Protect America Review (May 2023)

Shawn Kim

Last Updated June 23, 2018

Heads up…

This Protect America review is biased by my personal experiences with both companies.

You see, I’ve been a happy Frontpoint customer since June 2016. However, I came very very close to signing a contract with Protect America first, before I chose Frontpoint.

Back then, only Frontpoint had the touchscreen panel which I wanted, and I liked the contract terms. Plus my credit score qualified me for the best discount on the 36 month contract, so I didn’t have to pay much out of pocket. I think it was just a few hundred and my monthly payment is ~$45, and hasn’t changed once.

Now that you have a better feel for my perspective here, let’s get right into this in-depth Protect America review:

Protect America was founded in 1993.

Since then, they’ve grown tremendously, now protecting over 500,000 homes.

One of their biggest competitors, Frontpoint, charges for equipment up-front but gives you a lower monthly bill on most plans. With Protect America, you can get most or all of your equipment for free, and pay slightly higher monthly bill. Protect America’s offering is pretty compelling in that respect.

Protect America Plans & Pricing

Protect America has many packages for their customers to choose from, no matter what your budget is. Packages are Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum and they are more related to the included equipment instead of service.

When determining what package is a good deal or not, it helps to do the math. With the Silver Package, which is $2 more per month than the Bronze package, you get 3 extra door window sensors. If you sign a 36-month contract, you are paying $24 per sensor when you think about it. Not a bad price. If you want to upgrade from the Silver package to the Platinum, it would be an additional $5 per month or $180 for the length of the contract. For that money, you get 5 extra door and window sensors at $36 a piece.

To jump from Copper to Bronze, it would cost an additional $576 over the course of the contract. That would make the extra 3 door/window sensors $192 each.

Protect America does not charge for installation of equipment if you do their DIY installation. They also include a lifetime replacement warranty on their equipment. During your control, if any of your equipment fails, they will send out the parts or replace them for free, if your issue can’t be resolved over the phone.

Monitoring Packages Reviewed

Copper– monthly monitoring (landline) fee $19.99, monthly costs to upgrade to broadband or cellular $22.00, fire and smoke monitoring $9.99, video monitoring $9.99, installation fee $0, 24/7 monitoring, master control panel Simon XT, 3 door/window sensors, 1 motion sensor, yard sign, lifetime equipment guarantee

Bronze– monthly monitoring (landline) fee $35.99, monthly cost to upgrade $12, fire and smoke monitoring, $9.99, video monitoring $9.99, installation fee $0, 24/7 monitoring, master control panel Simon XT, 6 door/window sensors, 1 motion sensor, yard sign, lifetime equipment guarantee

Silver– monthly monitoring (landline) fee $37.99, monthly cost to upgrade $12, fire and smoke monitoring, $9.99, video monitoring $9.99, installation fee $0, 24/7 monitoring, master control panel Simon XT, 9 door/window sensors, 1 motion sensor, yard sign, lifetime equipment guarantee

Gold– monthly monitoring (landline) fee $39.99, monthly cost to upgrade $12, fire and smoke monitoring, $9.99, video monitoring $9.99, installation fee $0, 24/7 monitoring, master control panel Simon XT, 11 door/window sensors, 1 motion sensor, yard sign, lifetime equipment guarantee

Platinum– monthly monitoring (landline) fee $42.99, monthly cost to upgrade $12, fire and smoke monitoring, $9.99, video monitoring $9.99, installation fee $0, 24/7 monitoring, master control panel Simon XT, 14 door/window sensors, 1 motion sensor, yard sign, lifetime equipment guarantee

All packages include 24/7 monitoring through Criticom Monitoring Service. Criticom uses three UL listed, FM approved monitoring centers that are distributed across the U.S.

Package Details Reviewed

Unique: Flexible Monitoring Options

Protect America stays true to their “You Pick” philosophy when it comes to communication style. After you pick your equipment plan, you get to decide the way you want your system to communicate with the monitoring company. You can choose between a landline, broadband, or cellular connection. The landline option requires you to have an active home phone like but offers two-way voice, which allows you to talk to the monitoring station directly through your panel.

The Broadband option uses internet. The master control panel plugs into your modem or router and communicates back to the monitoring center by the internet. It only takes two seconds to communicate to the monitoring system for help.

Cellular uses the cell towers and it’s completely wireless. It isn’t reliant on your phone or on an internet connection. It also allows you to use Protect America’s mobile app or interactive site to control your system.

Landline– two-way talk, cheapest cost, requires active phone service and least secure

Broadband– access to mobile app, access to home automation features, fastest connection, requires high-speed internet access

Cellular– access to mobile app, access to home automation features, most secure, requires a weak cell phone system at your home

Protect America Equipment Review

They sell additional equipment to add to your system, if needed. An example of some are security cameras ($180) for video surveillance, a mini pin pad, panic alarm, and wireless keypads.

You can also purchase additional contact or motion detectors, garage door sensors, and glass break sensors. You can purchase a medical pendant, smoke detectors, disaster sensors, and carbon monoxide detectors, too.

Installing Protect America’s equipment is easy because the components are wireless and no wires are needed. The products have a sticker-like backing, but if you get stuck on your installation, their customer service can assist you.

Protect America Compared to ADT and ADT Pulse

ProtectAmerica vs FrontPoint

Protect America Review Summary

Recommended: Visit ProtectAmerica.com or call them at 866-247-0376 to learn more and get a free quote if you like. Also you may wish to check out our Frontpoint Security review, another popular provider of professionally monitored home security systems. We also review and compare the top 5 home security systems in this post.