Recently I was looking into purchasing a SimpliSafe package, but I wanted to be sure that it could integrate with my other smart products. So, I did a little research to see if it plays nicely.
So, when it comes to Simplisafe integration with other smart products, does it play nicely? SimpliSafe Original and SimpliSafe 3 can integrate with a few other smart products, but they require users to purchase the interactive plan which comes at a higher monthly fee.
With the arrival of smart products onto the scene, many people want to completely outfit their house, so integration is key. If you want to experience color changing lights that can sense motion, a smart alarm system, intuitive thermostats, and more, you need to ensure that they can all communicate with one another and be controlled easily.
SimpliSafe Subscriptions
None v. Standard v. Interactive
Most DIY installation security systems such as Ring and Nest require users to select varying subscription levels. It is no different with SimpliSafe. When homeowners purchase SimpliSafe, they can choose to have no subscription, or to subscribe to a standard plan or an interactive plan.
If users choose to not have a subscription or subscribe to a standard subscription, then integration with other smart devices is sadly off the table. Only the interactive plan can support smart integration.
| None | Standard | Interactive | |
| Price | Free | $14.99/month | $24.99/month |
| 24/7 Monitoring | X | Yes | Yes |
| SMS/Email Alerts | X | +$5/month | Yes |
| Remote Arm/Disarm | X | X | Yes |
| Customize Sensors | X | X | Yes |
| Cellular Connection | X | Yes | Yes |
| Wifi Connection | SS3 Only | SS3 Only | SS3 Only |
| No Contract | X | Yes | Yes |
| Nest Thermostat | X | X | Yes |
| August Smart Lock | X | X | Yes (Requires August Connect WiFi Bridge) |
| Alexa Integration | X | X | SS3 Only |
| Google Home | X | X | SS3 Only |
| Live Video Streaming | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recorded Video History | $4.99/month/camera or $9.99/month/unlimited cameras | $4.99/month/camera or $9.99/month/unlimited cameras | Yes |
| Visual Verification | X | X | Yes |
As is apparent from the table, the Interactive SimpliSafe subscription offers the most features. These features are particularly important to those with other smart products. However, the SimpliSafe Interactive plan is quite a price hike compared to the standard plan. It will be $24.99 per month if you want to integrate SimpliSafe into your smart home.
This amount sounds quite a bit, especially when considering this is a subscription. Most things that users subscribe to are like a $2 magazine per month subscription, or your $8 Netflix subscription. However, this is a security system. The value of security cannot be undersold. In total, this subscription will cost users $299.88/year.
The standard subscription plan will cost subscribers $179.88 per year at minimum (without additions like SMS alerts or additional cams). If you value smart home integration, then the $120 price difference will be worth it.
To be honest, being able to tell my robot servant (Alexa) to set the alarm when I forget and am already snuggled deep under my covers, is very much worth the additional $120 in a year.
Original vs. SimpliSafe 3
| SimpliSafe Original | SimpliSafe 3 | |
Works with SimpliCam | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Video Doorbell | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Nest | Yes | Yes |
| Works with August Smart Lock | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Amazon Alexa | X | Yes |
| Works with Google Assistant | X | Yes |
| Works with HomeKit | X | Promised |
| Works with Outdoor Cameras | Unknown | Promised |
As of right now, the smart integration of the SimpliSafe 3 system is far superior than the SimpliSafe Original system. If you are considering purchasing SimpliSafe and integrating it with already existing smart devices, SimpliSafe 3 is the way to go.
SimpliSafe Original is older tech security system with less “smart” functionalities and abilities, so new tech upgrades and roll-outs to allow for further smart integration will likely go to the SimpliSafe 3 system. SimpliSafe has promised future integrations with various smart tech brands, but again, it is likely that those roll-outs will only go to SimpliSafe 3.
There is not a huge price discrepancy between SimpliSafe Original and SimpliSafe 3. Why then does the original system still exist?
The reason that the SimpliSafe Original system has not been discontinued is that there is still a market for those that want to keep things simple or keep up the system they already have.
