SecureSmart vs UniFi Protect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SecureSmart
Control your home security system remotely. Receive real-time notifications for events like door openings or motion detection. Automate smart devices with custom scenes and recipes to match your daily routines.
- Remote security system control
- Real-time event notifications
- Customizable zone configurations
- Smart device automation (scenes/recipes)
- Cloud video storage
- Flexible IP camera support
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About Alula At Alula, we believe that the best security solution is provided by the professional security dealer. And we know that today’s security customer expects more than just basic security. In order to deliver the best experience for the needs of today’s modern security customer, you need to design and develop the hardware, software, and services for a complete, end-to-end professional security system for the professional security dealer. The thoughtful technology in our products are designed to keep up with a changing world. Intuitive. Reliable. Innovative. Simplifying your business while saving you money. It’s what you deserve and what people expect. And we’re only scratching the surface of possibilities. Keeping people and property safe is your business. At Alula, creating the tools and support you need to do that, is in our DNA. It’s your home, you set the rules. The Alula App gives you what you deserve, reliability and control. Set rules for real-time notifications. Know instantly when doors and windows are opened or when motion is detected. Technology at your pace With event based “Scenes” and “Recipes”, your smart devices can support your way of life. Adjust the entire atmosphere in your home based on your day to day routines. Lights, cameras, garage doors and thermostats can adjust to greet you in the morning or when you arrive back home in the evenings. Alula Home Security Zone Configurations Alula uses zones in coordination with armed modes and zone configurations to determine how your security system responds when a sensor or detector is triggered. Customize your own zone configurations. Cloud Video Services Alula Cloud is an easy-to-use and affordable cloud video solution designed for businesses and homeowners. Now your customers can keep an eye on their home or business with the comfort of knowing their video is securely stored and can be retrieved from anywhere. - Cost Effective: Why purchase expensive hardware storage, especially if there are multiple sites that need surveillance. Easily manage all camera from one platform. - Easy to Use: Built for users who do not want to bother with complicated and expensive systems, with simple setup for dealers. - Flexible Camera Support: Alula Cloud video works with the largest number of leading IP Cameras. Select the right camera for each customer.
UniFi Protect
Access your camera security system from your mobile device. Stream live feeds, manage devices, and download recordings. Offers cloudless storage and customizable alerts for residential and commercial users.
- Adopt and manage Protect devices
- Stream low-latency livestreams
- Download localized recordings
- Cloudless recording storage
- Timelapse footage scrubbing
- Personalized security notifications
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UniFi Protect brings the full functionality of our web-based camera security application to your mobile device. Adopt and manage your Protect devices, stream low-latency livestreams, and download localized recordings directly to your phone. Designed for residential and commercial use, UniFi Protect also allows you to: - Maintain complete data privacy with Cloudless recording storage. - Quickly scrub through hours of Timelapse footage to pinpoint the exact moments you're looking for. - Personalize security notifications based on a wide variety of individual, vehicular, and atmospheric-based detections.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: UniFi Protect at 4.8 against SecureSmart's 4.3. UniFi Protect also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 22%) and ratings volume (78K vs 161). SecureSmart's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). 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.
UniFi Protect holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UniFi Protect has 78K ratings behind it against 161, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of SecureSmart's written reviews are positive against 53% of UniFi Protect's.
