Best and Worst Door Locks of 2024
Deadbolts from August, Eufy, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale resist kicking, drilling, and kick-ins. But there are some locks to avoid.
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Most burglaries involve criminals forcibly entering a home, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics—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 August, Eufy, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale. We’ve also included four door locks to avoid. CR members can click on each model name for detailed ratings and reviews. (You might also be interested in our home security system ratings.)
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 door frame,” 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.”
To learn more about our testing, see our door lock buying guide. For more door lock options, check our complete door lock ratings.
Best Door Locks
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.
The Medeco Maxum 11TR503-19 is one of the strongest deadbolts across all of our lock categories. It’s top-notch for drilling, withstands kick-ins very well, and is designed in a way that makes it quite difficult to pick.
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 electronic deadbolt. It receives top marks for its resistance to picking and is difficult to kick in. The lock is vulnerable to attacks from a cordless drill, though.
Best Smart Locks
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.
The best model with built-in WiFi in our ratings is the Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi S230, which used to be called the Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi T8520J11. 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 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.
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 and lock picking. 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.
The August WiFi Smart Lock is the successor to the August Smart Lock Pro, which the company still sells. 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/unlock the door. You can also buy it without the keypad to save some money.
For more top-rated smart locks, see our review of the best smart locks.
Worst Door Locks
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.
