Quick Answer: Choose Vivint if you want lower monthly monitoring ($24.99-$49.99 vs ADT’s $49.99-$59.99) and camera hardware Vivint designs itself, including 4K RADAR-based detection — and you’re able to pay equipment costs upfront to skip the 42-60 month finance contract. Choose ADT if you’d rather put little or no money down today; its equipment is typically bundled into the monthly bill with a shorter, more predictable 36-month contract, according to SafeHome.org. Both require professional installation and neither is a self-install option.
Last updated September 20, 2026: corrected the early-termination comparison — ADT’s fee is capped at up to 75% of the remaining balance, while Vivint’s financed contracts owe the full remaining equipment balance with no published discount.
ADT and Vivint are the two biggest names in professionally installed, professionally monitored home security — and unlike Ring or Arlo, neither is designed for a self-install buyer. Both send a technician, both lock most customers into a multi-year contract, and both dispatch real monitoring agents when an alarm or camera confirms a threat. The differences show up in how you pay: ADT bundles equipment into the monthly bill with a shorter contract, while Vivint asks for more upfront but typically charges less per month once you’re in. Here’s how the two actually compare.
ADT vs Vivint: at a glance
| Factor | ADT | Vivint |
|---|---|---|
| Core product | Professionally installed system, equipment typically bundled into monthly bill | Professionally installed system, equipment paid upfront or financed |
| Starting equipment cost | Packages start ~$599, can exceed $1,500 for larger builds | $600-$700, often $1,000+ with cameras/smart-home devices |
| Installation fee | $99-$199 depending on package size | Starts at $99 |
| Contract | 36 months, nearly always required | Month-to-month if paid in full; 42-60 months if financed |
| Early termination fee | Up to 75% of remaining balance | Full remaining equipment balance on financed contracts (no discounted %) |
| Professional monitoring | $49.99-$59.99/mo | $24.99-$49.99/mo (most real systems ~$39.99/mo) |
| Camera hardware | Rebadged Google Nest (Pro Install) or ADT-branded Blu | Vivint's own in-house designed cameras |
| Indoor camera price | Nest Cam Indoor (wired) — $99.99 | Indoor Camera — $199.99 |
| Outdoor camera price | Nest Cam Outdoor / Floodlight — $149.99-$279.99 | Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 3) 4K, RADAR AI — $399.99 |
| Best for | $0-down buyers who want a shorter, predictable contract | Buyers who can pay cash upfront and want cheaper long-term monitoring |
ADT vs Vivint by the numbers
- $599-$1,500+ vs $600-$1,000+: ADT’s packages start around $599 and can exceed $1,500 for larger builds, according to SafeHome.org, but that cost is typically bundled into the monthly bill rather than charged upfront. Vivint’s equipment starts at $600-$700 and often tops $1,000 once cameras and smart-home devices are added — and buyers who want to avoid financing pay that amount in full at setup.
- 36 months vs 42-60 months: ADT requires a 36-month monitoring contract in nearly every case. Vivint’s contract runs 42-60 months if the equipment is financed — the more common path — but drops to month-to-month if equipment is paid in full, according to SafeHome.org.
- $49.99-$59.99/mo vs $24.99-$49.99/mo: ADT’s monitoring floor sits above Vivint’s ceiling in most scenarios. Vivint’s monitoring starts at $24.99/month, though SafeHome.org notes most real-world systems land closer to $39.99/month once video monitoring is added — still cheaper than ADT’s $49.99 starting point.
Price & equipment: ADT bundles the cost, Vivint asks for more upfront
ADT’s packages start around $599 and can climb past $1,500 for larger builds with more sensors and cameras, according to SafeHome.org — but that equipment cost is typically bundled into the monthly bill, so most ADT customers pay little or nothing out of pocket on day one. Vivint takes the opposite approach: equipment starts at $600-$700 and often exceeds $1,000 once cameras and smart-home sensors are added, and buyers who want to skip financing pay that full amount upfront. On cameras specifically, Vivint’s Outdoor Camera Pro runs $399.99 against ADT’s Nest-sourced Nest Cam Outdoor at $149.99. Comparing standalone cameras or accessories while you shop? Try Prime free for 30 days for fast, free shipping on whatever you add alongside either system.
Winner: ADT, for $0-down buyers who’d rather not front equipment costs; Vivint, for buyers willing to pay cash upfront to unlock a lower total cost over time.
