You’ll have to shell out more cash upfront for your Ring security system, but Ring’s monthly $10 professional monitoring fees are some of the lowest in the industry. Protect America will save you some money on installation, but its monthly monitoring fees start at $19.99/mo., so you’ll be paying a lot more in the long run, which makes Ring the winner of this round.

Protect America requires you to sign a contract for equipment and monitoring for a minimum length of three years. Ring is contract-free, and its professional monitoring services are all month-to-month, so you can stop or restart them at any time without being locked into a binding long-term contract. Ring’s flexibility makes them the winner of this category, too.

Both Ring and Protect America offer free mobile apps that let you see what’s going on at home and allow you to control your security system, lights, locks, and more from your phone. But Ring’s mobile app offers more for $3/mo.. With Ring you’ll be able to use two-way talk, see live video and share footage. On the other hand, you must upgrade your Protect America plan to get video service, control smart lights and smart locks with your smartphone. These features can cost over $40/mo.. Ring’s affordable service and mobile app features make them the winner of this round.

Ring’s DIY setup includes a guide and other online material to help you install your system. But, if you’re not comfortable with Ring’s fully DIY installation, Protect America might be a better option for you. Protect America helps you customize your system before you purchase,  then preprograms everything for you. Once you receive your equipment, an agent will walk you through the installation process over the phone and answer any questions you might have. Protect America’s additional DIY installation help makes them the winner of this round.

Protect America uses award-winning COPS Monitoring for its professional alarm monitoring services, while Ring’s monitoring center is unknown. The average response time for COPS is 17.1 seconds — much faster than Ring’s 30 seconds. Still, we’re calling this a tie because all of Ring’s systems have cellular backup, while Protect America only offers cell backup with its higher-tier plans – starting at $41.99/mo.

Ring might be more well known for its security cameras, but Protect America’s video surveillance equipment is on par with Ring’s. Both companies offer indoor and outdoor cameras and video doorbells with motion sensors and HD video. Ring and Protect America’s cameras are easy to self-install. They’re both equipped with similar features live video, two-way audio and mobile notifications which makes this round a tie.