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AJAX or a subscription alarm: what’s the difference?
The biggest difference shows when a burglar sabotages the alarm with a jammer. AJAX detects the jammer and raises the alarm: the siren sounds and you get an alert on your phone. That is what we saw in our own test. The subscription systems we tested went completely silent as soon as the jammer was switched on: no siren, no alert and no contact with the monitoring centre.
A jammer is a small device that blocks an alarm’s wireless signal. It is illegal, but easy to buy online. Further down you can also read what both systems cost over 5 and 10 years, and what happens when the alarm goes off.
Grade 3 versus Grade 2
AJAX is the first brand with wireless Grade 3 certification
AJAX
without a subscription
Grade 3 ✓
certified wireless
Alarm with a subscription
from pushy doorstep sellers
Grade 2
a lower security grade
Grade 3 is the grade for protection against professional burglars using electronic tools. Interference from a jammer, covering sensors or sabotaging the siren is detected immediately. The subscription systems that sales reps sell at the door are Grade 2: built against burglars with simple tools, not against sabotage. Feel free to ask the sales rep for a Grade 3 certificate.
Why a jammer is so dangerous
The only thing that really drives a burglar away is noise, right there on the spot. A call from a monitoring centre or camera footage afterwards won’t stop him.
A jammer takes that noise away. The siren no longer gets a signal, and no message reaches you or a monitoring centre. The system looks armed. At that moment it protects nothing.
With AJAX, the system detects the interference, sounds the siren and sends you an alert. We also set the outdoor siren to go off by itself at the slightest interference. As an accredited Ajax partner, we set that up for you.
How our test went, and three questions to ask any salesperson, is on our page Jamming: promises, practice test and questions for the salesperson.
Is a siren actually allowed in Spain?
Some salespeople say a siren is not allowed in Spain. There is a rule, but it is meant for sirens that keep causing a nuisance. It gives the police a way to have such a siren removed. With AJAX it doesn’t need to come to that. The siren stops by itself after a set time, and you can always disarm the alarm remotely in the app. AJAX is also built to prevent false alarms. The sensors compensate for temperature, and most motion detectors ignore pets up to about 20 kg.
The difference at a glance
| Subscription system | AJAX by Best Alarm System | |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor siren | ✗ Often no outdoor siren. Indoors, sometimes only a quiet beep from the panel. | ✓ 113 dB outdoor siren, included in the starter kit. |
| When a jammer is switched on | ✗ In our test: no siren, no alert and no contact with the monitoring centre. | ✓ The interference is detected. The siren sounds and you get an alert on your phone. |
| Certification (EN 50131) | Grade 2. Ask for the certificate. | ✓ AJAX is the first brand with wireless equipment certified to Grade 3. |
| Who owns the equipment? | ✗ Often rented from the provider. | ✓ You do. We register the system in your name. |
| Contract | ✗ Several years, often 2 years or longer. Ask what it costs to cancel. | ✓ No contract. You pay once, after installation. |
| Monthly costs | ✗ Every month. Often higher after the introductory period. | ✓ None. The app and the alerts are free. |
Based on the subscription systems we have tested and come across in practice. Providers may differ. Not sure? Ask the sales rep to show you in the app.
What does it cost over 5 and 10 years?
A low monthly fee feels cheap. So add it up over the years. All totals below include VAT.
With us: pay once
- Starter kit, fully installed, with a 2-year on-site warranty: €799 excl. VAT if we install during the first home visit (€899 later). Including VAT that is €967.
- Optional: a backup SIM card, €69 a year excl. VAT.
Total with SIM, incl. VAT
With 21% VAT. Excluding VAT it is €1,144 after 5 years and €1,489 after 10 years. Without a SIM it stays at the starter kit price.
Subscription: you pay every month
- It often starts at around €43 a month for the first 6 months.
- After the introductory period, the fee often rises to about €60.
Worked example at €60 a month
A worked example based on what we see in practice. Monthly fees include VAT. Ask the sales rep what you will pay after the introductory period. If the equipment is rented, after 10 years you still own nothing.
Want more sensors? You pay for those once as well. Guide prices are on our starter kit page. We price outdoor detection and cameras during the home visit.
What happens when the alarm goes off?
- The siren sounds straight away, loud enough for the neighbours and the burglar to hear.
- Within seconds you get an alert with photos on your phone, wherever you are.
- By then the burglar has usually gone. At our customers’ homes the siren has already stopped 73 break-in attempts, without the police.
- Still need the police? Then you call them yourself. Your own report gets priority.
Who calls the police with a monitoring centre?
Not the monitoring centre, at least not straight away. In Spain, a monitoring centre must first reach you or your contact person. The alarm must also be confirmed: several sensors in a row, or a check with video or audio. Only then may the police be called (Ley 5/2014 and Orden INT/316/2011).
If you are asleep or your phone is on silent, it stops there. And with a jammer, nothing reaches the monitoring centre at all.
Why you don’t need a monitoring centre
With outdoor detection and an outdoor siren, the alarm goes off as soon as someone enters your garden or terrace. The siren sounds at once, and an intruder runs off straight away. For our customers it has always resolved itself so far, without the owner or the police having to do anything. Noise on the spot is still the only thing that drives an intruder away immediately. A monitoring centre or a guard who comes to the house isn’t needed.
What the Dutch regulator ACM, the Spanish consumer organisation FACUA and the TV programme Radar found out about monitoring centre promises is on Monitoring centre claims under scrutiny.
Questions we are often asked
- Does the app cost anything?
- No. The AJAX app and the alerts are free.
- Do I need a SIM card?
- It’s optional. A backup SIM card costs €69 a year excl. VAT. We recommend one if your electricity meter box is on the street side. If the power or the Wi-Fi goes down, alerts still come through over 4G.
- Do I pay for cloud storage?
- No. Photos from an alarm go straight to your phone. Camera footage is stored locally.
- How long is the contract?
- There is no contract. You pay once, after installation.
- What warranty do I get?
- 2 years on site. If something is faulty, the technician comes to you. After that you can choose a service agreement for €69 a year. It’s optional.
- Can I add a monitoring centre or a guard who comes to the house?
- There’s no need. With outdoor detection and an outdoor siren, the siren sounds as soon as someone enters your garden, and an intruder runs off at once. For our customers it has always resolved itself so far, without the owner or the police. You can read how that works above.
Want to see the difference for yourself?
No obligation · a technician, not a salesperson · one-off price
We visit you on the Costa Blanca & Costa Calida, look at your home and give you the price on the spot. If you agree, we often install the same day.
Request a home visitPrefer to ask a question first? Send us a WhatsApp and tell us where you live.
Next step
Want to see more of us first? On the homepage you can read who we are, how we work and what an AJAX alarm costs. Or read on with the starter kit: what we install as standard and what it costs.