How Much to Charge for Security Camera Installation
Security camera installation is typically priced per camera — roughly $100–$200 labor per camera on a straightforward run, $200–$350 on a difficult one — plus $1–$3 per foot of cable, the recorder and drive at your cost plus markup, and $75–$150 for network configuration and app setup. Attic, crawlspace, masonry, and two-story exterior runs carry a surcharge on top, priced per run rather than hourly.
Price the parts of the job separately
A camera install has four independently variable costs, and lumping them together is how installers lose money on the hard houses:
- Per camera — $100–$200 labor on an easy run, $200–$350 on a hard one
- Cable — $1–$3 per foot, run and terminated
- Recorder + drive — cost plus 20–40%
- Network config + app setup — $75–$150
The surcharges that make hard houses profitable
Price difficulty per run, not per hour. Hourly billing invites an argument about how long an attic crawl should have taken — a stated surcharge doesn’t.
- Attic or crawlspace run — heat, insulation, and no room to work
- Masonry or stucco exterior — core drilling and patching
- Two-story exterior — ladder work, sometimes a second person
- Finished basement fish — drywall access and patching
The recorder isn’t where the margin is
Hardware markup covers your warranty exposure and not much else. The labor rate and the difficulty surcharges are where the real business is — an installer competing on gear price is competing with a distributor who buys ten thousand units at a time.
Quote from photos, not from a phone call
“Six cameras around the house” describes a $900 job and a $2,600 job equally well. Ask for photos of the eaves, the panel area, and where the recorder will live before naming a number — or quote a site visit instead.
Put the recurring plan in the same conversation
Monthly monitoring or cloud storage is easiest to sell on install day, while the customer is already thinking about the system. Quote it as a line on the proposal — not as a follow-up call you’ll probably never get around to making.
Frequently asked questions
Should I price per camera or per system?
Per camera. A per-camera number lets the customer add one; a system price can only be accepted, rejected, or compared to a box-store kit. Every job you've ever upsold started with a line item they could point at.
How much should I mark up the hardware?
Enough to cover the warranty work you'll do on it, which is usually 20–40% over your cost. Passing gear through at cost means you're doing free RMA handling for a manufacturer for the next three years.
Do I charge for the app walkthrough?
Yes, as a line. Setting up phone access for a customer and their spouse and their adult kid is real time, and it's the part of the job that generates the most callbacks if rushed.
What about ongoing monitoring or cloud storage?
Price it monthly on a saved card, separate from the install. It's the difference between a business with one payday per customer and one with recurring revenue from every install you've ever done.