Electronic locks can be one of the most important components of your home’s security, and if you’re considering upgrading to a new lock, this rundown of the 5 best electronic door locks for your home is a great jumping-off point to start your search. This type of lock lets you come and go as you please, allows you to authorize access for family, friends, contractors, and others to get through your door when you’re not home, and even monitor who enters and exits the home while you’re gone. Smart electronic locks come with a bevy of features to make your home more connected and put you in complete control of access.

Why an Electronic Smart Lock?

Comparing a traditional mechanical door lock to a new-generation electronic smart lock is like comparing apples to oranges. The electronic smart lock offers:

• Keyless convenience. Never fumble in your bag digging out your keys. Keypad locks allow you to enter with a keycode or you can activate automatic entry, facial recognition, or fingerprint entry.
• Control who enters your home. With a smart electronic lock, you can easily provide access to whoever needs it and then revoke it when they don’t. This comes in handy for babysitters, friends, and relatives.
• Avoid costly rekeying. Lose your keys to a mechanical lock and you’re going to be out the cost of rekeying or replacing your door lock. Not the case with a smart electronic lock. A few clicks of your mouse and you’re back in business, controlling your home’s access.
• Operate your door while you’re away from home. With a smart electronic lock, you can choose who comes into your home while you’re away and monitor who comes and goes with just the stroke of a button. You’ll never get features like these with a mechanical lock.
• Cost-effective. While smart electronic locks aren’t inexpensive, they have certainly come down in price in the past few years. They cost a bit more than a mechanical lock but give you a lot of bells and whistles to work with, making them worth the upgrade.

Keyless smart locks really do make sense in so many situations. Heading around the block for a run? Don’t worry about those heavy keys jangling while you get your fitness on. Relatives coming in for Thanksgiving? Make it easy for them to enter and exit with a temporary code assigned for their entire stay. Renting out a vacation home or have properties for rent? Provide renters a code, and change it when they move out.

Choosing the Best Electronic Smart Lock for Your Home

Like any consumer product, some electronic smart locks are better than others. And the market has become quite saturated with electronic smart locks in the past few years. Weighing the available options can help you to pick from the best of the best electronic locks for the home with relative ease. Before you make a visit to your local hardware store or call out your locksmith for service, take a look at these electronic lock options. The 5 best electronic door locks for your home are discussed further below.

Electronic Lock for Wi-Fi Users: August Wi-Fi Smart Lock

For a hard-working smart electronic lock that lets you control access to a door from anywhere (at a price that you can afford), it’s hard to be the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. This lock is unique because it requires no additional bridge in order to connect it to Wi-Fi, so it is basically operational right out of the box. A no-fuss and expedient option for connecting to your network, the lock offers full remote and voice access. But perhaps its biggest draw is that it is an upgrade to your existing lock; it goes over the existing deadbolt, so you can install it without any complicated tools and continue to use your existing keys. Its features make it a real winner from all angles, including auto-unlock, which detects your arrival and unlocks the door for you in advance. It also lets you set a security key for the housekeeper or family member who needs access to your home while you’re away. Sync your smartphone’s facial recognition or fingerprint function to the lock to add another layer of security to your setup. Cost: around $220.

Versatile Smart Electronic Door Lock: ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro Smart Lock

This ULTRALOQ electronic entry door lock has many of the same features of the August Smart Lock above, plus voice control integrated with Alexa or Google Assistant. This advanced Smart Lock makes it easy to provide access to who needs it while revoking it when they no longer have your permission to be inside. It also works with IFTTT. This six-in-one keyless entry smart lock offers an anti-peep keypad, fingerprint access, and auto-locking feature. With the share E-key and code, you can grant temporary access for service personnel or others with minimal fuss, and the electronic keypad door lock design makes it easy to use, even in low-light conditions. If the power goes out you can also flip down the keypad and use your key to open the lock. Cost: around $200.

Smart Electronic Door Lock With Video: LOCKLY Vision™ Doorbell Camera Smart Lock

Just one of the available electronic door locks Home Depot offers, the Lockly Vision is a popular choice among residential homeowners. This electronic lock provides the features of both a video doorbell and a deadbolt, all with easy-to-control access you provide with its user interface. Easily grant remote access to your home and then revoke it when it’s no longer needed. An embedded fingerprint sensor holds up to 99 sets of fingerprints for added convenience. Pair it with Google Home or Alexa to take your smart, connected home to the next level. Cost: $400 or more.

Electronic Smart Lock With Voice Control: Schlage Sense™ Smart Deadbolt

Available for use with both Android and iOS smartphones, the Schlage Sense™ Smart Deadbolt makes a lot of sense for families on the go. Keyless entry, shared access with family and friends, and even the ability to lock and unlock the door from anywhere are all standard fare. Arrive at the airport and have a funny feeling that you didn’t lock the door? No problem. A few keystrokes let you quickly unlock and re-lock the door, so you can vacation without a nagging feeling in the back of your mind. Set up the smart lock to work with an existing Apple TV or iPad in a HomeKit enabled smart home setup in minutes. Cost: around $180.

Kwikset Halo Touch Smart Door Lock: Wi-Fi Connectivity

If you’re a fan of the Kwikset brand, you’ll love how the company has evolved to provide a smart electronic lock bearing its crest. With this Halo Touch Smart Door Lock, you get Wi-Fi connectivity without a third-party hub or paying a subscription. This no-nonsense lock lets you generate up to 250 access codes for friends and family, and you can keep track of activity into and from your home with the Kwikset app. Re-key your lock yourself in seconds, and get an alert after three attempts at entry fail. This lock pairs easily with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, making it easy to integrate into your existing system.

To DIY or Not

As you’ve noticed, some of the electronic smart locks on the market today are billed as easy to install or even “installs with just a screwdriver.” However, when you’re toying with your home’s security, it always pays to have a professional residential locksmith come out and perform the installation. This ensures that everything works as it should, and it may be necessary for you to do so anyway if your home is under warranty. And remember, you don’t trust your mechanic to do your dental work, so why trust yourself to install one of your security system’s most vital components.

Not Just For Exterior Doors

It’s important to note that electronic smart locks aren’t just for exterior doors. They can help safeguard other areas of the home or business where you need to control access. Your local locksmith has plenty of experience in the installation of smart electronic locks for interior doors, from bedrooms and offices to other spaces that need more control of entry. If there’s a room in the home that requires secure access, a smart electronic lock is your answer. Whether it’s your wine cellar, craft room, or any room in between, a smart electronic lock ensures that you and only you are in control of who can get through the door.

Installing Your Electronic Door Lock

Now that you have discovered the 5 best electronic door locks for your home, you have a good idea of what’s on the market. Work with 1-800-Unlocks to have your smart lock installed by a licensed, insured, locally owned family locksmith in your area. Simply search by your ZIP to find qualified professionals ready to assist with electronic door locks for the home and electronic commercial door locks for businesses. As a bonus, your local locksmith likely has other recommendations based on recent market trends and can help pair you with one of the above electronic front door locks or recommend an even more suitable option for your specific needs.