The Best Smart Locks

Your front door lock is an unsung hero, quietly standing guard to keep thieves and rogues at bay. Smart locks are the superheroes of the species, with special powers that make life more convenient (and a little more fun). Most smart locks come in one of two styles: a deadbolt replacement or a deadbolt adapter (which replaces the thumb turn with a motorized one). We strongly prefer deadbolt replacements, and we recommend the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro WiFi , a small, attractive, easy-to-learn model that you can trigger in multiple ways, including by fingerprint or keypad. If you can’t replace your entire lock or don’t want to, the Wyze Lock has sturdy, reliable hardware and software, offers a good-looking design, and is as smart as or smarter than many competing locks, all for about half the price.

Every smart lock has a companion app, but Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit let you control locks and other devices all in one app.

Choose a smart lock based on how you want to unlock it: with a code, an app, a fingerprint, or geofencing (which uses your phone’s location).

Deadbolt-replacement smart locks

Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

The Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro WiFi is a versatile smart lock with precision hardware and a pleasing low-profile design. This model has Wi-Fi built in, so it doesn’t require a plug-in Bluetooth bridge like our previous pick, the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro. You can unlock the U-Bolt Pro WiFi six different ways, including with a numerical code, in an app, through a physical keyway, and—the pièce de résistance—via fingerprint.

We found the feel and function of the lock’s number buttons to be superior to pecking numbers on the glass touchscreen of many keypad models. That said, the fingerprint ID remains our preferred way to unlock it. No matter which method you use to trigger it, the U-Bolt Pro WiFi responds quickly. It also has a comparatively quiet mechanism, and it’s both small and unobtrusive. We did encounter a few issues during setup and when we used it with third-party platforms (see Flaws but not dealbreakers), but none of those hiccups would prevent us from recommending it.

Currently the U-Bolt Pro WiFi is experiencing some temporary stock-supply issues and may not be consistently available. If you can’t find it, and if you don’t mind having to use Ultraloq’s plug-in Bridge to connect your smart lock to your Wi-Fi network, the standard U-Bolt Pro is a perfectly great substitute and is less expensive, too (see Other good smart locks).

Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant

If you want a keypad smart lock that works with Apple HomeKit, The Schlage Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt is an updated version of our previous pick, the Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt. Beyond modest cosmetic updates, this revamped model gives you the ability to unlock it by holding your iPhone or Apple Watch nearby, through Apple’s Home Key feature. Of the many locks we’ve tested, the Encode Plus is one of the easiest smart locks to install and one of the simplest models to use. We tend to prefer the tactile feel of keypads like the Encode Plus’s over that of a glass touchscreen, and that feature makes this lock less fussy to use, so it’s a good choice for rental properties—especially as it’s an extra-tough commercial-grade lock and has a built-in alarm. Unfortunately, although this is a new model, it’s experiencing serious stock issues due to global microchip shortages, so until that’s resolved, our previous runner-up, the Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt, remains a good option.

Deadbolt-adapter smart locks

Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

If you are a renter and not allowed to change your locks (or if you’re a homeowner and you simply don’t want to), the Wyze Lock is a low-cost yet full-featured option that connects easily to an existing deadbolt. The hardware installs quickly, and in our testing it worked well and was whisper-quiet. The package includes a tiny puck-like plug-in Wi-Fi adapter to enable remote access and smartphone notifications. The Wyze Lock offers some impressive features, such as a built-in door sensor that alerts you via a chime and a smartphone notification when you’ve left the door open or ajar.

Unlike our deadbolt-replacement picks, which have a keypad or a fingerprint sensor (or both), the Wyze Lock requires that you use an app to unlock it, which for everyday use isn’t much more convenient than using a key. Wyze also offers a $25 wireless keypad that pairs with your lock, and in our limited testing it worked fine, though we’d still prefer to have one device to rely on instead of dealing with two. You can choose to enable auto-unlock mode, which employs your smartphone’s location and proximity to trigger the lock when you arrive home. But we worry about the innate security risk of accidental triggers, and some early owners of the Wyze Lock have reported such problems.