7 Best Smart Locks (2026 Review Guide)

Keypad locks give you a physical fallback if your phone dies or your Wi-Fi goes down, which matters more than most buyers realize until it happens. App-only locks are cleaner and harder to shoulder-surf, but they create a single point of failure tied to your phone battery and connectivity. For a primary entry door, most households get more practical value from a keypad model that also supports app control.

Built-in Wi-Fi saves you the hub cost upfront and reduces setup complexity, but it drains the battery noticeably faster – often cutting battery life from 12 months down to 4 – 6 months depending on usage frequency. A hub-based lock using Z-Wave or Zigbee typically costs less over time in batteries and tends to have a more stable connection if you already run a smart home hub. If you have no existing hub and don't plan to add one, built-in Wi-Fi is the more practical choice.

Auto-lock delay controls how many seconds or minutes after the door closes before the lock engages automatically, and the useful range for most households is 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on whether you carry groceries in or out frequently. Too short a delay and the lock engages while the door is still open or before you've cleared the frame; too long and you're leaving the door unlocked for extended periods. Look for models that let you customize this in the app rather than locking you into one or two preset values.

The most common mistake is assuming a smart lock will retrofit onto any existing deadbolt cutout, when in fact many models require a specific backset measurement – typically 2-3/8 inches or 2-3/4 inches from the edge of the door to the center of the bore hole. Buyers also frequently overlook door thickness compatibility, since most smart locks are designed for doors between 1-3/8 and 2 inches thick, and a door outside that range may need an extension kit or won't be compatible at all. Check both measurements on your door before ordering.

Most smart locks are designed to replace a standard single-cylinder deadbolt and reuse the existing strike plate and door bore, so the swap is usually straightforward if your current deadbolt is a standard ANSI Grade 1 or 2 size. The interior escutcheon on smart locks is significantly larger and heavier than a traditional deadbolt, so doors with decorative trim or narrow stiles – common on older or custom doors – may not provide enough flat surface for the mounting plate to seat correctly. Measure the flat area around your interior bore hole and compare it to the lock's mounting plate dimensions listed in the spec sheet.

Battery life varies widely: locks using four AA batteries with Bluetooth-only access average 6 – 12 months under normal use, while models with always-on Wi-Fi often need new batteries every 3 – 5 months. Most smart locks in the $150 – $300 range carry a 1-year electronics warranty and a separate mechanical warranty of 3 years or more, since the keyway and bolt mechanism outlast the circuit board by a significant margin. If you're buying in the sub-$100 tier, confirm the electronics warranty covers the full first year, as some budget models limit it to 90 days.