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Alarms comparisons

A practical side-by-side for alarms with the criteria that matter in local-first homes: local control, offline reliability, controller requirements, and ecosystem fit.

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Standout picks

Strongest overall pick

AlarmDecoder AD2pi Network Appliance

AlarmDecoder · HA: excellent · local: excellent

Official AlarmDecoder integration, fully local

Product notes →

Also strong on local control

ELK M1 Gold

ELK · works offline: yes

The Elk-M1 Control integration talks directly to the panel over LAN/serial with local push and no cloud service.

Why it stands out →

Easiest starting point

Ring Keypad v2

Ring · setup: easy

Households already invested in Ring Alarm who want a tactile keypad

See buyer notes →

All alarms, side by side

Filter, sort, and open "More" on any row for what it's best at, setup, power, and cloud posture. Prices are the last verified read where there is one; the rest show a price band.

Showing 9 of 9 Ordered by Home Assistant fit, then local control. Click a column heading to re-sort.

Alarms compared: Home Assistant fit, offline behavior, protocols, hub requirement, price, and where to buy.
						Where to buy
AlarmDecoder AD2pi Network Appliance AlarmDecoder More Best for DSC/Honeywell owners (especially Vista) wanting an open, local bridge Standout An open keypad-emulating decoder for DSC and Honeywell/Vista panels with an official local Home Assistant integration over socket, serial or USB. Local control excellent Cloud local-first (none) Setup intermediate Power powered by alarm panel bus	excellent	yes	Ethernet	yes	mid	AlarmDecoder ↗
ELK M1 Gold ELK More Best for Power users wanting a hardwired, professionally capable panel fully under local HA control Standout A professional hardwired alarm and automation panel with a first-party, fully local Home Assistant integration exposing partitions, zones and outputs. Local control excellent Cloud local-first (none) Setup intermediate Power hardwired	excellent	yes	Ethernet	yes	$760.81kitchecked Sep 21	Amazon ↗ *
Eyez-On Envisalink EVL-4 Eyez-On More Best for Owners of existing DSC/Honeywell panels who want local HA control without a monitoring contract Standout A TCP/IP keypad-emulating bridge that brings existing DSC and Honeywell/Vista panels into Home Assistant with a fully local push integration. Local control excellent Cloud local-first (none) Setup intermediate Power powered by alarm panel bus	excellent	yes	Ethernet	yes	$99checked Sep 7	Amazon ↗ *
Konnected Alarm Panel Pro Konnected More Best for homeowners with existing wired alarm sensors who want to bring them into Home Assistant Standout Retrofit existing wired alarm sensors into Home Assistant via ESPHome with no cloud and no monitoring fees. Local control excellent Cloud local-first (none) Setup advanced Power hardwired (12V DC or PoE+)	excellent	yes	Wi-Fi	no	$229checked Sep 8	Amazon ↗ *
Ring Keypad v2 Ring More Best for Households already invested in Ring Alarm who want a tactile keypad Standout Tactile arming keypad with a real panic button, not a software shortcut. Local control good Cloud local-first (none) Setup easy Power rechargeable battery or micro-USB	good	yes	Z-Wave	yes	$19.99checked Sep 10	Amazon ↗ *
Qolsys IQ Panel 4 Qolsys More Best for Users wanting a modern self-contained panel with PowerG sensors plus local HA visibility Standout An all-in-one touchscreen panel supporting PowerG sensors plus one legacy band per SKU (S-Line 319.5 MHz, 345 MHz or 433 MHz) that can be controlled locally from Home Assistant over the LAN. Local control good Cloud cloud-tinged (low) Setup easy Power AC powered with battery backup	good	yes	Wi-Fi	no	$526.94checked Sep 9	Amazon ↗ *
abode iota All-in-One Security Hub abode More Best for users wanting a multi-protocol alarm hub that works across Apple, Google, and Alexa Standout Multi-protocol security hub supporting Zigbee, Z-Wave, and wifi sensors with optional no-contract professional monitoring. Local control poor Cloud cloud-tinged (medium) Setup easy Power mains	okay	yes	Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave	no	$249.99checked Aug 30	Amazon ↗ *
Ring Alarm Pro Ring More Best for Alexa households wanting a combined alarm system and wifi router Standout Alarm system with a built-in eero wifi 6 router and optional cellular backup for internet outages. Local control poor Cloud cloud-heavy (high) Setup easy Power mains	okay	no	Wi-Fi, Z-Wave	no	$299.99checked Sep 9	Amazon ↗ *
SimpliSafe Smart Alarm System SimpliSafe More Best for non-technical users wanting the simplest possible alarm setup Standout The easiest home alarm to set up - designed for people who don't want to think about home security technology. Local control poor Cloud cloud-heavy (high) Setup easy Power mains	okay	yes	Wi-Fi	no	$172.995-piece kitchecked Sep 9	Amazon ↗ *