A key safe is only as good as what it is bolted to
A key safe solves a real problem — a carer, a cleaner, a vacation rental, a household that keeps locking itself out — and creates a smaller one, which is that the key to the house is now outside it. Two things decide whether that trade is sound. The first is what it is fixed to: a masonry wall with suitable fixings, never a wooden frame or a stucco skin. The second is who can see the code: every safe in this hub opens with dials, and anyone watching it being set learns it, just as a box closed without scrambling the dials leaves it on show. We compare capacity, the code, the supplied fixings and how the dial is protected.
Wall-mounted · 4-digit code, 10,000 combinations · zinc alloy, 227 g (8 oz) · weather and frost resistant
A small wall-mounted key safe in zinc alloy with a four-digit code. GRIFEMA states 10,000 combinations, weather and frost resistance, and a body designed to resist hammering and sawing.
Best for: A single spare key for a carer, a cleaner or a household that locks itself out.
≈ $44
Wall-mounted · holds 20 keys or 14 cards · steel housing, zinc dial flap · 689 g (24.3 oz) · sliding cover
With its white version, the largest key box in this hub: ABUS states room for twenty keys or fourteen plastic cards, in a steel housing with a zinc die-cast dial flap, a sliding protective cover and a removable rack. 689 grams.
Best for: A building with several keys and several people — a vacation rental, a small business, a shared house.
≈ $38
Wall-mounted · 4-digit, 10,000 combinations · aluminum and zinc alloy · covered dial
A wall-mounted key box with a sliding cover over the dials, which Amazon Basics states protects the mechanism from sand, salt, dust and dirt. Aluminum and zinc alloy, 3.5 × 8.6 × 12 cm (1.4 × 3.4 × 4.7 in).
Best for: A coastal or exposed wall, where the dials rather than the box are what fails.
Wall-mounted · zinc die-cast · 4-digit code · internal hook · keys to 7 cm (2.8 in) · auto-stop
A wall-mounted key safe in zinc die-cast with an internal hook for keys up to 7 cm (2.8 in), a four-digit resettable code and an auto-stop feature, from a German safe manufacturer.
Best for: A permanent installation on masonry, where the maker's other business is actually safes.
≈ $46
Shackle-mounted · holds 5 keys and a card · 4-digit code · zinc alloy, 558 g (19.7 oz) · removable key rack
The hanging version of GRIFEMA's key safe: a shackle rather than a wall plate, room for five keys and a card, and a removable key rack. 558 grams of zinc alloy with a four-digit code.
Best for: A rental property, a temporary arrangement, or a door handle where nothing may be drilled.
≈ $45
Same as the 787 · white finish · 20 keys or 14 cards · steel housing · 689 g (24.3 oz)
The white version of the KeyGarage 787, for a stuccoed or painted wall where a dark box would be conspicuous. Identical capacity, housing and mechanism.
Best for: The same job on a white or light-rendered wall.
≈ $65
Capacity decides how many keys and fobs fit inside. A box that is too tight no longer closes as soon as you add a keyring.
A key safe held by two screws in a render comes away with the wall at the first lever. No listing in this hub publishes the number of fixing points; the BURG-WÄCHTER is the only one to state that the fixings are supplied.
An unprotected dial mechanism can seize after a few frosts. No listing publishes an ingress rating; a sliding cover protects the dial, and Amazon Basics states its cover keeps out sand, salt, dust and dirt.
Out of direct sight from the street and on a solid support. A box clearly visible next to the door points to exactly where to look.
Absolutely for lasting use: a box hung on a handle is carried off with a simple tool and opened at leisure elsewhere.
Whenever the authorized person changes, and regularly. A code left unchanged for years ends up circulating.
Exposed mechanical models can seize. A protective cover and a dry lubrication once a year limit the problem.
It places a way into the house outside. It is a trade-off to make consciously, choosing it solid and discreet.
The minimum necessary. A box containing every key to the house concentrates the risk.
Their resistance is not published: no listing in this hub cites a standard or a pull-off test. Fixing and placement matter all the more.
Not next to the door it opens, and not in plain sight on the main façade. A box visible from the street points to exactly where to look, which cancels its purpose.
A key safe places a way into the house outside: its strength and discretion count as much as the door's. Bolt it to the wall — hung on a handle it is carried off and opened elsewhere — and change the code whenever the person changes.
A characteristic has to come from four devices in five to hold a column. Below that, we would be lining up empty cells.
| Model | Price | Code | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABUS KeyGarage 787 | $38 | 4-digit, individually settable | Up to 20 keys or 14 plastic cards |
| GRIFEMA GA1003 | $44 | 4-digit, 10,000 combinations, resettable | 5 keys and 1 card, stated by GRIFEMA |
| GRIFEMA GA1004 | $45 | 4-digit, 10,000 combinations, resettable | 5 keys plus 1 card, removable rack |
| BURG-WÄCHTER Key Safe 10 SB | $46 | 4-digit, 10,000 combinations, resettable, with auto-stop | Keys up to 7 cm (2.8 in) on an internal hook |
| ABUS KeyGarage 787 (white) | $65 | 4-digit, individually settable | Up to 20 keys or 14 plastic cards |
| Amazon Basics SW-KS01-B | — | 4-digit, 10,000 combinations, resettable | — |
Specifications: manufacturer sheets for home security products and the matching Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure in this table names its source.
Most recent revision in this category: September 2, 2026.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
