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Discover which smart door lock is the easiest to install, has the best battery life, and is ideal for fingerprint access.
Updated October 17, 2025
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Best Overall Value
Affordable and easy to use, August takes our number one spot for the best smart lock on the market today.
Best Touchscreen
Smart home-centric and feature-packed, Yale takes our number two spot.
Easiest Install
Reliability is the name of the game with Schlage, which gets our vote for best equipment.
Best Overall Value
Bottom Line: With plenty of third-party smart home integrations and robust security features, August is the smart and affordable way to secure your home’s entryway.
Best Touchscreen
Bottom Line: Yale has a reputation for making high-quality smart locks with a modern touch. Their products aren’t cheap, but features like touchscreen controls make it worth it.
Easiest Install
Bottom Line: Like Yale, Schlage is a titan in the lock world, and it has adapted nicely to the new smart lock industry. These smart locks work with multiple smart home platforms including both Google Home and Alexa. They also play nice with AirBnB, making them a great choice if you occasionally rent out your property. That’s plenty of selling points, but Schlage also is among the most stylish smart locks you can buy. The company offers a wide range of models, so you can be sure of finding a smart lock that will perfectly match your home’s decor.
Your front door is crucial to your home security. More than 30 percent of burglars don’t bother to jimmy windows or sneak in through the garage. They just walk right in the front door. That’s why we recommend a smart lock to ensure you never leave your front door unlocked again.
However, we do not recommend any old smart lock. We tested dozens of smart locks on our front door to find the eight we’re going to recommend here. Our favorite was the August smart lock for its wide smart home integrations. We also like Yale and Schlage, as well as a few others we’ll highlight.
| System |
August
|
Yale
|
Schlage
|
Kwikset
|
Sesame
|
Danalock
|
ULTRALOQ
|
igloohome
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
6th
|
7th
|
8th
|
| SecureScore™ | 9.4 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.4 |
| Starting Price | $199.99 | $209.99 | $199.00 | $69.95 | $39.00 | $318.75 | $99.99 | $134.99 |
August doesn’t have at least a century of lock experience like Schlage and Yale. That said, they were founded on smart locks. Their expertise is so clear that Yale decided to create a lock with them. August makes cutting edge locks that work with Alexa, Google Home, and thousands of other smart devices. They support voice control and innovative proprietary features like Door Sense that alerts you when you leave your door unlocked.
There’s no doubt that burglars are finding ways to hack smart locks. That’s why we’re big fans of August’s high-grade encryption. They use the same encryption that banks do, 128-bit AES encryption, on all models.1 The app’s encoded as well to prevent people from intercepting your data and stealing your passcodes.
While August’s product line is not nearly as big as Schlage, their streamlined approach makes it easy to choose the right lock for your home. Every model is packed with capabilities, too, with some even working with Apple Watches. Here’s an overview of August’s models with their features and prices:
| Smart Lock | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|
| WiFi Smart Lock |
|
$199.99 |
| Yale Approach™ Lock with Wi-Fi + Keypad Touch |
|
$229.99 |
| Smart Lock + Connect |
|
$199.99 |
| Smart Lock + Connect + Keypad |
|
$249.99 |
Even with all the high-tech features, August builds their smart locks with the same toughness as top quality analog locks. We also like their color options which makes it easy to find a lock that fits your home’s aesthetic. Plus, they’re easy to install. It only took us about five minutes to install ours.
There’s no doubt that Yale offers some of the most durable and reliable locks in the industry. It’s kept them in business for over 150 years. They’ve kept up with the times, too, as their new touchscreen smart locks show. We could even use our Apple Key to unlock our Yale smart lock. Despite all the technology, durability and reliability remain at the core of all their locks.
Some of the best home security providers in the industry, names like ADT and Vivint, offer smart locks from Yale. They earned that trust by making virtually indestructible locks. It helps that their smart locks also integrate with Google Home and Alexa, which allows them to pair with thousands of other smart home devices.
The heart of a Yale smart lock is its touch screen that’s sleek, responsive and packed with high-tech capabilities. With our Yale Code Keypad Lock, we were able to generate unique keycodes for each member of the family. That eliminated the need to hide keys in the yard and let us track when the kids got home from school by checking when their codes were used.
All of that technology doesn’t come cheap. In fact, it’s important you pay attention to Yale pricing. Most of the company’s offerings cost between $180 and $260. That’s right around industry average. However, Yale offers smart locks all the way from $99 to $329.99, so you can always find one to fit your budget.
>> Learn More: Important Safety Rules to Teach Your Children
There aren’t many companies in the lock industry with a better reputation than Schlage. That hasn’t stopped them from keeping up with the times. Their locks integrate with thousands of smart home devices thanks to their Z-Wave support. There’s even an integration with Airbnb if you own a rental property.
