviews |
A note on per-day pricing. Alert 360 and SimpliSafe publish daily rates. Multiply by about 30 to compare with a monthly figure, and check the total for your contract length.
How do I choose a home security company in Austin? Seven things to check.
Check the Texas license, who monitors your alarm and their certifications, the contract length and cancellation terms, who owns the equipment, who installs it, who answers the phone, and whether they help with the City of Austin alarm permit. Price matters too. These seven tell you what it’s like to be a customer after the install.
1. A Texas alarm license you can look up
Alarm companies in Texas are licensed by the Department of Public Safety’s Private Security Program, which has a public license search. Some Austin companies print their number: All Star (B-12088), Vital (B16483), True Protection (B17442) and Alamo (B05229001). If a number isn’t on the site, ask for it and look it up.
2. Who monitors the alarm
Ask for the name of the central station, whether it is UL-listed, and whether it holds TMA Five Diamond status. Some companies run their own (Smith Thompson does). Many use a third-party station. Any good company can tell you the name of its station. If they can’t, keep looking.
3. Contract length and how you leave
Ask for the term in months, what cancelling early costs, and whether the monthly rate can rise. Get it in writing. More on this in our guide to no-contract home security.
4. Who owns the equipment
If you buy it, it stays with you if you switch companies. If it is financed or bundled into a term agreement, find out what happens when you leave. Ask whether the panel is locked to that company.
5. Who installs it
Ask whether the installers are employees or subcontractors. You want to know who is in your house and who comes back when something breaks.
6. Who answers the phone
Call the number on the website before you buy. Note how long it takes to reach a person and whether they know your area.
7. Help with the alarm permit
The City of Austin requires an alarm permit for monitored systems, run by the Alarm Administration program in Development Services. Unincorporated Travis County goes through the Sheriff. See our Austin alarm permit guide and the Travis County permit guide.
Are the “best of Austin” lists on expertise.com and safehome.org reliable? What they measure.
They are good places to start, and each one measures something different. Expertise.com says it scores 25-plus variables, naming licensing, user reviews and mystery-shopping calls. SafeHome.org gives a 0–10 SecureScore based on customer service, value and ease of use. Neither publishes monitoring prices or contract terms for the local companies it lists.
Expertise.com’s Austin page, updated October 12, 2026, says it reviewed 170 companies and picked 18. Its list includes cameras-only installers and home-automation firms alongside alarm companies.
SafeHome.org’s Austin page lists 28 of 106 local businesses, including security-guard and bodyguard firms. It shows sponsored national brands at the top. ADT scores 9.3 as a sponsored entry and 3.4 on its local listing. Vivint scores 9.1 and 4.6.
These lists are useful for finding names you might have missed, and they link to reviews. They don’t tell you the monthly price, the contract, or who monitors the alarm. The checklist above works for any company on any list.
Should I pick a local Austin company, a national brand or DIY? How the three compare.
Local and regional companies tend to publish lower monitoring rates and shorter contracts, and you deal with the same people over time. National brands bring large networks, financing and brand guarantees. DIY costs least to start, but you install and maintain it yourself. Compare the contract terms and how each one handles service.
- Local and regional. Smith Thompson ($16.95), All Star ($19.99) and Alamo ($19.99) publish rates under $20/mo with no term contract. These are smaller companies, so ask how service calls are handled and how fast.
- National. ADT offers a 6-month money-back guarantee on its Austin page, subject to restrictions. Vivint offers month-to-month service when you buy equipment upfront, or third-party financing for up to 60 months. Ask for the total cost over the term.
- DIY. SimpliSafe has no contract and per-day professional monitoring. You install it, and there is no technician to call to your house.
We wrote more on this in local vs. national home security and a fact-by-fact Alamo vs. ADT comparison.
Does Alamo Smart Home serve Austin? Yes. No office yet, local technicians.
Yes. Alamo Smart Home was founded in Austin and is headquartered in San Antonio. Our local Austin technicians handle Austin installs and service calls. Monitoring is $19.99/mo, or $24.99/mo with video analytics and cloud recording, with no contract required and two months free.
- Price. $19.99/mo monitoring, or $24.99/mo with video analytics and cloud recording. Two months of monitoring free.
- Contract. None required. You can choose one if you want to lock the rate.
- Equipment. Bought once and owned by you, quoted after a free on-site security analysis. Alarm.com platform, the newest Qolsys IQ Panel 5, cellular with battery backup. We can often take over a compatible existing panel. More on Alarm.com.
- Monitoring. 24/7 through UCC (United Central Control, San Antonio): UL-listed, FM-approved, TMA Five Diamond certified.
- Installers. Salaried Alamo technicians, not subcontractors. Most service calls are same day.
- License and reviews. Texas license #B05229001. 4.9 stars across 1,300+ Google reviews.
- Phone. (210) 625-6575. A real person picks up Mon–Sat, 7am–9pm.
We don’t have an Austin office yet. If you want to walk into a local showroom, most of the companies above list one. Our full Austin details are on the Austin home security page.
