Abode

Disclosure: Our BHSC review team was provided with an abode iota kit free of charge for the purpose of updating this review with more accurate information.

Founded in 2014, Abode Home Security is a newer company led by a former ADT executive, Christopher Carney.

Carney brings years of experience in home security and technology innovation to the table alongside a few fellow entrepreneurs from the tech industry.

Abode offers DIY home security solutions for apartments, homes, or businesses. The process is rather simple: Abode builds a security system for you based on the specs of your home (size, bedrooms, windows, and doors) and your monitoring preference (self or professional).

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

We do recommend potential home security customers check out our #1 home security company.

Unfortunately, Best Company has only received a few reviews on Abode Home Security.

However, the sentiment from customers across the web is mostly positive, with some negative reviews and issues with company policies.

Most customers were pleased:

• High-Quality Security System
• Simple Security System
• Great for Apartments and Small Homes

On the other hand, some customers were unhappy:

• Poor Refund Policy
• Below Average Customer Service
• Unreliable Service

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The BHSC research team set up the basic iota security kit for a 2,000 sq ft house that had 2 entry doors, 6 windows, an indoor camera, and used the iota Security Kit ($259 value).

All in all, it took about 25 minutes to set up our home security system from Abode. 

The basic iota Security Kit  includes one mini door/window sensor, one key fob, and the iota hub w/ indoor camera — this wasn’t enough equipment to cover our entire house (that’s why its a basic package).

We believe the iota Security Kit is a perfect  home security system for an apartment.

In order to completely cover every entry way in our house, we’ll need 8 total mini window/door sensors, and at least one outdoor camera.

Here’s our estimate of the extra cost to completely cover our home:

• 7 mini window/door sensors: +$175 ($25 each)
• 1 outdoor smart camera: +$199

Without any monitoring, the equipment would have been $633 upfront, which is an excellent price for total home coverage.

Of course, one of the great things about abode is that you can do self monitoring with the abode mobile app.

However, if customers would like professional monitoring services from abode, the price is also very affordable in comparison to other home security monitoring companies.

Abode’s Pro Plan costs 66 cents/day (~$20/month).

With a traditional home security company (where you have a monitoring contract that includes financing your equipment), you could end up paying twice as much over the course of your contract.

Is Abode Security worth the cost? It sure is.

Even if you'd like to add a monitoring plan through Abode, the price will likely still be quite low in comparison to traditional home security companies. Customers should still remain cautious because the company is young and has not attracted a high number of customer reviews yet.

Equipment sold by Abode is designed to be self-monitored with the Abode app, so you get alerts to your phone when a door or window is opened, a motion sensor goes off, or if there is a break-in.

However, you can add a professional, 24/7 monitoring service to any of the Abode Home Security systems you purchase for just 66 cents/day ($19.80/month).

According to customer reviews, the customer service at Abode may be hit-or-miss, as most of the negative reviews have something to do with customer service.

However, the company does seem to be headed in the right direction. Customers may want to hold off on going with Abode, as we believe the company will perform better in the next few years. 

Abode claims to have a usual response times of under 5 minutes when customers send in questions online through the site chat. If this is true, customers will be able to get a hold of customer representatives rather quickly.

Because Abode has created systems that are meant to be self monitored, most of the customer concerns when contacted customer service have to do with malfunctioning equipment or the simple difficulty of setting up the system.

That said, many customers state that the system is easy to install, use, and monitor.

One huge advantage with Abode is that you are able to customize and create your own smart home security system, even if that system includes equipment from other companies. Abode designed its hub and home app (both Android and Apple) to integrate with other popular monitoring equipment.

You can browse through products that integrate with Abode on the company's website by company or type of device.

Some of the companies that you can use with Abode include:

• Google Assistant
• Amazon Alexa
• Amazon Echo
• Apple Homekit
• Ecobee
• First Alert
• Philips Hue Smart Hub
• Lifx
• Linear
• Kwikset
• Nest
• Yale
• Z-Wave Devices
• Google Nest
• Zigbee
• Others

Abode offers DIY home security devices for any size of home - just custom build your system by telling Abode the number of entryways and other security needs of your home.

Abode also offers security equipment bundles that you can choose from:

Smart Security Kit: $209

• 1 Motion Sensor
• 1 Mini Door Sensor
• 1 Key Fob

Iota Security Kit: $259

• 1 iota Hub w/ Camera
• 1 Mini Door Sensor
• 1 Key Fob

iota Premium Bundle: $419

• 1 iota Hub w/ Camera
• 1 Mini Door Sensor
• 1 Key Fob
• Outdoor Smart Cam
• Echo Show 5

iota Kit Elite: $425

• 1 iota Hub w/ Camera
• 4 Mini Door Sensors
• 1 Key Fob
• 1 Keypad 2.0
• 1 Motion Sensor

iota Kit Plus: $359

• 1 iota Hub w/ Camera
• 3 Mini Door Sensors
• 1 Key Fob
• 1 Keypad 2.0

Smart Security Kit Elite: $399

• Gen 2 Gateway
• 4 Mini Door/Window Sensors
• 1 Keypad 2.0
• 1 Key Fob
• 2 Motion Sensors
• 1 Sticker

Smart Security Kit Plus: $352

• Gen 2 Gateway
• 3 Mini Door/Window Sensors
• 1 Keypad 2.0
• 1 Key Fob
• 1 Motion Sensors
• 1 Sticker

You can also purchase a security camera, door sensor, motion detector, and many smart home devices individually:

• Door/Window Sensor: $23
• Mini Door/Window Sensor: $25
• Slim Strip Door/Window Sensor: $29
• Recessed Door/Window Sensor: $29
• Vibration Glass Break Sensor: $34
• Acoustic Glass Break Sensor: $47
• Motion Sensor: $39
• Wide Angle Motion Camera: $109
• Multi Sensor: $39
• Outdoor Smart Cam: $199 
• Outdoor Siren: $79
• Indoor Siren: $49
• Keypad 2.0: $89
• Smoke Alarm Monitor: $29
• Water Leak Sensor: $49
• Panic Button: $25
• Key Fob: $19
• System Status Indicator: $29
• Smart Home Power Switch: $39

Abode Security is a newer company in the home security industry. New home security companies usually offer innovative security and professional monitoring solutions in comparison to the older, more traditional companies.

The good news with Abode is that the founder was an ADT executive previously and brings with him years of experience in the field.

However, when it comes to customer satisfaction, there are better options.

For example, in comparison to Vivint Smart Home, Abode Security cannot compete with the sheer number of positive customer experiences and quality of customer service that Vivint offers, which is true of almost any DIY system in comparison to Vivint.

However, Abode does have an advantage in that its systems are more customizable and are more affordable than Vivint's (though Abode's equipment quality is in question because of the lack of customer feedback).

The Abode Security system, alongside other systems like SimpliSafe and Google Nest, is meant for customers to purchase upfront ($500-800 for about 2,000sq ft).

More traditional home security companies let you roll in the cost of the equipment in your monthly monitoring fees, usually interest-free.

If you want to break up your payments so you're not paying for your Abode equipment all upfront, you will be charged interest.

Abode may be the right company for you if you are interested in basic home security at an affordable price and want to pay for your equipment upfront.

However, if you would like a system with more security and highly positive customer reviews, we would recommend a company like Vivint Smart Home.