Strategy Analytics reports ADT, Vivint, and Comcast retained their gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively in the US residential interactive security market that at the end of calendar 2021 surpassed 18.5 million subscribers. Frontpoint (no. 4) and Brinks Home Security (no. 5) rounded out the top five. ADT was the largest provider with nearly 3.5 million residential subscribers at the end of 2021, accounting for about 19% of all US residential interactive security subscribers and more than the next two providers combined. Number 2 Vivint added a Vivint-record 360,000 subscribers in calendar 2021 to reach nearly 1.9 million subscribers. Third-place Comcast Xfinity Home made a return to form of sorts, adding approximately 40,000 new subscribers, though Strategy Analytics has noted Comcast in 2021 continued to prioritise its residential internet and mobile device ambitions over residential security services.

While the top five remained unchanged from a year ago, there were two significant changes among the remainder of the top 10 as one company exited the market, and another made it into to the Top 10 for the first time. In April 2021, Brinks Home Security announced it had purchased from AT&T the exclusive rights to convert about 190,000 Digital Life subscribers to Brinks Home over a 50-month period, finally marking the end of the prolonged swan song for AT&T’s residential interactive security service. In November 2021, Brinks Home stated it had so far managed to convert about 23,500 AT&T Digital Life subscribers to Brinks Home, supplementing modest growth of Brinks Home’s organic residential interactive security business.

Jack Narcotta, Principal Industry Analyst in Strategy Analytics’ Smart Home Strategies research and advisory service, said, “Replacing AT&T in the Top 10 for 2021 was Abode at no. 10, which was able to get on the leaderboard for the first time largely due to its parent company Nice promoting Abode’s solution to Nortek (also owned by Nice) partners interested in competing in the US residential interactive security market. Attractive service pricing and well-thought-out device bundling also helped Abode continue to earn new subscribers. Abode is a sign of things to come, as Strategy Analytics anticipates lower-cost providers such as Ring, Scout Alarm, and Wyze all may appear in our top 10 as early as 2023.”

Bill Ablondi, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Smart Home Strategies research and advisory service, added, “Strategy Analytics forecasts the number of US households subscribing to self-installed interactive security solutions to grow more than three times as fast as Professionally-installed solutions from 2022 to 2027. The lower fees of providers such as Abode, Alder, Arlo, Cove, Eufy, Ooma, Ring, Scout Alarm, and SimpliSafe will entrench these companies as market growth engines, and their rosters of features make many of them legitimate competitors to ADT, Vivint, and Alarm.com’s army of partners.”