Related: Best Smart Lock for Rental Properties That Survives Tenant Turnover
I spent five years as a working locksmith in Columbus, Ohio, rekeying deadbolts for landlords and drilling out seized cylinders at 7 a.m. The calls changed around 2021. Landlords started asking whether a door could just open with a code, so they could stop driving across town to hand over keys. I bought my first smart lock for an Airbnb after getting tired of hiding a key under a rock, and that one install broke something loose. I have now installed more than 300 smart locks and doorbells, and I am still the guy who reads the manual cover to cover.
The pattern never changes. The hardware is rarely the problem. The install is. So that is how this guide judges everything below. Can it go on a real door in about 20 minutes without a support call, does the app and gateway pairing happen in the right order on an ordinary 2.4GHz network, and does it still work at month seven, when the fingerprint reader has met wet hands and a Columbus winter.
If you are shopping for smart locks and video doorbells for a rental, an Airbnb, or your own front door, these four cover the realistic range. There is the deadbolt landlords ask for by name, the keyless lock that keeps the budget sane, an all-in-one that puts a camera and a fingerprint reader on the same door, and a doorbell that watches the porch without replacing the lock.
Best Overall: Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt
This is the lock every landlord I work with asks about by name, and it earns that. The Encode is a full deadbolt replacement with WiFi built into the lock itself, so there is no separate gateway and no setup order to get backwards. That single detail removes the most common failure I get called about. Someone paired the gateway before the lock, spent an hour on support chat, and finished with a factory reset and every code wiped.
The Century Trim in matte black is the part a tenant touches every single day, and it is the part that makes a door look like it belongs on a rental rather than in a dorm. More to the point, this is a brand a landlord can hand to a tenant without a caveat attached.
Codes are the real feature. You set one for a cleaner, one for a contractor, one for the guest arriving Friday, and you delete each one when the job is done. Add auto-lock and the most common phone call in property management, the tenant who forgot to lock up, stops happening.
What the spec sheet will not tell you is to check the deadbolt throw after you install it. If the bolt does not fully extend into the strike plate, the door looks locked and opens with a credit card. That is true of every lock here, and it is the first thing I check on any door.
Best Value: eufy Security Smart Lock C210
If you want a smart lock without a project, start here. The C210 is a keyless entry deadbolt with built-in Wi-Fi, which means no bridge, no gateway pairing order, and no second box sitting on your router blinking at you. You install the deadbolt, connect it to the 2.4GHz band, and you are done.
It is a keypad-first design, and for a lot of buyers that is a feature rather than a compromise. Fingerprint readers are wonderful for about six months. Then they start missing on wet hands and worn fingers, and if there is no keypad or key backup, you have built a lockout machine for your own guests. A keypad has no moving parts to degrade.
This is the lock I would put on a first rental or an apartment where you want codes, auto-lock, and remote access without paying for a hub or a monthly plan. What it will not do is read a fingerprint, so if that is the experience you are after, look at the all-in-one below.
One warning that applies here and everywhere else in this category. Check your router. Most smart locks speak only the 2.4GHz band, and the box will not tell you that in large print.
Best All-in-One: Smart Door Lock with Video Doorbell and Fingerprint
This is the option for one front door where you want to see who is there and unlock it from the couch without two separate installs. You get a deadbolt, a keypad, a fingerprint reader, and a camera in a single unit, which is a lot of hardware on one door and exactly what some buyers are looking for.
Two things to think about before you buy. First, the fingerprint reader. Buy this kind of lock with a keypad and a key as backup, because the reader is the part that ages. Second, plan the wiring and the mounting before the box arrives. An all-in-one lives where the doorbell used to be, and if the existing chime wiring or the door frame does not cooperate, you will find out on a Sunday afternoon.
For an Airbnb where you want a guest to arrive, ring, and be seen, this is the most complete single purchase on the list. For a duplex building with six doors, buy the Schlage and a doorbell separately and keep the codes consistent across units.
Best Doorbell: aosu 5MP Ultra HD Video Doorbell Camera
The aosu is the doorbell half of the equation, and it is the one I would pair with any of the locks above. It runs wireless or wired, and that matters more than people expect. If you rent an apartment, check the lease and check the existing chime wiring before you buy anything, because battery doorbells exist for exactly that situation.
