A professionally installed wired CCTV system with two to four cameras costs from around £400 in Tunbridge Wells and Kent, including the cameras, the recorder and fitting. Larger properties, or systems with 4K cameras and more advanced features, can run to £900 or more (2026 prices).
CCTV installation cost is one of the hardest prices to compare. One quote covers two battery cameras stuck to a wall, the next covers four 4K cameras wired back to a recorder, and both get called "CCTV". This guide sets out what a professionally installed CCTV system costs in Tunbridge Wells and Kent in 2026, what moves the price, and what you should expect to see in a fair quote.
How Much Does CCTV Installation Cost?
| System | Typical home | Price guide |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 4 cameras, recorded to a recorder in your home, viewable on your phone | Terraced, semi-detached and most detached houses | From around £400 |
| More cameras, 4K resolution or long cable runs to outbuildings | Larger houses, driveways, garages and gardens | £900 or more |
| Shops, offices, warehouses and rental blocks | Commercial premises | Priced after a free site survey |
These figures are for a complete, professionally fitted system. We agree a fixed price after a free survey, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay.
What Pushes the Price Up or Down
The number of cameras
Each camera adds equipment, a cable run and fitting time. Two cameras covering the front door and the back garden is a very different job from six cameras covering every side of a detached house, the drive and a garage.
How far the cables run, and what they run through
This is the factor most quotes leave out. Many wired systems today use a single network cable to each camera that carries both power and video, often called PoE (power over ethernet). That cable has to travel from the camera back to the recorder, usually through an external wall, into a loft or along a skirting. A short run through a cavity wall is quick. A long run through the solid brick walls common in Tunbridge Wells' Victorian and Edwardian homes, or out to a detached garage, takes longer to do neatly.
Wired or wireless cameras
"Wireless" cameras still need power. Some run from a mains supply and send video over Wi-Fi, others run on rechargeable batteries. Battery cameras cost less to fit, but they need recharging, rely on your Wi-Fi signal reaching the camera, and often record short clips rather than continuously. Wired cameras cost more to install, but they record all the time and keep working if the Wi-Fi drops.
Picture quality and storage
A 4K camera captures far more detail than a 1080p one, which helps with faces and number plates at a distance. It also produces bigger files, so you need a larger hard drive in the recorder to keep the same number of days of footage. A good installer will size the storage for how long you actually need to keep recordings.
Getting to the camera positions
Cameras mounted under the eaves of a two-storey house need safe ladder access, and anything higher may need extra equipment. Positions that are easy to reach and easy to run a cable to keep costs down.
What a Fair CCTV Quote Should Include
When you compare quotes, check each one covers the same things:
- The number, type and resolution of each camera, and where each one will go
- The recorder and the size of its hard drive, and roughly how many days of footage that holds
- How the cables will be routed and hidden, inside and out
- Setting up the app so you can watch live and recorded footage on your phone
- A handover showing you how to find and download a clip if you ever need it for the police or your insurer
- Advice on camera angles so you are not recording more of your neighbours' property than you need to
- What warranty covers the equipment and the workmanship
If one quote is much cheaper than the others, it is usually missing one of these, most often the recorder, the cable work or the set-up.
Running Costs After Installation
A wired system that records to a recorder in your home has no monthly fee. The ongoing costs are a little electricity, an occasional wipe of the lenses after bad weather, and eventually a replacement hard drive. Many battery and Wi-Fi cameras are different: they store footage in the cloud and charge a monthly subscription for it, which adds up over the years. It is worth asking about this before you choose a system.
Positioning Your Cameras Within the Rules
Where you point the cameras matters as much as what they cost. If a camera captures anything beyond your boundary, such as a neighbour's garden or the pavement, data protection law applies and you need to follow a few simple rules, including putting up a sign. We explain exactly what those rules are in our guide to whether it is legal to have CCTV on your house. When we install a system, we help you set the angles, and privacy masking where the camera supports it, so the cameras cover what you need and as little else as possible.
CCTV With an Alarm, Doorbell or Lighting
CCTV works best as part of a wider setup. Cameras record what happens, an alarm reacts to it, and good outdoor lighting makes both work better at night. Fitting a camera system alongside a burglar alarm, a video doorbell or security lighting in one visit usually costs less than booking each job separately. If you are weighing up an alarm too, our guide to wired vs wireless burglar alarms explains the options, and we also fit outdoor and security lighting.
To see how often burglaries and vehicle crime are recorded around your street, try our free burglary and crime checker, which uses police.uk data for your postcode.
Getting an Accurate CCTV Quote
Every property is different, so the most reliable figure comes from a short visit to see where the cameras need to go and how the cables will get there. We install wired and wireless CCTV systems with 1080p and 4K cameras, night vision and phone viewing across Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Crowborough and the wider Kent and East Sussex area, and we can also extend, reposition or repair a system you already have. Find out more about our CCTV and alarm installation service, or get in touch for a free, fixed-price quote.