Installation & contract: ADT is shorter, Vivint is avoidable
Both companies require a technician — ADT’s installation fee runs $99-$199 depending on package size, and Vivint’s starts at $99, according to SafeHome.org. Where they diverge is contract length. ADT locks nearly every customer into a 36-month monitoring contract regardless of payment method, with early termination capped at up to 75% of the remaining balance, per SafeWise’s and Alarm Relay’s ADT research. Vivint’s contract depends entirely on how you pay: finance the equipment — the more common path given Vivint’s higher upfront cost — and you’re committed to 42-60 months, with no published discount on the exit cost — canceling early generally means paying the full remaining equipment balance, per SafeWise’s Vivint cancellation research, often more than ADT’s discounted 75% in dollar terms. Pay Vivint’s equipment cost in full, though, and monitoring drops to month-to-month with no long-term commitment at all. See our how to cancel a Vivint contract guide for the full cash-vs-financed breakdown.
Winner: ADT, for a shorter and more predictable contract term; Vivint, for buyers who can pay cash and avoid a contract entirely.
Monitoring: Vivint costs less at every tier
ADT’s professional monitoring ranges $49.99-$59.99/month, topping out with facial-recognition detection at the higher tier, according to SafeHome.org. Vivint’s monitoring starts at $24.99/month, though SafeHome.org notes most real-world Vivint systems land closer to $39.99/month once video monitoring and smart-home control are layered in — still under ADT’s $49.99 floor. Both route confirmed alarms and camera-verified events to real monitoring agents who can dispatch police, fire, or medical responders.
Winner: Vivint, for a lower monthly monitoring cost at every realistic tier, even after accounting for the fact that most systems don’t stay at Vivint’s advertised $24.99 entry price.
Camera hardware: Vivint designs its own, ADT resells Nest
ADT’s Pro Install camera lineup isn’t ADT hardware at all — it’s rebadged Google Nest cameras, the same Indoor ($99.99), Outdoor ($149.99), battery ($179.99), and Floodlight ($279.99) models Nest sells directly, according to SafeHome.org. ADT’s separate Blu line swaps in ADT-branded, self-setup equipment for buyers who want ADT’s monitoring without the Nest hardware or the 36-month contract. Vivint, by contrast, designs its cameras in-house: the Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 3) packs a 4K sensor, RADAR-based motion detection, and facial recognition for $399.99 — features built specifically around Vivint’s own monitoring platform rather than licensed from a third party. Buyers who want the Nest ecosystem specifically, without ADT’s contract, can compare it directly in our best Nest camera guide.
Winner: Vivint, for camera hardware it engineers and controls end-to-end, with deeper AI detection than ADT’s off-the-shelf Nest cameras.
Which should you buy?
- Choose ADT if you want $0-down setup, a predictable 36-month contract, and don’t mind that its cameras are the same Nest hardware Nest sells directly, just bundled behind a monitoring plan.
- Choose Vivint if you can pay equipment costs upfront to unlock month-to-month monitoring, and you want camera hardware Vivint designed itself with deeper motion and facial-recognition AI.
- Skip financing on either system if price-sensitive. ADT’s cost is baked into its monthly bill either way, but Vivint’s 42-60 month financed contract — with no discounted early-exit percentage like ADT’s 75% cap — is the biggest long-term cost risk in this comparison; paying cash avoids it entirely.
The bottom line
ADT wins on upfront cost and contract predictability — little or no money down, a package that starts around $599, and a fixed 36-month term. Vivint wins on long-term monitoring cost and camera hardware — monitoring that runs $10-20 cheaper per month at every tier, and cameras Vivint designs and controls itself rather than reselling. Buyers who’d rather spread cost into a monthly bill and want a shorter contract get more from ADT; buyers who can pay cash upfront and want cheaper monitoring plus more advanced camera AI should budget for Vivint. Still comparing options? Our ADT vs Ring comparison weighs ADT against a camera-first, no-contract alternative, our Vivint vs SimpliSafe comparison does the same for Vivint, our ADT vs SimpliSafe comparison puts ADT against that same self-install, no-contract alarm system, our best Vivint camera guide ranks Vivint’s full four-device lineup on its own, and our best security camera system guide covers monitored and DIY kits across every major brand.