SimpliSafe vs. Blink: Comparing Two Contract-Free Security Systems

To get straight to it, we appreciated both SimpliSafe and Blink. They’re both excellent options when it comes to top-notch contract-free DIY home security, but they take fundamentally different approaches. That means one will likely suit your specific security needs better than the other. But which one is right for you? We tested them both to answer exactly that question.

SimpliSafe delivers comprehensive security systems featuring sensors and cameras to detect intrusions and various home hazards. Blink, in contrast, focuses exclusively on cameras. It offers a lineup of wireless and wire-free cameras designed to work in concert for home protection. While we prefer SimpliSafe’s approach, we’ll give you the pros and cons of both based on our in-home testing so you can figure out which is best for you.

A Side-by-Side Comparison of SimpliSafe and Blink

Before we dive into the details, let’s start with a side-by-side comparison of what SimpliSafe and Blink offer for a better understanding of each company.

As the table shows, SimpliSafe provides a more complete home security solution with equipment and services compared to Blink. But that doesn’t automatically make Blink inferior. They excel in certain areas compared to SimpliSafe. For instance, Blink has a more diverse selection of security camera models and their cloud recording plans cost less than SimpliSafe’s. To get the bigger picture, let’s dive into our detailed comparison.

Round 1: Equipment Options

Let’s begin with what you’ll first consider when shopping for SimpliSafe or Blink: the equipment. We invested several hundred dollars in both brands, giving us hands-on experience with nearly their entire product lines.

SimpliSafe’s Equipment Options

Every SimpliSafe system requires a base station and analog keypad. They act as the brains of a SimpliSafe system. We paired all of our components to the base station so that the monitoring center received our alerts. It also linked our system to SimpliSafe’s online portal so that we could control our system with the app.

Once we added our base station and keypad to our cart, we got to pick from dozens of sensors, including motion sensors, door sensors, and glass-break sensors. They also offer environmental-hazard sensors like smoke alarms and freeze alarms. To round out its home security system, SimpliSafe has a wireless indoor camera, a wire-free outdoor camera, and a wired doorbell camera.

Blink’s Equipment Options

We could buy some of Blink’s cameras on their own without any additional equipment or a base station. But, the battery-operated and wire-free cameras required a Blink Sync Module to use so we bought one. You can read our Blink security camera review for a full overview of every Blink camera available. Essentially, though, these are your options:

• Blink Mini 2 and Blink Mini 2K+ (wired indoor cameras)
• Blink Outdoor 4 and Blink Outdoor 2K+ (battery-operated outdoor cameras)
• Blink Wired Floodlight Cam (plug-in outdoor camera with floodlights)
• Blink Video Doorbell (wireless doorbell camera)

Blink doesn’t offer traditional security sensors, so we relied on our cameras’ built-in motion and sound detection capabilities to alert us to activity around our property.

Equipment Options Winner — SimpliSafe

There’s no getting around Blink’s lack of security sensors. While not everyone requires traditional sensors, most homeowners benefit from them, giving SimpliSafe the edge in this category.

Round 2: Installation

Both companies offer simple, DIY installation, mostly thanks to their wireless — and sometimes wire-free — components. Let’s zoom in on both companies and discuss our experiences installing them.

Installing Our SimpliSafe Security System

SimpliSafe is one of the best DIY security systems because of its streamlined installation process. Each time we’ve set up a SimpliSafe system, we completed the entire process in under 30 minutes, including the base station, sensors, and cameras. Even the wired SimpliSafe Video Doorbell we reviewed proved easy to set up.

We started by setting up the base station, and then we paired the sensors and other peripherals using the wireless keypad. Next we mounted the sensors and the cameras. To finish, we set up the app for easy control and monitoring.

Installing Our Blink Security System

With Blink, each camera functions independently, requiring individual setup. The Blink Mini 2 proved the simplest we’ve tested, as you can see in our Blink Mini review. We simply plugged it in and connected it to our Blink app.

The Blink Indoor and Blink Outdoor 4, however, needed a Sync Module. After successfully pairing the cameras with the sync module, they instantly appeared in our smartphone app. The Blink Video Doorbell, which works as a wireless doorbell, didn’t require any hardwiring at all.

Installation Winner — SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe provided a smoother setup experience, edging out Blink by a hair. Both are great security systems for renters because of their DIY installation process.

Round 3: Monitoring

SimpliSafe and Blink can both be self-monitored, which means they are contract-free security systems you can use without monthly fees. Both companies offer paid plans, however, in case you want to upgrade your experience.

SimpliSafe Monitoring

SimpliSafe offers subscription plans that include cloud storage, professional monitoring, or both. Here’s what their six plans offer along with current pricing:

Our top pick is SimpliSafe’s Core plan. It strikes an ideal balance between features and affordability. We especially value its live guard monitoring capability, which enables SimpliSafe’s monitoring agents to view footage from our wireless indoor camera and communicate through its two-way audio to deter intruders. At $31.99 monthly, it delivers exceptional value. Ring charges $99 per month for similar features, albeit with support for more security cameras.

Blink Monitoring

Blink’s paid plans are all for cloud storage. You can pay either $3.99 monthly per camera or $11.99 monthly for unlimited cameras. Both options provide 60 days of unlimited video history.

What makes Blink’s plans particularly attractive is the annual payment discount. We paid $119.99 for one year of unlimited camera cloud storage, saving us about $24.. For single camera coverage, annual billing costs $39.99 versus $48 when paid monthly.

