What does an alarm cost in Teesside?
A wired burglar alarm in Teesside costs £400 to £800 fitted in 2026, wireless £350 to £700, a smart system with app control £500 to £900, and CCTV £300 to £900 for two to four cameras. Repairs start from £80 and an annual service from £60.
The 2026 figures by system type
Security pricing looks opaque because two quotes rarely describe the same system. Once you count devices and decide what happens on activation, it becomes predictable.
| System | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wired alarm, three-bed house | £400 to £800 | Panel, keypad, sounder, detectors |
| Wireless alarm | £350 to £700 | Shorter install, batteries per device |
| Smart alarm with app control | £500 to £900 | Communicator and app set-up included |
| CCTV, two to four cameras | £300 to £900 | Recorder, storage and cabling |
| Repair or upgrade visit | from £80 | Parts quoted before fitting |
| Annual service | from £60 | Walk test, batteries, certificate |
What moves a quote up or down
- Device count: the single biggest driver. Each extra detector, contact or camera adds equipment and time, so a four-bed with a garage and conservatory sits well above a two-bed terrace.
- Property type: older Linthorpe and Hartlepool Headland houses with solid walls and no easy voids take longer to cable than a 1990s Ingleby Barwick estate house.
- Outbuildings: detached garages, sheds and workshops need either a signal extender or a cable run, and both carry a cost that should be itemised.
- Alerting: bells only is the base. App notification adds a communicator, and monitoring adds an annual contract that belongs on the quote as a separate line.
- Making good: where cables are chased into plaster, ask whether patching is included or left for your decorator.
The ongoing costs nobody mentions
The install price is only part of it. An annual service runs from £60. Backup batteries need replacing every three to five years. Wireless device batteries follow their own cycle. Monitoring, if you choose it, is a yearly contract, and some smart platforms charge for cloud video or extended history. Over five years, a cheap system with a subscription can cost more than a dearer one without, so it is worth adding five years of ownership to each quote before choosing. Ask directly what happens if you stop paying: a system that still protects the house locally is very different from one that goes dumb.
Where the money gets wasted
Buying resolution instead of position, so eight cameras produce hours of footage of a hedge. Paying for monitoring on a house where a neighbour or family member is a perfectly good keyholder. Accepting a locked panel, which makes every future visit a captive job at whatever rate that company sets. And leaving an old system limping along through repeated callouts when replacement was cheaper two visits ago. The wired versus wireless guide covers the technology choice, the CCTV guide covers camera specification, and the burglar alarm page sets out what a full install includes.