Best Door Locks of 2026

A front-door lock project usually means two purchases — a handle and a deadbolt — and then a locksmith visit if you want them on the same key. Kwikset sells the Tustin as one box: a keyed entry lever and a single-cylinder deadbolt in matching satin nickel, designed to work together. The lever is reversible for right- and left-hand doors, and the set carries a lifetime mechanical and finish warranty.

What sells it for us is SmartKey. You rekey the lock yourself in seconds using a key you already own, no locksmith and no appointment, which matters when you move in, when a tenant leaves, or when you want the front door, back door, and garage all on one key. The lever is the other quiet win: a bar handle is easier to work with an armful of groceries or a weaker grip than a round knob, and it is a simpler thing for a child to manage.

Two things to know before you buy. This is mechanical hardware, so everyone who needs in carries a key or borrows one — there is no code, no app, and no temporary entry for a dog walker, and that is the trade you make for a lock with nothing to charge. Kwikset also does not list a BHMA grade for this set, so if a certified security rating is a hard requirement rather than a nice-to-have, the Schlage B60N below is the safer buy.

Nothing here is exciting, and that is the point: no fingerprint reader, no notifications, no firmware. Where it earns its place is the third winter, when a keypad lock's batteries are a chore and this one still turns with the same weight it did on day one. If you want keyless entry, the TEEHO does it for less and suits a back door; if you want the strongest bolt only, the Schlage B60N. For the door everyone actually walks through, this is the set we keep coming back to.

Grade 1 is the top of the BHMA residential scale, covering security, durability, and finish, and the B60N is the only lock in this guide with a published Grade 1 rating. That single line is why we recommend it to anyone whose door already has a handle they like: replacing just the deadbolt is the least expensive way to put the strongest residential bolt on a front door, and the bolt is the part that resists a kick.

Installation is a screwdriver job and the bolt drops into an existing deadbolt hole, which is why we suggest this one for a first attempt at lock hardware. It can be rekeyed to your house key rather than making the whole household learn a new one, and the interior thumbturn is big enough to find in the dark. It is also the plainest thing here: no keypad, no handle, just a bolt and a finish that suits most interior hardware. If the rating is the reason you are buying, check the finish carefully as you fit it — tool slips during installation are what dull these.

No app, no Wi-Fi, no account: the FE595 is the keypad lock for people who want codes without turning the front door into a smart-home project. You program up to 19 codes from the keypad, and an interior switch called Flex Lock decides whether the lock relatches on its own or waits for you to turn the thumbturn. Power comes from one 9V battery that Schlage rates at up to two years, and the silicone-coated buttons light when pressed, which is the difference between getting in and fumbling on a dark porch.

Grade 2/AAA puts it a step below the Schlage deadbolt and a step above the budget keypads, and the lever is the part we appreciate most — a real handle with some weight, worked with a push rather than a twist. We also like that it takes one 9V instead of four AAs; fewer batteries to round up is a small thing that stays pleasant. One caution: test the auto-relock on day one. A switch left in the wrong position is how people end up outside without a code, and flipping Flex Lock to manual takes a second.

This is the least expensive way into keyless entry here, and it does not read as a compromise: a matte black keypad deadbolt with a metal body and a backlit keypad. You get 20 user codes plus a one-time code for a cleaner or a dog walker that deletes itself after one use, an anti-peep option that lets you type random digits around your real code, IP54 weather resistance, and a mute setting for anyone who does not want a beep at the door. Four AA batteries are rated for up to a year, and a red light warns you once they drop below 15 percent.

Setup is the part that surprises people about inexpensive keypads. Codes program from the keypad itself, the auto-lock delay adjusts between 10 and 99 seconds, and holding any key for two seconds locks the door behind you — genuinely useful when you are leaving with your hands full. Auto-lock ships off, which is the right default: turn it on once you know the door swings freely and the bolt is not catching on the strike.

Where it sits in this group is clear. ANSI Grade 3 is the entry rating on the scale, a step below the Schlage keypad and two below the B60N deadbolt, so we treat it as a lock for a back door, a side entrance, or a rental where the deadbolt is one of two locks on the door rather than the only thing between a stranger and your hallway. For that job it is hard to beat, and the one-time code is the feature we reach for most: a contractor gets in once, and then the code is gone.