SimpliSafe is not backward compatible, meaning, that Original is not compatible with SimpliSafe 3. Users must pick one or the other, but they cannot have both. Because of the initial “startup” costs of buying the system, unless users are eager for smart tech, many are staying with SimpliSafe original.
Real smart people (at least in the smart home way) know that SimpliSafe 3 is the best choice for those wanting to continually upgrade their home with smart gadgets.
Current Integration
Nest Thermostat
Under both the SimpliSafe Original system and the SimpliSafe 3 system, the Nest Thermostat is able to be integrated.
Owners of the Nest Thermostat know that it is reliable and saves them bucks adjusting when you are home or away. The Nest Thermostat’s home/away awareness is pretty darn accurate, but integration with SimpliSafe only makes it better. When you use SimpliSafe, if you arm your system, then your Nest Thermostat will better know that you are away. And when you disarm your SimpliSafe security system, your Nest Thermostat will know that you are home.
As of right now, SimpliSafe still doesn’t integrate with NestCams even though there is the integration capability for its thermostat. In all likelihood, it could be because Nest and SimpliSafe are competitors. Both provide smart security devices including Smart cameras. Nest provides more outdoor cams, and SimpliSafe’s cameras are for indoor use. So, there is still a desire to see some sort of integration.
SimpliSafe hasn’t promised to introduce a Nest camera integration in the future, so we’ll just have to sit tight and see if that integration will occur. In all likelihood, there will not be one. SimpliSafe has made plans to release it’s own outdoor camera. But until then, users will just have to sit tight.
Amazon Alexa and Google Home
The Amazon Alexa was pretty much the very first user friendly smart assistant. It is no surprise that millions of people already have an Amazon Alexa in their homes. Google has been a household name for years, and as soon as Alexa was introduced, Google fired back with their own competitor.
A smart assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google is basically the butler of a smart home. The Alexa device has the capability of controlling and talking to all the other smart devices in your smart home.
Users that have both the Nest Thermostat and the Amazon Alexa can ask Alexa to adjust their thermostat verbally. How cool is that?!?!? You literally have a robot servant to do your bidding.
This is a much sought after capability, or “smart” skill. Not every piece of smart tech can auto-integrate with one another, but the ability to integrate with Alexa or Google is completely necessary if users are going to have an integrated smart home.
Each piece of smart tech coming from differing companies like Nest, August, or Simplisafe all come with their own apps. This makes it “smart” and gives users the ability to adjust settings and it is all very user-friendly. The problem is when you get into a situation where you have so many smart devices that it takes several apps to manage and adjust them all.
The point of integrating smart tech into homes is to make things easier, not harder to control. If you have to adjust everything via apps, then it is still a manual process. Therefore, the smart assistant is at the crux of a smart home.
The big question then, so how does SimpliSafe do with both Alexa and Google? Only SimpliSafe 3 can integrate with both Alexa and Google.
With either one of these smart assistants, you will have the ability to arm your house with your voice. For Alexa, you can ask it to arm the system to Home or Away. You can also arm your system using a Google Assistant device by saying something like “Hey Google, am I protected?”
Right now it is not possible to disarm your SimpliSafe alarm with your voice through your Alexa orGoogle assistant. SimpliSafe has made statements that make some users believe they are working on it.
August Smart Lock
There is no doubt about it, the August Smart Lock is one of the best smart devices out there. For users with smart homes, rejoice! The SimpliSafe 3 will integrate with the August Smart Lock.
The only way to integrate the two is if you have the Connect WiFi Bridge. For some smart home users this may cause some grumbling because the WiFi Bridge costs on additional $80.
Individuals intent on having a Smart Home know that at all costs, integration is key. Price likely is a non-factor when attempting to truly make your home smart.
The August Smart Lock can auto-unlock and auto-lock as users approach the door. August also has fantastic integration. It works with Amazon, Google, and Siri.
If smart home users were to have both the August Smart Lock (as well as the Connect WiFi Bridge) and SimpliSafe, their lives would change.
