Cove vs Simplisafe

We put Cove and SimpliSafe head-to-head to see which DIY security system is the best.
Winner
SimpliSafe
SimpliSafe
4.3 out of 5 stars
4.25
Starts at
$19.99
/mo
  • pro
    60-day money-back guarantee
  • pro
    RapidSOS and Fast Protect
  • pro
    Smart lock and video doorbell
Runner up
Cove
Cove
4 out of 5 stars
4
Starts at
$17.99
/mo
  • pro
    60-day money-back guarantee
  • pro
    RapidSOS
  • con
    No smart lock

SafeWise experts have years of firsthand experience testing the products we recommend. Learn how we test and review. We may earn money when you buy through our links.

SimpliSafe comes out ahead of Cove for its equipment selection, including a smart lock you won't find with Cove. But, if you look beyond the equipment, both brands seem like clones. Read our comparison to see why we chose SimpliSafe.



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SimplSafe vs. Cove: pros and cons

Why should you choose SimpliSafe?

If you value having the convenience of a smart lock and doorbell camera, SimpliSafe is a better wireless security system than Cove. Read more about why we love SimpliSafe in our full SimpliSafe review.

pro
SimpliSafe pros
pro Better equipment selection
pro Equipment bundles
pro Lifetime warranty on top-tier plan
pro RapidSOS
pro Equipment financing
con
SimpliSafe cons
con Limited smart home compatibility
icon of the safewise owl icon with a banner saying deals
This week's SimpliSafe deal

🔥 SimpliSafe is offering 50% off with Fast Protect™ monitoring!

Info current as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. 


Why should you choose Cove?

Cove excels with its monitoring and customer satisfaction. Still, its equipment selection lags behind SimpliSafe's. Learn more about Cove's unique monitoring features and customer reviews in our full Cove review.

pro
Cove pros
pro RapidSOS
pro Lifetime warranty on top-tier plan
pro Equipment financing
con
Cove cons
con Limited smart home compatibility
con No smart lock
icon of the safewise owl icon with a banner saying deals
Cove deals

🔥 Cove is offering 65% off equipment + a free indoor camera.

Info current as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. 

Compare Cove vs. SimpliSafe: Top features

Company
Best for
Monitoring price
Lowest equipment cost bullet
Build-your-own system
Outdoor camera
Learn more
Read review
Best equipment
bulletYes
bulletYes
Best customer experience
bulletYes
bulletYes

Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

SimpliSafe vs. Cove similarities

It's uncanny how similar Cove and SimpliSafe are—right down to pricing, policies, and smart home support.

  • Equipment prices: Most of the core alarm system equipment (motion sensor, entry sensor, glass break sensor) costs the same amount.
  • DIY installation: The companies pre-program your equipment before shipping to make the installation process easier on your end. Learn more about installing SimpliSafe or installing Cove.
  • 60-day money-back guarantee: You can receive a full refund if you cancel your service and return your equipment within two months of purchase. Learn more about canceling SimpliSafe.
  • Basic smart home support: SimpliSafe and Cove each work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and August smart locks. This is sufficient for most folks, but DIY systems with Z-Wave support like Abode and Ring Alarm are much more flexible for adding new home automation devices.
  • RapidSOS: Cove and SimpliSafe use RapidSOS. Unlike monitoring centers relaying information to emergency responders over the phone, RapidSOS shares vital information (location info, medical needs) directly with 911 dispatchers' computers. This speeds up communications and makes it easier to send an appropriate response to your home.

SimpliSafe vs. Cove differences

Even in their differences, Cove and SimpliSafe are still quite similar:

  • Monitoring prices: SimpliSafe and Cove each charge under $20 for one of their plans, but that's the only similarity. SimpliSafe has a free self-monitoring option and provides app access in all plans. Cove requires a paid monitoring plan and restrictions smartphone control to its top-tier Cove Plus plan.
  • Contracts: While both security providers offer no-contract options, Cove also offers an optional contract so you can spread out your equipment costs over three years. SimpliSafe offers equipment financing through Affirm.
  • Cameras: SimpliSafe has three cameras. There's the SimpliSafe doorbell camera, SimpliSafe outdoor camera, and an indoor security camera called the SimpliCam, all of which work independently of a SimpliSafe system (with affordable cloud storage to match). Cove sells an indoor camera, a battery-powered outdoor security camera, and a video doorbell. But the main difference here is that Cove's cameras don't work without a Cove Plus monitoring plan.
  • Customer service: While SimpliSafe's customer service is no slouch, Cove has a much more positive customer experience, based on online reviews we found during our research.
  • Equipment selection: SimpliSafe's smoke alarm doesn't have a built-in carbon monoxide detector like Cove's. (But you can buy a separate CO detector for your SimpliSafe system.) Similarly, Cove doesn't sell a temperature sensor or extra siren, as SimpliSafe does.
  • App performance: Users love the SimpliSafe app. With near-perfect ratings on the Apple App Store and Google Play from nearly 304,000 combined reviews as of March 2023, it's one of the highest-rated home security apps on the market. In contrast, barely 2,000 people have reviewed the Cove app, and they aren't happy: Cove earned 1.8 stars on the Apple App Store and 1.9 stars on Google Play. 

