We checked real listings and manufacturer specs for five smart locks from August, Schlage, Yale, Kwikset and Eufy, comparing unlock methods, connectivity and certification.
Schlage
Why we like it
August
Why we like it
Yale
Why we like it
Kwikset
Why we like it
eufy Security
Why we like it| Product | Rank | Brand | Best For | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schlage Encode Plus Smart Wi-Fi Lock for ... | #1 | Schlage | Best for Apple Home Users | 9.8 |
| August Home, Matte Black Wi-Fi Connected ... | #2 | August | Best for Retrofitting an Existing Deadbolt | 9.6 |
| Yale Deadbolt Keyless Connected Smart Loc... | #3 | Yale | Best Touchscreen Keypad | 9.4 |
| Kwikset 959TRLFPRT-11PS Halo Touch Tradit... | #4 | Kwikset | Best Fingerprint Unlock | 9.3 |
| eufy Security Smart Lock C30, Keyless Ent... | #5 | eufy Security | Best Value | 9.1 |
Buyer checklist
This is desk research, not a hands-on install-and-test comparison. For this guide's five locks, we identified a real, current Amazon ASIN for each product family, then pulled detailed specifications from each manufacturer's own official product page (August, Schlage, Yale, Kwikset, eufy) rather than relying on marketplace listing text alone. A process note worth being upfront about: partway through this research, the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine — which we'd used on an earlier guide in this series to retrieve cached Amazon listing content when Amazon's live pages returned automated bot-check screens — went offline ("Internet Archive services are temporarily offline", per archive.org's own status message). Amazon's live listing pages for all five locks also returned bot-check screens during our research window. Rather than guess at star ratings or review counts we couldn't verify through either channel, we pulled every spec in this guide from each manufacturer's own current product page instead, and we're not stating an Amazon star rating for any of the five locks in this particular guide, since we couldn't confirm one first-hand. Each brand here also sells the same basic lock across many finish/trim variations (Satin Nickel, Matte Black, Venetian Bronze, and so on) and, in Schlage's and Kwikset's case, across different exterior handle/trim styles (Century vs. Camelot, Traditional vs. Contemporary). We picked one representative configuration per brand and named it specifically rather than blending specs across finishes. None of these locks were physically installed or tested for real-world reliability, weather resistance or long-term battery life by us — treat every spec below as the manufacturer's own claim, verified against their current official page, not an independent test result.
The August, Yale (Wi-Fi configuration), Schlage Encode Plus, Kwikset Halo Touch and eufy C30 in this guide all connect directly to home Wi-Fi without requiring a separate hub, per each manufacturer's own specifications. Some of these brands also sell Bluetooth-only versions of similar-looking locks that DO need a separate bridge or hub for remote access — check the exact model/configuration before buying if remote access without a hub matters to you.
Per Schlage's own materials, Apple Home Keys support lets you tap an iPhone or Apple Watch against the lock to unlock it, similar to a transit card, without opening an app first. Not every lock in this guide supports this — confirm Apple Home Keys compatibility specifically if that exact tap-to-unlock behavior is the feature you want, rather than assuming any "Apple compatible" claim means the same thing.
Kwikset's own materials for the Halo Touch describe it as ANSI/BHMA Grade AAA certified with SmartKey Security as a backup re-key option, which is the same top security-grade certification category the touchscreen and Wi-Fi locks in this guide also claim. Fingerprint locks add a physical backup method (a physical key or SmartKey), so a dead battery or malfunctioning sensor doesn't necessarily lock you out, similar to the backup methods on the code-based locks here.
During this specific research pass, Amazon's live listing pages for all five locks returned automated bot-check screens, and the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine (which we've used previously to retrieve cached listing content) was itself offline. Rather than publish an unverified number, we sourced every spec from each manufacturer's own official page and disclosed that gap here instead of guessing.