UniFi Protect vs Alarm.com Cameras, From a Company That Installs Both
We install exactly two camera platforms: UniFi Protect and Alarm.com. People assume that means one is the budget option and one is the premium option. It doesn’t. They are built for different jobs, and most of the regret we see in camera systems comes from putting the wrong one on a house. Here is how we choose, with the trade-offs stated plainly.
The short version
- Alarm.com when the cameras are part of a monitored alarm, there are one to four of them plus a doorbell, and you want everything in the app you already use to arm the house.
- UniFi Protect when there are six or more cameras, you want 4K and weeks of continuous recording with no monthly video fee, the property is large, or it is a business.
- Both on a surprising number of homes: an Alarm.com doorbell and indoor camera tied to the alarm, UniFi on the perimeter and the gate.
What Alarm.com cameras do best
Alarm.com cameras are an extension of the alarm. When the back door opens while the system is armed, the clip from the patio camera is attached to the alert. When the doorbell rings, the lock is one tap away on the same screen. Recording is clip-based to Alarm.com’s cloud, so there is no recorder in the house to buy or fail, and the newer AI Video Event Search lets you ask for “the delivery truck last Tuesday” in plain English. Setup is fast, the cameras are compact, and the doorbell line is the best integrated doorbell we install.
The limits are real. Video is an add-on to the monitoring plan, billed by camera, so a house with ten of them gets expensive. Resolution tops out at 4 MP. Continuous recording needs an Alarm.com recorder, and the system is at its happiest with a handful of cameras rather than a perimeter. Most of the models are Wi-Fi, which is the single biggest cause of offline camera calls; we wire the current spotlight models with PoE whenever we can.
What UniFi Protect does best
UniFi Protect is a proper video system. Every camera is wired PoE, records continuously to an NVR in the house, and there is no monthly fee for video, ever. You get 4K, true optical zoom and licence-plate models, pan-tilt cameras, doorbells, and a line-up that scales from four cameras to four hundred. Retention is measured in weeks, and last week’s 7.3 release stretched it further and let a second property’s cameras record to the main house. The apps are excellent, and the same console runs the network, which matters because a camera system is only as good as the switch under it. We wrote about why we chose UniFi over the consumer brands when a client wants a stand-alone camera system.
The limits: you own the hardware, so a recorder and drives are part of the quote, and a camera count under four rarely justifies them. It is a separate app from the alarm, and an alarm event will not pull up UniFi footage automatically. Remote access runs through your Ubiquiti account, which we set up with two-factor on every install, and the system needs a UniFi gateway or console on the network.
Side by side
| Alarm.com cameras | UniFi Protect | |
|---|---|---|
| Where video lives | Alarm.com cloud (clips); optional recorder | Your NVR, continuous |
| Ongoing cost | Video plan, per camera, on the monitoring bill | None for video |
| Resolution | Up to 4 MP | Up to 4K, plus zoom and plate cameras |
| Best camera count | 1 to 4 plus doorbell | 6 and up, no practical ceiling |
| Ties into the alarm | Yes, same app, clips on alarm events | No; separate app |
| Wiring | Wi-Fi on most; PoE on current spotlight models | PoE on everything |
| Doorbell | Excellent, integrated with locks and chime | Good, part of the Protect app |
| Business use | Small retail or office alongside the alarm | Yes, including video walls and access control |
| Who fixes it when it breaks | Us, included with monitoring | Us, on a service plan or per visit |
How we decide on a real house
- A Lehi townhome with a monitored alarm: Alarm.com doorbell plus one indoor camera. Done, and the owner never opens a second app.
- A Highland home on a half acre with a shop: UniFi for the perimeter, driveway, shop and gate, usually eight to twelve cameras, with an Alarm.com doorbell on the alarm because the doorbell experience is better there.
- A Park City second home: UniFi, because weeks of local recording and remote-site features matter more than alarm clips when nobody is there, plus the alarm on Alarm.com for monitoring.
- A dental office or small warehouse: UniFi, with Alarm.com running the intrusion system. Two platforms, one installer, one phone number.
Not sure which side you fall on? Count the cameras you actually want, not the ones a salesman suggested. Under five with an alarm, Alarm.com. Six or more, or 4K, or a business, UniFi. Our storage calculator will tell you what a UniFi recorder needs to hold for the retention you want, and the camera systems page covers how we design either one.
Running a business rather than a house? The same comparison applies, with different retention and access rules — see business camera systems and commercial security in Utah.
Shield Low Voltage installs UniFi Protect and Alarm.com camera systems across Utah County, Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Back. We will tell you which one your house needs, even when it is the cheaper one.