The phrase “home is where the heart lies” tells us about our dependence on homes for comfort and security. It thereby becomes necessary to equip your homes with the best security systems, to keep them safe from unwanted visitors. With several options at your disposal, home security brands like Brinks and ADT have become popular in the market.
Both Brinks and ADT have been present in the home security market for more than a century. Being one of the oldest home security brands, the product portfolios of ADT and Brinks have grown over the years. Since both brands offer similar products like security cameras, sensors, etc. it is natural for a user to be confused between Brinks and ADT.
With this article, we will compare various features offered by both brands. With this comparison, you can select a good security system for your home.
Brink Security System
Brinks Home Security has been providing various security solutions for a long time. It is already known for its bank-related services like the high-strength armor trucks and safer money transfer process. With top-notch security features, Brinks has built a trustworthy image in the market. Even after the bankruptcy of its parent company, the quality, and reliability of its products have been excellent.
Brinks is known for adapting the latest technologies into its product range. As a result, each generation of products becomes more innovative and efficient than the older generations. The products are suitable for modern users and also offer good customization. Users get to monitor their homes with various features along with the freedom to choose various types of subscriptions.
Pros
- It offers a range of products in the budget-oriented segment
- 24×7 monitoring can be set on almost every product
- The home security systems are wireless, making it easy to install them anywhere
- It offers a high level of customization
- The products offer easy automation of the home
- Brinks Home also offers a 30-day trial period under which the user can return the products
- Easy-to-install design of the products
- The alerts or notifications are very fast which helps the users in taking necessary measures against trespassers
Cons
- The video monitoring feature is limited to specific packages
- When compared to the features offered by ADT, the list of features appears small for Brink Home products
- It does not offer short-term contracts to the users
ADT Security System
The American District Telegraph, also known as ADT is the oldest brand when compared to Brinks Home. What started as a solution for night-time burglaries became a trustworthy name in the upcoming years. Since then, ADT has continuously improved its product range and introduced new types of products side by side. As a result, ADT now has a presence around the globe.
The products offered by ADT serve various applications including monitoring, notifying, etc. These products have a user-friendly design making it easy for the user to perform a DIY installation of the products. Apart from this, ADT also offers various packages of their products to customize the protection level of your homes. As a result, ADT is considered one of the world’s best home security brands.
Pros
- It offers a unique, $500 guarantee against theft protection
- It also offers a 24×7 monitoring option to the users
- It offers a money-back guarantee period of over 6 months on its products
- Users get multiple monitoring centers
- Being an older brand, users can trust the quality and reliability of its product range
- A dedicated team of professionals for installation and after-sales support
- The products contain highly optimized hardware and software
- Offers dedicated products for modern smart homes
Cons
- The majority of the ADT products are priced higher than the competitor brands
- The user is charged extra for wireless versions of the products
- Cellular-based home security products are available only with additional charges
- Subscription fees and cancellation fees are higher
Brink vs ADT- Features Comparison
Now that we have gone through the overview of both brands, let us proceed toward the main goal of this article: “Comparison”. Since both brands are undeniably the best ones out there, confusion arises among users while selecting a superior product. To deal with this confusion, we will be discussing some features and then comparing them for both Brinks and ADT.
1. Installation
Installation of the home security products is an important aspect for both Brinks and ADT. installation helps in maintaining a better position for the home security products. The installation is dependent on the design of the product. Products with a simple design help in performing a DIY installation. For sophisticated products, both brands offer professional installations via technicians. The fee for professional installation varies depending on the products.
2. Monitoring Possibilities
24×7 monitoring is a major part of home security since it helps in tracking any type of trespass attempts. When monitoring feed from various products is connected to a centralized system, it becomes easy for the user to keep an eye on various locations. In case of any intrusion, the monitoring system will also trigger an alert for the user and alcohol authorities. Both ADT and Brinks offer this feature to notify the user of security as well as medical emergencies.
3. Motion Sensor Range
The motion sensor is an integral part of any type of security system, especially the ones used to protect homes. The name motion sensor itself explains its application: to sense a motion within its range. This helps in detecting any type of trespass even when the lighting conditions are low. Motion sensors are also used with the cameras to only record when motion is detected. This helps minimize battery use. The sensor range helps in creating impenetrable surveillance.
4. Equipment Cost And Payment Options
Sometimes the selection of the home security products comes down to their price tags. Both ADT and Brinks offer multiple products in various segments like budget, premium, etc. The cost of equipment includes basic equipment like the display, monitoring system, sensors, etc. The users can also buy various upgrades to improve their home security. Users are offered various payment options for these equipment including upfront payment or via flexible EMIs.
5. Monitoring Plans And Contracts
The monitoring plans are usually divided into various options. This is done to categorize the monitoring time and various features according to the users. The entry-level subscription plans include all the basic features with limited hours of monitoring per day. For 24×7 monitoring and features like cloud storage, smart home connectivity, etc. the premium plans are ideal. The subscription plan or monitoring contract can last anywhere between 6 months to 5 years.
