The Ranking
Our top 6 home security companies in San Antonio
Most San Antonio homeowners shopping for an alarm system end up choosing between two things: a monitored system, where a central station calls you and then dispatches police when a sensor trips, and a self-monitored setup, where the app alerts your phone and you decide what to do. Every company on this list sells professional monitoring, and most also offer cameras, video doorbells and smart locks on the same app. Self-monitoring costs less each month, but nobody calls SAPD for you if you miss the alert.
The bigger money question is the contract. Some companies here post a monthly price and say no long-term contract is required, while others quote prices and terms in person. Before you sign, ask for the monthly monitoring rate, the length of the agreement, what an early cancellation costs, whether it renews automatically, and whether you own the equipment or are leasing it. If the equipment is leased, find out what happens to it if you move or cancel.
Inside city limits, the City of San Antonio requires a permit for any burglar, panic or fire alarm system, and the system owner is responsible for getting it. The city lists the fee at $50 a year for a residential alarm, or $30 if the permit holder is 65 or older, and permits are handled online through the city's alarm permit portal or at the Alarms Investigation Office on South Santa Rosa Street. A permitted home gets its first three burglar false alarms in a 12 month period without a service fee. An unpermitted residential false alarm is billed at $250, so register the system before the installer leaves. Homes outside city limits in unincorporated Bexar County or in suburbs such as Alamo Heights follow different rules.
Texas licenses alarm companies through the Department of Public Safety Private Security Program, and every company here lists a licence number that starts with B on its website. You can look the number up on the DPS TOPS public search in a minute. Several also list a separate fire alarm registration, which matters if you want smoke and heat detectors tied into the monitored panel. For outdoor cameras, ask where they will be mounted, since afternoon sun and summer heat in South Texas are hard on electronics, and ask about the warranty on camera hardware.
