Best Smart Lock Under $100 in 2026: 5 Budget Picks That Actually Deliver

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How we assess: this review is research-based, drawing on manufacturer specs, official documentation, retailer listings, and verified owner reports, not our own hands-on teardown. See our how we review page for the full method. Last updated: September 2026.

A hundred dollars used to buy you a plastic keypad and a prayer. In 2026, the best smart lock under $100 gives you a real deadbolt with built-in Wi-Fi, a fingerprint reader that opens the door in about a second, or a retrofit you can slap over your existing lock without touching a screwdriver. This is the most competitive corner of the whole smart-lock market right now, and several of the strongest picks cost less than a single month of a monitored-alarm subscription. Below are my five picks, with current street prices, who each one is for, and a blunt take on where the budget tier still falls short.

What a “smart lock under $100” actually is in 2026

Strip away the marketing and a smart lock is a motorized deadbolt (or a motor that turns your existing deadbolt) with a brain that accepts more than one way to prove you belong. At this price that usually means a PIN keypad and an app, often a fingerprint sensor, and sometimes a physical key as backup. The thing that splits the good from the frustrating is how it talks to the internet. A lock with built-in Wi-Fi connects straight to your router, so you can lock up from work or let the dog walker in from your phone. A Bluetooth-only lock only talks to a phone within range unless you add a separate hub.

Here is the honest part: under $100 you are buying from a small group of brands that have figured out how to make this cheaply without cutting the parts that keep you safe. eufy, Wyze, TEEHO, and SwitchBot all clear that bar. A no-name lock with a stock-photo listing and no safety rating does not, no matter how low the price drops on a flash sale.

Who this is for

This guide is for anyone who wants to stop carrying a key, stop hiding one under the mat, and stop texting “are you home?” without spending smart-home-enthusiast money. It suits first-time buyers, renters who need something removable, parents tired of kids losing keys, and hosts who want to hand out codes instead of meeting guests at the door. If you already live in Apple Home and want HomeKit and Home Key, skip ahead to the honest-limits section; this price tier will disappoint you, and I would rather say so now than sell you the wrong lock.

The five best smart locks under $100 at a glance

Prices are typical street prices as of September 2026 and bounce around with sales; check the live listing before buying.

1. eufy Smart Lock C210 — the best smart lock under $100 for most people

This is the one I recommend first without overthinking it. The C210 is a full replacement deadbolt with Wi-Fi baked in, so the moment it is on the door you can lock and unlock from your phone anywhere, check whether you left it open, and get a ping when someone punches in a code. No bridge, no “works with” asterisk, no second purchase. You unlock by app, by the touchscreen keypad, with a physical key, or by tapping an Apple Watch, and it plays nicely with Alexa and Google.

At roughly $89.99 it sits right under the ceiling, and it is the lock I would hand a friend who just wants the thing to work. The touchscreen reads cleanly at night, auto-lock means you stop worrying whether you locked up, and the eufy app is one of the less annoying ones in this category. The trade-off: there is no fingerprint reader on the C210, so if your heart is set on a thumbprint, the C220 or the Wyze below is your move.

[ADD YOUR EXPERIENCE: how long the 4 AA batteries actually lasted on your door, and whether Wi-Fi stayed connected through an exterior wall.]

Check the eufy C210 price on Amazon

2. Wyze Auto-Lock Bolt v2 — the best fingerprint lock under $100

Wyze did something sneaky with the v2: it added built-in Wi-Fi, which the original Bolt never had. So now you get a sub-second fingerprint reader and real remote control, for about $79.98, and it regularly dips far lower on sale. The self-learning scanner gets faster as it reads your print more often, and you still have a keypad (up to 50 codes), the app, a mechanical key, and one-time guest codes. There is even a USB-C port on the bottom so a dead battery never actually locks you out.

My blunt take: pound for pound this is the most lock you can buy for under eighty bucks. The catch is the usual Wyze catch: no Matter, no HomeKit, and you are living inside the Wyze app and its ecosystem. If you already run Wyze cameras, that is a plus. If you are an Apple-first household, it is a shrug. For everyone else chasing a fingerprint deadbolt on a budget, this is the pick. For a head-to-head against the cheapest keypad option, see my TEEHO TE001 vs Wyze Lock Bolt comparison.

[ADD YOUR EXPERIENCE: how reliably the fingerprint reader worked with cold or slightly wet fingers in winter.]

