What an Ajax alarm system costs,
and what changes the price.

Beyond intrusion: what else Ajax covers

The prices above are for intrusion. The same Ajax hub also runs video surveillance, access control, lighting, contact closures for gates and garage doors, life safety, fire detection and water damage prevention. A home or business can add those over time without a second platform. Each of those is quoted as its own solution after a walk-through, because camera counts, door hardware and detector placement set the price.

What does an Ajax system cost installed?

A typical installed Ajax intrusion system in the South Sound runs $1,700 to $2,100 all in, with kits from $899 and professional installation from $390. Prices as of September 2026; every figure below is what we charge, not an estimate. Proposals are fixed price before sales tax; Washington sales tax is added as a line item on the invoice.

You own every device from the day it goes on the wall. Nothing is leased and nothing stops working if you cancel monitoring.

What you are paying for

An Ajax system is a hub, a set of wireless detectors, a way to arm it, sirens, and any outdoor protection or cameras you add. Each part is a line on the quote.

• Hub 2 Plus. The controller that watches the house and calls for help. It connects over Ethernet, Wi-Fi and two SIM cellular channels, so a cut cable or a Wi-Fi outage does not take the alarm down.
• Door and window contacts. One per entry you want covered. Most homes start with the doors people use, not every window.
• Motion detectors. Standard detectors report movement. MotionCam detectors also capture a photo series and deliver the first photo within 9 seconds, which is what turns a signal into a verified alarm.
• Keypad, key fobs and the app. A touchscreen keypad by the door, fobs for people who do not carry a phone, and the Ajax app for everyone else.
• Indoor and outdoor sirens. The outdoor siren tells the street, not just the room.
• Outdoor detectors. Protect the yard, the driveway or the shop before anyone reaches a door.
• Cameras. Ajax cameras and NVR on the same app, or integrated with a network we build.
• Life safety. Fire and leak detectors report to the same hub and, with monitoring, to the same station.

Detectors talk to the hub over Ajax's Jeweller radio, rated to 2,000 m in open space with a 12 to 300 second polling interval. No wires in finished walls, which is most of why installation in an existing home costs a fraction of a wired panel.

What drives the cost

Five things move the price. They are the size of the property, the number of detectors, how many of them are MotionCams, whether you protect the outside, and whether you add cameras. Monitoring is a separate monthly decision.

1. Home size and layout. More entries and more rooms mean more devices. A single-level 1,800-square-foot house and a three-level house with a daylight basement do not get the same list.
2. Detector count. Each protected door, window and room is a device. We start with the entries people use and the rooms an intruder would walk through, then add.
3. MotionCam count. A MotionCam costs more than a standard detector. Most homes want two or three, placed on the paths an intruder would take, with standard detectors elsewhere. That is the single choice that most changes the price and what the operator can see before calling you or the police.
4. Outdoor protection. Outdoor detectors and an outdoor siren add devices and mounting labor but stop a break-in before it reaches the door.
5. Cameras. Cameras, an NVR and the network to carry them are the biggest step up. They are on the same app and can share the same monitoring.
6. Installation scope. Design, mounting, configuration, testing every device, registration with the station and a walkthrough until you can run it. Larger systems with perimeter devices, cameras or Control4 integration take longer. Either way the price is fixed before we start.

Skip what you do not need. A glass-break in a room with a MotionCam, a contact on a second-floor window nobody can reach, a camera where a MotionCam already covers the path. We will tell you.

Monitoring, or watching it yourself

You do not have to buy monitoring. Ajax states the system is free to self-monitor through the app, with notifications and photo alerts, and that a monthly charge applies only if you choose a central monitoring station (Ajax). With self-monitoring, the alarm and the MotionCam photos go to your phone and you decide what to do.

Professional monitoring adds Becklar, a UL-listed central station that receives every alarm around the clock, verifies it, and dispatches police, fire or medical. It covers intrusion, fire, flood and panic, and it is billed month to month. Cancel it and the system keeps working exactly as it did; you are the one watching instead of the station. Commercial monitoring is on the business security page.

No contract. You own every device.

Equipment is bought, not leased. You own every device from the day it goes on the wall, and nothing stops working if you cancel monitoring. There is no multi-year agreement, no early-termination fee and no install price subsidized by a contract you cannot leave. Ajax devices carry a 24-month manufacturer warranty from the date of sale, batteries excluded; our installation workmanship is warranted for 90 days (pricing and policies).

Ajax against ADT, Vivint and Ring

The national brands and Ajax differ less on the monthly number than on what the contract makes you agree to. Compare the term, who owns the equipment, and what happens when you cancel.

What you get with Ajax through Rivas Technology Group:

• Monitoring term: month to month, cancel any time.
• Equipment: you own every device.
• Self-monitoring without a fee: yes, per Ajax.
• Alarm verification: the MotionCam photo reaches the station; first photo within 9 seconds.
• If you cancel monitoring: the system keeps working and you get the alerts.

For ADT, Vivint and Ring, read the term, the equipment ownership and the cancellation clause in each company's current agreement before comparing the monthly price.

Ajax is not the cheapest system on day one. A DIY kit from a big-box store costs less up front. If price is the one thing you are weighing, buy the kit; if you want photo-verified alarms, cellular backup and no contract, that is the case for Ajax. The long version is on Why Ajax Systems.

Permits

Alarm rules are set city by city.

• Tacoma. You do not pay. The alarm company pays a $40 annual device fee for each monitored customer system (City of Tacoma).
• Kent and other cities. Rules and false-alarm fees differ by city. We tell you what applies at your address before you sign and handle any registration the city requires.

Where we install Ajax

Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, University Place and Gig Harbor. All of it from our office at 415 Railroad Ave S in Kent. Olympic Peninsula by appointment. Residential systems are described on smart security, the whole security offer on Security, and city detail on Kent, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup and Federal Way.

Get your number

The smart home cost calculator asks how many doors, rooms and cameras you want covered and gives you a starting number in a few minutes, no visit required. The walk-through turns it into a fixed proposal. If you would rather walk it with us, send the form below or call (425) 954-6003. The walk-through is free within 20 miles of Kent. Already have an Ajax system that needs attention? Start at support or the contact page.