What our jobs cost
An 8-camera commercial system, supplied and installed, usually comes in at $5,000 to $6,000. The full range is $3,000 to $9,000, depending on the cameras you pick and how hard the cable runs are.
A 16-camera system runs $8,000 to $17,000, and most land around $12,000.
If you already bought the cameras, installing them is about $250 per camera. When the cable itself is the main job, we price each drop or mounting point at about $200.
Replacing a recorder with a new NVR is usually $1,000 to $1,600, more on large systems. Labour and setup only (IP addressing, app setup, camera settings) starts at $300.
What makes a job take longer
Time on site is most of the cost, and the building decides the time. Three recent jobs show the spread.
An 8-camera restaurant in a heritage building near Yonge-Dundas Square took 2 days, because no conduit was allowed and every cable had to be fished up from the basement through hollow walls.
A 12-camera strip plaza took 3 days. Three units had no shared ceiling, so we ran EMT conduit along the back brick wall, and drilling that brick took most of the first two days.
A 24-camera warehouse in Mississauga took 5 days. Three of those were cable pulls from scissor lifts under 11 m rafters, around shipping that could not stop.
Cheap installs that cost more later
Some of our calls are fixes on someone else’s low quote. Cameras reboot at night because long runs were done on copper-clad aluminium cable instead of solid copper Cat6. A camera aimed at a glass door goes white every sunrise. The recorder came with a drive too small to hold more than a few days.
When you compare quotes, ask what cable is being used, which way each camera faces the light and how many days of recording the drive will hold.
Getting an exact number
Send the property type, a rough camera count and a few photos of the walls and the room where the recorder will go, and we can give you a range. The exact price comes after the free site visit, in writing.
Two things that move the price
Emergency same-day work costs more than a booked install. When a Markham store had an attempted break-in and no footage, we were on site 30 minutes after the call and had three cameras running in 3.5 hours, at an emergency rate.
Add-ons change the total too. For a new Scarborough restaurant we installed six cameras along with two 75-inch screens behind the bar and dining room speakers, all done around service hours in a day and a half.
From our jobs
Retail store in a strip mall, Markham · 1 visible dome at the door, 2 on the cash wrap
Same-day cameras after an attempted break-in at a Markham strip mall
No footage of the attempt. On site 30 minutes after the call, three cameras and phone viewing working in 3.5 hours.
How we did itNew restaurant, Scarborough · 6 IP cameras on the registers and kitchen line
Cameras, a bar TV wall and dining room audio for a new Scarborough restaurant
Called mid grand opening. Six IP cameras, two 75-inch screens and multi-zone speakers, done around service in a day and a half.
How we did itRelated questions
How much does it cost to install one security camera?
If you already have the camera, about $250 to mount, connect and set it up. A cable drop priced on its own is about $200.
Can you quote without seeing the property?
We can give a rough range from photos and a camera count. The final price comes after the free site visit.
Is there a monthly fee after installation?
Not with a local NVR. Footage records to the hard drive on site. Cloud recording or monitoring only costs extra if you choose it.