What should I ask an Austin alarm company before I sign? Six questions.
Ask for the monthly price in writing, the contract length and early-cancellation cost, the name of the monitoring center, who owns the equipment, whether employees or subcontractors install it, and whether they file your Austin alarm permit. A good company can answer all six on the first call.
- What is my monthly monitoring price, and can it go up?
- How many months am I agreeing to, and what does leaving early cost?
- Which central station monitors my alarm, and is it UL-listed and Five Diamond?
- Do I own the equipment, and will it work with another company if I switch?
- Who installs it, and who comes out when something stops working?
- Will you help me register for the City of Austin alarm permit?
Ask us the same six. If you want a quote to compare against the others, we’ll do the security analysis at your house for free.
Meet your local team — and your first 2 months of monitoring are on us.
A trained security analyst walks your property in person and recommends exactly what you need — nothing you don’t. Then a licensed, salaried Alamo technician installs it and sets it up around how you actually live. No commissioned sales reps. No pressure.
- Free on-site analysis with a local security analyst
- Two months of professional monitoring, on us
- No contract required — it’s optional, never mandatory
- The same local, salaried team for as long as you own the home
You’re choosing one of Texas’ most trusted security teams.
As smart devices and cameras grow, having a reliable local service company is essential — even if you hope never to need it.
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- 24/7 professional monitoring
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- True local company
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Don’t get trapped in high monitoring rates. Switch to Alamo at $19.99/mo — no required contracts, same local Texas team.
Get a free quoteQuestions about choosing an Austin security company. What people ask us most.
Every price and term is quoted from the company’s own site, read October 15, 2026. Still wondering about something? Call the local team at (210) 625-6575.
What are the best home security companies in Austin, Texas?
The companies Austin homeowners most often compare are Smith Thompson, All Star Security, Alert 360, Central Security, Vital Security and True Protection, which all have Austin offices, plus ADT, Vivint and the DIY brand SimpliSafe. Alamo Smart Home also serves Austin with local technicians. The best one for you depends on monthly price, contract length, who monitors the alarm and who services it.
How much does home security monitoring cost in Austin?
Published rates read on October 15, 2026 run from Smith Thompson’s $16.95/mo to Alert 360’s $1.74/day on a 36-month agreement. All Star publishes $19.99 and $29.99/mo, Vivint starts at $24.99/mo, and SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring starts at $1.10/day. Alamo charges $19.99/mo, or $24.99/mo with video analytics. ADT, Central Security, Vital and True Protection don’t publish prices on their Austin pages.
Which Austin home security companies don’t require a contract?
On their own websites, Smith Thompson (“no term contract”), All Star Security (“No Contract”), True Protection (“no long-term contracts”), Central Security (no 3-year contract), SimpliSafe and Alamo Smart Home all say no long-term contract is required. Vivint offers month-to-month service when equipment is bought upfront. Alert 360’s published packages require a 36-month agreement. Always confirm the term in writing.
How do I check if an Austin alarm company is licensed?
Alarm companies in Texas are licensed through the Department of Public Safety’s Private Security Program, which has a public online license search. Some Austin companies print their number on their website, such as All Star (B-12088), Vital (B16483), True Protection (B17442) and Alamo Smart Home (B05229001). If you can’t find one, ask the company for it before you sign.
Do I need an alarm permit for a monitored system in Austin?
Yes. The City of Austin requires an alarm permit for monitored alarm systems, administered by the Alarm Administration program in the Development Services Department. Homes in unincorporated Travis County register through the Sheriff instead. Without a permit you can be fined for false alarms. Ask your alarm company whether it handles the registration for you.
Is a local Austin security company better than ADT or Vivint?
Not automatically. Local and regional companies in Austin tend to publish lower monitoring rates and shorter contracts, and you deal with the same team over time. ADT and Vivint offer large networks, financing and guarantees. Compare the written contract term, total cost over that term, who monitors the alarm and who comes out for service calls.
What should I ask about the monitoring center?
Ask for the name of the central station, whether it is UL-listed, and whether it holds TMA Five Diamond certification. Some companies, like Smith Thompson, run their own. Others, like Alamo Smart Home with UCC in San Antonio, use a third-party station. Either way, the company should be able to tell you the station’s name and show its certifications.
Are the expertise.com and safehome.org Austin lists reliable?
They are useful for finding names, and each measures something different. Expertise.com says it scores more than 25 variables, including licensing, reviews and mystery-shopping calls. SafeHome.org uses a 0–10 SecureScore based on customer service, value and ease of use, and puts sponsored national brands at the top. Neither lists monitoring prices or contract terms for local companies.
Does Alamo Smart Home have an office in Austin?
Not yet. Alamo Smart Home was founded in Austin and is headquartered in San Antonio, and local Austin technicians handle Austin installs and service calls. Monitoring is $19.99/mo, or $24.99/mo with video analytics, with no contract required and two months free. Call (210) 625-6575. A real person picks up Mon–Sat, 7am–9pm.
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