Whether you’ve just had a newborn baby or moved into a questionable neighborhood, installing the best driveway alarm can help keep you, your home, and your family safe. Not only is securing your home important—the first (quite literally) step of security starts in your driveway. A driveway alarm is a highly-effective security option that can help add an extra element to your home security system.
In our article today, we’re going to get into what a wireless driveway alarm system is and how it can detect people or vehicles entering the property, via the driveway. The service can also come with features included in the product that can help scare away potential criminals while giving warning. In our review, we’ve taken into account various important features—including the sensor range, receiver range, it’s weather-resistance ability, and so many others—in our research.
To help you choose the best driveway alarm, we’ve spent hours researching through various manufacturers’ sites, to help compile a list and buying guide to help you choose the best product for you. We’ve scoured the internet and have chosen five of the best driveway alarms for you to choose from—going in-depth with each of their features and what they have to offer. Through our side-by-side product comparison table, in-detail reviews of each product, and buying guide, we hope to help you choose the best driveway alarm for not only your home but also your entire property (and everyone in it).
The Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm is our Editor’s Choice for the best driveway alarm on the market. Since it is so versatile as a product, it can easily be customized to fit any driveway or the outside of any home in their yard.
For the full package, the wireless driveway alarm comes with a full receiver and only one sensor—which might be seen as a negative, however, the Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm is fully compatible—with possibilities of adding up to 16 sensors and an UNLIMITED number of receivers! Especially if you have a bigger property or multiple entries in your yard, this is a great feature. You’ll know when someone is entering your property in every direction!
You also can set and customize each alert chime to something you prefer—with 30 alert chimes to choose from, Guardline has something to fit every personality and home.
Although it might be seen as a bit more expensive than other passive infrared alarms on the market, its lifetime warranty backs up its claims—as well as the versatility, customizability, and flexibility of the various sensors added really pulls through, pulling your dollar much further.
The Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm is rated as our best electromagnetic probe type and one of the only ones on our review that we deemed worthy enough to note.
Even though it only comes backed by a 1-year warranty, you’ll have access to technical support, ready to help you whenever you need it the most. If you’re looking for a low-cost option with high-tech gear, the Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm is a great choice!
Especially if your neighborhood is more squirrel-infested than ever, you’ll want to try out the electromagnetic type rather than infrared. So, if you want your device to detect vehicles, but not people, the Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm is for you.
When it comes to features, the buried cable that connects the sensor and the transmitter is only 10 feet long—which might be a bit of negative if you have a much bigger space. However, it has a detection range of 12 feet and a transmission of 400 feet, which means that it’s perfect for a smaller home.
Some other good things to know? You’ll need 2 AA batteries for the transmitter and an AC adapter for the receiver.
Coming with a 2-year warranty and a 90-day risk-free offer, the Hosmart Driveway Alarm comes with a variety of different features that place it at the top of our list of best alarms on the market!
With a history of 30 years in outdoor driveway alarm wireless and driveway alert systems, this brand has the honor of killing the game in leading-edge systems technology.
If you’re looking for one of the best wireless driveway alarms, this works with AC and battery, which helps it last much longer than others on the market.
Boasting one of the easiest methods to install, the Hosmart Driveway Alarm comes equipped with everything you need to get it running in a matter of minutes. It even is highly flexible and expandable for being compatible with up to four sensors—and with an unlimited number of receivers.
If you’re looking for complete coverage, the Hosmart Driveway Alarm detects movement from humans, cars, and large animals. You can also choose from four different chimes instead of getting stuck with just one factory setting.
The Hosmart Driveway Alarm also has one of the longest receiving ranges—up to a quarter of a mile! It’s also quite weather-resistant putting you at ease with any worry you may have!
Still, want quality even when you’re on a budget? A driveway alarm doesn’t have to break your bank—simply because you want to protect your home against break-ins!
The CWPIR Weatherproof Outdoor Alert System is a fantastic low-cost option for those looking for a secure and sufficient driveway alarm.
Low-cost enough to fit right into your budget but efficient enough to keep you feeling safe, the CWPIR Weatherproof Outdoor Alert System can detect not only when cars but also humans and animals walk within 30 feet of wherever you placed your sensor.
Another easy-to-install device, the CWPIR Weatherproof Outdoor Alert System has a half-mile transmission range, so this can be a great budget option for a larger area.
One of the downfalls, however, is the fact that the alarm chime only comes with one option—a high-pitched alert sound.
The CWPIR Weatherproof Outdoor Alert System is backed by a 1-year warranty and has a transmission range of 500 feet. It runs purely on battery.
Coming back with a 30-day money-back guarantee, the Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm System keeps you feeling safe within your own home. Ranked as our Best Solar-Powered Driveway Alarm, this driveway alarm uses a different kind of source, which helps not only keep it working around your home but helps the environment!
With its solar wireless motion sensor, the Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm is run through a built-in rechargeable battery. If you hear solar-powered and you immediately worry about a rainy day, don’t think twice about it! The Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm can actually be completely charged on a rainy day, with no complicated wiring and its easy-to-install nature.
You’ll also feel completely satisfied with its quarter-mile-long wireless transmission range and up to 50 feet wide sensor detection range.