All Schlage locks can withstand virtually any type of abuse. For all that toughness, they’re still surprisingly stylish which is great since it’ll be right on your front door. Schlage offers a wide range of models you can customize to fit your home with a choice of colors and finishes.
As for the smart side of the equation, Schlage’s locks are packed with technology. For instance, using its Alexa and Google Home integration, we could lock our door on the way out using our voice without even putting our coffee down. If we forget, the Schlage app sends an alert reminding us to lock our door, which we can do from our phone.
Schlage’s flagship product, the Encode Plus even kept track of who was entering our house based on individual passcodes. Best of all, while you’d expect to pay high prices for this level of technology, most Schlage locks cost between $150 and $300.
Kwikset's most popular feature is right there in the name — a quick installation. That extends to their smart locks too. A quick installation doesn’t mean a weak lock. They back up the durability of their products with a limited lifetime warranty against mechanical defects. We also like their intrusion detection feature that sends you an alert if your lock detects tampering.
Kwikset doesn’t offer as many smart lock models as Schlage, but it offers a wider range of features:
Plus, Kwikset doesn’t just work with Alexa and Google. It’s also compatible with SmartThings, Samsung, Apple HomeKit, ZigBee, and Z-Wave, depending on the model. Many models even support Matter, a connectivity standard for smart home products that improves compatibility between manufacturers.
We ordered a lock from Kwikset’s Halo Touch series, which offers biometric scanning. In simple terms, we didn’t need a key to get in, just our thumbprint. It could learn the fingerprints of up to 50 users with customizable access schedules for each user. We set a schedule for the pool cleaner, granting them access every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
You can also set Auto-Lock times. With an Auto-Lock schedule, your front door automatically locks at a specific time, perfect for anyone who forgets to lock their doors frequently. Kwikset locks also let you easily track who’s coming and going with unique user codes. Prices start at around $200.
10 years ago, Sesame created their smart lock that fits over existing deadbolts for an easy installation. They still offer that same lock, except updated with expanded smart capabilities and integrations for just $30. Sesame continues to push the envelope, now offering facial recognition and touchscreen add-ons as well for surprisingly low prices.
Not ready to go full-on smart home yet? We get it. Outfitting your whole home with smart devices is expensive. But smart locks are a great way to start, as they’re still effective and useful as standalone devices. Sesame locks make it easy to start there by turning your existing lock into a smart lock. That also makes them more affordable.
Although Sesame only modifies your existing lock, it provides just as many features as a smart lock that requires a complete replacement. It supports up to 99 guest keys, sends a notification any time a key is used, and integrates with other smart home platforms. We could even unlock ours by tapping our iPhone against it. There’s also facial recognition and touchscreen add-ons to further expand your authentication methods.
Since Sesame hasn’t been around nearly as long as Yale or Schlage, we spent some time assessing its stability as a company. After all, the last thing you want after buying a smart lock is for it to go out of business and discontinue the mobile app. That’d turn it into a regular lock that looks fancy. We found little to worry about, though, as Sesame is owned by Candy Shop, Inc., which has been in business for over a decade now.
The Danalock was created by a Danish father-son team, and it shows with its sleek, modern design. More importantly, it uses AES-256 encryption, the same standard used by the CIA and U.S. military.2 Plus, it supports permanent and temporary passcodes, making it a good option for Airbnbs.
We’re pretty smitten with the Danalock. It’s got a simple, sleek design with a futuristic keypad that’s built tough enough to withstand Danish winters. That means it still worked when it got down to below zero degrees Fahrenheit at our New York home. There’s also an internal lever for physical access in case the smart components fail. Plus, it can store up to 20 passcodes, enough to cover all our friends and family.
Danalock offers four versions. One for Bluetooth, one for Apple Homekit, one for Bluetooth and Z-Wave, and one for Bluetooth and Zigbee. We prefer the Z-Wave or Zigbee integrations as those protocols each support over 4,000 smart devices. They also work with almost any smart home voice assistant.
The Danalock’s unique twist-assist function allows for easy opening. Just turn the lock a few degrees and the motor takes over. You can also go full-on remote entry and let the motor do all the work for you. That’s perfect for older homeowners who may have trouble getting a traditional deadbolt open. It also comes in handy when walking up to the door with too many grocery bags in your hands.
ULTRALOQ smartlocks offer multiple ways to enter your home, including fingerprint scans, passcodes, Apple Wallet keys, and voice commands. Many even come with an old-fashioned key as a backup. These are cutting-edge devices with fast processors that ensure you’re never waiting for your smart lock to decide if it’s really you.
ULTRALOQ locks were the first in the industry to offer fingerprint scanning. Needless to say, they’re now really good at it boasting a 99.8 percent accuracy rate. Even with that impressive accuracy, ULTRALOQ takes less than a second to scan a fingerprint. We’re used to waiting a few seconds for most smart locks. They can also store up to 95 fingerprints.
