Ackerman Security Review—Home Security with Medical Monitoring and Home Automation

If you live on the East Coast and you’d like to work with a local company, Ackerman may be a good choice. However, we should point out that Ackerman Security doesn’t make it easy for customers to find information online. You’ll have to call a sales rep for answers to questions about packages and prices—other home security companies put this kind of information on their websites so potential customers can research before getting a sales pitch.

Read our review to learn more about Ackerman and decide for yourself whether it’s the right fit for your home.

Ackerman Security also offers a solid set of home automation options. We appreciate this because if you’re investing in home security equipment, it’s nice to have equipment that is practical in everyday situations—not just emergencies. A security system that makes it easier to manage your energy consumption, turn your lights off and on while you’re gone, and remotely unlock your door for visitors offers more value than a security system that just protects your home from burglary.

Another thing we like about Ackerman Security is that it offers a no-theft guarantee, which promises to cover any financial losses if your home is burglarized when you have a monitored security system.

Ackerman Security services communities in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. You can find the complete list of cities served on the company’s website.

• We’re disappointed in the lack of transparency. It is difficult for prospective customers to find information about packages and equipment online.
• Ackerman’s website is also missing things like FAQ sections, tutorials, and other useful customer resources that you can find on many other competitor websites.Because Ackerman is a regional company, the service area is limited. This can be a hassle for customers who move out of Ackerman’s area of service.
• The company has a relatively poor customer service reputation.

Ackerman Security doesn’t make it easy to find information about packages and prices online.

A chat representative told us that monthly monitoring starts at $19.95 per month. That monitoring package includes burglary, fire, and medical protection.

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t go into details about other package options. Instead, representatives told us that packages can be tailored to customer needs.

We should point out that $19.95 per month is quite low compared to the rest of the industry, so Ackerman could be a great option for budget-conscious consumers who aren’t bothered by the lack of up-front information. However, this price is for landline monitoring, which is less secure than cellular monitoring. We recommend choosing cellular monitoring unless you live in an area with poor cell signal.

As mentioned above, Ackerman is not very transparent about pricing and makes it difficult to get information from the website.

We spoke with a representative over chat and they told us that packages start at $99 if you are a homeowner. These packages include sensors, motion detectors, and a wireless touchscreen keypad.

The company offers a wider set of equipment, including security cameras, smoke detectors, and CO detectors, but there is very little information online about this equipment. Additional equipment costs would depend on whether or not you qualify for certain specials and whether or not consultants offer you a discount.

Ackerman Security isn’t as big as many of the national security companies we’ve reviewed on our site, so we had trouble finding a lot of customer reviews.

The positive reviews we found mostly focused on good experiences with specific technicians. Unfortunately, most of the reviews we found were pretty negative. While we didn’t find a lot of complaints about equipment or security performance, there were a lot of complaints about customer service, hidden fees, and an overall lack of transparency.

"From start to finish our process of converting to a wireless system has been flawless. Thank you JW B. For your thorough knowledge of both systems, equipment, and dedication to your company. Our installer Doug was fantastic as well. Overall our experience was well noted and i can only recommend others to look at Ackerman for their security." – Daphne, November 20, 2016, Best Home Security Companies

"If you’re thinking about getting their service, please DON’T! They have a 3 year contract, their panel is really bad and not loud enough and when you call to complaint they say they will call you back and send a tech over and they don’t do. You call again and go over the same process and nothing gets resolved. You get upset and try to cancel but you’re stuck on this 3 year contract. I live in a 3 level town house and if I’m on the second floor and the siren goes off I won’t hear it. REALLY BAD! Plus and most important, when the siren goes off, it takes them 30 minutes to check on you.

"This is my sincere review. Do not go for this companie." - Lya, May 2, 2017, Best Home Security Companies

If you still want a company with lots of home automation features, Vivint is an excellent option.