Someone acquiring a home alarm system asks what monitoring costs per month, how much the start-up costs, whether the price is visible before ordering, whether guard visits are included in the price and who installs the devices. These decide 50 points out of 100.
elisa.fi · Elisa Oyj (PRH 0116510-6), listed company. Kotiturva alarm service, whose alarm centre and guarding service is provided by Avarn Security. Elisa owns the equipment and rents it to the customer; no fixed term (elisa.fi/kotiturva)
72.2SCORE
Monthly price100
Start-up cost50
Price is shown before purchase100
Guard visits0
Installation50
Basic metrics · 76.5
Digital quality71
Transparency82
Reachability70
AI quality score82
+ Price and contract flexibility are stated openly: an example package costs 20.19 euros per month with a set-up fee of 199.99 euros, and the service has no fixed term, i.e. 'you only pay for what you need'
Basic metrics: 76.5, rank 3 · ▲ 2 places
– Security guard visits: The price of security guard visits is not stated on the Kotiturva page or the customer service page.
www.sectoralarm.fi · Sector Alarm Oy (PRH 0667761-0, formerly Turvatiimi Oy), Valimotie 21, Helsinki. Finnish company of a group of Norwegian origin. Publishes fixed prices online: starter package 29 €, 49.90 €/month, price cap 64.90 €/month (sectoralarm.fi)
71.5SCORE
Monthly price34
Start-up cost88
Price is shown before purchase100
Guard visits100
Installation100
Basic metrics · 72.0
Digital quality62
Transparency65
Reachability85
AI quality score84
+ The pricing is exceptionally transparent: starter package installed 29 euros (worth 399 euros), the service's monthly price 49.90 euros a month and for a new customer a price cap of at most 64.90 euros a month regardless of additional devices, and the page promises there are no hidden costs
www.kotivartija.fi · 24 Safety Oy (PRH 2182636-2, secondary business name Kotivartija Finland), Tampere. Basic solution with no monthly fee or monitored Pro 19.90 €/month (24/7 alarm centre + guard); starter package 299 €, devices remain the customer's property (kotivartija.fi)
70.2SCORE
Monthly price100
Start-up cost25
Price is shown before purchase100
Guard visits40
Installation0
Basic metrics · 77.0
Digital quality66
Transparency78
Reachability85
AI quality score82
+ Pricing is itemised openly: starter package 299 euros, monitored Pro service 19.90 euros per month (24/7 alarm centre and guard) and the price of a guard visit 50 euros, which is charged only when an alarm occurs
www.securitas.fi · Securitas Oy (PRH 1773518-5), Helsinki. Finland's largest security company (turnover 201.7 M € in 2025). The consumer 24Koti alarm system 43 €/month includes installed hardware and round-the-clock monitoring (securitas.fi)
69.8SCORE
Monthly price49
Start-up cost100
Price is shown before purchase100
Guard visits100
Installation100
Basic metrics · 60.0
Digital quality72
Transparency45
Reachability55
AI quality score69
+ The price is stated clearly and without a start-up fee: 24Koti costs 43 euros per month, no separate start-up fee is charged, and the monthly price includes the equipment installed and ready for use
www.verisure.fi · Verisure Oy (PRH 1773522-2), Televisiokatu 4, Helsinki. Market leader in monitored burglar alarm systems in Finland. 24/7 alarm centre and free guard visits; the price is built in a free home security survey (verisure.fi)
59.3SCORE
Monthly price33
Start-up cost0
Price is shown before purchase50
Guard visits100
Installation50
Basic metrics · 77.3
Digital quality64
Transparency78
Reachability100
AI quality score72
+ The nature of the contract and termination are clearly stated: the contract is valid until further notice, and the consumer customer's notice period is one full calendar month, which can be given by phone or in chat
Basic metrics: 77.3, rank 1 · ▼ 4 places
– Starting cost: The page only states that installation usually costs from a few hundred euros to a thousand euros, not Verisure's own price.
QUESTIONHow much does a monitored security service cost per month?
Cheapest published monthly price when alarm centre monitoring is included in the price.
20 € or less = 100 points, 65 € or more = 0, directly proportional in between.
20 p
Start-up cost
QUESTIONHow much do the devices and getting started cost in one go?
Published start-up fee or starter package price.
€0 = 100 points, €400 or more = 0, in between directly proportional.
10 p
Price is shown before purchase
QUESTIONIs the price stated before I order or request a quotation?
Is the monthly price published on the company's own page.
Yes = 100, partly = 50, no = 0.
6 p
Guard visits
QUESTIONAre security guard visits included in the monthly price?
Is a call-out charged separately.
Included in the price = 100, paid per visit = 40.
8 p
Installation
QUESTIONWho installs the equipment and what does it cost?
Whether the company installs the devices and whether installation is included in the price.
Installation included in the price = 100, paid or optional installation = 50, customer installs it themselves = 0.
