One of the benefits of working with Alder is that customers don't pay upfront for the equipment they install. Equipment charges are included in your monitoring fees. Alder provides many of the components that make up a comprehensive home security, environmental safety, and/or medical alert system. These include door and windows sensors, AI-assisted motion detectors, indoor and outdoor cameras, and medical alert buttons. The company's product line does not include broken glass sensors. Sensors must be located within 100 feet of the control panel to be active, which may preclude owners of large homes from Alder systems protection. Alder also offers medical alert pendants for added security in your home. The company reports its average response time is 7 seconds—the kind of speed you need in an emergency.

Alder doesn't charge a fee for its equipment. The company only sells monitoring services. Self-monitoring is not an available option.

According to Alder's customer service department, the contract you sign with Alder depends in part on the equipment you purchase but typically ranges from 3 to 5 years. Monitoring fees vary depending on the complexity of your system.

Alder doesn't discuss whether its systems are compatible with popular smart home systems on its website. But a live chat representative confirmed the equipment can integrate with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Alder has a mixed reputation among consumers. Consumers on Trustpilot give the company 4.6 out of 5 stars—an excellent rating. Many praise the professionalism and attentiveness of Alder's customer service representatives. The Better Business Bureau and consumers who have reviewed Alder on the bureau's website take a somewhat dimmer view of the company. The BBB gives Alder a C rating and there have been more than a thousand complaints filed against the company in the past three years. Most complaints had to do with billing and contract issues. It's important to read the fine print whenever you sign a contract. Alder's contract commits you to quite a long period of service: five years. The Alder mobile app receives a 2.2 out of 5 star rating from IOS users at the Apple App Store, but that score is based on fewer than 50 reviews. The app receives 3.2 stars out of 5 on Google Play.