ADT Pulse ® vs Alder Security
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ADT Pulse ®
Control your home or business security and automation system remotely. Manage cameras, lights, locks, and thermostats, and receive alerts for peace of mind. Arm or disarm your system, adjust settings, and set custom automations from anywhere.
- Remote system arming/disarming
- Control lights, locks, and thermostats
- View live surveillance camera feeds
- Receive security and arrival alerts
- Set custom automations and schedules
- Remote door lock/unlock
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The ADT Pulse® app allows you to control your home or business security and automation system from virtually anywhere. Using your iOS device, you can manage your home or business security system, surveillance cameras, lights, locks, thermostats and more! With a tap or swipe you can easily help protect what matters most to you, and enjoy an additional level of peace of mind. With ADT Pulse, you can: • Arm your system before you leave your home or business from virtually anywhere in the world. • Turn on your lights right from your app before you arrive at home or work. • Ensure you have turned off small appliances after you leave your home directly through the app. • Lock and unlock your doors remotely to allow the dog sitter or others to enter your home when you’re away. • Receive alerts when your children arrive home from school and view live video to check in on them. • Adjust your thermostat or put it on a schedule that fits your life. • Set up custom automations and schedules with vacation modes for the ultimate amount of control for your home! To use the ADT Pulse app, you must be an active ADT customer and subscriber to ADT Pulse interactive services.
Alder Security
Manage your home's security, lighting, climate, and cameras from one place. Receive real-time alerts, remotely arm/disarm your system, and monitor live video feeds. Control various connected devices like locks and thermostats for comprehensive home automation.
- Remote security system control
- Real-time alarm status and alerts
- Live video monitoring
- Event recording for cameras
- Control lights, locks, and thermostats
- Monitor multiple cameras
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Alder Security lets you control your lighting, climate, cameras, and security from a single application. STAY CONNECTED FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD Receive real-time alarm status and arm or disarm your security system remotely. Get instant alerts in the event of a security alarm, or simply to be notified when your family arrives home. REAL-TIME VIDEO MONITORING AND EVENT RECORDING Set cameras to automatically record security events in your home. Check in on your family and pets when you can’t be there. See who is at the door, or monitor your premises from multiple cameras at once. A SINGLE APP TO CONTROL YOUR ENTIRE HOME Enjoy full interactive home control including lights, locks, cameras, thermostats, garage doors, and other connected devices. PLEASE NOTE: To access this app, you must have an account set up with Alder.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ADT Pulse ® at 4.8 against Alder Security's 2.1. ADT Pulse ® also leads on ratings volume (851K vs 193) and review sentiment (28% vs 6%). Alder Security's advantage is monetization model (free vs subscription) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ADT Pulse ® holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ADT Pulse ® has 851K ratings behind it against 193, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of ADT Pulse ®'s written reviews are positive against 6% of Alder Security's.
ADT Pulse ® ships an update every 3 months, Alder Security every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ADT Pulse ® | Alder Security |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (851K ratings) — better | 2.1 (193 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 28.2% of reviews — better | 5.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 851K — better | 193 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 119 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ADT LLC | Alder Holdings, LLC |
Customer experience
ADT Pulse ®
Alder Security
User reviews
ADT Pulse ®
From 851K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Reliable system
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 🔒 Provides peace of mind
- 🚀 Convenient remote access
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connection issues with app
- 🐛 Slow camera feed loading
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 💰 Expensive service
Alder Security
From 193 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Professional installation and setup
- ✅ System functionality works when properly configured
- 📱 Simple and intuitive interface design
- 🎥 Multi-camera support on single app
- 🔐 Face ID support available
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes constantly
- 📵 Persistent login and authentication issues
- ⚠️ Unreliable push notifications
- 🔌 Poor connectivity and offline errors
- ⏱️ Slow app performance and lag
Bugs and requests
ADT Pulse ®
Reported bugs
4 issues- App unable to connect to security system
- Camera feeds frequently going offline
- Arm/disarm functions not working reliably
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to view full video history
- Geofencing for automatic arming/disarming
- Tighter integration with smart home devices
- Faster app response times
Alder Security
Reported bugs
15 issues- App requires constant re-login despite 'remember me' selection
- Password reset page unresponsive
- Camera feed takes 5+ minutes to load or fails entirely
- App crashes when viewing indoor cameras
- Notifications not clearing from notification center
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- Arm/disarm commands freeze and delay
- Thermostat controls limited to 1-degree increments
- App kicks user out when viewing cameras
- False 'no internet connection' errors
- Inconsistent notification delivery timing
- Sensor triggers not appearing in activity log
- App loses connection frequently despite stable WiFi
- Multiple app crashes per session
- Face ID not supported on iOS
- Delayed notification delivery (3+ second lag)
Requested features
10 requests- Granular notification settings per camera
- Customizable notification sounds for doorbell
- Thermostat scheduling automation
- Improved activity log descriptions
- Separate app for indoor and outdoor cameras consolidation
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- Face recognition for iPhone
- Real-time video delivery with notifications
- Better human and vehicle detection algorithms
- Remember login credentials option
- Offline app functionality
In-app purchases
ADT Pulse ®
No in-app purchases
Alder Security
No in-app purchases
