How the calculator works
Alarm systems are priced in very different ways. One may cost more upfront and little each month; another may be cheap to start but carry a monitoring fee for years. The calculator lines them up over the same period, from one to five years, with three as the default.
For each option, total = upfront costs + fees + monthly monitoring × 12 × years − yearly insurance discount × years.
| Cost | DIY system | Professional system |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront | Equipment you buy | Installation or activation fee, plus equipment (0 if included) |
| Every month | Monitoring fee, or 0 if you monitor it yourself | Monitoring fee |
| Insurance discount | Only if you add paid professional monitoring | Applies when the monitoring fee is above 0 |
The insurance discount
Some insurers offer a discount on home or tenant insurance for a professionally monitored alarm. If yours does, enter your yearly premium and the discount percentage. The calculator works out the yearly saving and subtracts it for each year of the period, but only for an option with a monitoring fee above 0.
The discount is set to 0% by default, so nothing is subtracted unless you add it. Ask your insurer whether a discount applies, how much it is, and whether they need proof of monitoring. Self-monitored systems often don't qualify.
How to read your result
You'll see both totals, the average cost per month over the period, and the difference. A longer period tends to favour the option with the lower monthly fee, while a shorter one favours the lower upfront cost. Try a few periods to see where the two options cross.
Taxes aren't included. Also think about what the numbers leave out: contract length, cancellation fees, whether the equipment is yours to keep, and the cost of adding sensors or cameras later.
Not sure which kind of system suits your home? Start with our overview of home security in Québec, then come back and run the numbers.
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