SimpliSafe’s 3 Packages: No Plan Means No Recordings
Packages list at $282.94 to $818.88 before discounts. Plans run $9.99 to $79.99 a month; Active Guard needs Pro or Pro Plus.
If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. It never affects our verdicts or scores — how that works. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
SimpliSafe’s US store sells three packages, and what separates them is cameras: Break-In Detection has none, Intruder Deterrence adds one Outdoor Camera, and Complete Protection two, plus smoke, water and temperature sensors. A plan is what makes the system call for help or keep video: without one, SimpliSafe says you get live view and remote arming, but no emergency dispatch and no recordings. Plans run from $9.99 to $79.99 a month, and the live-agent camera service, Active Guard, needs Pro or Pro Plus.
Everything here is from simplisafe.com and SimpliSafe’s Help Center, read 8 November 2026. SimpliSafe states plan prices per day on its store and per month in its Help Center; both are given.
The three packages
| Package (store name) | Equipment | Full price, 8 Nov 2026 | With a plan, 8 Nov sale | Plan named |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Break-In Detection | Base Station, Keypad, 3 entry sensors, Motion Sensor, Yard Sign | $282.94 | $84.90 | Core |
| Intruder Deterrence | Base Station, Keypad, 4 entry sensors, Motion Sensor, Yard Sign, 1 Outdoor Camera | $498.92 | $149.70 | Pro |
| Complete Protection | Base Station, Keypad, 4 entry sensors, Motion Sensor, Yard Sign, 2 Outdoor Cameras, Smoke & CO Detector, Water Sensor, Temperature Sensor | $818.88 | $245.70 | Pro |
The store’s menu also calls them the Indoor Basic, Outdoor Basic and Outdoor Elite packages. The discounted column is a Veterans Day sale, 70% off “any new system with professional monitoring”, which the banner said ends Thursday. On the Break-In Detection page, removing the plan returned the price to $282.94. The sale price depends on taking a monitoring plan; the plan itself is billed separately, with the first month free.
The Base Station is the system’s hub and siren, with a backup battery SimpliSafe rates at up to 24 hours. The Keypad is wireless and has a hidden panic button. SimpliSafe’s Help Center still lists seven older packages, from the Foundation to the Beacon; the store showed only these three on 8 November. Anything else is added through Build My System.
The cameras
| Camera (simplisafe.com, 8 Nov 2026) | Price | Video | View | Power | Active Guard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 | $199.99 | 1080p, 10x digital zoom | 140° | Rechargeable battery; must be plugged in for Active Guard | Yes, with Pro or Pro Plus |
| Video Doorbell Series 2 | $199.99 | 2K | 150° | Existing doorbell wiring, 16–24 VAC | Yes, with Pro or Pro Plus |
| Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera | $149.99 | 1536p, 10x digital zoom | 125° | Built-in rechargeable battery | No; intruder intervention instead |
Each lists a SimpliSafe Gen 3 system as a requirement: these cameras extend the alarm rather than standing alone. The Indoor Camera (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) has a privacy shutter and a built-in motion sensor that, SimpliSafe says, can set off the alarm; on the Doorbell (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), motion only sends app notifications. The Outdoor Camera (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) carries a spotlight and a 90 dB siren; the Doorbell a 70 dB siren.
Active Guard is a service, not a device. When the system is armed during plan hours and the camera’s AI flags a person, SimpliSafe says an agent can watch the live feed, speak through the camera, sound the siren or shine the Outdoor Camera’s spotlight, and request police. It works on up to three Outdoor Cameras or Video Doorbells; plans support 10 cameras in all. Automatic face matching is unavailable in Illinois, Texas and Portland, Oregon, by SimpliSafe’s footnote.
The monitoring plans
| Plan | Per month (Help Center) | Per day (store) | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| No plan | — | — | Live camera view and remote arm/disarm in the app |
| Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings | $9.99 | 33¢ | 30 days of recordings for up to 10 cameras; no professional monitoring |
| Standard | $22.99 | 76¢ | 24/7 emergency dispatch, alarm texts, network backup; no camera recordings |
| Core | $32.99 | $1.10 | Standard plus camera recordings, video verification, intruder intervention, people and package detection, lifetime warranty, 10% off hardware |
| Pro | $49.99 | $1.66 | Core plus Active Guard 8pm–6am and the Anti-Theft Guarantee |
| Pro Plus | $79.99 | $2.66 | Core plus Active Guard 24/7 and the Anti-Theft Guarantee |
The rows follow SimpliSafe’s comparison table, which marks each feature “Included” or “Not included”. The plans are billed monthly with no contract. Recordings and dispatch sit on different plans: Self Monitoring keeps video but calls nobody, and Standard calls for help but keeps no video. Core is the cheapest plan with both.
