How Much Does It Cost to Install Security Cameras in Calgary?
It is the first question almost every Calgary home and business owner asks us — and the honest answer is that it depends. A four-camera system for a small retail shop and a forty-camera system for a warehouse are both “security camera installations,” but they have very little in common on price. Anyone who gives you a firm number without looking at your property is guessing, and guesses usually turn into surprise charges later.
What we can do is show you exactly what drives the price, so you can read any quote — including ours — with confidence. When you are ready for an exact number, Bordo Security provides free on-site assessments and written estimates for security camera installation in Calgary, so the price you approve is the price you pay.
The 7 Things That Drive the Price
1. How many cameras you actually need
Camera count is the biggest single factor. Every additional camera adds the camera itself, a recorder channel, cabling, and installation time. This is also where a good design saves you money: a well-placed camera with the right lens can cover an area that would otherwise need two or three poorly placed ones. We design systems around what you actually need to see — entrances, tills, loading docks, parkades, yards — not around selling the most cameras.
2. Camera type and resolution
A fixed indoor dome, an outdoor turret built for Alberta winters, a PTZ camera that can zoom across a yard, a panoramic multi-sensor unit, and a thermal perimeter camera all sit at very different price points. Resolution matters too: higher-resolution cameras capture the detail you need to identify a face or a licence plate, but they also use more storage and bandwidth. Matching the camera to the job — instead of putting the same camera everywhere — is where most of the value in a professional design comes from.
3. Recording and storage
Your recorder and hard drives are sized by two things: how many cameras you have and how long you want to keep the footage. A week of recordings and three months of recordings are very different systems. Businesses with compliance or liability concerns usually need longer retention. Cloud-managed platforms are another option, storing footage on the camera and in the cloud with no recorder on site at all. We size storage honestly, based on the retention you actually need.
4. Cabling and installation difficulty
Labour is the part of the quote most people underestimate. Running new Cat6 cable through an open warehouse ceiling is straightforward; fishing cable through a finished home or a concrete parkade takes longer. Building height, distance between cameras and the recorder, exterior work, and lifts all affect installation time. Where cable truly cannot run, a point-to-point wireless bridge can connect a gate, yard, or outbuilding back to the main system. Our network and structured cabling team in Calgary plans these runs as part of the same job, so there are no surprises mid-install.
5. The network behind the cameras
Cameras need power and a network that can carry their video. PoE switches, a properly sized router, and clean cable management are unglamorous — and they are the difference between a system that runs for years and one that drops cameras every few weeks. A complete quote includes this infrastructure, not just the cameras on the wall.
6. Brand and platform
Bordo installs and supports professional brands across a range of budgets — including Hanwha Vision, Axis, Avigilon, Hikvision, IndigoVision, Milestone, SightLogix, and Verkada. Value-oriented lines keep a small business system affordable; enterprise platforms add powerful analytics, multi-site management, and long-term scalability. The right choice depends on your property and how you plan to grow, and we will walk you through the trade-offs in plain language.
7. Integration, setup, and training
A camera system that ties into your access control system in Calgary or alarm system is worth more than three systems working in isolation. Programming, remote-viewing app setup on your phone, and training your staff to find and export footage are all part of a complete installation — and they should all be in the quote, not added later.
Homes vs. Businesses: Why the Quotes Look Different
Home systems are usually smaller — a handful of cameras covering doors, driveway, and yard — with straightforward cabling and a single recorder. Business systems add scale and requirements: longer recording retention, coverage of public and staff areas, parkades and loading areas, integration with doors and alarms, and sometimes coverage across several buildings. That is why a business quote is built from a site walk-through rather than a camera count alone. With more than 16 years of experience and 1,350+ completed projects across Calgary — homes, retail, warehouses, condos, industrial sites, and oil and gas facilities — our team of 12+ specialists designs for the property in front of us, not from a template.
What a Proper Quote Should Include
Whoever you hire, your written estimate should spell out: the site assessment and camera design; every camera, recorder, and drive by model; all cabling and network equipment; installation and programming; app setup and training; and warranty and local support after the install. Be cautious with flat per-camera pricing offered sight unseen — it almost never accounts for cabling, storage, or the network, and those “extras” appear on the final invoice. A detailed written quote protects you.
How to Get an Exact Price for Your Property
It starts with a conversation and a walk-through. Call Bordo Security at 403-397-3300 (toll-free 1-888-397-3301), Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM, or send a request through our quote page. We will look at your property, talk through what you need to see, and give you a written estimate with everything included — no pressure and no obligation. If the design is not right, we adjust it before anything is installed.
Request your free camera system quote or explore our security cameras in Calgary page to see the brands and systems we install.
Common Questions
Can you give me a price over the phone?
We can talk through your property and give you honest guidance, but an exact price needs a look at the site — camera placement, cable routes, and storage requirements change the number too much for a responsible phone quote. The site assessment and written estimate are free.
Do you supply the cameras, or can I buy my own?
We design, supply, install, and warranty complete systems. Supplying the equipment ourselves is how we can stand behind the whole installation — cameras, recorder, cabling, and support — with one local team to call if anything ever needs attention.
How long does installation take?
It depends on the size of the system and the cabling involved. Smaller systems are often completed quickly, while multi-building projects are scheduled in stages. Your written estimate includes the expected timeline before any work begins.
