eufy Alarm System 8-Piece Kit with Homebase 3, Wireless Smart Home or Business Security System, Expandable, Easy Setup, App Control, No Monthly fee

Why it's worth it

This eight-piece eufy kit ships pre-paired with a HomeBase 3, and everything records locally with no mandatory monthly fee. You self-monitor, which saves real money and puts the responsibility for answering an alert squarely on you.

The math here is simple and hard to argue with. SafeWise's cost analysis pegs the gap between legacy professional monitoring and DIY-average monitoring at hundreds of dollars a year — and this system asks for nothing at all. Over the years you'll own it, that adds up to more than the hardware cost. If you're a renter or a first-time buyer watching every recurring charge, that's the pitch.

Local storage is the other reason to pick this one. The hub starts with 16 GB built in and expands to 16 TB with an external drive — The Verge confirmed that ceiling is the highest of any consumer DIY security hub currently sold. Your footage lives in your house. Nothing gets uploaded, nothing gets deleted when a subscription lapses, and there's no cloud outage that can take your recordings offline.

From our review of 7 diy smart home security systems, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +The math here is simple and hard to argue with
• +Local storage is the other reason to pick this one
• +Setup is close to trivial because the sensors arrive pre-configured to the hub
• +The system is built to grow

What to know

• –Self-monitoring is a genuine liability
• –The eufy app draws consistent criticism from owners for a clunky interface — settings buried in odd places, an experience that…
• –This kit is sensor-focused