Check the Wyze Bolt v2 price on Amazon

3. TEEHO TE002 — the best cheap fingerprint deadbolt

If the Wyze feels like too much ecosystem and you just want a fingerprint deadbolt that works locally, the TE002 is the value play. It reads a print in about a second, takes 20 user codes, has a keypad and two backup keys, carries an ANSI Grade 3 rating and an IP54 weather seal, and it routinely sells between $45 and $70. There is no Wi-Fi, no app, and no remote anything, and for a lot of people that is a feature, not a bug: nothing to hack, nothing to subscribe to, nothing that stops working when a server goes down.

This is the lock for the person who wants keyless entry and is done with the cloud. It is also a great second-door or garage-entry lock. If you want the internet features, you are looking at the wrong TEEHO; if you want a fast thumbprint and a price that barely registers, this is it. Prefer a pure keypad with no fingerprint? My best keypad deadbolt under $100 guide covers those in depth.

Check the TEEHO TE002 price on Amazon

4. SwitchBot Smart Lock — the best pick for renters

The SwitchBot is the odd one out, and for renters it is the only sane answer. Instead of replacing your deadbolt, it mounts over the existing thumb-turn with adhesive and motors it open and shut. You keep your original key, you drill nothing, and when you move out you peel it off and leave no evidence you were ever there. Control is over Bluetooth out of the box, around $89.99, with a keypad and a Wi-Fi/Matter hub sold separately if you want remote access and codes.

I would not put this on a primary exterior door if I owned the place — a full deadbolt replacement is cleaner and more secure. But for an apartment, a dorm, or any door you are not allowed to modify, it is genuinely the right tool, and it is a favorite for short-term rentals. If you host, read my best smart locks for Airbnb hosts roundup before you commit.

Check the SwitchBot Smart Lock price on Amazon

5. TEEHO TE001 — the cheapest lock worth buying (my budget pick)

When the only question is “what is the least I can spend and not regret it,” the answer is the TE001. It is a keypad deadbolt — no fingerprint, no Wi-Fi — with ANSI Grade 3 security, 20 codes, an anti-peep password feature, IP54 weatherproofing, one-touch locking, and two backup keys, for around $45.99. It replaces a standard deadbolt in about 20 minutes with a screwdriver.

This is the lock I tell people to buy for a back door, a rental they are furnishing on a tight budget, or a first toe into keyless entry. You lose remote control and you lose fingerprints, but you gain a door that never needs a key hidden under a rock, for the price of a large pizza and a couple of movie tickets. For the money, nothing undercuts it while staying this reliable.

Check the TEEHO TE001 price on Amazon

What no one else tells you about cheap smart locks

Every roundup obsesses over unlock methods and finishes. Here is the thing the listicles skip: the lock is almost never what fails you — your door is. Most exterior doors ship with a strike plate held in by two three-quarter-inch screws biting into the soft pine of the jamb, not the framing behind it. A determined shoulder pops that regardless of whether your deadbolt cost $45 or $450. Before you spend a cent on a smart lock, buy a $10 box of three-inch screws and sink them through the strike plate into the stud. That single upgrade does more for your security than any feature on any spec sheet here.

The second thing nobody mentions: cheap smart locks are loud about low batteries for a reason, and people still ignore the warnings for weeks. Put a calendar note the day you install it. And the third: Wi-Fi locks hate thick exterior walls and far-away routers. If your front door is the farthest point from your router, a $25 Wi-Fi extender near the entry does more for reliability than upgrading the lock. These are the boring fixes that decide whether you love or resent your lock a year from now.

How the picks compare (and what you give up vs a $150 lock)

Spend $150-plus and the jump is mostly Matter and Thread for cross-platform control, proper Apple Home Key tap-to-unlock, nicer machined finishes, and sometimes UWB hands-free entry. None of that changes how hard your door is to kick in. If those ecosystem features matter to you, they are worth the money; if they do not, you are paying for badges you will never use. My budget smart locks that work with Alexa guide is a good next read if voice control is your main goal.

Who should buy, and who should skip

Buy the eufy C210 if you want one lock that just works with Wi-Fi and you do not care about fingerprints. Buy the Wyze Bolt v2 if you want a fast fingerprint and remote control and you are not an Apple-first home. Buy the TEEHO TE002 if you want a fingerprint with zero cloud and zero subscription. Buy the SwitchBot if you rent or cannot modify your door. Buy the TEEHO TE001 if you want the cheapest reliable keyless entry, full stop.

Skip this whole tier if you live in Apple Home and need Home Key, you want Matter/Thread today, or you have a non-standard door (mortise lock, very thick door, or a glass door) — in that last case see our guide to no-drill glass door locks instead.

