Cameras and Alarms
UniFi Protect vs. Vivint
Vivint sells cameras and an alarm with its monitoring plan. UniFi Protect is bought outright and needs no plan to keep working.
How they compare
What each one costs, and what it does.
Learn more on Ubiquiti’s siteUniFi Protect
How to choose
We recommend UniFi Protect: you own it outright, and nothing stops working when a plan ends.
Choose UniFi Protect if
- You’d rather own it outrightProtect is bought once, and it keeps recording and connecting with no monitoring plan behind it.
- You want to own your footageEvery recording stays on a recorder you own, with no copy in somebody else’s cloud.
- You need footage kept longerYou choose how long footage is kept, from days to years, where Vivint keeps up to 10 days.
- You want a longer warrantyUbiquiti warrants its hardware for 12 months, where Vivint covers equipment for 4 months.
Choose Vivint if
- We do not recommend choosing VivintWe’ve tried Vivint and have had negative experiences with their product reliability, support and policies.
Common questions
Our alarm is self-monitored: the siren sounds and your phone is alerted the moment a sensor trips. While we do not offer alarm monitoring, Ubiquiti has announced its own, powered by Noonlight, for UniFi Protect 7.4.
No. Recording, viewing and remote access carry no subscription, because the system runs on equipment you own. Our support plan, which comes with every business system, is billed on its own.
We install and support UniFi, and we can replace a Vivint system with one. We do not manage systems we did not supply.
Yes. Check your Vivint agreement for any balance left on the contract or financing first. We then replace the Vivint cameras with Protect cameras and a recorder.
Yes. The cameras record to the recorder in your building whether or not the internet is up. Only viewing from away needs the internet.
Yes. Every camera records around the clock to the recorder in your building, with nothing to pay. Vivint’s continuous recording needs its monthly plan.
Sources
- Business Security and Commercial Alarm Systems, Vivint
- 24/7 Alarm and Home Security Monitoring Services, Vivint
- Home Security Video Recording and DVR, Vivint
- Security Cameras: Outdoor and Doorbell, Vivint
- Standard Limited Warranty, Vivint Support
- Limited Warranty, Ubiquiti
- Exporting Clips and Cloud Archiving with UniFi Protect, Ubiquiti Help Center
- UniFi Protect Evidence Authenticity and Visible Watermarks, Ubiquiti Help Center
- UniFi Enterprise NVR Core: Tech Specs, Ubiquiti
- Professional Alarm Monitoring Powered by Noonlight (Coming Soon), Ubiquiti
See what your building could do
Start with a short call. Then we come out, look at the space and design a system that fits your building.