The interesting question is what happens when the battery dies

The best smart locks for 2026

Two kinds of product share this name. A retrofit lock sits on the inside of your existing door and turns the thumbturn you already have, so the cylinder, the key and the door are unchanged. A replacement lock takes over the cylinder itself and can offer a keypad or fingerprint reader outside. The question that should decide the purchase is neither: it is what happens at zero battery — a key override, an emergency terminal that takes a power bank, or nothing at all. We compare fitting type, cylinder compatibility, credentials offered, and the failure path when flat.

By Jean-Benoit Buisson

The models we recommend

1. 

   Tapo DL100 smart Wi-Fi deadbolt, keyless tactile buttons

   200 CODES, the most on this shelf · up to 200 days in Wi-Fi mode or 300 in Bluetooth — the only battery figure here quoted per radio mode · 4 AA included, USB-C emergency port, AND 2 backup keys · BHMA Grade 3, IP54, the highest ingress rating among the keypad locks here · fits standard 2-1/8 in and 1-1/2 in lock holes with no drilling · PIN attempt limiter

   Sixty dollars, two hundred codes, and the only lock here that tells you what its radio costs in battery life.

   Best for: A household with many people needing their own code, where no fingerprint reader is wanted

   ≈ $60

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
2. 

   Signstek Smart Lock 128002

   Retrofit · fingerprint, app and Bluetooth · magnetic auto-lock · 6 cells · no drilling

   A retrofit lock that mounts over an existing cylinder with no drilling and no cylinder change. Signstek states fingerprint, app and Bluetooth access, magnetic auto-locking, and six batteries; the existing key still works from outside.

   Best for: A first smart lock, and particularly a rented apartment where nothing may be altered.

   7.2/10

   Search Amazon for this model Read the review
3. 

   Aqara Smart Lock U200

   Matter over Thread · Apple Home Key · rechargeable Li-ion, 6 months stated · no drilling

   A retrofit lock with native Matter over Thread, so it joins Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa without a vendor bridge. Aqara states Apple Home Key support, a rechargeable battery quoted at up to six months, and a quiet unlocking mode.

   Best for: A household already running Matter or Apple Home, that wants the lock to be part of it rather than another app.

   7.8/10

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
4. 

   eufy Security T85D2 Smart Lock C34, Apple Home, keyless entry

   APPLE HOME native, no hub required, plus Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings · up to 8 months on 8 AA — AND THE ONLY LOCK HERE THAT PUBLISHES THE ASSUMPTION: approximately 10 unlocks per day · app, keypad, physical key or voice · 18 months electronic and 36 months mechanical cover, the only split warranty on this shelf · no fingerprint reader · a key and no emergency terminal

   The only battery figure on this shelf with its assumption printed next to it — eight months at about ten unlocks a day.

   Best for: An Apple household that wants the lock in the Home app without a bridge

   ≈ $80

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
5. 

   eufy Security T8506 Smart Lock C220, fingerprint, 6 ways to unlock

   6 ways in, including Apple Watch · BHMA Grade 3 after more than 100,000 lock and unlock cycles · operating range −22 °F to 158 °F (−30 °C to 70 °C), the only temperature range on this shelf · IP53 · 8 AA for about 8 months · fits bores under 54 mm (2.13 in) by removing a spacer · A PHYSICAL KEY AND NO EMERGENCY TERMINAL

   The only lock here that says what temperature it will still work at — down to minus thirty.

   Best for: A cold climate, where a lock that stops working at minus twenty is a real possibility

   ≈ $100

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
6. 

   Sifely Fingerprint smart door lock with handle and keypad

   A complete HANDLE SET, reversible for left and right doors · five ways in: fingerprint, keypad, app, FOB or key · Bluetooth as standard, with Wi-Fi and voice control only through an OPTIONAL Sifely gateway · instant guest codes by app or WEB, with remote access logs for hosts · NO battery life, no grade, no IP rating, no door thickness

   Built for lettings — codes issued from a browser and a reversible handle — and the only lock here that publishes no battery life at all.

   Best for: An Airbnb or a rental, where codes are issued from a laptop and the handle has to suit either hand

   ≈ $80

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
7. 

   Tapo DL110 smart Wi-Fi deadbolt with fingerprint recognition

   ONE YEAR of battery life, the longest on this shelf, on a REMOVABLE rechargeable pack · 0.42 s fingerprint, 100 fingerprints stored · USB-C charging and included backup keys · six access methods · no BHMA grade and no IP rating published, where the maker's own cheaper lock publishes both

   A year on one charge, on a battery you can take off the door — the longest and least troublesome power story here.

   Best for: A household that resents changing eight AA cells twice a year

   ≈ $109

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
8. 

   Philips DDL242X-1HW-L 4200 Series Wi-Fi keypad deadbolt with handle set

   Keypad and 0.3 s fingerprint, built-in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with no hub, handle set included · auto-lock settable 0–180 s, OFF by default · up to 6 months, batteries NOT included, and rechargeable or lithium cells forbidden · doors 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 in, right-opening by default · NO KEY OVERRIDE AND NO EMERGENCY TERMINAL IS PUBLISHED

   The most thoroughly documented lock on this shelf, which never once says what happens when the battery dies.

