Gabe: Hey folks, this is Gabe at Security Baron and today we have a slugfest between
Protect America and Vivint.
Which will come out victorious?
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Gabe: In today's comparison of Protect America and Vivint, we're going to go over the key
similarities, key differences, installation processes, professional monitoring services,
customer support and mobile applications so that you have everything you need to make
the right decision.
If you'd like to see a list of our favorite home security systems, Google Security Baron,
best home security systems.
If you have a question about today's comparison, leave us a comment and I'll get back to you.
Let's kick off today's comparison of Protect America and Vivint looking at their key similarities.
Well, the first thing is if you don't want to pay for everything upfront, you're looking
at pretty long contracts for both Protect America and Vivint.
Three years at least to Protect America and 3.5 years for Vivint.
The second thing they have in common is better than average customer support.
They both do really well in this department and they're significantly better than what
we've seen from other home security systems.
Pivoting to some of the key differences between Protect America and Vivint, I wanted to start
with one, the installation process.
Protect America is a do-it-yourself installation process where you'll be on the phone with
one of their customer service representatives.
You do it yourself, but you're on the phone with someone from Protect America whereas
Vivint is a professional installation process.
You'll make an appointment, they'll send a certified technician to install the Vivint
Home Security System in your abode and you'll move from there.
Those are pretty different installation processes.
Number two is the professional monitoring options.
Vivint actually gives you the capacity to self-monitor.
You don't have to necessarily go with their professional monitoring whereas Protect America
has professional monitoring attached no matter what.
Those are two significant differences between Vivint and Protect America.
Let's jump into our first element comparing Protect America and Vivint and that is the
installation process.
Just to be clear, each of these systems are highly customizable.
In today's comparison of the installation processes, I'm only going to refer to their
core component.
With Protect America, it's do-it-yourself installation, but it's a little bit different
in the fact that it is guided do-it-yourself installation.
You're going to be on the phone with a customer service representative.
They're not only going to help you set up the entire process, but they're going to test
each component as you set it up.
They test your door sensor when you put it up in your door frame.
They'll test your motion detector and then of course they'll test your Protect America
indoor security camera.
I want to make a small note, that it's really important that you're careful during the installation
of your Protect American camera because it does have a pretty limited field of view.
You should think about that during that installation process about where it's going to go.
Vivint is in very different process.
I had a Vivint technician come to my home.
He put little booties over his shoes so as not track any mud or rain or dirt which I
thought was a nice touch.
He simply installed my entire system.
Installed the panel, which by the way is beautiful, super sleek.
I'm actually pretty partial to the way that panel looks in my apartment.
He went ahead and put my motion detector at a corner and he put the door sensors on my
door frame.
Overall, it was a really positive experience.
I do want to note that that experience can cost you $129.
I suggest trying to negotiate the installation as part of buying the entire package with
the Vivint.
Finally you're saying, "All right Gabe, I understand the process with Protect America
and with Vivint, but who is the winner here?"
Honestly, I think it's a toss-up.
Some people may not want someone coming to their home and installing a system and some
people may want exactly that.
They don't want to do the do-it-yourself-guided conversation on the phone.
It's really a toss-up.
When it comes to installation processes, we're going to give it a draw.
Now that we've compared the installation process for Protect America versus Vivint, let's look
at their professional monitoring services.
Here at Security Baron we think it's super important to have professional monitoring
with your system so you have that 24/7 team of professionals there to help you in the
case of an emergency.
Just as important is the fact that they can get that emergency call out which is why cellular
backup is important with your home security system because the power and Internet goes
out, you still want to be able to get the help you need.
The way they structure their pricing schedule is a little bit different between Protect
America and Vivint.
Protect America actually includes professional monitoring with their plans.
However, you're going to pay between $20 and $60 a month for the cellular back up depending
on your needs.
That's something to think about when going forward with Protect America.
Vivint on the other hand includes a cellular back up in their home security system.
You're going to pay 49.99 for professional monitoring if you have two cameras, 54.99
for three cameras and 59.99 for four cameras, the account limit.
That's something to think about when going with Vivint.
Moving on to the contracts, unfortunately Protect American and Vivint don't have a lot
of flexibility in this regard.
Protect America is going to have you sign a three-year binding contract for your cellular
backup and Vivint's going to have you sign a 3.5 or 5-year contract for professional
monitoring.
