Early Termination Fee (ETF)

What Is an Early Termination Fee?

An ETF is the financial penalty specified in your monitoring contract if you cancel before the agreed term ends. It exists because the security company has typically subsidised your equipment cost (providing it free or at a discount) in exchange for committing to pay monitoring fees for 24, 36, or 60 months.

How ADT Calculates the ETF

ADT’s standard ETF is 75% of the remaining monthly fees at the time of cancellation.

Example: 36-month contract at $49.99/mo. You cancel at month 18.

• Remaining months: 18
• Remaining fees: 18 x $49.99 = $899.82
• ETF: 75% of $899.82 = $674.87

At month 24 (two-thirds through a 36-month contract):

• Remaining months: 12
• Remaining fees: 12 x $49.99 = $599.88
• ETF: 75% of $599.88 = $449.91

California has different rules — ADT’s maximum contract in California is 24 months, and the ETF is capped at lower amounts under state consumer protection law.

Vivint’s ETF

Vivint’s ETF situation is more complex because equipment financing and monitoring are interlinked. If you finance equipment at 0% over 60 months, you cannot cancel monitoring while the financing is open — the contract explicitly requires monitoring for the duration of the financing. Cancellation requires paying off the remaining equipment balance plus a portion of remaining monitoring fees.

No-ETF Systems

SimpliSafe, Ring Alarm, Abode, Wyze, and Cove (month-to-month plan) have no ETF. You pay monthly. You cancel any month. The equipment is yours.

This is why the no-contract framing matters: the long-term cost of SimpliSafe ($299 + $19.99/mo) versus ADT ($0 upfront + $49.99/mo) looks close in Year 1. Over 36 months — and if you try to cancel ADT — the math diverges significantly.

3-Year Cost Comparison: ADT vs SimpliSafe

Related Terms

• No-Contract Monitoring — what you’re buying when you avoid the ETF
• Equipment Financing — how ADT/Vivint justify the long contract
• Total Cost of Ownership — the 3-year math that includes ETF risk

See Also

ADT Review — full breakdown of ADT’s contract terms and cancellation process.