An unbolted safe is a strongbox with a handle for carrying it away · review
The only safe in this group with no electronics at all — a flat key, hidden hinges, and internal dimensions published to a hundredth of an inch.
The conclusion The one safe here with nothing to run down: a flat key, hidden hinges, a pry-resistant door, SPCC steel named by grade, and internal dimensions published to two decimal places — for twenty-five dollars, the cheapest in this group. Subtract those dimensions and the walls come to a fraction of a millimeter, which is honest arithmetic the listing makes possible. No locking bolts are mentioned, and no grade or fire rating.
No locking bolts stated. No thickness figure. No grade.
And you get the steel.
External 9.06 by 6.69 by 6.69. Internal 8.98 by 6.46 by 6.61.
That is 0.08, 0.23 and 0.08 inches of wall across each axis — a fraction of a millimeter, as on every safe at this price.
This shelf’s buying tip asks you to subtract the door and the walls. This listing is the one that lets you.
Nothing to run down.
The commonest complaint about a cheap electronic safe is a dead keypad on a box nobody can open.
A flat key has nothing to fail and works in ten years. It cannot give access temporarily and take it back, and it moves the problem to wherever the key lives.
The listing says so itself, in a note.
The one that never touches the lock.
On a cheap safe with exposed hinges, the door comes off by punching the pins.
Concealed hinges put them inside the frame. With a pry-resistant lip, that is the right pair of claims at twenty-five dollars — and more than most of this shelf says about its door.
On sale at around $25 on the American Amazon store at the time of checking.
Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.
Prices quoted in this text were read on October 8, 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
Weighed against the median of its own range on this site — not against the security market at large.
| Capacity | 0.23 cubic feet — stated, and consistent with the published internal dimensions |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | External 9.06 × 6.69 × 6.69 in, internal 8.98 × 6.46 × 6.61 in — both stated. The internal figures are given to two decimal places, and they show walls of under a tenth of an inch |
| Body | SPCC steel — stated by its grade, which no other safe in this group does. SPCC is the Japanese designation for commercial cold-rolled steel sheet |
| Door | A pry-resistant door with hidden hinges, stated. Hidden hinges mean the door cannot be lifted off by cutting them, which is the obvious attack on a cheap safe |
| Lock | A flat key lock only — no keypad, no battery and no code. It is the only purely mechanical safe in this group, and the listing adds a note to store the keys away from the safe |
| Anchoring | Two pre-drilled installation holes in the back and the bottom, with two expansion bolts supplied — stated |
| Contents | Two emergency keys, two expansion bolts, one floor mat and a manual. FCC certification is stated |
| Grade | Not published |
| Stated for | Cash and jewelry at home |
| Amazon reference | B0CRH4R471 |
| EAN | 6955414113218 |
More than the maker probably intended. External 9.06 by 6.69 by 6.69 inches against internal 8.98 by 6.46 by 6.61 leaves 0.08, 0.23 and 0.08 inches of total wall across each axis — so the steel is a fraction of a millimeter, as it is on every safe at this price. That is exactly the calculation this shelf's buying tip asks for, and it is only possible because this listing publishes both sets of figures. At least three of the seventeen safes in this group do; this is the one where the subtraction is most revealing.
Key here, and it is a real choice rather than a cost saving. A keypad needs batteries, and the commonest complaint about cheap electronic safes is a dead keypad on a safe nobody can open. A flat key has nothing to fail and will work in ten years. What it cannot do is give access to someone temporarily and take it back, and it moves the problem to where the key lives — which the listing acknowledges with a note to store the keys away from the safe. On this shelf, ten safes have electronics and this one does not.
Stopping the simplest attack. On a cheap safe with exposed hinges, the door is removed by cutting or punching the hinge pins — the lock is never touched. Concealed hinges put them inside the door frame where they cannot be reached, so the only way in is through the lock or the steel. Together with a pry-resistant door lip, that is the right pair of features to publish at twenty-five dollars, and it is more than most of this shelf says about its door at all.
Between security devices of the same category and nearby price. Shown: what they all state. A half-filled column says nothing.
| Model | Price | Capacity | Dimensions | Body | Lock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bonsaii SF004 security safe box, 0.23 cu ft | $25 | 0.23 cubic feet — stated, and consistent with the published internal dimensions | External 9.06 × 6.69 × 6.69 in, internal 8.98 × 6.46 × 6.61 in — both stated. The internal figures are given to two decimal places, and they show walls of under a tenth of an inch | SPCC steel — stated by its grade, which no other safe in this group does. SPCC is the Japanese designation for commercial cold-rolled steel sheet | A flat key lock only — no keypad, no battery and no code. It is the only purely mechanical safe in this group, and the listing adds a note to store the keys away from the safe |
| CDC DIGI 1710-1 digital electronic money safe, 0.23 cu ft | $30 | 0.23 cubic feet — stated | 9.06 in wide, 6.69 in deep, 6.69 in high — stated as the external size. No internal dimensions | SPCC steel, stated sturdy and thickened. No thickness figure, despite the word | A keypad with a covered override key, stated. The listing gives a four-step setup: remove the override key cover, open with the key, fit the batteries, set the password |
| MAESTON 17E electronic coin bank safe for children | $30 | Not published | Not published, external or internal | Not described — no material and no thickness | An electronic password keypad — stated |
| Yuanshikj YSKJ-SAFE-17K-SFB small steel safe, 0.23 cu ft | $30 | Published twice and the two do not agree: 0.23 cubic feet in the title and 0.2 cubic feet in the second bullet. A 13 per cent difference on the figure the shelf is organized by | External 9.05 × 6.69 × 6.69 in, internal 6.29 × 8.9 × 5.12 in — both stated. It is one of three safes in this group to publish an internal size, which is what this shelf's buying tip asks for | Reinforced solid steel wall construction with a corrosion and stain-resistant powder coat, stated. No thickness | A digital keypad, programmable, with two emergency keys supplied. A magnetic lock is stated to re-lock automatically |
Details checked on October 8, 2026.
A safe that must still open in ten years, where a key beats a keypad and batteries are a liability
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 400.
The figure is a floor, rounded by Amazon, and read through Keepa — it says what buyers picked, not what a maker claims.
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for home security products and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
Book-shaped diversion safe · 3-digit combination · fabric cover and spine · for a bookshelf
A diversion safe shaped like a book, with a fabric cover and spine and a three-digit combination lock. Amazon Basics states it is meant to sit between other books on a shelf.
Best for: Concealing something small in plain sight, in a house where nobody is looking hard.
14 L · digital keypad · 2 override keys · concealed anti-pry hinges · adjustable shelf · 4 × AA
A 14-liter steel safe with a digital keypad, two emergency override keys kept separately, concealed hinges described as anti-pry, and a removable adjustable shelf. It runs on four AA cells.
Best for: The default household safe: big enough for documents, small enough to bolt into a wardrobe floor.
≈ $58
200 × 310 × 200 mm (7.87 × 12.2 × 7.87 in) · self-programmable electronic lock · single-wall body · basic valuables protection
BURG-WÄCHTER describes the Favor S3 E as basic valuables protection: a single-wall body with a self-programmable electronic lock, in a furniture safe of 200 × 310 × 200 mm (7.87 × 12.2 × 7.87 in).
Best for: A household that wants a safe from a safe manufacturer rather than from a general brand.
≈ $140