Most of the locks here are hardware; the San Clemente is architecture. It is a full handleset — a grip outside, a lever inside, and a keyed single-cylinder deadbolt above the grip — in a matte black powder coat, and it does more for a front door's appearance than anything else in this guide. That is the honest reason to spend this much: you are buying the look as much as the bolt, and the look holds up. It fits doors up to 1-3/4 inches thick, the latch adjusts to a 2-3/8- or 2-3/4-inch backset, and at six pounds it is the most substantial piece of hardware here when you lift it out of the box.

The security side is conventional and sound: a keyed cylinder outside, an interior turn piece, and Kwikset's SmartKey system, so you can rekey it to the rest of your Kwikset hardware yourself rather than calling anyone. Installation is a screwdriver job if your door is already drilled for a handleset, which is the one thing to settle before you order — this pick needs two bore holes, and a door with a knob hole and a deadbolt hole is not automatically a handleset door. Measure, then buy.

Open the box and you get more than a keypad: a keypad deadbolt plus a matching lever handle set in satin nickel, so a door with mismatched hardware comes out of one purchase looking planned. The keyless side is a full lock — a master code, 20 user codes, one-time codes that expire after use, backup keys, IP54 weather resistance, a backlit keypad, and an auto-lock you can set anywhere from 10 to 99 seconds. Holding a key for two seconds locks it on your way out.

This is the set we point people to when they want keyless entry and new handles without premium-brand money. You get the lever handles and the keypad deadbolt in one finish, the handles are metal rather than plated plastic, and everything programs from the keypad. There is also a wrong-entry limit that shuts the keypad down after ten failed attempts, which is a small thing that matters if someone is guessing at codes on your porch at night.

The trade-offs are about support and extras rather than the lock. The warranty runs one year and doubles to two if you register the product, which is the kind of step people skip. There is also no app, no Wi-Fi, and no fingerprint reader — for most doors that is a feature, not a gap, but it does mean no remote unlocking and no log of who came in. If those matter to you, the ULTRALOQ is the one to look at.

Seven ways in is the pitch, and it is close to literal: fingerprint, passcode, the app, a web portal, eKeys sent to a guest's phone, a temporary code, and a mechanical key, with voice control through Apple Home, Alexa, or Google on top. The Bolt SE has Wi-Fi built in, Matter over Thread as a second path, storage for 50 fingerprints and 50 passcodes, and a BHMA-certified zinc alloy body. Nothing else here comes close on access options.

The fingerprint reader is the reason to choose it and the reason to think twice. When it recognizes you, it is the fastest entry on this list — no code, no phone, no key — and it is the feature that makes a lock feel like it belongs to the house rather than to your pocket. Consistency is the thing to watch: when the reader balks, you are standing on the porch typing a code instead, and the sensor surface is the part that wears first.

Connectivity is the other soft spot. Built-in Wi-Fi and Matter support look excellent on paper, and once everything is paired the app answers quickly, but pairing is where patience runs out; the bridge, remote access, and third-party integrations are the parts most likely to need a second attempt. If you want a lock that tells you who came in and lets a guest in from another state, this is the one here that does it. If you just want to walk up and open your door, you are paying for a lot of hardware you will not use.

That is the decision, really. The Bolt SE is a small home-automation project that happens to be a lock, and it rewards a household that will use the app, the schedules, and the guest codes every week. Everyone else should look at the TEEHO for the everyday job of keyless entry, or the Kwikset Tustin for a door that never needs a battery at all.

A knob is a latch with a lock in it, not the thing that keeps a determined stranger out; that is the deadbolt's job. So treat this one as a match for a door that already has a bolt above it, or for a back door, shed, or garage entry where you want a keyed knob that looks like the rest of the house. The hardware is better than the price suggests: a brass body with steel internals, an adjustable latch that fits either 2-3/8- or 2-3/4-inch backsets, and a matte black finish that lines up with the keypad deadbolts here.

It drops into standard preparation — doors 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inches thick, a 2-1/8-inch bore — with a screwdriver and a second pair of hands, and the round knob is ambidextrous, so it does not care which way the door swings. Two KW1 keys come in the box, and the matte black is close enough to the TEEHO deadbolt and the San Clemente handleset to read as the same family, which makes it an easy way to finish a back door to match the front.

Where it earns a place in this guide is the second door: a knob that installs in minutes, matches the front-door hardware, and costs about as little as door hardware gets. Put it where a deadbolt already does the security work and it is a sensible buy; put it alone on a front door and you have added a lock that a shoulder can beat. That distinction is the whole purchase.