6. Smart Home Integration And Devices Compatibility
The majority of the users have smart homes and hence they need compatible security products. These products support smart home integration which makes it easy to control them via the home’s centralized unit. Besides this, smart home integration paired with devices helps you control various features remotely. Functions like home lighting, door locks, camera positioning, etc can be done via compatible devices like smartphones, tablets, and others.
7. Video Storage Options
When a home security product monitors anything, it creates a recording file in video or image format. When the monitoring session is longer, the size of the recorded file becomes large. Storage of such files is not possible in the longer run when more files are being added regularly. Hence, various brands offer extended memory slots on their products. However, cloud storage has become more popular due to easier storage and retrieval of recorded files.
8. Mobile App
To offer better control of the product functions to the user, various brands have developed a dedicated app. These apps are compatible with smartphones making it easy to control the product via the comfort of the user’s hand. Besides this, the app also offers additional features like voice command, remote locking, account settings, etc. acting as a centralized space for the products and users. The apps are free to download but access to the features depends on the user’s substation plans.
9. Connectivity
Connectivity acts as the major bridge between the user and home security products. It is essential to relay all the live feeds, alerts, and other information to the user instantly. Hence, different connectivity technologies are used to maintain an interrupted transfer of data to the user. Both Brinks and ADT offer wired connectivity via various types of cables. For wireless connectivity, Wi-Fi or cellular technology is used.
10. Notifications, Alerts, And Alarms
With these products, users can set alarms to detect an intrusion. Both brands offer customized alerts to the user which can be changed or set via the smartphone apps. The customization level depends on the type of subscription the user has. Similarly, various notifications and their sensitivity can be changed at the user end. The aim behind this is to filter the important alerts and minimize the false alarms.
Comparison Table: Brink vs ADT
Now that we have understood these parameters, it will become easy to compare them for ADT and Brinks home security systems. The following table will give you a clear understanding of this comparison:
| Parameters | ADT Security System | Brinks Security System |
| Installation | Only Professional | Professional and DIY |
| Monitoring Options | 24×7 monitoring with zero downtime | 24×7 monitoring |
| Motion Sensor Range | Up to 40 feet | 25 to 30 feet |
| Equipment Costs | $190 to $1200 | $199 to $750 |
| Payment Options | Basic packages can be paid flexibly
(Add-ons need to be paid upfront) |
Basi package can be paid upfront or flexibly |
| Monitoring Plans and Contracts/ Subscription Plans | ADT Secure ($45.99 per month)
ADT Smart ($49.99 per month ADT Complete ($59.99 per month) |
Brinks Essential ($29 per month)
Brinks Complete ($39 per month) Brinks Ultimate ($39 per month) |
| Return policy | 6 months with a money-back guarantee | 30 days with a money-back guarantee |
| Smart Home Integration And Device Compatibility | Yes, Smart locks, Google Nest, Samsung SmartThings, etc | Yes, Alarm.com, Kwikset, Wave Electronics, etc |
| Video Storage Options | Cloud storage for 30 days | Internal and Cloud storage |
| Mobile App | Yes, Blue App | Yes, Brinks Home Security App |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Cellular, Landline, | Wi-Fi, Cellular, Landline, |
| Notifications, Alerts, and Alarms | Yes, with instant arm and disarm, geo-location sharing, etc | Yes, with instant chat room, remote disarm/arm option, etc |
Brink vs ADT – FAQs
Ans: Both ADT and Brinks have dedicated monitoring centers. ADT has over 9 stations while Brinks maintains 1 centralized station. The downtime of ADT is almost zero compared to Brinks. Brinks gets the upper hand in terms of product pricing, offering multiple models in budget segments. Both brands rule in various factors, making them popular choices in the security market.
Ans: Brinks security system offers 24×7 monitoring to the user. This level of monitoring is however included in the subscription plans. Hence, a user should have an active service plan to access important features of Brinks security systems. Without an active subscription, the user cannot access basic and premium features.
Ans: ADT offers various subscription plans over its wide range of security systems. With the subscriptions, users can enjoy various additional features including 24×7 monitoring. Without an active subscription, these features will not be available to the users. In simple words, you cannot use ADT security systems without an active subscription.
Ans: Wi-Fi is surely one of the important connectivity technologies used with ADT security systems. However, ADT security systems are designed in a way to offer uninterrupted data transfer. Hence, other types of connectivity technologies like cellular or landline connections can be used when Wi-Fi is not available.
Ans: Yes, the Brinks camera does have recording capabilities which are triggered only when the alarm or alert goes off. To start recording at other times, several configurations are needed to be placed with the camera settings. Users can refer to the manual of their Brinks camera and follow the specified instructions, to record videos at any given time.
Conclusion
Security systems are essential to keep your homes and surroundings safe from intruders. When users give priority to specific features along with the brand’s image, selecting a reliable security system becomes easy. This is the sole reason why Brinks and ADT are considered popular brands for security systems. With this article, we not only tried to understand these brands but also put them against each other. By discussing some major parameters of the security systems, we were able to compare both brands. As a user, you can use this information to buy a suitable security system.
