Surety: Your dealer supporting self-installed alarm.com
Highly Recommended
Surety · Alarm.com Dealer / Monitoring Service
· Z-Wave, Z-Wave LR, PowerG/PowerG+, S-Line ·
Current · Updated September 2026
The short version: Surety sells Alarm.com service month-to-month with no contract, starting at $14/month self-monitored or $19/month with professional monitoring. They activate panels you already own — including secondhand hardware — in about five minutes, and they allow you have every code to your own system. If you own an Alarm.com-capable panel and don’t want a locked-in dealer contract, this is our go-to.
Why we recommend it
- You get the master, installer, AND dealer codes. Full Advanced Settings access. The traditional dealer model exists to deny you exactly this, and it’s the difference between owning a panel and renting one.
- No contract, no activation fee, no cancellation penalty. Month-to-month from day one.
- Bring your own panel. Qolsys, 2GIG, and hardwired Honeywell VISTA (with a SEM). Live in ~5 minutes, no dealer approval, no truck roll.
- Your sensors and Z-Wave devices survive the switch. Only cameras and some 3rd party integrations need re-adding.
- Real life safety. Smoke, heat, and CO with fire department dispatch and optional video verification — not just a push notification.
- Support that speaks panel. Their community forum is staffed 7 days a week by experts who know their stuff. No level one offshore rep reading from a playbook.
Things to consider
- You are the installer and the support tech. Nobody is coming to your house. This is for capable people willing to do the work.
- A previous dealer can lock you out. Not every panel can be migrated. Sometimes replacement is the only path. Check your IMEI before you cancel anything.
- Alarm.com’s Automations are constrained which can frustrate some depending on the use case. But it can be integrated with other systems for max flexibility.
- Self-monitored plans dispatch nobody, including for fire and CO. Pay the extra $5/month if life safety matters.
- Z-Wave automation requires the Surety Home or Complete plan ($17/$22 and $24/$29). The least expensive tiers are security-only.
Best for
DIY installers, Home Assistant / Hubitat / Z-Box users, anyone holding a secondhand Qolsys or 2GIG panel, and anyone with a hardwired Honeywell VISTA who wants Alarm.com and Z-Wave without Resideo’s cloud.
Not for: anyone who wants white-glove installation or one phone number to call when the panel chirps at 2 a.m. That’s what local alarm dealers can deliver, and if that is what’s desired, its worth the cost and the contract.
Where to buy
▸ Surety - Main Site
▸ Surety - Check your panel’s IMEI and get started
▸ Surety - Build your system
Looking for an IQ Panel 5 ? → Click Here!
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, Save The Panel may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Surety is Save The Panel’s first official partner — we recommended them before that relationship existed.
Also worth a look: Alarm Grid (the other good no-contract Alarm.com dealer) · a local dealer (if you want someone else to own the install and white glove the experience)
Learn more
- Surety Deep Dive: Your Gateway to Self-Installed Pro Systems — DIY expectations, all four Home Assistant integration methods, VISTA via SEM, dealer lock-in, installation guidance
- Surety Plans & pricing · Module Check tool
- Nami Agile Security System - Episode 1 (Unboxing, Install & Wi-Fi Sensing Explained)
- The Impact of Doing DIY Security
Running Surety? Agree, disagree, or have a correction? Tell us below.