Monitoring Winner — SimpliSafe

While Blink’s cloud storage plans offer solid value, particularly with annual payment discounts, SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring options provide superior protection against burglary, intrusion, and environmental hazards like fires and gas leaks. We recommend the Core plan for most since the price of the Pro and Pro Plus plans are outside of most people’s budget. With Blink, you have no option but to self-monitor and we don’t have the time to keep an eye on our system 24/7.

Round 4: Cost

Price is always one of the determining factors when choosing a home security system, but the cheapest systems don’t always come out on top. It’s usually about which security systems are affordable, but offer the best features for their price.

SimpliSafe’s Pricing

With SimpliSafe, we assembled a starter package with essential components for $250. This included the base station, keypad, motion sensor, and entry sensor. From there, we tailored our package to our home’s layout, adding sensors ranging from $19.99 to $40 each. We think those are excellent prices for the security value the sensors provide.

We also invested in cameras. SimpliSafe has three models, and we purchased all of them. The wireless indoor camera $169.99, the video doorbell $179.99, and the outdoor camera $219.99. Like we mentioned in the monitoring section, we could use our SimpliSafe system without paying any monthly fees but we opted for their Core monitoring plan at $31.99 per month.

Blink’s Pricing

With Blink, their most budget-friendly camera—the Blink Mini 2—runs just $39.99. Despite its compact size and low price, it ranks among the best indoor security cameras. We purchased four units for under $160 total. We positioned one in our living room with a view of the entryway, another in the kitchen, one at the second-floor stairway landing, and the last in our garage.

For outdoor surveillance, we selected the $59.99 Blink Outdoor 4. We bought one standard model and one with a Floodlight Camera Mount for an additional $39.99. The floodlight version worked perfectly above our garage, illuminating our entire driveway. We positioned the standard model to monitor our backyard. At our front door, we installed the Blink Video Doorbell for $69.99. Our total equipment investment came to approximately $350 for comprehensive coverage of our mid-sized home.

To get cloud storage for all of those cameras, we signed up for the $10 per month plan. We could have foregone cloud storage and monitored our system for free, but we like to have video evidence in case a crime occurs.

Cost Winner — Blink

Blink takes this category with its exceptional affordability, particularly when comparing cameras directly. Blink shows great value with their video doorbell at just $69.99, while SimpliSafe’s comparable model costs more than three times as much at $179.99.

However, SimpliSafe provides broader options. Their entry sensors remain more affordable than Blink’s cameras, making a SimpliSafe system potentially cheaper if you prioritize sensors over cameras. For those seeking more than cameras and cloud storage, SimpliSafe presents an excellent, budget-friendly alternative. For SimpliSafe’s full pricing, head to our page on SimpliSafe equipment and plan costs.

Round 5: Apps

For the final piece of the puzzle, let’s talk about SimpliSafe’s and Blink’s respective apps. Both systems are app-centric, which means you’ll mostly rely on an app to control and monitor your home security. That also means any bugs in the apps can cause vulnerabilities in your security system.

SimpliSafe’s App

Every function for our SimpliSafe security system was available directly in the app. It’s where we went to arm or disarm our system, check on alerts, change our subscription plan, livestream security camera footage, and review recordings. We could also customize the sensitivity level of our sensors and cameras to cut down on false alarms.

The app matches the system’s overall streamlined design, which proves essential since SimpliSafe doesn’t include a touchscreen control hub. As a result, we primarily used the app for system control. While it usually worked flawlessly, we did encounter a couple of bugs. Our biggest complaint was when the privacy shutter on our indoor camera stayed open after we tried to close it from the app. Generally speaking, however, it’s one of the best apps for home security.

Blink’s App

Blink’s app is purpose-built for camera management. The Blink Home Monitor App delivers exactly what its name suggests: comprehensive home monitoring. The home screen displays preview tiles from all our cameras, and we can access any camera’s live feed with a single tap.

While viewing the live feed, Blink’s app displayed timestamped thumbnails of motion-triggered recordings below the video. We could tap any thumbnail to review that specific clip. A storage indicator at the top helped us manage space by deleting unnecessary footage when approaching capacity. Within each camera’s settings, we could configure arming modes or schedule automatic arming and disarming of motion detection.

App Winner — SimpliSafe

Both the SimpliSafe Home Security App and Blink Home Monitor App delivered excellent performance during our testing. SimpliSafe edges ahead with its broader feature set and slightly more polished user experience compared to Blink’s app. That said, we’re nitpicking here—both apps excel with ratings of 4.5 stars or higher on iOS and Android platforms.

Our Final Verdict

SimpliSafe and Blink have two fundamentally different approaches to home security. SimpliSafe delivers complete home security systems featuring entry sensors, motion sensors, environmental hazard sensors, and security cameras. They also provide multiple professional monitoring tiers with innovative features like live guard monitoring at competitive prices.

Blink, conversely, specializes in budget-friendly home security cameras. Some models cost less than SimpliSafe’s basic sensors, and with integrated motion detection, they can double as motion sensors. However, without professional monitoring options, Blink functions more as a DIY security solution than a comprehensive system. That’s why SimpliSafe earns our recommendation.

Still unsure which provider to choose? Here’s how to pick between SimpliSafe and Blink based on your security needs.