SimpliSafe vs. Cove: Compare plans

Plan
Starting price
Mobile app
Smart home integration
Security cameras
Warranty
Learn more
bulletYes
bulletNo
bulletNo
3 years
bulletYes
bulletYes
bulletYes
3 years
bulletYes
bulletNo
bulletNo
3 years
bulletYes
bulletYes
bulletYes
Lifetime
bulletNo
bulletNo
bulletNo
1 year
bulletYes
bulletYes
bulletYes
Lifetime

Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

SimpliSafe: Best equipment

SimpliSafe normally wins high marks for its hallmark traits that compete well against big names like Vivint and Frontpoint: affordable equipment and a 60-day money-back guarantee. But, against Cove, SimpliSafe tastes like a different flavor of vanilla—one that has a smart lock and equipment bundles.

SimpliSafe equipment

SimpliSafe has a slight edge on equipment costs—its keypad and base station cost around $66 less than the equivalent from Cove. Additionally, SimpliSafe sells a temperature sensor, SimpliSafe Smart Lock, and siren—three pieces of equipment Cove doesn't have. But SimpliSafe's equipment costs and overall selection are nearly identical to Cove's, and Cove often runs sales that significantly lower its equipment costs.

We're big fans of SimpliSafe's online shop that offers both pre-made equipment packages and a build-your-own system option. Although we prefer the option to customize your system, the equipment packages are helpful for those of us who have trouble deciding which equipment to buy for our homes.

Cove used to have an edge over SimpliSafe by offering equipment financing, but SimpliSafe recently partnered with Affirm to offer the same perk. With Affirm, you can choose how slow or fast you want to pay off the equipment, whereas Cove offers equipment financing through a three-year contract only. Now SimpliSafe has the upper hand. 

Cove security equipment

The biggest difference in the Cove security system is a sleek touchscreen control panel that gives you a better monitoring experience than SimpliSafe's keypad. The large screen is great for folks that might have trouble reading a smaller print, though it doesn't have tactile buttons that are easier to use without looking at the screen.

We also like Cove's solar-powered outdoor security camera, which offers more convenience than SimpliSafe's battery-powered outdoor camera. Cove's outdoor camera is actually the Eufy SoloCam S40, which saves footage to local storage. SimpliSafe's cameras only store footage on the cloud.

Cove Smart also sells a combined smoke and carbon monoxide detector. It's almost twice as expensive as SimpliSafe's smoke detector, but the ability to spot CO gases justifies the higher price. (You save $25 compared to buying SimpliSafe's separate smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.)

Still, it's a bummer that Cove lacks a smart lock. Although Cove has an optional contract, it covers only the equipment costs and doesn't require payment of any monitoring fees when you cancel.

Tie: Best warranty

SimpliSafe offers more favorable warranty terms: three years of coverage versus one year for lower-priced plans. This makes SimpliSafe the better option for protecting your equipment on a budget.

While the warranty on Cove's cheaper plan doesn't compete with SimpliSafe, it ups the ante with a lifetime warranty when you upgrade to the $24.99 monthly plan. This means that you can replace defective equipment after three years (as long as you properly maintain it before it breaks). SimpliSafe's plan with a lifetime warranty is a little more expensive at $29.99/mo.

SimpliSafe: Best monitoring

For a while, Cove's RapidSOS monitoring changed things. Now, though, SimpliSafe has this service, evening up the playing field. SimpliSafe stands out in the monitoring experience, though, thanks to Fast Protect technology that provides more effective phone-based alerts during an emergency.

Plus, SimpliSafe offers video alarm verification with its Fast Protect™ plan. Professional monitors can see a brief clip of the events right before and right after the alarm was triggered, allowing them to pass on important context to first responders.

We're also looking forward to the new SimpliSafe smart camera, which will allow professional monitors to speak through the camera during an alarm event. The camera is currently in beta testing, but we'll let you know when it's available. 

Winner: SimpliSafe beats Cove

While there are advantages specific to each DIY security system, SimpliSafe wins thanks to its equipment selection and recent monitoring innovations.

  • Winner: SimpliSafe has great equipment that's just a touch more tempting than Cove's and has more enticing pro monitoring plans.
  • Second place: Cove's sale prices are more affordable than SimpliSafe's, but Cove doesn't offer the same value overall.

Otherwise, these systems are way too similar to recommend one over the other for core features and costs.

How we decided: Cove vs. SimpliSafe

unboxing cove equipment

Image: Katie McEntire, SafeWise

When we compare two brands, it's usually an exercise in pricing, contracts, equipment selection, and testing experiences. But we found so many similarities between Cove and SimpliSafe that we couldn't make an easy decision on that information alone.

Other than the simple bulleted list above, we ignored most of the similarities to zero in on the few differences between the brands. Check out our methodology to learn more about how we test and review products.

Related articles on SafeWise


Disclaimers

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links.

Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided “as is” and is subject to change or removal at any time.

†Google, Google Nest, Google Assistant, and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.

John Carlsen
Written by
John Carlsen
John is a technology journalist specializing in smart home devices, security cameras, and home security systems. He has over a decade of experience researching, testing, and reviewing the latest tech—he was the Smart Home Editor for Top Ten Reviews and wrote for ASecureLife before joining SafeWise as a Staff Writer in 2020. John holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism emphasis from Utah Valley University. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, photography, cooking, and starting countless DIY projects he has yet to complete.

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