Brivo Access Control Systems

Brivo's access control features don't include the access cards common among cloud-based solutions. Instead, Brivo users' mobile devices function as access cards. That isn't the only innovation that Brivo brings to access control, though. Learn more below, and read our full Brivo review.

What Is Brivo?

Brivo is a security company that introduced cloud-based access control to the world in 2002. This development arrived three years after Brivo's 1999 founding in Bethesda, Maryland.

As of June 2015, Dean Drako, who founded the video surveillance company Eagle Eye Networks, owns Brivo. As such, Brivo's cloud-based access control has become more integrative with video surveillance systems in recent years. Brivo remains independent of Eagle Eye Networks.

Does Brivo Have a Free Trial?

Rather than offering a free trial, Brivo allows interested customers to request a demo of its access control software. Brivo does not explicitly state how long this demo lasts before you must pay, so we recommend you contact Brivo for more information.

Brivo Pricing

Brivo pricing varies based on the results of a security assessment that Brivo will conduct for your company. However, if you opt for Brivo Complete, you will pay a flat $99 activation fee.

FYI: You can always add more Brivo mobile passes than your plan initially includes, but you'll pay extra for each additional pass.

Brivo Access Control Products

When you choose Brivo, you have four options:

Brivo Standard

Brivo Standard provides your company with basic access control features. You can use it to secure your facilities and keep your team safe. If needed, you can also purchase Brivo's identity connector, API integrations and single sign-on (SSO) tools.

Notably, Brivo Standard does not include door readers, as it is intended for small-scale, software-only use. Brivo Standard includes the following functions:

• Administrator roles and permissions
• Custom event classification
• Device status
• Event tracking
• Five Brivo mobile passes
• Lockdowns
• Remote management
• Video surveillance (if you purchase Brivo's video cameras)

Brivo Professional

With Brivo Professional, you'll get real-time monitoring, automation, extensive integrations and thorough analytics. It includes everything in Brivo Standard plus these features:

• API integrations
• Event trend analysis
• Identity connector
• 10 door readers
• 500 Brivo mobile passes

Brivo Enterprise

Brivo Enterprise ups your access control system to include real-time data insights. It includes everything in Brivo Professional plus these features:

• Data explorer
• Global view
• SSO
• 20 door readers
• 1,000 Brivo mobile passes

To make the above information easier to understand, we've compared Brivo Standard, Professional and Enterprise in the below table:

Brivo Complete

Brivo introduced its Complete platform in 2020. Brivo Complete combines Brivo Onair (which you'll also use to log in to Brivo Standard, Professional or Enterprise) with video cameras, Brivo control panels and Brivo Readers.

Although Brivo Complete includes far more hardware than Brivo's other products, its functional differences from these products are minimal. Its main distinguishing factor is its subscription model, which Brivo says is rare among access control systems. Brivo intends for this system to eliminate upfront cash barriers to purchases.

Tip: Brivo Complete is useful for offloading the upfront costs of access control, but it's functionally no different from Brivo's stand-alone product tiers.

Brivo access control products overview
Source: Brivo

Brivo Payment Options

Brivo accepts credit card payments, electronic funds transfers or checks. You can also sign up for Brivo's payment programs to keep your access control costs within your budget.

Best Features of Brivo

These are some of Brivo's best features across its four access control systems:

• Access trends. Brivo Professional and Enterprise provide data analytics that show you access trends at your facilities. With this information, you can get a complete picture of which employees are accessing which spaces and when access events are happening.
  
  
• Administrator roles and permissions. You can assign roles to employees and give them certain access permissions. This ability can come in handy if you need an employee onsite to handle an emergency when you're not available.
  
  
• Advanced activity analysis. Brivo automatically displays a full view of your entire security infrastructure so that you can master your incident responses and best protect your facility, team and information.
  
  
• Arming and disarming. Through the Brivo mobile app, you can arm and disarm alarms remotely. This function allows you to manage access incidents easily without an onsite presence.
  
  
• Data analytics. Brivo doesn't just present access data – it analyzes your figures for you. This function makes Brivo ideal for transforming your knowledge about your access events into actionable insights.
  
