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Ring Alarm vs SimpliSafe UK: which kit to buy

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have dropped doorbells and recorders, and the shortlist is Ring or SimpliSafe. Both are DIY alarms with an indoor camera, sold on amazon.co.uk, not as a fitted URN system. A US versus page is not a UK source and is not used here. Ring phones contacts. SimpliSafe will sell you a staffed tier. Choose Ring if you already live in that app and you accept contact-calling. Choose SimpliSafe if you will pay for the staffed tiers described on the UK plan page. Parts and prices are on the [alarm system with camera comparison](/hub/electronic-surveillance/alarm-system-with-camera). This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY & tools.

You have dropped doorbells and recorders, and the shortlist is Ring or SimpliSafe. Both are DIY alarms with an indoor camera, sold on amazon.co.uk, not as a fitted URN system.

Our top picks

SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 13-piece camera and alarm

Best overall

SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 13-piece camera and alarm
9.0/10about £304.99
View offer
SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 7-piece camera and alarm

Best value

SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 7-piece camera and alarm
8.6/10about £184.99
View offer
Ring Ring Alarm Pack M with indoor camera

Alternative

Ring Ring Alarm Pack M with indoor camera
7.4/10about £229.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The Ring boxes
  2. 2.The SimpliSafe boxes
  3. 3.What the monthly fee buys in the UK
  4. 4.When Ring, when SimpliSafe

The Ring boxes

Ring M is £229.99 with two contacts, two motion detectors, a range extender, an outdoor siren and an Indoor Cam (2nd Gen). Ring XL is £329.99 with six contacts and three motion detectors. Ten UK texts cover the M pack and three cover the XL. One M box had European plugs, and one XL reviewer could not buy a UK retrofit kit for an old wired layout. A Ring doorbell stays in the Ring app.

The SimpliSafe boxes

The 7-piece is £184.99, with 95 dB, a 27 kg manufacturer claim, 4G and a 24-hour battery, and it does not itemise all seven parts. The 13-piece camera is mains powered, and UK reviews mention failing pads. SimpliSafe does not run a Ring doorbell. Homes one by one are on the best kits page. XNY is not a third column here.
SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 13-piece camera and alarm

Testsieger

SimpliSafe SimpliSafe 13-piece camera and alarm
9.0/10about £304.99
View offer

What the monthly fee buys in the UK

Ring lists Solo at £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year, and Multi at £7.99 or £79.99 a year. The amazon bullets still say £8 a month, so pay from the page at checkout. SimpliSafe's page of 29 June 2026 lists £12.99, £19.99 and £29.99. Over three years, monthly Multi is about £288 and Pro Premium is about £1,080. One buyer was charged in a month they thought was free. Attendance rules are on the monitoring page.

When Ring, when SimpliSafe

Buy Ring if the app is already yours and a call to three people is enough. Buy the 13-piece if you will pay for glass break and the staffed tier, and accept that 4G is not stated on that listing. Buy the 7-piece when you want 4G printed. Pads fail in the reviews, so budget for screws. Buy neither if the camera has to watch the street.

Common questions

Which is cheaper over three years, not on day one?
Ring Multi is about £288 over three years before the box. Pro Premium is about £1,080. An M pack plus monthly Multi lands near £518. A 7-piece plus Pro Premium lands near £1,265. Three years at £12.99 is about £468 plus the box. This is arithmetic from the brand pages, and the listing's £8 line would nudge the Ring total.
Can you arm SimpliSafe from the phone without paying?
UK reviews of these listings say no. App arm and disarm, notifications, recorded clips and Alexa were described as part of the paid plan. The support page prices recording and monitoring from £12.99 up. The keypad can still be how you arm when you are standing in the hall. A plan at £0 that still records and arms from the sofa is not what those reviews describe. One reviewer also reported a charge in a month they believed was free, so read the trial end date.
Does Ring call the police in the UK?
Ring Alarm Calls phones up to three contacts. That is the support article's description, and it is not a police dispatch. The plans page mentions a £29.99 call-out tier among higher options, which is still not a URN on the M or XL listing. If you need the police requested under NPCC policy, these packs do not state that reference. Call 999 yourself if a crime is in progress. A missed contact call leaves the siren and the camera, not an officer.
Which pack has more door sensors?
Ring XL lists six contact sensors. Ring M lists two. SimpliSafe's 13-piece lists three entry sensors, plus glass break, which is not an extra door magnet. The 7-piece title mentions an entry sensor and does not give a number. If you have more doors than the pack names, you are buying add-ons, and on Ring those add-ons stay Ring sensors. Six versus two is the concrete reason to pay £329.99 instead of £229.99, and it is the only reason.
Which listing states a backup path without you inferring it?
The SimpliSafe 7-piece states 4G data backup. The Ring listings state cellular backup as part of the paid option, at £8 a month on the amazon bullets. XNY is outside this pair, but for the record it states a SIM. The SimpliSafe 13-piece does not state 4G. Do not copy the 7-piece sentence onto the 13-piece box because they share a logo. If broadband fails and the listing is silent, assume the phone alert stops.
What if you already own a Ring doorbell?
The M pack is the closer fit, because UK reviewers describe links to other Ring devices, including a doorbell. You stay in one app, and you accept Ring-only sensors and contact-calling rather than a Securitas guard. SimpliSafe will not run that doorbell. If the reason you liked Ring was the doorbell subscription, check whether Multi at £7.99 already covers the cameras you own before you add a second fee. A European plug in one M review is still worth five seconds when you open the box.

Related pages

Home alarm system with camera: what to check first

Alarm system with camera

Best alarm system with camera for one stated UK job

How to install a wireless alarm without a wasted evening

Does a burglar alarm call the police under UK rules?

Sources

Public sources listed for this comparison, October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in that set. We did not run a lab test.

  1. Ask the Police Q75, alarm attendance (retrieved October 2026)
  2. NSI, intruder alarm systems (retrieved October 2026)
  3. BIBA, intruder alarms guidance for purchasers (retrieved October 2026)
  4. NPCC police requirements for security systems, August 2022 (retrieved October 2026)
  5. ICO, home CCTV systems (retrieved October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, domestic CCTV (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Ring plans, UK (retrieved October 2026)
  8. SimpliSafe UK service plans, 29 June 2026 (retrieved October 2026)