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Security guard cost calculator for Redwood City properties.
Plan a month of security in Redwood City before you ask for a quote. This security guard cost calculator turns an on-site officer’s schedule or a set of nightly patrol stops into a monthly range you can take to your budget meeting.
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Price your coverage in a minute.
Pick on-site guard or mobile patrol, type in the schedule you have in mind and the range appears straight away. Change a number and the estimate updates, so it’s easy to compare a weekday lobby post with a seven-night plan, or a guard on foot with one who drives the grounds.
The three numbers behind a guard estimate.
An on-site estimate is built from three inputs. First, how many officers are on duty at once: one at a front desk, or two when a vehicle gate and a receiving door each need a person. Second, how many hours a day the post is staffed. Third, how many days a week it runs.
The calculator multiplies those into officer-hours for a month and applies the hourly range. A post from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. is counted the same way as a twelve-hour day post, so the result reflects the length of the schedule rather than the time of day. Your written quote then reflects the actual shifts, including weekends and holidays.
If you aren’t sure which hours to type in, our round-the-clock or business-hours chart sets common property types against daytime, overnight and full-day coverage. Find your row, enter that schedule here and adjust it until the range matches the risk you’re trying to cover.
When the officer needs a car.
Some Redwood City properties are too spread out to cover on foot. An office campus in Redwood Shores with parking along the lagoon, a fenced yard out toward the Seaport, or a business park with separate lots off Veterans Boulevard can all take longer to walk than a round allows. A guard who has to check a second parking area or move between buildings through the shift needs a vehicle too.
Tick the vehicle box and the calculator adds it to every hour of the estimate. Leave it clear for a downtown lobby near Courthouse Square, a front desk, a gatehouse or any compact site an officer can cover end to end on foot.
Estimating patrol by the minute.
Patrol is priced by the time an officer spends on your property, so this part of the calculator asks for visits a night, minutes a visit and nights a week. Five minutes is the shortest visit the estimate will count. A quick look at a gate and a pair of doors sits near that minimum, while a walk through a garage, a receiving yard and the rear of a building needs more minutes at each stop.
Our mobile patrol officers drive marked cars and arrive at varied times, so nobody can plan around the visit, and each stop is logged with the time. Patrol fits properties that go quiet after closing, such as offices along the Highway 101 corridor or a storage site once the gate locks. If you’re weighing a car calling in through the night against a person on post, our guide to patrol visits or an on-site guard sets out the choice, including a daytime officer who hands the night to patrol visits.
What moves your written quote.
The calculator works from hours, visits and the vehicle box. A written quote adds the details only a visit to the property shows, and these are the ones that change it most:
- What the officer does on post: visitor sign-in, vehicle checks, interior rounds or receiving-door control, spelled out in your post orders
- How large the grounds are and what has happened there before, from break-ins to trespass
- Overnight, weekend, holiday and 24-hour schedules
- The number of posts staffed side by side
- Whether you want armed coverage, which is quoted separately
- Who receives the shift reports and incident reports with photos
One-off dates sit outside a monthly plan. A tenant party or a product launch calls for event security, and a sprinkler or alarm outage calls for fire watch; both are quoted on their own. Walking the site first with our security assessment checklist helps you arrive with the right numbers.
From estimate to a firm rate.
Use the range to plan, then let a walkthrough settle the rate. The walkthrough is free: we look at the entrances, lots and quiet hours behind your numbers, confirm the posts or patrol stops that cover them, and send a written quote. Our guide to what happens on a free walkthrough explains what to have ready.
When the estimate looks right, send it from the calculator and it lands in the quote form with your officers, hours, days and patrol visits already filled in. Coverage runs month to month, so the plan can grow or shrink once the first shift reports show where officers are busiest, whether that’s downtown, in Redwood Shores or by the bay.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Will a night or weekend post show a higher estimate?
The estimate treats every officer-hour alike, day or night, weekday or weekend. Your written quote follows the actual shifts, and that is where late-night, weekend and holiday hours are priced.
Why does the patrol estimate ask how long each visit lasts?
Patrol is priced by the minutes an officer spends on site. A quick gate and door check takes less time than a walk through a garage and a yard, and each visit counts as at least five minutes.
Should we tick the vehicle box for our property?
Tick it when the officer has to cover a large campus, several buildings or parking areas, or a fence line too long to walk. A lobby, front desk or gatehouse post is covered on foot, so leave it clear.
Is the estimate the price we will pay in Redwood City?
It’s a planning range. The rate is set after a free walkthrough of your property, and a written quote confirms the posts, hours and patrol visits before anything starts.
Can we include armed officers in the estimate?
The calculator covers on-site and patrol coverage. Armed posts are quoted on their own after the walkthrough, so mention them in the quote form and we’ll include them in your written quote.