Best Smart Locks for Airbnb 2026: Compared on Guest Codes
If you want each guest to get a door code that starts at check-in and stops at checkout without anyone touching the lock, 3 brands do it through Airbnb itself: Schlage, Yale, and August. The cheapest of the 3 is the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock with keypad at $210.99. The Schlage Encode costs $299 and states the longest battery life of the 3, up to 6 months.
Airbnb’s smart lock help page lists the models that connect. Once a lock is connected, every confirmed booking gets a unique code that is active only during the trip, sent by email, in Airbnb messages, and in the trip guide. Each listing can connect 1 lock, and the feature covers hosts in the United States and Canada. Airbnb opened it to all hosts in those 2 countries on August 21, 2024, and says codes deactivate automatically after checkout and adjust when a reservation changes.
The 7 locks below fall into 4 groups by how a guest code is issued. 3 connect to Airbnb directly, 2 issue time-limited codes from their own app without a hub, 1 needs a hub, and 1 is programmed at the door.
The Ranked Table
The rank follows how a guest code is issued, in this order: Through Airbnb’s own integration, through the maker’s app with no hub, through a hub, and at the keypad. Within each group, the lower maker list price ranks higher. Every figure comes from the maker page linked in the row.
The Yale Z-Wave lock costs less than the Yale Wi-Fi lock and still ranks lower, because Airbnb’s list names only Yale models with built-in Wi-Fi or a Connect Wi-Fi Bridge.
What Airbnb’s Integration Requires
Airbnb’s help page sets 4 hardware conditions, and a lock that misses 1 of them does not connect.
- Wi-Fi. The lock must be on Wi-Fi, ideally on the band its maker recommends, such as 2.4 GHz.
- The entry door. The lock must be installed on the entry door.
- Current firmware. An outdated lock app can block the connection.
- A keypad. Some models need a keypad accessory. Airbnb lists every August lock with a keypad, which is why the August row above is the bundle.
Airbnb does not change the codes you set yourself. Cleaners and co-hosts get personal codes set in the lock maker’s app, and Airbnb says it cannot see codes on the lock. If the lock is offline when a booking comes in, Airbnb can share a backup code. If the batteries die during a stay, Airbnb shares a backup entry method.
The Running Example: 1 Door and 100 Stays
As an example only, take a cabin with 1 entry door and 100 stays a year.
Codes. Through Airbnb’s integration, 100 bookings produce 100 codes with no action from you. The Kwikset page lists 25 user codes and 5 one-time codes and describes no remote management, so someone on-site has to enter each new code at the keypad. 100 new codes mean 100 visits to the door, or codes reused between guests.
On the Lockly, temporary codes come from the app over Wi-Fi. Lockly caps its offline codes, the ones that work when the lock is off the network, at 3 free a month, which is 36 a year against 100 stays. Lockly sells a LocklyOS subscription for more, and the product page does not publish its price.
Batteries. Divide 12 months by the stated life. The Schlage, at up to 6 months, needs at least 2 battery changes a year. The August lock, at up to 3 months, needs at least 4, which is a change every 25 stays or sooner, plus about 2 for the keypad at 7 months. The Lockly, at up to 5 months, needs at least 2 to 3.
The Kwikset, at least 12 months, needs 1 at most. Yale and igloohome do not publish battery life on the pages linked. Ask the maker for that figure before you buy.
What Each Property Management System Lists
If you run a property management system (PMS), its own supported-lock list decides the integration. Airbnb’s help page says a PMS with its own lock integration may be able to send codes to Airbnb for you. Each list names individual models, so check the model number on the box.
- Hospitable. Its supported locks list names the Schlage Encode Smart Wifi Deadbolt and the Yale Assure Lock 2 (YRD410-WF1), the model number on the Yale page above. For August it names the Wi-Fi Smart Lock (ASL-04) and says every August model needs a keypad accessory. For igloohome it names the Deadbolt 2S and not the 2E. The Kwikset Powerbolt 250 and the Lockly Secure Pro are not on it.
- Hostaway. Its igloohome integration page says igloohome locks use algoPIN technology and “operate remotely without the need for WiFi connectivity.”
- Guesty. Its help center says Guesty Locks Manager supports only locks with physical keypads. Guesty is the PMS our direct booking tech stack recommends as the master calendar.
Where Each Lock Fits
The lock Rob links as his favorite in Airbnb Automation 101 is a Kwikset Powerbolt Contemporary keypad deadbolt, and the link gives no model number. If it is the Powerbolt 250, it ranks 7th here, because this table ranks on how a code reaches a guest, and the Powerbolt page describes no remote code management. It states the longest battery life in the table and needs no hub or Wi-Fi. It suits a property with a co-host or cleaner on-site between stays.
The igloohome and Lockly locks suit a door with unreliable Wi-Fi. Lockly’s page describes codes issued while the lock is offline, and Hostaway’s page says igloohome locks operate without Wi-Fi.
How a lock purchase is recorded is covered line by line in our Airbnb tax deductions checklist, and the form it goes on depends on Schedule E vs. Schedule C.
For related comparisons, see the Airbnb amenities that move average daily rate (ADR) and the Airbnb welcome book and house rules templates.
Before You Order
For a host on Airbnb in the United States or Canada, we would start with a lock on Airbnb’s list, because the booking then creates, times, and removes the code with nobody at the door. Of those 3, the August costs least at $210.99, and the Schlage states the longest battery life at up to 6 months. A lock off that list needs something else to issue each code: The maker’s app, a PMS, a hub, or a visit to the keypad. Before you order, match the exact model number against Airbnb’s list and your PMS’s list. Book a free strategy call and we will look at your numbers with you.
Host Camp is not a licensed tax, legal, or financial adviser. Confirm figures for your situation with a professional.
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