6 p
Basic metrics
Digital quality, transparency, reachability and AI quality score
Basic metrics × 0.5
50 p
Notes
The comparison includes five monitored home alarm systems. Only what the company states on its own pages is measured.
The monthly price is the cheapest published price with alarm centre monitoring. Verisure's page gives only an indicative from-price, and Securitas publishes a price only for the 24Koti service. Information that could not be found is marked as missing and receives zero points for that motive.
About this comparison
We scored 5 providers of monitored home alarm systems on 19 metrics: technical quality, transparency, reachability and AI quality. The key question: can you see the monthly fee, contract length and cancellation terms before you request a home visit?
A monitored home alarm system is a continuous service, not a one-off purchase: besides the monthly fee, what matters is the contract length, the cancellation terms and what the monitoring actually includes. The comparison describes the transparency and reachability of the providers' public pages, not the technical quality or response time of the alarm centre. Included are operators that have their own live website and a service open to consumers and monitored by an alarm centre.
What transparency means in this category
Monthly fee and one-off or installation price of the equipment displayed without contacting (25), contract fixed term or open-ended contract stated (15), cancellation terms and notice period stated (20), what the monitoring includes (24/7 alarm centre and guard visit) stated (15), ownership of the equipment (purchase or rental) stated (10), business ID (Y-tunnus) or responsible company clearly stated (15)
How to read the comparison correctly: Half of the points come from buyer's questions, i.e. things the buyer finds out before deciding. The other half measures how openly the company publishes its prices, terms and contact details. Clear differences in points indicate a genuine difference: one tells you the price immediately, another only after logging in. Close scores should not be read as a ranking order, because every measurement has a margin of variation. The measurement accuracy and the full calculation formula are open in the methodology.
Customer experience is brought into the assessment separately. We also collect customer feedback and customer experiences about companies through separate surveys. The survey results will be added to the overall assessment later.
Transparency of pricing and contract terms is a pain point in the industry. Some providers show the monthly fee and equipment price openly online, others only give the price after a free home visit or a quote request. The comparison rewards services that show the monthly fee and the one-off or installation price of the equipment without contact, state the contract length and cancellation terms, describe what the monitoring includes (24/7 alarm centre and guard visit), and state who owns the equipment and the business ID (Y-tunnus) of the responsible company.
The comparison includes providers of supervised services. Included are operators with their own live website and a consumer-facing service monitored by an alarm centre. Pure product brands (for example self-installed systems without a monitoring service) are not in the comparison, because they are sold through resellers and are not service operators. Avarn Security provides the alarm centre and guarding service for Elisa Kotiturva, so it has not been counted separately as the same consumer service.
Comparison guide
What to consider in the comparison
Price visibility varies greatly: some state the monthly fee and starting price openly online, while others give the price only after a free home visit or a quote request. We measure whether the price is visible without making contact, not what the price is.
It is worth checking equipment ownership: in some services the devices remain the customer's property, in others they are rented and returned when the contract ends. This affects what you are left with if you change provider.
The same alarm centre can be behind several brands: for example, the alarm centre and security guard service of Elisa Kotiturva is provided by Avarn Security. However, the consumer contract is made with the service's own brand, so the services are measured separately.
Security guard call-out charges vary: with some, guard visits are included in the monthly fee, with others they are charged separately when an alarm occurs. Check what the monthly fee includes.
How Suomen Paras assesses and scores
Every company is measured with the same public formula: half of the points come from buyer's questions and half from basic metrics, which have four pillars: technical quality, transparency, reachability and AI quality score. Ranking cannot be bought, and you can see the origin of each point on the company's profile. Read the full methodology →
Expert tips
Ask for the total price in writing: monthly fee, start-up or installation fee and the price of any guard visit added together before signing the contract.
Check the contract length and notice period before the home visit. A contract in force until further notice with a short notice period binds you less than a long fixed term.
Find out whether the devices stay with you or are returned, and whether the system works without a monitoring service if you end the contract.
Remember the household tax deduction: the installation work share may be eligible for the household tax deduction, which lowers the initial cost.
Frequently asked questions
What does a monitored alarm system mean?
In a monitored service, the alarm is routed to a 24-hour alarm centre, which finds out the cause of the alarm and, if necessary, sends a guard or alerts the authorities. A self-managed system sends the alarm only to your own phone, without an alarm centre.
Why is the price not always shown online?
Some providers build the price according to the extent of the equipment during a free home visit, so only a starting price is shown online. The comparison rewards services that state the monthly fee and starting price openly without requiring contact.
Does the contract bind you for a long time?
It varies by provider. Some services are valid indefinitely with a short notice period, while for others the contract terms are not stated online at all. Check the contract duration and notice period before signing.
Are you listed and would like to rank higher?
The free pre-analysis shows every item where your company loses points and which rank fixing it is enough for. The paid analysis shows what the items are and how to fix them.
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