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Security guard cost calculator
Use this private security cost calculator to estimate a monthly price range for an on-site guard, an armed guard or nightly patrol visits, then send it with your quote request.
Your monthly range before the first call
Budgeting for a lobby post, a gate officer or a few overnight patrol stops? Choose an on-site security guard, an armed security guard or mobile patrol visits, answer a short set of questions about your hours, and the calculator shows a monthly planning range for that coverage. It takes about a minute, and nothing is sent until you choose to send it.
Headcount, hours and days for a guard post
A guard estimate rests on three plain answers. The first is how many guards stand on duty at once: a single lobby desk counts as one, while a lobby desk staffed alongside a gatehouse counts as two. The second is how many hours each guard spends on post per day, from a four-hour closing shift up to a full twenty-four. The third is how many days a week that coverage runs, so a weekday office post and a seven-day warehouse gate land on very different totals.
In the estimate, an overnight or weekend hour counts the same as a weekday afternoon hour. Your written quote can price night, weekend and holiday hours on their own once HALO knows the schedule. If you are still working out which hours carry the most risk, the coverage hours planner lays out common risk windows before you fill in the numbers here.
The calculator also lets you pick an armed security guard instead of an on-site security officer without a firearm. HALO staffs both. An unarmed officer is the usual pick for a desk, gate or loading dock, and an armed post is the choice when the property’s own risk review points toward it. Armed officers carry exposed-firearm permits in addition to the BSIS guard card that every HALO officer holds, and the armed option has its own range in the calculator.
Adding a vehicle to the guard’s shift
Some posts cover more ground than an officer can walk in a reasonable round. A construction site with a long fence line, a business park spread across several buildings, a gated community with separate parking lots or a yard with a perimeter road all fit that description. On those properties the guard drives between checkpoints during the shift and parks back at the post between rounds.
Tick “The guard needs a vehicle” and the calculator adds the vehicle for every hour the guard is on duty. Leave it clear for a lobby, a single entrance or a compact lot that one officer can cover on foot.
Patrol visits are priced by time on the property
Mobile patrol works differently from a post. An officer arrives, checks doors, gates and fence lines, handles any lock-up or unlock on the list, files a photo report and moves on to the next stop. Because you pay for the minutes spent on your property, the patrol estimate asks for three things: visits each night, minutes per visit and nights each week.
Every visit counts as at least five minutes. A quick check of two doors and a gate fits near that mark, while a walk of every floor, the stairwells and a parking structure takes longer, so enter the time your round actually needs.
A patrol fits a property that sits empty after closing and mainly needs someone to show up at hours nobody can predict. A post fits a property where someone has to be present the whole time: visitors to sign in, deliveries to receive, a gate to open or a crowd to watch. The two also combine well: a daytime post at the front desk, then patrol stops after the building locks up. Our guide to choosing a dedicated post or a patrol route walks through that choice in more detail, and you can run the calculator once for each part of a split plan.
Reading your security guard cost estimate
The result shows a low and a high monthly figure. The low end fits a quiet post with short post orders, and the high end reflects a busier post with heavier duties. Months are averaged at a little over four weeks, so a plan that runs every week of the year divides evenly into twelve similar bills.
Running two versions side by side is the quickest way to compare options: an unarmed post against an armed one, a guard on foot against a guard with a vehicle, or a full overnight post against a few patrol visits. The hourly rates behind each option, with worked examples, are in the security guard cost guide.
Details your written quote will reflect
The range on this page is built from hours and visits alone. The exact rate on your written quote also follows the details below, and the security guard cost guide explains how each of them shifts the price.
- Post duties, such as visitor sign-in, escorts, key control and interior rounds, set out in the post orders (our post orders checklist covers what to include)
- The size of the property and the level of risk at that address
- The hours, plus the holidays the plan has to cover
- How many separate posts the property needs
- Reporting, from daily activity logs to photo incident reports
- Special events, which HALO quotes on their own rather than folding them into regular coverage
Send the range with your quote request
Treat the number as a starting point for your budget conversation. HALO sets the exact rate after a walkthrough of the property, and the on-site security review is free with a guard quote. The button under your result sends your answers with the quote request on this page, so you skip typing the hours twice.
Prefer to start from scratch? Use the contact page to describe the address, the hours you need covered and your main concern. HALO is insured and bonded, and every client receives a certificate of insurance.
Resources
Related guides
A few useful answers
Common questions
What is the hourly cost of a security guard?
As of 2026, an unarmed post typically runs $36 to $50 an hour and an armed post $60 to $75, and a guard who needs a vehicle adds about $7 to $12 an hour. Enter your hours here for a monthly estimate, and the security guard cost guide shows worked examples.
How do I estimate the cost of mobile patrol?
Patrol is priced by the minute the officer spends on your property, with a five-minute minimum each visit. Choose mobile patrol visits, enter visits a night, minutes per visit and nights a week, and the calculator returns a monthly price range.
Does the calculator charge more for overnight or weekend hours?
No. The calculator counts every hour at the same range. Your written quote prices night, weekend and holiday hours after HALO reviews the schedule with you.
What is the shortest patrol visit I can enter?
Five minutes. Each patrol visit is counted as at least five minutes on the property, and longer rounds are entered at their full length.
How do I choose between an armed and an unarmed guard?
Start with unarmed coverage for a typical desk, gate or dock post. Choose the armed option when your property’s risk review calls for an armed officer, and HALO staffs that post with an officer who holds an exposed-firearm permit.
Does every guard need a vehicle?
No. Tick the vehicle box only when the post covers several buildings, separate lots or a perimeter too long to walk. A lobby or single entrance is covered on foot.
Can I price a daytime post and overnight patrols together?
Run the calculator once for the post and once for the patrol plan, then send both ranges with your quote request so HALO can build the split schedule.