When it comes to moving policies, I think one may be somewhat easier than the other.
Protect America is do-it-yourself installation.
You just pick up and go whereas with Vivint you're going to have to go ahead and set up
a new appointment for someone to come and set up a system in your new address.
Which one do I decide on for best professional monitoring service?
It's pretty close, but I'm actually going to give the nod to Protect America.
They have a flexibility in their pricing for the cellular back up that is superior to that
of Vivint and they do have somewhat shorter contract length.
When it comes to professional monitoring, I'm going to go with Protect America.
Hey, quick break.
Vivint has 1.3 million customers in North America.
I was just wondering, "How much is a systems' popularity bear on your decision-making process
when it comes to making a purchase?"
Let me know in the comments.
I'd appreciate it.
All right, let's get back to the video.
The next element of comparison between Protect American and Vivint is the all-important customer
support because you just want to know who to get in touch with when things maybe aren't
going the way you want them to with your home security system.
Fortunately, with Protect America and Vivint they have a lot of ways to get in touch.
You got the online support center, you've got Live Chat so you can just send the message
and you've got their phone lines so you can just give them a call and talk with the customer
support representative to get the help that you need.
Anecdotally, I also want to note that we had a really positive experience with both of
these companies.
We typically seem to talk to them through the Live Chat because we're Millennials and
hate to be on the phone.
When it comes to the rankings and other people, they had really high reviews from Google.
Protect America gets four out of five stars on Google which is really high and Vivint
has 3.8 out of 5 stars.
Both seem to be doing a tremendous job on the customer support angle.
On top of that, each of these companies had mostly positive reviews where people specifically
mentioned customer support in their Google reviews.
Really fantastic and great to know about both of these companies, but we have to pick a
winner.
Here, we're going to go with Protect America because they do get a four out of five stars
on Google with the vast majority of those talking about customer support being five-star
ratings.
The final element of comparison today between Protect America and Vivint is the mobile application.
Many of you will be interfacing often with your home security system through the mobile
application.
That's where you can live stream, arm and disarm your system, check out your notifications,
look at old videos, it's just something that has to work.
Let's start with Protect America.
Protect America gets a 3.1 in the Google Play Store and a 2.4 in the App Store regarding
its mobile application.
In fact, a lot of iPhone users wrote in and that they could not connect to their security
system through the app at all which renders the whole smart security thing useless.
That is definitely troubling when it comes to Protect America.
Vivint on the other hand has a 4.6 in the Google Play Store and a 4.5 in the App Store,
which is fantastic.
When it comes to choosing a winner for mobile application, it's really easy Vivint wins
in a landslide.
Let's recap all the elements we covered in today's comparison of Protect America and
Vivint.
Installation, this was a toss-up between Protect American and Vivint and ultimately comes down
to whether you want to do it yourself with someone on the phone or have a technician
come in and install it in your home.
Professional monitoring.
Protect America edges out Vivint here because they have more flexibility in how much you
paid to have both professional monitoring and cellular backup for your home security
system.
Customer support.
Protect America narrowly edges out Vivint here with their four out of five-star rating
on Google with a significant number of reviews lauding their customer support.
Mobile application.
Vivint wins here in a landslide with their far superior ratings in the Google Play Store
and Apple App Store.
We've come a long way in our comparison of Protect America and Vivint and we do have
a winner.
Protect America wins ever so slightly in our comparisons of these two systems.
If you want that flexible monthly pricing with your professional monitoring and cellular
backup, you're going to want to go with Protect America.
If you want better customer support you're going to want to look at what Protect America
is offering.
If you really put a lot of import on the mobile application experience, you're going to want
to go with Vivint.
Vivint has a far superior mobile application experience.
You're going to feel really good just opening up that app every day.
Personally, I'm actually still rocking with Vivint.
Not only am I a little bit partial in terms of its esthetic design, but I also really
enjoy the smooth intuitive experience I have when I'm on the Vivint mobile application.
I hate to say it, but ultimately you cannot go wrong with either system.
They are both strong options for you and your home security needs.
That concludes today's comparison of Protect America and Vivint.
If you appreciate today's video, give us a like and hit that subscribe button.
As always, this is Gabe at Security Baron.
Be secure.
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