The Short Answer
On our estimates, a bells-only burglar alarm costs about £350 to £700 supplied and fitted in a typical house. A smart alarm with an app is £500 to £900. Monitoring adds £300 to £700 to set up, then about £20 to £55 a month. Fitting takes one to two days.
An alarm works best as part of a set. The best UK evidence we found says an alarm on its own did little, while good door and window locks plus outside lights on a sensor cut burglary sharply, so get those right first.
Home security cost calculator
An alarm, cameras, or both, supplied and fitted.
Estimated total
£350 to £700
| Bells-only alarm, supplied and fitted | £350 to £700 |
Burglar alarm prices
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Bells-only alarm | £350 to £700 |
| Smart alarm with app | £500 to £900 |
| Monitoring and police-response set-up | £300 to £700 |
| Monitoring, per month | £20 to £55 |
| Technician, per hour | £60 to £80 |
Which alarm?
- Bells-only: a loud siren when it's triggered, to scare off intruders and alert neighbours. The most common and usually the cheapest.
- Smart: connects to your phone, sends alerts and lets you set and unset it remotely. You decide what to do when it goes off.
- Monitored: a monitoring centre reacts when it's triggered, by contacting you or your keyholders, sending a guard or, on the right system, calling the police, for a monthly fee.
Wireless systems link the sensors to the control panel by radio; wired ones by cable. I think a well-fitted bells-only or smart alarm is enough for most homes; pay for monitoring if nobody nearby would react to a siren.
Do alarms put burglars off?
Less than you'd think, on their own. The best UK evidence we found is a study published in the Security Journal in 2017, using Crime Survey for England and Wales data from 2008 to 2012. It compared homes with different security against how often they were burgled. A burglar alarm with no other security gave no more protection than having nothing at all. The researchers suggest reasons: an alarm only works if it's set, it may signal there's something worth taking, and some may have been fitted after an earlier burglary (homes burgled once are more likely to be burgled again).
What worked was combinations. External lights on a sensor or timer, and door double locks or deadlocks, were the best single measures. Door and window locks plus external lights gave more than 30 times the protection of no security against a break-in, and an alarm alongside door locks roughly halved the risk compared with no security.
So I'd sort the locks and an outside sensor light first, and treat an alarm as the next layer rather than a substitute. For the doors, see front door security.
Monitoring: what you pay each month
Monitoring costs about £20 to £55 a month on our estimates, usually covering the monitoring and maintenance. When we checked in October 2026, SimpliSafe's monitored plan was 99p a day with no contract, with its team watching alarms around the clock and a Securitas guard response. Verisure doesn't publish its prices: it quotes after a home visit, and says its monthly fee covers round-the-clock monitoring from its alarm receiving centre, a security guard sent out once a break-in is verified, maintenance and its app.
Before you sign, I'd check:
- whether you're buying the equipment or renting it: a cheap installation often means you don't own the kit;
- what the monthly fee includes, such as maintenance visits and repairs;
- how long the contract runs and what it costs to leave;
- who responds: you, a keyholder, a guard or the police (below).
Police response
Most monitored packages send a keyholder or a guard, not the police. Under the National Police Chiefs' Council policy, police respond to "Type A" systems: monitored by an alarm receiving centre that meets the British Standards, with a unique reference number (URN) issued by your local force. The installer must be certified by a certification body accredited by UKAS, and applies to the force for the URN.
Everything else, including smart alarms that alert your phone, is "Type B": the police will only attend if someone at the scene confirms a crime is in progress, and the policy says adding cameras or other electronic confirmation doesn't turn it into Type A. If police response matters to you, ask the installer for a URN in writing and which body certifies them.
Cameras too?
See CCTV; the calculator above prices both together.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a burglar alarm cost to install?
On our estimates, about £350 to £700 for a bells-only alarm and £500 to £900 for a smart alarm, supplied and fitted.
Do burglars avoid houses with alarms?
Not because of the alarm alone, on the best UK evidence: a 2017 study of Crime Survey for England and Wales data found an alarm with no other security gave no more protection than none. Alarms helped as part of a set, with door and window locks and outside lights.
What security puts burglars off most?
In that study, external lights on a sensor or timer and door double locks or deadlocks were the best single measures. Door and window locks plus external lights gave more than 30 times the protection of no security.
How much is a monitored alarm a month?
About £20 to £55 a month on our estimates. When we checked in October 2026, SimpliSafe's monitored plan was 99p a day; Verisure doesn't publish prices and quotes after a home visit.
Will the police respond to my alarm?
Only to a "Type A" alarm: monitored by an approved alarm receiving centre, fitted by an installer certified by a UKAS-accredited body, and registered with your local force for a URN. Otherwise police attend only if someone at the scene confirms a crime is in progress.
Can an electrician install a burglar alarm?
For a bells-only or smart alarm, any competent installer can. For police response, the installer must be certified by a UKAS-accredited body, so ask which body certifies them.
How long does it take to fit a burglar alarm?
Usually one to two days, depending on the size of the house and the system.
How we priced thisView sources (4, 2 official)
Rules come from the legislation and official guidance, read at source. Prices are our estimates: we check them against trade price data, retailer shelf prices and specialists' price lists, then build them up from their parts so the totals add up. Below are the sources behind the page; the trade price guides we only compare against aren’t listed. Where sources disagreed, we've said so. More on our method.
- OfficialPolice Requirements & Response to Security Systems, National Police Chiefs' Council. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
- OfficialThe effectiveness of burglary security devices (Tseloni, Thompson, Grove, Tilley and Farrell; Crime Survey for England and Wales data 2008/09 to 2011/12), Security Journal (Springer Nature), 2017, open access. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
- IndustryProfessional alarm monitoring, SimpliSafe UK. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
- IndustryHow much is Verisure a month?, Verisure UK. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