While we didn’t max out our fingerprint storage, we used their one-time-passcode feature for sharing temporary access more than we thought. It came in handy when our sink clogged and we needed to give our plumber access to our house while we were at work.
These advanced capabilities do come at a premium price with locks starting at $179.99 for the Bolt fingerprint. Prices go up to $249.99, although those packages also include a door lever. They plan to release a stripped down Bolt model for $149.99 in the near future, which would be their most affordable option yet.
Igloohome offers more than just deadbolts. They make all kinds of locks smart from padlocks to keyboxes. Of course, they offer deadbolts, too. This flexibility makes them great for Airbnb owners as you can use the padlocks to block off private areas of your home, and the keybox or deadbolt for entry. Then, you can manage it all in one intuitive mobile app.
We don’t happen to have an Airbnb to rent out, but we still found Igloohome’s deadbolt useful. It features a sleek design that fits the aesthetic of our modern home. There’s also a fingerprint scanner, keypad, and physical key backup. The app made it easy to create, change, or delete codes, too. That’s how we gave our neighbor who walks our dog access to our home. If we decide she’s not working out, we can always delete the code.
We also bought one of Igloohome’s military-grade padlocks and installed it on our gym locker. Sure, our sweaty socks don’t need military-grade protection. That said, having a smart lock on our locker was convenient. When our racquetball partner wanted to borrow our racquet for a pickup game, we were able to give him access to our locker without leaving the comfort of our La-Z-Boy.
Premium security doesn’t come cheap and Igloohome is no different. That military-grade padlock costs over $175 and our smart deadbolt cost $160. To us, the Igloohome’s advanced features make them worth the price. For instance, every lock comes with a built-in alarm that sounds if someone tries to pry it off your door. They also come with emergency power options through a DC9V battery.
Sure, you can go ahead and pick any smart lock from this list and your front door will be safer with easier access control. However, to pick the best smart lock for you, you’ll need to figure out which features are most important for your needs.
Different features are going to matter more for you than they do for us. For instance, if you don’t have a Google Home Assistant device, you won’t care about that integration. Of course, there still are some features that everyone should look for. Here’s a list of the most common features people prioritize that you can use to figure out which features you want:
Those common features will point you in the right direction. Figuring out the specific features you and your family need is no easy task. So, let’s dig into how you can find the right lock with the right features that fits your budget next.
Finding smart locks that fit your budget and have the right features for your particular situation is no easy task. We aim to make it easier by hand-testing locks and giving you our honest opinions. Since everyone’s situation is unique, you’ll still need to make some decisions on your own.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself that will help narrow down your choices and find the smart lock to fit your needs.
Once you answer those four questions, you’ll have a good idea of the features you need and type of lock you can afford.
Before picking out a smart lock for your apartment or condo, we always recommend asking your landlord for permission to install a smart lock. You’d be surprised by what they put in the fine print in rental agreements, so it’s best to cover your bases and get their buy-in to avoid any trouble. This is especially true for smart locks that don’t work with your existing key.
Once you get your landlord’s agreement, the best smart locks for apartments are easy to install and program. Also look for a solution that doesn’t require swapping out hardware. Even better if it can use the same key as the current deadbolt. That helps keep things landlord-friendly.
Any smart lock that installs on the inside of your door over existing hardware, such as the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock, allows you to keep using the same key. Some companies also manufacture smart locks that can be re-keyed to fit your existing key. Kwikset, for instance, has a rekeying system. And many other smart locks can be rekeyed to work with your traditional key.
Put simply, August, Yale, and Schlage make the best smart locks on the market. They offer the highest level of security with the most advanced features. Plus, their prices are reasonable. They’re not the cheapest on the market, but they offer the best value.
That said, no product is right for everyone. Kwikset, Sesame, Danalock, ULTRALOQ, and Igloohome all offer something unique we couldn’t find from August, Yale, and Schlage. What smart lock will be best for you all comes down to your specific needs.
Most smart locks feature fingerprint scanners with an accuracy rate of at least 99 percent. However, we always recommend choosing a smart lock with alternative access methods just in case.
While traditional deadbolts can offer the same level of security as a smart lock, that’s only if you never forget to lock them. We find smart locks safer since many of them offer auto-locking features or send reminders if you forget to lock your door.
It is technically possible for a smart lock to be hacked, but quality smart locks include advanced cybersecurity measures to prevent it. In most cases, picking a physical lock is easier than hacking a smart lock.
Installation time depends on the type of smart lock you buy. Most retrofit smart locks can be installed in under 15 minutes. For a complete replacement of your existing lock, expect to spend about 30 minutes.
All high-quality smart locks come with emergency access options in case your battery dies. Most of them let you use a physical key to still unlock your door with some supporting emergency power through an external battery.
Treasury Direct. (2025). 128 Bit Browser Encryption.
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/help/128-bit/
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. (2024). Transition to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/23_0918_fpic_AES-Transition-WhitePaper_Final_508C_24_0513.pdf
