Top 5 Smart Locks in 2023
If you want to stop worrying about lost keys and want to have easier and safer access to your home – you’ll need a smart lock.
Smart locks became popular in the past few years as you can open doors with your fingertips or password codes.
However, all smart locks aren’t made the same.
We’ve researched over 17 different smart locks and looked for something with auto lock feature, time-limited passwords, innovative fingerprint recognition, and many other important features.
Here are the top 5 picks:
Penny M - Research Specialist
With over 15 years of researching and inspecting helpful gadgets and tech devices, Penny gained an admirable knowledge. Check out her world-class knowledge and expertise in our Top 5 Reviews series.
Overall Grade
A+
Rating
9.8/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Osmo TopLock is by far our favorite choice on the market.
The first thing that makes it really unique and safe is their innovative fingerprint recognition technology that accurately reads your fingerprints and grants you access to your home.
Unlike some other smart locks, it has an automatic lock feature which locks the door as soon as you leave the home. This is super helpful if you have kids at home.
It even has a built-in alarm.
If someone tries to open the door with an “unrecognized” fingerprint, you’ll immediately receive an alert on your phone – this adds even more security to your home.
Additionally, you can have time-limited passwords that your friends or babysitter can use without granting anyone full access to your home – pretty safe, right?
Your whole family can store their fingerprints within a seconds.
If you want a safe and modern lock, you can’t go wrong with TopLock.
Osmo even offers a 14-day money back guarantee, so you can try it out for 2 weeks and still receive a full refund if you don’t find it useful.
Pros
Innovative fingerprint scanner
Built-in alert
Automatic lock & unlock
Very easy to set up
Time-limited passwords
Made out of quality material
Smart touch controls
You can give temporary access
Specific card for unlocking
In-app smart settings
C-class lock cylinder
14-day money back guarantee
Cons
Often runs out of stock due to high demand
Often runs out of stock due to high demand
WRAP-UP
Osmo TopLock is fairly priced for a market-leading smart lock with fingerprint recognition and innovative technology. Take advantage of this limited-time discount while supplies last.
Osmo offers a 14-day money-back guarantee and free shipping. Osmo TopLock was unanimously voted the best smart lock of 2023.
Overall Grade
B+
Rating
8.8/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Our long-running smart lock champ, the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock includes a retrofit August lock and a DoorSense open-close sensor to upgrade your existing deadbolt or other lock. Wi-Fi comes built in with this version of the lock, so you won’t need to pay extra for August’s plug-in Wi-Fi Connect bridge to enable remote access with a smartphone app, or to sync up with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri (August supports all three, which is terrific).
On top of that, the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is 45% smaller than previous August models, and it offers a good mix of features in the well-designed August app. That includes unlimited user access, auto-locking and unlocking, and a log of every action that happens at your front door. If you purchase August’s wireless keypad accessory for $60, you can add coded entry into the mix, too.
Pros
Great technology
LCD Display
Up to 7 family members
Quality material
Nice design
Free shipping
Easy to adjust
Cons
A lot of false alerts
A bit expensive
Overall Grade
B
Rating
8.3/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
If you’re renting out your place using a service like Airbnb, then a smart lock makes a ton of sense to make it easy for guests to get in. My recommendation would be to get a smart lock that supports coded entry — just give your guests a code that only works for the duration of their stay, and they’ll be able to get in and out without needing to use a key or download an app.
The coded smart lock I like the best is the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro. With physical buttons that work regardless of the weather (or whether or not the user is wearing gloves), it’s about as foolproof as coded locks get. It features one of my favorite smart lock designs, with a built-in fingerprint sensor and a sneaky front face that flips down to reveal the keyhole. Plus, the lock’s built-in Wi-Fi radio was a top performer in my range tests, which might make it an especially good pick for a door that’s a couple of rooms away from your router. You can sync it with Alexa or Google Assistant for voice controls, too, though Apple HomeKit isn’t supported.
