How we make money
This site is free to use because other people pay us. Here is precisely who, how much, and what we do to stop that influencing what we tell you.
Every publication that recommends products has a commercial model, and most describe it in a single vague sentence. That is not good enough for a site whose entire value depends on you trusting its recommendations. So here is the whole arrangement.
The two ways we earn
1. Affiliate commissions. Some links to retailers and manufacturers are affiliate links. If you follow one and buy something, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. The price you pay is identical whether you use our link or type the address yourself.
2. Installer referral fees. When you submit the quote form and we introduce you to a local installer, that installer pays us a referral fee. You pay nothing, and there is no obligation to buy anything.
That is the entire model. We do not run display advertising, we do not publish sponsored posts, and we do not accept payment for reviews or rankings.
The rules we hold ourselves to
Commercial arrangements only stay separate from editorial judgement if the separation is written down. Ours:
- No brand can pay for a score, a ranking position, or inclusion in a roundup. There is no rate card for this because it is not for sale.
- No brand sees a review before publication. We do not send drafts for approval or fact-checking to the companies we assess.
- Commission rate is never an input to a ranking. Several products we recommend most often — local-storage cameras, unmonitored setups, retrofit motors — earn us little or nothing.
- We publish the unflattering facts. Ring’s FTC settlement, Wyze’s cross-account exposure incidents, Eufy’s cloud-upload disclosure and Vivint’s sales practices are all covered in the reviews of companies we also earn from.
- We recommend spending less where that is the right answer. Our guides repeatedly tell readers a $250 DIY kit is sufficient, and that self-monitoring is adequate for many households. Both cost us money.
- One installer, not a bidding pool. We could earn more by selling the same enquiry to several companies. We do not, because it produces a worse experience for you.
Where the affiliate links are
Affiliate links appear on review pages, comparison pages and best-of roundups, generally where we name a specific product. Guides, cost pages, our glossary and legal pages carry no affiliate links at all — pages marked as unmonetised do not display the disclosure banner because there is nothing to disclose.
We do not disguise affiliate links, use link cloaking to obscure destinations, or place links inside text that does not read as a recommendation.
How the installer referral works
When you submit the quote form:
- We match your ZIP code and selected services to one installer in our network who covers that area and does that work.
- We pass them your name, contact details, ZIP code and what you are interested in.
- They contact you directly, usually within one business day, to discuss the project and arrange a free consultation.
- If they quote and you accept, they pay us a referral fee. If you decline, you owe nothing and hear nothing further from us unless you ask.
Installers in our network are individually vetted for licensing and insurance rather than by brand affiliation. If a match is poor, tell us and we will find another.
FTC compliance
This disclosure is made in accordance with the US Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255). We disclose material connections clearly and conspicuously, and our reviews reflect our genuine assessment.
Independence and trademarks
Smart.Homes is not owned by, affiliated with, or endorsed by any manufacturer or security company. We hold no exclusive agreements with any brand.
Product names, logos and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use on this site is nominative — to identify the products being discussed — and does not imply any endorsement or association.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you want to know whether a specific link is an affiliate link, email hello@smart.homes and we will tell you.
Last updated: 7 September 2026. See also our research methodology and privacy policy.