Which is Better: Alarm.com or Total Connect?

Neither Alarm.com nor Total Connect is better than the other. They are roughly equal in terms of quality and functionality. The service that you will use depends on what type of alarm system you have. All Honeywell Systems use Total Connect, while all 2GIG and Qolsys systems use Alarm.com.

With both Alarm.com and Total Connect, you get essentially the same features. Both services will allow you to arm or disarm your panel, control your Z-Wave home automation devices and check the status of your sensors at any time. In addition, both Total Connect and Alarm.com offer their own mobile apps that can be used to perform these functions from almost anywhere in the world. Finally, both of these services will require an alarm monitoring plan that includes access to the service.

The differences between Alarm.com and Total Connect are relatively minor. For one, your system must have an active cellular communication path in order to access Alarm.com. However, a Honeywell system can access Total Connect with a cellular connection or an IP connection. An Alarm.com user can have an unlimited number of locations. Total Connect also allows for unlimited locations, but it has only been tested to work with up to 500. However, this rarely comes into play, as most users only have one or two locations assigned to their account.

There are also some differences in terms of video surveillance. Alarm.com requires Alarm.com IP cameras, while Total Connect uses Honeywell IP cameras. An Alarm.com camera can be scheduled to perform a 24 hour continuous recording schedule if an SVR is used. However, a Honeywell camera that is used with Total Connect will only record brief video clips based on either a built-in motion sensor, or on video analytics (pixel changes within the image).

Since Alarm.com and Total Connect are equal in most regards, it's hard to say that one is better than the other. They are both great services, and we recommend both of them. For that reason, users should purchase whichever security system they like best and then use the appropriate service for that system. Whether that's Total Connect or Alarm.com, either way you will be getting access to an outstanding interactive service.

For more information on the differences between Total Connect and Alarm.com, please consult this guide.