Video verification means agents can pass what a camera shows to dispatchers, which SimpliSafe says gets a faster police response than an unverified alarm. The Anti-Theft Guarantee offers up to $500 toward an insurance deductible after a covered burglary; SimpliSafe’s terms require at least one outdoor camera enrolled in Active Guard, and an armed system. The lifetime equipment warranty lasts for as long as a Core, Pro or Pro Plus subscription is active; without one, the hardware carries a 1-year limited warranty.
Who each combination suits, by the specs
- Sensors and dispatch, no video: Break-In Detection with Standard or Core.
- Saved video with no one on call: any camera plus Self Monitoring.
- Agents watching outside at night: a package with an Outdoor Camera, or a Video Doorbell, on Pro.
- Agents watching outside all day: the same cameras on Pro Plus.
- Smoke, CO and leaks: Complete Protection, or the sensors added to another package.
SimpliSafe also lists compatibility with August smart locks, which lock and unlock as the system arms and disarms. For cameras that keep video with no plan at all, our survey of eight makers’ own pages sets out what each keeps free, and the long-run cost of a video doorbell plan runs the same sum for doorbells.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between SimpliSafe packages?
Cameras and hazard sensors. All three have a Base Station, Keypad, Motion Sensor and Yard Sign. Break-In Detection adds three entry sensors and no camera; Intruder Deterrence four entry sensors and one Outdoor Camera; Complete Protection two Outdoor Cameras plus smoke and CO, water and temperature sensors.
Does SimpliSafe work without a monitoring plan?
Partly. SimpliSafe’s Help Center says that with no plan you keep the live camera feed and can arm and disarm in the app, but lose 24/7 emergency dispatch, the built-in network backup and camera recordings.
How much is SimpliSafe monitoring per month?
On SimpliSafe’s Help Center, read 8 November 2026: Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings $9.99 a month, Standard $22.99, Core $32.99, Pro $49.99 and Pro Plus $79.99. The store states the same plans per day, from 33¢ to $2.66, with no contract.
What is SimpliSafe Active Guard?
SimpliSafe’s name for live agents watching its outdoor cameras. When the system is armed during plan hours and AI flags a person, an agent can view the feed, speak through the camera, sound its siren and call police. It needs Pro (8pm to 6am) or Pro Plus (24/7).
Can SimpliSafe cameras be used without the alarm system?
No, by SimpliSafe’s own pages. The Outdoor Camera, Indoor Camera and Video Doorbell list a SimpliSafe Gen 3 system as a requirement, and the Indoor Camera FAQ says it needs a Base Station and Keypad to work.
Which SimpliSafe plan records camera video?
Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings, Core, Pro and Pro Plus, by SimpliSafe’s comparison table: 30 days of cloud storage for up to 10 cameras. Standard includes emergency dispatch but no camera recordings, and with no plan there are none.
How we researched this
No one at bitcritiq has handled this product. Everything here comes from published sources, listed below.
- What this cannot tell you
- SimpliSafe states plan prices per day on its store and per month in a Help Center article updated 29 June 2026; we quote both, and the per-day figures match the monthly ones over a 30-day month. Package prices on 8 November were cut by a Veterans Day sale (70% off a new system with professional monitoring, ending Thursday), and the catalogue page showed a separate 40% code for cameras and sensors; the tables give the full price and note the sale. We read the full price without a plan only on the Break-In Detection page. The Help Center packages article, updated 26 June 2026, names seven older packages (Foundation to Beacon) that the store no longer shows. The Outdoor Camera page lists a 16 ft power cable in the box but its setup text calls the included cable 25 ft. A Help Center FAQ names a SimpliCam Wired Indoor Camera that the catalogue did not list. We have not used any of this equipment, and this page does not rank it or judge how well it deters crime.
How we chose this, and what we did
- Why this subject
- Smart-home lineup series (locks and cameras) and gift season. SimpliSafe sells an alarm system rather than standalone cameras, so the question buyers ask is how its packages, cameras and plans depend on each other. No existing bitcritiq page mentions SimpliSafe; our camera-plan pages cover Ring, Arlo, eufy, Wyze and others.
- How we looked at it
- Read through a browser on 8 November 2026, all on SimpliSafe’s own sites: the shop-packages page (three packages, their equipment lists, discounted and “actual” prices), the Break-In Detection package page (price with the monitoring plan, then with the plan removed), the Expand My System catalogue (every item and price listed), the product pages of the Outdoor Security Camera Series 2, Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera and Video Doorbell Series 2 (spec blocks, requirements and FAQ answers), the professional-monitoring page (plan descriptions, per-day prices and the compare-plans text), the Help Center’s Monitoring Plans comparison table (each tick read from its “Included” or “Not included” label), and Help Center articles on residential plan options (monthly prices, what works with no plan) and on packages. The package count is the three cards on the shop-packages page that day. For the statement that the Base Station is not sold on its own in the catalogue, the control is that the same page lists the Keypad, at $69.99.
What this rests on
6 claims, all official. Nothing here was measured by bitcritiq — see how we test for why. Open a claim to read the source it came from.
