But Vivint has some equipment and features that we love that Link Interactive can’t quite compete with, so Vivint’s our recommendation out of the two. Vivint’s starter package is more expensive. Link Interactive’s monitoring cost is higher than Vivint’s in every tier. Neither of these systems is a quote, unquote bargain. Also neither has a significant cost advantage over the other. (If you’d rather have a bargain, then we suggest Ring Alarm or SimpliSafe.) For instance, app access, camera storage, and smart home capabilities, will cost you no less than $45 a month. That’s quite a bit in the home security industry, but with Vivint, you get the best use out of your system when you get the whole enchilada. Connecting cameras, lights, locks, and more to your phone opens up a whole new world of safety and convenience. That doesn’t sound like a lot of equipment—and it’s not. But with a premium system like Vivint, spending that much on just a few pieces is normal. If you pay for all your equipment at once, then the monitoring cadence is at your discretion. You can cancel anytime you want. But if you choose to go for Vivint’s financing plan, you’ll have a five-year monitoring contract. Link Interactive monitors your smoke alarms, fire alarms, and CO detectors. If you don’t hear the alarms or aren’t around, Link Interactive has your back. With the Gold plan, you get full smart home support, and with the Elite, you also get camera storage and support. So if you like the idea of a full smart home suite or if you’re all about security cameras, you need a higher-tier plan. Link Interactive is the most flexible contract-required system because you can pick your contract length: one, two, or three years. That makes it easy if you plan to move in the future. But if you buy the cheapest IQ control panel, a window or door sensor, and a motion sensor, that’s $286. Definitely less than Vivint for similar functionality. Even if you add another door sensor and flood sensor to our makeshift Link package, it’d still only be $350, much less than the Vivint starter package. But here’s the thing. Link Interactive offers several versions of most items. For instance, you can choose between five different cameras with Link. Some are more affordable than Vivint’s, but some are more expensive. So how much you spend depends on what you want. Overall, though, it looks like most people will save some money on equipment when choosing Link Interactive over Vivint. On the other hand, you’ll save a few bucks with Vivint monitoring over Link Interactive monitoring. So pricewise, we’re at an impasse. But most of Vivint pieces are Vivint’s own creations, while we’ve seen the devices Link Interactive offers in lots of other home security systems. So while you could theoretically get Link Interactive’s equipment somewhere else at a better price, you can’t get Vivint’s equipment anywhere but at Vivint. That makes Vivint equipment more of a premium than Link Interactive equipment. Vivint also has some things Link Interactive can’t compete with. For instance, it has Vivint Smart Drive (a video hard drive that’s a great way to save on cloud storage fees) and Car Guard (never worry about leaving your car on a sketchy side street again—Car Guard will track its location and any disturbances). If you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars on security and smart home equipment, it’s nice to have something original. That pushes Vivint to the forefront for us. The Vivint Smart Panel is sleek and easy to use, but we’re more drawn to Link Interactive’s Qolsys IQ control panel. It has a glass break sensor and motion sensor built into the panel to offer extra protection. If someone breaks a window or walks past the hub when no one’s supposed to be home, the panel will sound the alarm.
All the cameras have two-way audio, motion detection, and night vision, so they (fingers crossed) won’t miss a thing. All the cameras record in 1080p for clear imagery of suspicious activity. All cameras connect with the Vivint smart home app to let you create custom smart chains. For instance, you can make a chain where all your cameras immediately start recording if your alarm goes off. The indoor camera has one-button, one-way video calling. You can preprogram a phone number into the camera. Then any time you, your roommate, your kid, or even your cat presses that button, the camera will make a call. The outdoor camera uses Smart Sentry, a feature that deters suspicious people who wander into its view by making noises and flashing lights. The doorbell camera uses Smart Sentry Deter, which is Smart Sentry but specifically for protecting packages.
We’ve had the opportunity to test all three of these cameras thoroughly, and we’ve been impressed with how well the detection and deterrent features work—especially when it comes to people and package detection. We rarely get false alarms, and the doorbell camera knows when someone’s at the door before they ever ring the bell.
All of the cameras have two-way audio so you can hear what’s happening and also yell at people if that’s your style. The indoor camera offers continuous recording with an SD card. That means it won’t just capture motion-detected events. It’ll video everything. The premium camera has one-way calling, just like the Vivint indoor camera. It also works as a Bluetooth speaker. (We have yet to think of a practical application for this feature, but it’s cool, you know?) The regular doorbell has 5X zoom and colored night vision, so you can see things up close, in color, and in the dark. Both the regular and slim doorbells work with Link Interactive garage door sensors. You can tweak the settings to make the cameras automatically record if the garage door opens, just in case of car thieves. The Alarm.com doorbell has people detection, so you’ll get alerts even if someone doesn’t ring the bell.
Conspiracy? Nah. They just both buy from Alarm.com. But Vivint’s are more designed as trespasser and thief deterrents, while Link’s are kind of all over the place. Given the choice, we’d pick Vivint cameras in a heartbeat. Both home security systems come with in-app smart home functions that allow you to connect different devices. For instance, with either system, you can use your app to trigger your cameras to record when certain events happen. Vivint does have more unique smart home pieces than Link Interactive, but setting that aside, your smart home experiences will be pretty similar with either. Both Vivint and Link Interactive also have additional third-party automation. They both work with the following: Z-Wave connects Vivint and Link Interactive hubs with devices like Nest thermostats and Kwikset door locks. Once connected, you can change the temperature or lock doors with just a few taps in your app. So overall, you’ll get about the same amount of automation with Vivint and Link Interactive. Vivint installs everything for you. It has the kind of brand recognition most companies can only dream of, but it uses questionable sales tactics that have resulted in multiple lawsuits. Link Interactive is all DIY, which some folks prefer but which requires a lot of work on your end. It’s also nowhere near as well-known as Vivint, which is probably why we don’t see as many customer reviews for the system. We’ve had a hard time getting our finger on the pulse of Link Interactive’s customer service, but we do know one thing—we haven’t seen any Link Interactive lawsuits. For that reason, we think most folks will feel safer with Link than with Vivint.
Vivint customer service number: +1-801-377-9111 Link Interactive customer service number: +1-877-826-5443
Prices and monitoring plans: Tie. Vivint and Link Interactive have pros and cons with their monitoring and equipment prices, making it hard to pick a clear winner. For instance, Vivint’s equipment is more expensive but its monitoring is more affordable, and vice versa with Link Interactive. Neither really outshines the other in this area. Security equipment: Vivint. Link Interactive’s generic equipment just can’t beat Vivint’s high-end, original pieces. Cameras: Vivint. Vivint camera features outshine Link Interactive’s large camera selection. Smart home integrations: Tie. Since both work with Alexa, Google, and Z-Wave, these brands have similar smart home connectivity. Customer service: Link Interactive. Because Vivint has many lawsuits and we haven’t seen a lot of major Link Interactive complaints, we lean towards the Link Interactive customer experience.
Price Equipment Home automation Cameras Customer service
We’ve spent tons of time reviewing the Link Interactive and Vivint websites and reading and listening to users’ personal experiences. We also take our own experiences into account. For instance, one of our reviewers has been living with the Vivint system for over a year . And what about Link Interactive? How do you test and research? This is your chance to show the reader why you should be trusted as an expert. It’s expensive, and TBH, we believe almost all home security companies could stand to take their prices down a notch. But Vivint does a better job than most companies at demonstrating its value by providing some unique pieces and features.
