Smart locks offer a significant benefit over traditional deadbolts in that you never have to carry a physical key.
Instead, many smart locks include PIN pads and/or electronic keys, with the “key” residing in an app on your smartphone that connects with the lock wirelessly. With a few swipes on your smartphone, you may create, revoke, remove, and limit them to certain time periods with both ways.
Some versions even have fingerprint scanners integrated in, allowing you to open your door the same way you unlock your phone: with a tap of your finger.
Below you’ll find the best smart locks from our tests, split into three categories. You’ll find models from August, Bosma, Eufy, Kwikset, Wyze, and Yale.
So Here Are List of 2021’s Best Smart Locks
Best Bluetooth-Only Smart Locks
Eufy Smart Lock Touch
Out of the box, the Eufy Smart Lock Touch can’t connect to the internet for remote control. For that, you’ll need the Eufy Wi-Fi Bridge, $46, sold separately at Amazon.
Even without the bridge, though, this lock has a lot of features and performed admirably in our tests. It has a fingerprint scanner, a touch-screen keypad for PINs, an access log to keep track of who comes and leaves, an auto-lock function, and the ability to lock and unlock it through Bluetooth via a smartphone app.
This Eufy receives an excellent grade in our lab testing for its resistance to kick-ins as advertised. It’s also extremely pick-resistant, however drilling resistance might be improved. This lock is highly praised for its convenience features and ease of installation.
Kwikset Aura 942 BLE
The Kwikset Aura 942 BLE is a dependable Bluetooth-only smart lock offering strong performance in our kick-in and lock-picking tests. It receives a Very Good rating for ease of setup and connectivity, but its feature set is limited compared with other smart locks, resulting in low scores for our ease of remote access, security add-ons, and convenience tests.
It features a keypad for up to 250 shareable PINs, an auto-lock feature, and the ability to lock and unlock from its smartphone app via Bluetooth when nearby.
Best Wi-Fi-Capable Smart Locks
Eufy Smart Lock Touch & Wi-Fi
Smart locks that link directly to Wi-Fi without the use of adapters or hubs are becoming increasingly common, making setup easier and less difficult for users. The Eufy Smart Lock Touch & Wi-Fi is one of the finest versions with built-in Wi-Fi in our evaluations.
It performs well in our brute-force testing for kick-ins and picking, and despite not being a keyless model, it earns a Good grade for drilling. In our tests, it also did well in terms of remote access, convenience, and connection. A fingerprint scanner for one-touch unlocking, a touch-screen keypad for PIN codes, auto-locking, an access log, and voice control through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are just a few of the features.
Yale Assure YRD256-CBA-619
The Yale Assure Lock SL uses its sister company August’s smart lock platform, complete with a smartphone app almost identical to August’s that simply uses Yale branding instead. That means it offers many of the same features as the August smart locks below, including remote control, an access log, voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant), electronic keys, and a door open/close sensor.
This lock also includes Yale’s version of the August Connect Wi-Fi adaptor, which costs $79 and is required to use all of the capabilities, at no additional cost. The Yale Assure Lock SL received a Very Good grade for drilling resistance in our testing. It’s also hard to pick because it’s keyless, and as advertised, it’s highly resistant to kick-ins.
More: Electronic Door Lock with Remote Control
Kwikset Halo Touch 959 CNT FPTR WIFI 15
The Kwikset Halo Touch is another top-performing Wi-Fi smart lock that doesn’t require an additional hub or bridge to connect to the internet for remote control. In our tests, the Halo Touch withstands kick-ins and lock picking well, but it’s very susceptible to attacks from a cordless drill.
It receives strong scores for its convenience features, ease of setup and connectivity to other smart home devices (such as smart speakers), and ease of remote access, with an Excellent rating for the latter. Its feature set includes a fingerprint scanner for one-touch locking and unlocking, an access log to keep tabs on who comes and goes, an auto-unlock feature, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Best Retrofit Smart Locks
August Smart Lock Pro AUG-SL-CON
The retrofit August Smart Lock Pro offers a ton of smart features, including auto-locking and unlocking, voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant), access logs, electronic keys, a door sensor (to tell if the door is closed, not just locked), and compatibility with Z-Wave Plus smart home hubs.
The lock has remote access features, but you’ll need to buy it with the August Connect Wi-Fi adapter, $79, to get those features as well as voice control. It earns an Excellent rating for convenience in our tests and is very easy to set up.
Bosma Aegis Smart Lock SL0001
The Bosma Aegis retrofit smart lock receives high scores across the board in our tests, including an Excellent rating for ease of remote access. It also comes with plenty of features, such as auto-locking, auto-unlocking, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, electronic keys, an access log, a door open/close sensor, and a tamper alarm to warn you of a possible break-in.
Wyze Lock WLCKG1
The Wyze Lock is this inexpensive smart home company’s first smart lock, and it performed admirably in our tests. It has a Very Good rating for remote operation and receives good marks in our convenience and security add-on tests. Auto-locking and unlocking, an access log, electronic keys, an integrated door sensor, voice control via Amazon Alexa (Google Assistant integration is supposedly in the works, but it’s been that way for over a year), and an alarm to notify you if the door is left open for an extended period of time are among its features.