Resolution is the number on the box. Field of view is the number that actually helps you. A camera that sees the whole porch, the walkway, and the spot where a package gets dropped is worth more than a sharper image of a hat. Ask how wide it sees before you ask how many megapixels it has.
The other question is storage. Local storage with no subscription is the right answer for most people, because a cloud plan can quietly cost more than the doorbell itself after two years. And test the night vision on a real porch. Nobody steals a package at noon.
How I test
Every lock and doorbell I recommend gets a full install on a real door, never a bench. Right now I am running ten locks and four doorbells through a 90-day rental turnover test across three Airbnbs and two long-term rentals in Columbus, which means real guest turnover, real tenant forgetfulness, and a real winter.
I log four things. The install: how long it takes, whether the manual skips the setup order, and whether any parts are missing from the box. The pairing: whether it connects on a plain 2.4GHz network in the correct order, and how many factory resets it takes when it does not. The deadbolt throw: checked after every install, because a bolt that does not fully seat is not a lock. And the daily behavior: auto-lock reliability, battery drain on a door that actually gets used, and whether the fingerprint reader still reads a real hand at day 30, 60, and 90.
I also pair every device to Alexa and test a voice lock and unlock, because "works with Alexa" is a claim, not a fact.
Analysis and test results
Across the category, a few things keep showing up.
The setup order is the whole ballgame on gateway locks. App first, then gateway. Do it backwards and you are doing a factory reset, and the manual buries that instruction on a foldout nobody reads. Locks with WiFi built in, like the Schlage and the eufy, skip the problem entirely, which is why those two are the ones I hand to landlords most often.
Auto-lock is the most underrated feature in the category. It ends the tenant-forgot-to-lock-up call forever, and it is the difference between a smart lock that saves you trips and one that just moves the key around.
Fingerprint readers degrade. I have watched a reader that worked on day one start missing on a cold morning at month seven. Buy a fingerprint lock with a keypad or a key backup, or you have built a lockout machine.
Watch the deadbolt throw. Every lock here can be defeated by a door frame that is out of alignment, and no app will tell you.
And be careful with subscriptions. Paying a monthly fee to open a door you already own is the worst deal in smart home.
The smart lock and doorbell reference table
Same four products, sorted by what you are actually deciding between. Setup notes assume a standard 2.4GHz home network and a door that closes squarely.
| Product | Setup and pairing | Power and connectivity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
 Visit on Amazon →Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt |
Full deadbolt replacement, WiFi in the lock, no gateway order to get wrong | Battery, built-in WiFi | Landlords who hand out codes and take them back |
 Visit on Amazon →eufy Security Smart Lock C210 |
Keypad-first keyless entry, built-in Wi-Fi, no bridge | Battery, built-in WiFi | A first smart lock on a sane budget |
 Visit on Amazon →Smart Door Lock with Video Doorbell and Fingerprint |
Lock plus camera in one unit, plan the wiring before you buy | Depends on the door wiring | One front door you want to see and unlock remotely |
 Visit on Amazon →aosu 5MP Ultra HD Video Doorbell Camera |
Wireless or wired, check the lease and the chime wiring first | Battery or existing doorbell wiring | Porch coverage without replacing the lock |
Should you buy the Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt?
Yes, if the door is yours or the landlord is footing the bill. It is the lock other landlords ask about by name, the WiFi lives in the deadbolt so there is no pairing order to get backwards, and codes can be handed to a tenant and deleted the same day. It is the one I would put on a rental front door and forget about.
Should you buy the eufy Security Smart Lock C210?
It is the value pick, and it is the one I would hand a first-time buyer. Built-in WiFi means no bridge to pair, and the keypad-first design means no fingerprint reader to wear out at month seven. If you want to stop hiding a key under a rock without turning your front door into a project, start here.
Should you buy the all-in-one lock with the doorbell and fingerprint?
Buy it if you have one front door and you want the camera, the keypad, and the fingerprint reader in a single install. Just confirm the wiring and the door frame first, and treat the fingerprint reader as a convenience, not the only way in. The keypad is what will still work in year two.
Should you buy the aosu 5MP Ultra HD Video Doorbell Camera?
Yes, if the porch is the gap in your setup. It runs wireless or wired, so it works for renters and owners alike, and it pairs with any lock on this list. Check the field of view and the night vision before you check the resolution, and lean toward local storage over a cloud plan.