  
• Device status. Although Brivo's required hardware setup is minimal compared to that of most access control companies, the Brivo mobile app still includes tools to check your hardware devices' status. If you notice an inactive device that should be active, you can reactivate it remotely.
  
  
• Door readers. Speaking of Brivo's minimal hardware setup, even its Enterprise tier includes just 20 door readers. Brivo focuses not on tangible tools but on an interconnected, easily accessible remote security setup.
  
  
• Easy installation. With its limited hardware components, Brivo is perhaps the easiest of all access control systems to install. It's a good choice for companies that need quick installation or worry about the learning curve for access control.
  
  
• Extensive integrations. Through Brivo's API, your software development team (or a third-party developer you hire) can make Brivo integrate with just about any platform. With this breadth of integrations, you can fit Brivo to almost any of your needs.
  
  
• Event classification. You can categorize access events within Brivo. The interface has several preset classes, and you can also add your own.
  
  
• Event tracking. Brivo doesn't just grant access to someone and then forget about it. It generates a record of all tracked events that you can pull up whenever you want.
  
  
• Favorite doors. The Brivo mobile app allows you and your team to indicate and save your favorite doors. Quick access to these favorite doors can save time during check-ins or other events.
  
  
• Global view. Brivo Enterprise gives you a comprehensive view of access and security at all your facilities, including real-time access and location data.
  
  
• Identity connector. Through Brivo's identity connector, your access control and Active Directory programs remain interlinked at all times. This linking ensures that any authorized person who needs access gets it.
  
  
• Live door activity. The Brivo mobile app includes a live door activity feature, which can give you a real-time picture of any access point's events. If you have video cameras, you can view video footage from these doors as well.
  
  
• Lockdowns. Like all high-level access control systems, Brivo allows you to trigger lockdowns in the event of security breaches. You can disable these lockdowns from the Brivo app as well.
  
  
• Mobile credentials and passes. Forget about access cards – with Brivo, you and your team just need your phones to access your facilities. Brivo's mobile passes can even be hands-free (more on this later).

Source: Brivo

• Real-time monitoring. Brivo enables you to view all your access data not just in retrospect but in real time. This feature can come in handy during lockdowns, fire drills or other security events.
  
  
• Remote management. Since Brivo is entirely based in the cloud and largely rooted in the Brivo mobile app, you can use it whenever, wherever. This flexibility gives you full control over your facilities around the clock.
  
  
• Single-credential access. With Brivo, you don't need to give your employees cards for all your facilities. One mobile pass is good for all your Brivo locations, saving you the time and physical material involved in issuing a Rolodex of access cards.
  
  
• SSO. Brivo Enterprise gives you the ability to sign on through Google instead of creating a new Brivo account. Standard and Professional users can buy this feature as well.
  
  
• Siri voice commands. After pulling their phones out of their pockets, your employees won't need to open any apps or type any commands to use their mobile passes. Brivo takes Siri voice commands, so your team can speak their way into your facilities – no phone screen taps needed.
  
  
• Two-factor authentication. Brivo describes its mobile passes as a form of two-factor identification. Although they certainly aren't the usual form of two-factor authentication – an email triggered by an account login attempt – Brivo's argument makes sense. A mobile device is far less likely than an access card to fall into the hands of a person to whom it does not belong, thus adding an extra layer of identity verification.
  
  
• Video surveillance. If you add Brivo's video cameras to your access control suite, then the Brivo mobile app can generate live video surveillance of your facilities. However, video hardware is not included with Brivo's access control platform.

Summary

Brivo is a user-friendly access control system with easy setup and just the right number of features. We recommend it for any small business that needs comprehensive access control with as few upfront costs, installation requirements and hardware devices as possible.

If you're looking for an access control setup with biometric features, consider companies like Honeywell, or IDenticard if you need a more advanced setup.

Brivo FAQs

How much does Brivo cost?

Brivo's costs are based on the security analysis the company conducts for your business. If you choose Brivo Complete, you'll pay an additional $99 flat installation fee.

What is Brivo Onair?

Brivo Onair is the interface through which you access your cloud-based Brivo system. It is not a stand-alone Brivo product.

How are Brivo mobile passes used?

To use a Brivo mobile pass, open the Brivo app, then choose the location and door you want to access. Then, hold down the center unlock button. When your screen turns green, you'll have access to the door.