The honest limits of a sub-$100 smart lock

I like these locks, but I am not going to pretend they are something they are not. You will not get Matter or Thread at this price, so cross-platform smart-home control is limited. HomeKit and Apple Home Key are effectively off the table. The finishes are fine, not furniture-grade, and the metals are lighter than a premium lock. Wi-Fi models lean on 2.4GHz and can be flaky if your router is far from the door. And every one of these is still a residential-grade lock — great for a home, not rated for a storefront or a high-traffic commercial door. Know what you are buying and none of that will bite you; ignore it and you will write an angry review that is really about mismatched expectations.

The verdict: For under $100 in September 2026, the eufy C210 is the smart lock I would put on my own door — and if I wanted a fingerprint, the Wyze Bolt v2 would be on it instead, for less money than dinner out.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best smart lock under $100?

The eufy Smart Lock C210 is the best smart lock under $100 for most homes. It has built-in Wi-Fi, so you get remote lock and unlock plus Alexa or Google control with no separate bridge to buy, and it runs about $89.99 as of September 2026. If you want a fingerprint reader instead of a keypad, the Wyze Auto-Lock Bolt v2 (around $79.98) is the better pick.

Can you really get a good smart lock for under $100?

Yes. In 2026 the under-$100 tier includes deadbolts with built-in Wi-Fi, sub-second fingerprint readers, and auto-lock. What you give up versus a $150-plus lock is usually Matter/Thread support, premium metal finishes, and HomeKit, not core security or reliability.

Do cheap smart locks have built-in Wi-Fi or do I need a separate bridge?

Some do and some do not. The eufy C210, eufy C220, and Wyze Auto-Lock Bolt v2 have Wi-Fi built in, so they connect straight to your router. Bluetooth-only retrofit locks like the base SwitchBot Smart Lock need a separate hub (sold separately) for remote access from outside the house.

Which under-$100 smart lock has a fingerprint reader?

The Wyze Auto-Lock Bolt v2, the eufy C220, and the TEEHO TE002 all read fingerprints and all sell for under $100. The Wyze and TEEHO TE002 open in roughly half a second to a second once a print is enrolled.

Do smart locks under $100 work with Alexa and Google Home?

The Wi-Fi models do. The eufy C210, eufy C220, and Wyze Auto-Lock Bolt v2 work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for status checks and locking. For security, none of them let you unlock by voice without a spoken PIN.

Are budget smart locks actually secure?

The reputable ones are. Look for a BHMA or ANSI Grade 2 or Grade 3 rating; the eufy C220 and Wyze Bolt v2 are BHMA Grade certified, and the TEEHO locks are ANSI Grade 3. The bigger risk with any smart lock is a weak door frame or short strike-plate screws, not the lock electronics.

What happens when the batteries die?

Every lock here warns you for weeks first. If the batteries die anyway, the eufy and TEEHO locks keep a physical key backup, and the Wyze Bolt v2 has both a mechanical key and a USB-C emergency power port so you can jump it with a power bank and still type your code.

Can I install a smart lock under $100 myself?

For most of these, yes, with a screwdriver in 15 to 30 minutes. They replace a standard deadbolt and fit doors 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inches thick with a 2-3/8 or 2-3/4 inch backset. The SwitchBot is the easiest because it sticks over your existing deadbolt and you keep your current key.

Do any smart locks under $100 work with Apple Home or HomeKit?

Not cleanly at this price. The Wyze Bolt v2 and eufy budget locks do not support HomeKit, and the SwitchBot needs the pricier Hub Mini/Matter setup to reach Apple Home. If HomeKit or Apple Home Key is your priority, budget around $150-plus for a Matter lock.

Is a keypad or a fingerprint lock better for the money?

A keypad is more forgiving in cold, wet, or gloved conditions and lets you hand out codes to guests. A fingerprint reader is faster and needs nothing memorized. The good news is most picks here give you both, so you are really choosing your default, not giving one up.

Will a cheap smart lock fit my door?

Check three things: door thickness (most fit 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inches), backset (2-3/8 or 2-3/4 inches, usually adjustable), and whether you have a standard single-cylinder deadbolt bore. If you rent or cannot drill, pick the SwitchBot retrofit, which needs no changes to the door.

Which is the best budget smart lock for renters or Airbnb?

The SwitchBot Smart Lock, because it mounts over your existing deadbolt with adhesive and keeps your original key, so you can remove it with no damage when you move out. For hosts who want rotating guest codes, see my guide to the best smart locks for Airbnb hosts.