How We Test and Review

We can provide our reviews, insights, and tips on living a safer life for free because we pay the bills with affiliate commissions from some (but not all) of the retailers and brands we recommend.

Those commissions may influence when we review products, but they never interfere with our recommendations or the content of our reviews. In fact, we’ll be brutally honest about our partners if their product or service falls short.

Our writers and editors rank products and services based on their expert opinions about which ones will best serve the needs of our readers.

SafeWise is an independent review site supported by affiliate partnerships and sponsored placements. When you click links on our site to request a quote, get pricing, or purchase a product or service, we may receive compensation from the brand or retailer.

Some product placements on SafeWise — including positions labeled "Preferred Partner" and "Featured Partner" — are sponsored, meaning companies may pay to appear in these spots. Sponsorship never influences our editorial assessments, scores, or rankings. Every product and service featured on SafeWise, whether paid or unpaid, goes through the same independent review process.

This model allows us to provide free, unbiased guidance and recommendations to our readers. We are committed to being transparent about these relationships in all markets where our content is published, including the United Kingdom.

For readers in the United Kingdom: Some of the products, services, and brands reviewed or featured on SafeWise pages accessible in the UK may involve a commercial relationship with SafeWise. Where that is the case, it will be clearly indicated on the relevant page. Our editorial assessments remain entirely independent of those commercial arrangements.

For over 11 years, SafeWise experts have conducted independent research and testing to create unbiased, human reviews.

SafeWise reviews, compares, and tests products and services after considering (at a minimum) these standard criteria.

• We value third-party ratings like the Better Business Bureau. But we rely on our own expertise, testing, and research for product scores and rankings.

We put products and services to work in homes and other real-life situations. During tests we evaluate all of the following, as applicable:

• Installation (is setup easy, how long does it take, is it easy to get help?)
• Function (does the product or service deliver what it promised?)
• Features
• Compatibility
• Mobile app
• Image quality, video streaming, etc.
• Alerts/notifications

We reach out to customer service to find out how responsive, friendly, and helpful it is. We also seek answers and clarification as needed.

We try out multiple brands of the same product or service to compare their performance head-to-head.

We interview users of the product or service about their experience with the following, as applicable:

• Installation (is set up easy, how long does it take, is it easy to get help?)
• Function (does the product or service deliver what it promised?)
• Features
• Compatibility
• Mobile app
• Image quality, video streaming, etc.
• Alerts/notifications

We conduct surveys of real people to find out what features they want, what they love about a product, and what they would change. We also ask if they’d buy a product or service again and whether or not they’d recommend it to someone.

We look at regulations and regulatory bodies for products and services to find out if there are standards that need to be met. Then we see how each product or service either meets those standards or falls short.

We interview other experts with specialized knowledge about certain product or service types, safety or security practices, home and community initiatives, etc.

We foster direct relationships with the people who make and distribute the products and services we review.

We scour industry standards, other expert reviews and best-of lists, customer reviews and ratings, online forums, user manuals, product specs, service contracts, etc.

Authentic, human-powered content: At SafeWise, all our guides and recommendations are written by actual people who know what it takes to make informed decisions.

While parts of some articles (not all) may be created with the help of automation tools, all of our content has been carefully reviewed, improved, edited, and fact-checked by our team of human safety experts. Use of AI tools is primarily utilized for organizing information and ideas, with all copy written by our editorial team.

Some of the product placements you see on SafeWise, like “Preferred Partner” and "Featured Partner,"  are sponsored. That means companies may pay to be featured in these positions.

But sponsorship never gives anyone a free pass. Every sponsored placement goes through the same editorial approval process as the rest of our recommendations. Our editorial team vets all products, services, and brands to make sure they meet SafeWise standards for quality, safety, and reliability.

Sponsorship does not influence our reviews, ratings, or rankings. Every company featured on SafeWise — whether paid or not — must pass the same editorial review process. In fact, all sponsored placements highlight products and services our experts have already tested, reviewed, and rated as solid choices for your home and family.

We believe transparency builds trust. Sponsored placements help us keep SafeWise free for our readers, but our recommendations remain grounded in independent research, testing, and expert judgment.

SafeWise occasionally publishes sponsored articles — longer-form content created in partnership with a specific brand and funded in whole or in part by that brand. Unlike sponsored placements, which affect where a company appears within a page, sponsored articles involve brand collaboration on the content itself. The subject matter and framing of a sponsored article may reflect the sponsor's interests and direction.

Sponsored articles are always identified with a "Sponsored by [Brand]" label at the top of the page.

Sponsorship does not guarantee positive coverage. SafeWise's editorial team reviews all sponsored content for accuracy, and any claims must be substantiated. If you have questions about a specific piece of content or our sponsored content policies, contact us at [email protected].

While we test and research, we look at five primary factors that matter most for protecting your home and family:

1. Costs and contracts. How much will it cost you upfront and over time? We look at how monitoring fees compare from brand to brand and in contrast with the national average of $31.83/month. We also consider the pros and cons of long-term contracts, how flexible companies are, and what kinds of penalties you get if you cancel.
2. Response time and monitoring options. Because we believe the best home security includes professional monitoring, we pay close attention to what each security company offers and if they do anything extra to get customers help faster. Because we don't want to get fined for calling emergency services as a test, we evaluate response times based on customer input, and how quickly the monitoring center responds when we trigger an alarm.
3. Security features and smart home integration. All security systems come with the same basics—a base, a motion sensor, and couple entry sensors. We look to see what security systems offer beyond that, and we love to see innovation that aims to stop criminals before they break in. And because we're obsessed, we also check out which other smart gadgets out there will work with each system (especially voice control).
4. Customer service and reputation. Even though home security is one of the most vital and personal services you'll ever invest in, the industry hasn't always had the best reputation. We grill brands about how they treat their customers and then we check with real customers and examine customer reviews to see if the company line holds water. We examine policies to see if they're customer-first or if you need to watch out. And we keep an eye on how each security company is doing in the headlines, the courts, and customer reviews.
5. Ease of installation and use. We like to have multiple people install and test the same system so we can find out where all the pitfalls are. We want to save you from our mistakes. We look at everything from how easily we can unbox the system to how intuitive the app and other controls are. Then we put it to the test with triggers, arming, disarming, video capture, and more.

Learn more about individual security system testing in our best home security system reviews.