Xfinity vs. Vivint: Which professional home security system is better? – CNET [CNET]

So, you’ve decided to skip the DIY route and instead invest in a professionally installed smart home security system. If you live within Xfinity’s service area, odds are you’ve narrowed down your options to Xfinity versus Vivint (whose coverage overlaps with a number of US cable internet providers, including Xfinity). 

Xfinity and Vivint are both long-established businesses with decent reputations that offer state-of-the-art home security systems at prices that, while not exactly inexpensive, won’t leave you feeling completely gouged, either — depending on which options you select. Both offer professional monitoring services that start at $30 per month.

With so many similarities between them, you might be left scratching your head after a casual glance at their respective features. We’ll help sort it all out.

Of course, you’re more than welcome to comb through our in-depth reviews of Xfinity here and Vivint over here to figure out what distinguishes the two services from one another. But that sounds a whole lot like the kind of DIY you’d rather avoid, doesn’t it?

Instead, you could just cut to the chase and find out which one we would pick if the decision were ours to make. If that sounds more your speed, you’re in the right place, so keep reading.

Why not DIY? Simple answer: Convenience

Before you narrowed down your home security options to Vivint versus Xfinity, you gave DIY versus professional installation some thought, right? The differences there are a lot more straightforward than those between two specific providers like Xfinity and Vivint, but they’re big.

Namely, DIY systems generally cost less and allow for more customization in exchange for your blood, sweat and tears. Professional ones typically cost more, but you won’t have to lift a finger — except to open the door for the installers.

If you’re confident that costlier-but-easier is your cup of tea, let’s move on. (If not, you may want to go back to the drawing board and reconsider DIY — all it takes is a little technological savvy and a free Saturday to potentially save hundreds of dollars and wind up with an even more cutting-edge system than either Xfinity or Vivint offers. Just something to consider.)

Conclusion: Xfinity is the better option for most people

If you’ve ever been stopped on your way out of a big-box store and asked to show a copy of your receipt, you’ve participated in something called security theater. Stores know that such measures aren’t really going to stop determined criminals from stealing. But it sends the signal to would-be shoplifters that this store takes loss prevention seriously — and it gives shoppers the sense that the store is a safe place to spend their money.

Most of the actual utility you’ll get from a home security system isn’t so much that it’ll catch burglars red handed or help the police track a car thief to some secret underground chop shop. Rather, you’ll use it to check if a package has been delivered or to remotely open the garage door to let a friend borrow your leaf blower when you’re not home.

For the day-to-day stuff you’re actually going to use your home security system to do, you can do it all with Xfinity at a lower cost than with Vivint. If money is no object compared to the peace of mind you’d get from knowing Vivint’s additional sensors are keeping an eye on more aspects of your home, by all means, go big. But for most people debating between Vivint and Xfinity, we recommend Xfinity.