   Best for: A complete front door set from one box, bought only after the seller confirms the failure path in writing

   ≈ $170

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
9. 

   We Technology RL14 3D face recognition smart lock with camera and intercom

   Seven ways in including 3D face at 5–20 cm (2 to 7.9 in) body sensing · camera, doorbell and two-way intercom · 40–120 MM DOOR RANGE, the widest on this shelf, with a 6068 plate of 24 × 240 mm (0.94 × 9.45 in) published · aluminum alloy body · 100 users · 4200 mAh rechargeable, 3–4 MONTHS — the shortest runtime here — with a mechanical key and USB-C emergency power · English and Chinese only

   The widest door compatibility on this shelf and the shortest battery life on it, in the same lock.

   Best for: An unusually thick or thin door — anything from 40 to 120 mm (1.57 to 4.72 in) — that an ordinary deadbolt will not suit

   ≈ $200

   Check price on Amazon Read the review
10. 

    WYZE WLCKB2 Auto-Lock Bolt v2, AI fingerprint, BHMA Grade 2

    BHMA GRADE 2 — the highest grade on this shelf, since BHMA numbering runs downwards · 0.5 s fingerprint on scratch-resistant tempered glass, self-learning · 8 AA included for up to 8 months, with a USB-C port that takes any power bank, AND backup keys · 50 codes or fingerprints · anti-peep keypad · IP53

    The only Grade 2 lock on this shelf, at seventy-nine dollars — with a power-bank port and keys behind it.

    Best for: The best-certified door on a budget, where a half-second fingerprint is the daily route in

    ≈ $79

    Check price on Amazon Read the review
11. 

    WYZE WPLCK1 Palm Lock, palm vein recognition, dual battery

    THREE layers of failure cover: a 6-month main battery, a 2-week secondary, a USB-C port for any power bank, and a mechanical key — the deepest on this shelf · PALM VEIN recognition, contactless · millimeter-wave radar that wakes the lock for a person rather than movement · gyroscope auto-lock · 50 codes with anti-peep · BHMA Grade 3, IP53

    Four separate ways in when the power runs out, which is more than anything else on this shelf.

    Best for: Anyone who has been locked out once, and anyone whose hands are wet, gloved or full

    ≈ $130

    Check price on Amazon Read the review
12. 

    SwitchBot Lock Ultra

    Retrofit · up to 18 unlock methods · full metal body, 50% slimmer · 9 months stated

    SwitchBot states a next-generation motor, a full metal housing half as thick as its predecessor, up to eighteen unlocking methods with the Matter hub and touchscreen keypad, and a rechargeable main battery quoted at up to nine months.

    Best for: A door where the indoor unit needs to be as unobtrusive as possible, on a household that likes options.

    7.8/10

    Search Amazon for this model Read the review
13. 

    Nuki Smart Lock Pro (5th gen)

    Retrofit · built-in Wi-Fi, no bridge · Matter over Thread · charged at the door · months per charge

    Nuki's fifth-generation lock puts Wi-Fi inside the unit, so remote access needs no bridge or hub, and adds Matter alongside Bluetooth. The battery charges at the door with the supplied cable rather than coming off it.

    Best for: A household that wants remote access without adding another box to the hallway.

    8.4/10

    Check price on Amazon Read the review
14. 

    Nuki 221272 Smart Lock Ultra, euro profile retrofit, with Universal Cylinder

    A RETROFIT, one of five on this shelf, built for euro profile cylinders: it turns the existing cylinder from inside, so the original key keeps working from outside · EURO PROFILE only, and explicitly NOT compatible with standard US deadbolts · Matter, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with no hub, Bluetooth · auto-unlock · Apple Home, Google, Alexa, SmartThings · under 15 minutes to fit with no drilling · no battery life published

    A retrofit that leaves your door, your cylinder and your key exactly as they are — and, unlike most locks here, it will not fit a standard American deadbolt.

    Best for: A euro-profile door — a European property, an apartment, an Airbnb abroad — where the existing key must keep working

    ≈ $359

    Check price on Amazon Read the review
15. 

    YINTIN X5 3D face recognition smart lock with camera, palm vein and 4-inch indoor screen

    EIGHT ways in: 3D face, palm vein, fingerprint, passcode, key card, app, mechanical key and remote unlock · a video doorbell and a 4-INCH INDOOR SCREEN with infrared night vision built into the lock · IP67, far the highest rating on this shelf · rechargeable with a mechanical key and USB-C emergency input · BIOMETRIC DATA STORED LOCALLY, the only such statement here · a MORTISE body larger than a standard deadbolt: drilling or mortising may be needed

    The only lock on this shelf that says where your face and fingerprints are kept — and the only one that tells you it may not fit without cutting the door.

    Best for: A front door being replaced or reworked anyway, where face recognition and a door screen replace both a lock and an intercom

    ≈ $259

    Check price on Amazon Read the review