If you want a driveway alarm that can be set anywhere on your property, the Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm is for you! You can even expand out your system for compatibility of up to 32 sensors and unlimited alarm receivers. This allows you to have complete coverage of your property.
Before you buy the best driveway alarm for your home and the safety of your family, check out these important features to familiarize yourself with what you need to know!
For these safety essential sensitive motion sensors and receivers, you’ll have the utmost knowledge and real-time awareness of what’s going on at or around your house. If you have young children or precious cargo within your home, you will, with no doubt, want to know what’s around and can potentially enter your home or property!
These driveway alarms normally work differently or uniquely from one another. However, most of the products in this market are used with the medium of infrared beams—making the notification easy and message send quickly to your at-home/in-home receiver.
Outgoing movements are also detected—which is quite useful—especially if you’re keeping tabs about a guest getting out of your home safely or watching a pet and making sure they don’t leave your yard!
Knowing the details that differentiate one driveway alarm from another is extremely important—especially if you want an effective product!
From battery warranties to product description details, we’re going to go through the most important features you need to know before you buy and choose your driveway alarm:
Features to consider while choosing driveway alarm
There are a few important features to look out for when you’re on the lookout for a great driveway alarm. Before you buy, inform yourself of the fully-developed features to help protect your family and your home.
Although you may think these details minimal and unimportant in your quest for the perfect driveway alarm, they can either make or break your purchase.
Some features are more important than others for individual cases, so make sure you read the following information to decide which features you need to make sure are in your next driveway alarm:
Sensor Range
As one of the most important features of a driveway alarm, you’ll want to know how far the signal can reach in your driveway. The wireless driveway alarm is not as effective if it can’t actually reach a signal.
The effective range featured here from 12 (Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm) to 50 (Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm System) feet, means that the sensor can be that far away from the receiver—which is the part belongs in the home and alerts you of anything.
A compatibility range can also be an issue—if you plan on expanding your system or want to add extra sensors or receivers.
Transmission
The transmission range is also important—as it declares its maximum range of the driveway alarm—perfectly working under uninterrupted weather conditions. However, normally with wireless products, an actual, physical obstacle can change that maximum transmission range—so it’s important to know that it’s possible that this range can change due to materials like metal, wood, etc.
In our review, we have driveway alarms reaching as little as 400 feet, like the Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm to those reaching as far as a quarter of a mile, like the Htzsafe Solar Driveway Alarm System!
Before you buy, take a quick look at the transmission range.
Power source
From a solar-powered source to batteries, it’s important to know how your driveway alarm functions and what it will take to run most efficiently. With the driveway alarms on this review, you’ll have to look out for rechargeable batteries—which means that you’ll most likely spend some time charging or single-use batteries—which means you’ll have to be investing in quite a few new batteries.
An alternative (to batteries) power source for the driveway alarms can be a solar-powered sensor or an AC adaptor.
Weather resistance
Knowing “weather” or not the driveway alarm can resist various types of weather, being weatherproof or if the weather is on the warranty is definitely something to look into!
Especially if you live in a particularly snowy or rainy area, knowing that your driveway alarm will be able to withstand a downpour or a blizzard is particularly helpful. Especially in weather where your yard might not be very visible to you, you can rely on the driveway alarm to be your eyes and ears, instead!
Minimal size of an object detected
Will you be consistently alerted for the smallest of disturbances on your driveway like front-yard squirrels or a small ball bouncing over from the neighbors’ house? Taking the time to check out the minimum size of an object detected can definitely help you identify which driveway alarm is best for you.
Depending on which type of sensors you have—whether they’re infrared or electromagnetic can also make a difference in the detected objects.
Electromagnetic sensors generally are more expensive because they are more accurate and avoid alerting the user for a simple heat-activated movement in the yard, like that of a leaf, weather or animal.
Infrared sensors, although they can be more affordable, are generally less accurate when it comes to truly sensing and alerting about an intruder.
Before you bring home and install your driveway alarm, you might have a few questions. Instead of scouring the manufacturer’s website or information pamphlet, scan over our most FAQ’s to see if you find that answer here!
To help you choose the best driveway alarm for you and your home, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions that most customers have:
If you’ve decided to skip out on everything we’ve just written, here are the best products in one summary:
The Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm is our Editor’s Choice for the best driveway alarm. Not only does it come backed by a lifetime warranty, but it’s also compatible with up to 16 sensors, as well as has 30 chimes to choose from so you don’t have to get one, monotone, factory-setting chime.
The Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm (FM231) is our Best Electromagnetic Driveway Alarm, if you’re looking for some high-quality sensors at a budgeted price. Not only does this driveway alarm allow you to have the flexibility of a transmitter placement, but you can also connect to additional sensors and have the advantage of just detecting cars instead of distracting weather or leaves.
The Chamberlain CWPIR Weatherproof Outdoor Alert System is our Budget Pick from all the best driveway alarms out on the market. Fr a completely budget-friendly option, this alarm also can reach up to half a mile in transmission range and comes backed by a 1-year warranty.
We hope that this article has helped you pick out the best driveway alarm to keep you, your family, and your home safe.
