Which Ring Alarm kit should you buy?

Best answer: We recommend the eight-piece kit as the best Ring Alarm system to buy for most homes. It includes multiple contact and motion detectors to cover most entry points of the house, and you can get it all for a reasonable price.

• The best value: Ring Alarm Security 8-Piece Kit ($250 at Amazon)
• The kitchen sink: Ring Alarm 14 Piece Kit ($330 at Amazon)

Cover all your main doors and points of entry with a Ring Alarm kit

When shopping for a home security system, you always start with one consideration: the layout of your home. How many doors do you have? How many windows? How much outside ground do you want to monitor? These are essential questions to answer because they will give you an idea of how much equipment you will need for proper coverage. The trick is to get as close as possible to the number of sensors you need without spending too much. If you can get close to the number of items you need in the same bundle, you will save yourself a good chunk of money.

Most average homes have two main points of entry and several windows on the bottom floor. If this is you and you are shopping for a Ring Alarm Security Kit, the eight-piece configuration should be enough to get you started.

With this configuration, you get three contact sensors, which are the devices you put on doors to be notified whenever they're opened. This is the perfect number, as you will get enough sensors to cover the front door and backdoor, as well as a third for a patio door or one of your primary windows.

The kit also comes with two motion detectors, enough to cover a couple of the main rooms in your home. Where you can't install a motion detector, you can choose to cover a window or door on that part of the house with a contact sensor.

All Ring Alarm Security kits also come standard with a base station, a keypad, and a range extender. You can also use any of them on any of Ring's Protect Plans. It should be noted, however, that while Ring's subscription plans offer you features like video recording and alerts, they can also add more to the overall price tag.

Finally, if you are an Amazon Alexa user, then you can connect your Ring security system to the Alexa Guard service. Alexa Guard is a free service from Amazon that lets you leverage the listening abilities of your existing Echo devices to enhance your home security. When connected to Alexa Guard, you can ask the Amazon smart assistant to arm/disarm your Ring security system. Alexa can also push security alerts to Ring emergency responders through the Ring app if you have a Ring Protect Plan.

You can always add more pieces later

If you've bought one of Ring's Alarm Security Kits and come to the conclusion that you need more, don't fret. You can buy individual pieces of equipment to fill out your home. Ring offers extra contact sensors, motion detectors, keypads, and range extenders on an individual basis.

You can also get a number of extras such as an alarm sound amplifier, as well as add other pieces of equipment from the Ring family such as smoke and CO alarms, flood and freeze sensors, security doorbells, and security cameras. Smart lighting systems are also available. In fact, there are a plethora of Ring security products for you to choose from!