SecureSmart ships an update every 2 weeks, UniFi Protect every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SecureSmart | UniFi Protect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (161 ratings) | 4.8 (78K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 22.1% of reviews | 52.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 161 | 78K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 273 MB | 270 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alula Holdings, LLC | Ubiquiti Inc. |
Customer experience
SecureSmart
UniFi Protect
User reviews
SecureSmart
From 161 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works great for customers
- 👍 Integration with Alula
- 👍 Convenient remote arm/disarm
- 👍 Useful for programming/alerts
- 👍 Love the keypad feature
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Does not connect to alarm
- 🐛 Cannot arm/disarm alarm
- 🐛 Keypad removed from app
- 🐛 Update not user-friendly
UniFi Protect
From 78K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and reliable
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🔒 Secure local storage
- 💡 Powerful AI detection features
- 👍 Seamless integration with Unifi ecosystem
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Slow to connect and load video
- 🔒 Requires cloud account for remote access
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Inconsistent experience across devices
Bugs and requests
SecureSmart
Reported bugs
78 issues- App crashes after login
- Does not connect after iOS 17 update
- Cannot arm or disarm
- Numbers too small, no color
- Disarm button removed
Show 73 moreShow fewer
- Doesn't work half the time
- App went offline
- Refuses to load on iPhone 7 Plus
- FaceID authenticates but won't arm/disarm
- App logged me out, won't let me log back in
- Not compatible with iOS 11.2.6
- Constantly offline, takes ten minutes to refresh
- Little delay when arming/disarming
- Arming/disarming via Face Unlock does not always work
- Keypad lock code used every time
- Locked me out of physical keypad
- Slow to load real-time info
- Takes 20-30 minutes to set/deactivate
- App lags, very glitchy
- Cannot tell if alarm is set until push notification
- Nothing happens when trying to remotely turn on/off alarm
- Almost never works for disarming or arming
- Close and relaunch multiple times before functioning
- Sporadically not working due to Do Not Disturb switch
- Requires going in and out several times before connecting
- Does not provide fully functional keypad
- Cannot bypass zones or turn on chime
- No audible sound when alarm activated
- Paid for upgrade, works 5% of time
- Slow to load, inconsistently arms and disarms, crashes
- Extremely unreliable
- Constantly says refreshing for hours
- Says disarmed when armed and vice versa
- Slow to connect and slow to never for viewing events
- Slower than molasses, waits over a minute for response
- So slow it appears not to work
- Doesn't work on Droid, works on iPhone
- Doesn't work most of the time
- Doesn't work at all if signal not full strength
- Constant authentication errors
- Freezes badly, rebooting phone is routine
- Displays alarm status disarmed all the time
- Takes FOREVER to confirm arming/disarming
- Requires restarting almost every time
- Does not communicate with alarm panel well
- Tells me alarm is off when it's not and vice versa
- Sat in house and watched panel, tried to disarm with NO success
- Shows home refreshing, reads disarming, nothing happens
- 90% of the time, it's 'refreshing'
- Sound setting for notifications doesn't work
- Lots of bugs
- Hangs up, doesn't authenticate properly
- Seldom displays system status
- Authentication errors, sometimes doesn't arm
- Stopped working, refreshing and hangs
- Very limited, no push notifications
- Takes way too long to send commands
- App crashes too often
- Security keypad display does not display updated information without a manual refresh
- App is extremely slow or hangs a lot
- App hasn't worked at all, says "refreshing" then goes blank
- Authentication error
- Prettier but plagued with issues
- Not being able to arm or disarm
- Every key press just says "transmitting please wait" then nothing
- Often shows an alarm panel state that is wrong
- Displays that it is "Disarming..." when it is not
- New version has problem with screen resolution on iPad
- Missing numbers 3, 6, and 9 on iPad keypad
- Screen doesn't scroll on iPad
- Arming with TouchID arms it in stay mode
- Shows devices refreshing on one of the two locks
- Changing thermostat temp goes back to previous setting
- Cannot get username/password sent
- Automatically closes app and refuses to open
- Syncing for the last 6 1/2 hrs
- Push notifications not implemented correctly in iOS 8
- App does not ask to accept push notifications on first start
Requested features
9 requests- Add progress bars or 'please wait' signs
- Add audible sound for alarms
- Add 4 function keys (ABCD)
- Fix TouchID arming issue
- Allow username/password reset
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Implement push notifications
- Improve user interface for better readability
- Add color to the interface
- Bring back the disarm button
UniFi Protect
Reported bugs
5 issues- Geofencing not working as expected
- Doorbell audio/video not syncing properly
- Frequent disconnections from cameras
- Playback issues and video not loading
- Notifications not reliable or timely
Requested features
5 requests- Add option to snooze/silence notifications
- Improve video scrubbing and playback controls
- Integrate with Apple HomeKit
- Add custom notification sounds
- Enhance multi-view and layout options
In-app purchases
SecureSmart
No in-app purchases
UniFi Protect
No in-app purchases









