The best smart locks can help anyone who constantly misplaces keys or who frequently wonders whether they locked the front door. I am in the latter camp. After years in apartments, I recently moved to a large enough house that checking whether the door is locked can feel like a chore, especially once I’m all cozy in bed.
Installing a smart lock doesn't mean throwing away your house keys—you probably still want to bring them with you. These locks are all about convenience, offering multiple ways to enter, like a passcode via a keypad, fingerprint scanning, or through an app. You can easily share codes with friends and family, so no need to fuss with crappy key copies, and you can usually set them to auto-lock when the door closes. But there are a lot of models, and not all will work with your door.
To help you find the best smart lock for you, we've been testing smart locks for more than a year, ranging from renter-friendly solutions to options that work for your sliding door and garage. Most folks will be happy with our top pick, the Yale Approach Lock With Keypad Touch ($240), which only switches out the back of your dead bolt, allowing you to use the same keys you already have, and includes a separate external keypad so you can still use codes to get inside. We also like the Aqara Smart Lock U50 ($150) if you're looking for something a little more affordable and have the ability to swap out the front and back of your lock. Curious about more options? Read on for everything we recommend.
For more smart home recommendations, read our Best Video Doorbells, Best Outdoor Security Cameras, Best Indoor Security Cameras, Best Smart Speakers, and Best Smart Displays guides.
Updated October 2025: We've added locks from Ultraloq and SimpliSafe to Honorable Mentions, and added a new comparison chart and FAQ section. I'm testing the Level Lock Pro ($349) and Nuki's Smart Lock ($159) next for this story.
Best Smart Lock Overall
Yale's lock might look like it's a full lock replacement, but this is a retrofit design that only changes out the back of your thumb-turn dead bolt. That means your existing keys will still work, and everyone outside of your house will have no idea that it's smart. It's ideal for renters, but also nice for anyone who doesn't want to switch out their front lock and swap keys. All of that also means installation was fast and easy—the hardest part is keeping your existing lock from falling to the ground while you swap out the backing, but it only takes a few minutes to complete.
As its name suggests, the Yale Approach Lock can sense when you approach. It uses your phone's location to do this, and within the app, you place a small range to establish what counts as you “arriving” home. I have a patio and a small staircase between my door and my car, so I made a larger range that could sense me once I hit the staircase. That worked better than placing the range in the center of my home, since it wouldn't count me as arriving until I was already at the door.
Yale's parent company also owns another popular smart lock company, August. If you've ever used an August lock before, then the included Wi-Fi bridge will look familiar, and August's current offerings can include the Yale accessories I tested with this lock. The bridge connects to the smart lock via Bluetooth, so it has to be plugged in close to your door. This is what connects the lock to Wi-Fi for remote unlock functionality (plus other features). The whole setup is pretty similar to how August's locks have worked in the past, though I like the design of the Yale Approach better than the silver cylinder of the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock ($200).