Imagine this: As users approach their door, coming home after a long day of work, their August Smart Lock will auto-unlock at their approach. When they open the door, the alarm will not go off because due to smart integration, the SimpliSafe alarm knows to disarm itself when the August Smart Lock gets unlocked.
This illustration works the other way around too when users are running out the door to work. They can change the settings for their August Smart Lock to auto-lock after a certain amount of time. When that happens, the SimpliSafe system will engage.
Working in tandem, the August Smart Lock and the SimpliSafe security system makes your smart home even smarter. Users don’t have to worry about doing both, or only doing one and forgetting the other. If your alarm system is engaged, your door will lock. It is a match made in heaven.
Promises
Apple HomeKit
Right now SimpliSafe does not work with Apple’s HomeKit. This means that if users have devices like the Phillips Hue, or any other Homekit device, they currently will not integrate with your SimpliSafe system.
If integration were to occur, this would make it possible for users to disarm their alarm, and have their lights automatically turn on. Or, when they leave and arm the alarm, the lights auto turn-off. This integration ultimately can make your home “smarter” and much more welcoming when you come home.
SimpliSafe has promised that an integration will be coming soon. When soon is, is unclear. However, they have shown their intent to do so by integrating with the Apple Smart Watch. Users can arm and disarm their home via their smart watch.
This collaboration between SimpliSafe and Apple on the smart watch is a step in the right direction for future collaboration on the promised HomeKit integration.
Disarm Your Alarm
As of right now, integration with smart assistants like Google and Alexa is incomplete.
Users are unable to disarm their alarms via voice commands. Many users that want a complete system of smart things are very unhappy about this because it is not fully integrated.
However, users more concerned with security know that adding a function to disarm using voice could allow for security breaches.
This is not a dilemma only facing SimpliSafe. Companies like Ring and Nest have grappled with it as well. While measures have been put in place with both of those competitors, as of right now SimpliSafe is electing to stay on the safe side and not allow for users to verbally disarm their system.
Outdoor Cameras
SimpliSafe has only two cameras as of right now, the SimpliCam and the Video Doorbell Pro.
The SimpliCam is meant to only be an indoor cam to watch over your home from the inside.
The Video Doorbell Pro does exactly what it sounds like it is supposed to do. It captures video on the exterior of your home.
The downfall of SimpliSafe is that they do not yet have a camera especially made for the outdoors that is bigger and better than just their doorbell cam. Companies like Ring and Nest both offer outdoor cameras, so to some SimpliSafe users, this is something that they really want to be fixed.
The fact that SimpliSafe does not offer integration with NestCams becomes an even bigger deal, because not only does SimpliSafe not offer their own outdoor cams, but they will not play well with anyone else’s tech either.
The good news is, is that SimpliSafe has promised that they will be releasing their own outdoor cams in the near future. How soon this will happen is unclear, but when they do come on the market, demand will be high.
Because SimpliSafe already has some good camera tech built into their other two cams like like night vision, and their smart doorbell’s environmental resistance, SimpliSafe users should be fairly confident that the camera produced will live up to their expectations.
As a Whole
SimpliSafe does not play as well with others as other smart security systems. They’ve made promises that their user-base expects them to fulfill. In the meantime, however, users are expected to have patience playing the waiting game instead of having the ability to integrate with other smart tech.
SimpliSafe seems to be more concerned about capitalizing on user needs by introducing their own tech, and limiting integration to ensure that users will remain SimpliSafe loyal.
Some SimpliSafe users have reported that they’ve been able to get around this issue by using an IFTTT, but this is not the long-term fix that people want.
Related Questions:
Is SimpliSafe cheaper than ADT? The upfront cost of SimpliSafe is much higher than ADT, but in the long run ADT users pay more. ADT customers are locked into a contract as well offering less flexibility that SimpliSafe offers.
Do you need WiFi for SimpliSafe to work? SimpliSafe does not need internet or a landline to function. SimpliSafe comes with it’s own independent cellular module. So you will be secure even when your WiFi is down, or your power goes out.