Best and Worst Door Locks of 2024 - Consumer Reports

Nov 02, 2024

These top-rated locks from August, Eufy, Kwikset, and Yale are excellent at resisting picking, drilling, and kick-ins. But there are some models to avoid.

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Over half of burglaries involve criminals forcibly entering a home, according to the FBI—and many of them come in through the front door. That’s why you need a good deadbolt.

Consumer Reports’ door lock ratings have test results on dozens of models, and we’ve seen that quality varies widely. Below, you’ll find some of the best locks on the market, including highly rated models from Eufy, Kwikset, and Yale. We’ve also included four door locks to avoid. CR members can click on each model name for detailed ratings and reviews. They can also check out our ratings on other home security systems.

Not ready to buy? You can probably make your current door lock more secure with a simple tweak. In one of our standard tests, Consumer Reports technicians use a custom-built jig that swings a 100-pound steel battering ram against a locked door. They repeat the test eight times, with the ram raised to increasing heights or until the lock fails. And many locks do fall short.

In these brute-force kick tests, “the cause of failure is more often than not the short screws used to attach the strike plate to the doorframe,” says Misha Kollontai, CR’s test engineer for door locks. “When this is the cause, replacing the included strike plate with a reinforced strike, which costs as little as $10, improves the lock’s resistance to kicking by magnitudes.”

Every lock that CR tests gets kicked in, picked, and drilled to test how easy they are to break in. All models, including smart locks, receive a score in each of the four break-in tests, allowing you to easily compare a lock’s strengths and weaknesses against a breaking and entering scenario. The only exception is retrofit smart locks, whose security is entirely dependent on the deadbolt it’s paired with.

Both types of smart locks also get additional testing. We investigate features such as smartphone alerts, remote locking and unlocking, geofencing (the ability to automatically lock or unlock the door based on your phone’s location), third-party app and voice control, shareable electronic keys, access logs of who comes and goes, and even tamper alarms. We also run through the wireless setup process to see how difficult it is to connect the locks to a smartphone and other smart home devices.

To learn more about our testing, see our door lock buying guide. For more door lock options, check our complete door lock ratings.

If you’re looking for a strong door lock with a deadbolt, consider these top-rated models below. They are stellar at resisting kick-ins and picking, according to our tests.

Kwikset Juno 991J15SMTCP

The Kwikset Juno 991J15SMTCP is one of the strongest conventional deadbolts you can buy. It stands up well to kick-ins as sold, and receives a high score for its ability to resist lock picking. The lock’s only weakness is that it’s susceptible to attacks from a cordless drill, but this is common with standard deadbolts.

Kwikset SmartCode 915 TRL

If you want a door lock with a keypad but don’t want it to connect to the internet or your smartphone, consider the Kwikset SmartCode 915 TRL. It receives top marks for its resistance to picking and is difficult to kick in. However, the lock is vulnerable to attacks from a cordless drill.

More and more smart locks are coming to market that connect directly to WiFi without the need for adapters and hubs, making setup easier and less complicated for consumers. Like the locks above, these smart iterations are good at surviving kick-ins and drilling attacks.

Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi S230

The best model with built-in WiFi in our ratings is the Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi S230. It receives strong scores in our brute-force tests for kick-ins and picking, and even manages a satisfactory rating for drilling despite not being a keyless model. The affordable lock also performs well in our tests for ease of remote access and connectivity. Its features include a fingerprint scanner for one-touch unlocking, a touchscreen keypad for PINs, auto-locking, an access log, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

If you’d prefer a smart lock that doesn’t connect to the internet, consider the Bluetooth-only version of this lock, the Eufy Smart Lock E130. It’s one of the best Bluetooth smart locks in our tests.

Kwikset Obsidian 954OBNZW500

The Kwikset Obsidian 954OBNZW500 is the strongest smart lock in our ratings, at least when it comes to its strength against brute-force attacks. In our tests, the lock receives a stellar rating for drilling, thanks to its keyless design, as well as impressive marks for kick-ins. The only thing about this lock that might make you consider other options? It uses a special wireless network called Z-Wave. That means you’ll need to connect the lock to a smart home hub that supports Z-Wave devices, such as a Samsung SmartThings smart home hub, Hubitat smart home hub, or Ring Alarm system. Still, the lock offers a number of useful features, including a touchscreen keypad for PINs, an access log to track who comes and goes, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

August WiFi Smart Lock AUG-SL05-K02-S01

The August WiFi Smart Lock is the successor to the discontinued August Smart Lock Pro. The new WiFi model offers a smaller physical design and connects directly to WiFi without the August Connect WiFi adapter, which costs $79. It gets identical scores in our performance tests—receiving a superb score for remote operation—and offers all of the same features (including those that require the WiFi adapter) except compatibility with Z-Wave smart home hubs.

The feature set includes auto-locking and unlocking, app and voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Apple Home/Siri, Google Home/Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings), access logs, electronic keys, and a door sensor. This package also includes August’s wireless keypad, $60, so you can use PIN codes to lock or unlock the door. You can also buy it without the keypad to save some money.

These locks rank at the bottom of our ratings, earning poor marks for pickings, drillings, and kick-ins.

Delaney 345001

The Delaney 345001 is a weak deadbolt that can’t stand up to CR’s tests for drilling, picking, and kick-ins. There are better options for the money.

MiLocks BLEF-02SN

The MiLocks BLEF-02SN is a Bluetooth-only smart lock that can’t withstand drilling, picking, and kick-ins as sold. Its performance was also mediocre in our tests for ease of remote access and convenience. All of that means this lock is neither very strong nor smart.

MiLocks ZWF-02BN

The MiLocks ZWF-02BN smart lock is very easy to drill, pick, and kick in (even when reinforced). There are stronger, more feature-rich smart locks worth considering.

Sure-Loc DK201-MD-15

The Sure-Loc DK201-MD-15 electronic lock is highly susceptible to drilling, picking, and kick-ins as sold. This lock simply won’t do much to protect your front door.

Daniel Wroclawski

Dan Wroclawski is a home and appliances writer at Consumer Reports, covering products ranging from refrigerators and coffee makers to cutting-edge smart home devices. Before joining CR in 2017, he was an editor at USA Today’s Reviewed, and launched the site’s smart home section. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with one of the over 70 connected devices in his house. Follow Dan on Facebook and Twitter @danwroc.