SimpliSafe’s shop-packages page lists three packages: Break-In Detection, Intruder Deterrence and Complete Protection, at full prices of $282.94, $498.92 and $818.88.Official
simplisafe.com/home-security-shop-packages, 8 November 2026: Break-In Detection “Buy equipment for $84.90 $282.94 with monitoring plan (billed separately)”; Intruder Deterrence “$149.70 $498.92”; Complete Protection “$245.70 $818.88”.
The packages differ by cameras and hazard sensors: Break-In Detection has no camera, Intruder Deterrence adds one Outdoor Camera and a fourth entry sensor, and Complete Protection has two Outdoor Cameras plus smoke and CO, water and temperature sensors.Official
Shop-packages page, Compare packages: Break-In Detection “Entry Sensors (3)”, “Motion Sensor”; Intruder Deterrence “Entry Sensors (4)”, “Outdoor Camera”; Complete Protection “Outdoor Camera (2)”, “Smoke & CO Detector”, “Water Sensor”, “Temperature Sensor”.
SimpliSafe’s monthly plan prices are $9.99 for Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings, $22.99 Standard, $32.99 Core, $49.99 Pro and $79.99 Pro Plus; its store states them as 33¢, 76¢, $1.10, $1.66 and $2.66 a day.Official
Help Center, residential plan options: “Pro Plus … Plan Price: $79.99/month”, “Pro … $49.99/month”, “Core … $32.99/month”, “Standard Plan Price: $22.99/month”, “Self-Monitoring w/Camera Recordings Plan Price: $9.99/month”. Monitoring page: “Price $1.10/day $1.66/day $2.66/day”, “Standard Monitoring 76¢/day”, “Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings 33¢/day”.
Active Guard Outdoor Protection needs a Pro or Pro Plus plan and an Outdoor Camera (Series 2) or Video Doorbell (Series 2), and covers up to three of them; Pro runs it 8pm to 6am, Pro Plus 24/7.Official
Outdoor Camera page: “Pro or Pro Plus monitoring plan required. Service supports up to 3 Video Doorbell and/or Outdoor Camera (Series 2) devices. Outdoor Camera must be plugged in using the included power cable.” Monitoring page: “Pro Core plan + Overnight SimpliSafe® Active Guard Outdoor Protection (8pm-6am, local)”; “Pro Plus Core plan + 24/7”.
Without a plan, SimpliSafe says you keep live camera video and remote arming in the app, but not emergency dispatch, network backup or camera recordings.Official
Help Center, residential plan options, Unmonitored: “you will still have access to: Live video feed of your cameras … Remotely arm/disarm your system”; “without a professionally monitored plan, you will not have access to: 24/7 Emergency Dispatch … Built-in network backup … Unlimited camera recording and evidence capture”.
SimpliSafe’s cameras and doorbell need its Gen 3 system; the Indoor Camera needs a Base Station and Keypad, and the Video Doorbell a Base Station.Official
Product pages, Requirements: “SimpliSafe® Gen 3 system”. Indoor Camera FAQ: “requires a Base Station and Keypad (sold separately) to function.” Doorbell FAQ: “requires a Base Station, Wi-Fi, and the SimpliSafe App to function.”
Sources 11
- Shop Home Security Packages — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- Break-In Detection package — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- Expand My System (sensor and camera catalogue) — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
Show 7 more · 7 official or standards
- Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- Video Doorbell Series 2 — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- Meet the System — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- 24/7 Professional Monitoring — SimpliSafeOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- SimpliSafe Monitoring Plans (comparison) — SimpliSafe SupportOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- What are the Residential Monitoring Plan Options? — SimpliSafe SupportOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
- What are the Packages Offered for SimpliSafe Security Systems? — SimpliSafe SupportOfficialaccessed Nov 8, 2026
Pass it on
Know someone weighing this up? Send them the answer.
bitcritiq.com/b3n9The link is permanent: it opens this article for good, even if the title changes.
No email, no account
Follow bitcritiq
Every new article, in whatever reader you already use.
Subscribe by RSSAll the ways to follow
Using Chrome on Android? Open the browser menu and tap Follow. New articles then turn up in the Following tab in Discover.
read next
August Sells 3 Smart Locks; Only One Lists Apple Home
All three fit over a single-cylinder deadbolt. The Wi-Fi Smart Lock has Wi-Fi built in; the other two ship with a Wi-Fi bridge.
eufy Lists 9 Smart Locks; 5 Run Matter, 5 Have a Camera
Palm vein on three, a face reader on the E40, fingerprints on the rest. Eight have Wi-Fi built in; the S330 uses an included bridge.
Kwikset Has 11 Smart Deadbolt Lines; 3 Run Matter
Halo locks run on Wi-Fi with no hub, Aura on Bluetooth, SmartCode and Home Connect lines on Z-Wave or Zigbee. One takes Apple Home Key.
Schlage Sells 6 Smart Locks; 2 Take Apple Home Key
Five have built-in Wi-Fi, the Sense Pro adds Matter over Thread, and the Connect runs on Z-Wave with a hub. All six use four AA cells.