Pros
Advanced features
Easy to use
High-grade accuracy
Unique design
Easy to adjust
You can open it multiple ways
Lightweight
Cons
Their WiFI system has a lot of errors
Often problems with battery
Only 7-day money back guarantee
Overall Grade
B
Ratings
7.8/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
August’s third-gen Smart Lock and Connect bundle comes with a DoorSense open-close sensor and the August Connect plug-in Wi-Fi bridge. The low-profile, retrofit design means you won’t need to replace your existing deadbolt lock and installation is easy, offering convenience for renters who might not be able to switch the existing deadbolt out at all.
With that August Connect Wi-Fi bridge pairing the lock with your home network, this version of the August lock is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for voice control, and you’ll find the same great remote access features in the August mobile app. About the only August feature that you don’t get here is compatibility with Apple HomeKit (sorry, Siri). Available in silver or dark gray for as little as $185, it’s the first smart lock I’d recommend if you live in an apartment and don’t want to remove your existing lock.
Pros
Smart features
Advanced settings
High-grade accuracy
Free shipping in the US
Positive reviews
30-day money back guarantee
Cons
No money-back guarantee
Hard to install
No password
Overall Grade
c+
Rating
7.5/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
I’m not sure that I’d want to go totally keyless at my front door, but if you’re ready to ditch that door key for good, then the Yale Assure SL belongs right at the top of your list. The small, sleek design doesn’t have a keyhole at all — instead, you’ll let yourself in using a touchscreen keypad that comes in a variety of finishes that look good on nearly every door. If the batteries ever run out, you can hold a 9V battery against a set of nodes on the bottom of the lock to give it enough juice to let you in.
Shop around, and you’ll find a variety of Yale Assure models with different kinds of connectivity and different price points. The base model costs $179, but it doesn’t feature any smarts at all — you need to purchase and install the Yale Access Upgrade kit which includes an August Connect Wi-Fi bridge for well over $100 in order to control the lock from your phone or to pair it with a voice assistant. That’s a bad value, so instead, go with the Yale Assure lock that already has Wi-Fi built in — that model doesn’t need any extra hub hardware, and it costs $199. Another version features a Z-Wave radio instead of Wi-Fi for $291 — it might be worth considering if your home already has a Z-Wave hub that can communicate with it.
Pros
Smart features
Great technology
Has replacement keys
LCD display
Free shipping
Cons
Too expensive
Hard to install
They upsell you with additional items
Mixed reviews
WHAT IS SMART LOCK?
Advantages of Smart Locks
- Extra security for your households
- Full control over the phone
- Easy to install
- Alerts you of any suspicious ativity
- Fingerprint recognition
- You can set additional methods ot open the door
- Made out of quality material
- Affordable
Things To Consider WHEN CHOOSING THE BEST Smart Lock
Innovative scanner
This is the most important thing to look for when buying a smart lock as it will decide how safe your smart lock really is. With an innovative scanner, it can detect fingerprints much quickly and safely.
Smart touch controls
Smart touch controls allow easier setting up and it looks far more modern than large buttons. Not only that, but it allows you to set up time-limited passwords for temporary access.
Time-limited password
Again, if you want to give your friends or babysitter a temporary access and not a full access to your home, you’ll need this feature. In my opinion, this is a must have in all smart locks.
Additional card
Consider this as your backup keys in case if anything goes wrong, you can easily open your door with this unique card. From my experience, only good brands give you this free of charge.
Warranty
If the brand doesn't offer a money-back guarantee or warranty on their smart lock, you should stay away from it. Always look for something you can try out and receive a full refund if you don't find it useful.
What To Avoid When Choosing Smart Lock
Hard to set up
Some smart locks take a lot of effort to set up and even more effort to configure all the fingerprints. Always look for easy to use options as it will save you both time and money on hiring technicians.
No fingerprint recognition
It’s funny how some smart locks claim they’re “smart” while only having a password as an access and not a fingerprint. If you truly want a smart lock, it has to have fingerprint recognition.
Cheap knockoffs
There are a ton of cheap products (even on Amazon) that are just pure garbage. They aren’t even tested and they’ll just waste your time and money. In my opinion, anything below $100 can’t be functional.
Penny M - Research Specialist
With over 15 years of researching and inspecting helpful gadgets and tech devices, Penny gained an admirable knowledge. Check out her world-class knowledge and expertise in our Top 5 Reviews series.
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