Best keyed deadbolts
Which deadbolt to put on each door, what the grades mean, and why the strike screws matter as much as the lock.
For most front and back doors, buy the Schlage B60N. Schlage lists it at the top residential and commercial ratings and says it comes with a strike reinforcer and 3-inch screws, and four locksmiths asked by Wirecutter chose it over a similar Kwikset.1 2 3
If you want to rekey your doors yourself, get the Kwikset 980 instead. Save the Grade 3 Kwikset 660 for low-risk doors. If your current Grade 1 or 2 deadbolt works smoothly, keep it and rekey it. With any of these, drive 3-inch screws through the strike plate (the metal plate on the frame that the bolt slides into) into the framing, because in Consumer Reports' kick tests the short screws usually fail, not the bolt.4 5
Our picks
How they compare
| Schlage B60N | Kwikset 980 | Kwikset 660 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Most main doors | Main doors you'll rekey yourself | Low-risk doors only |
| Listed rating | AAA and commercial Grade 1 | AAA and Grade 1 | Grade 3 |
| How you rekey it | Kit or locksmith | SmartKey tool | SmartKey tool |
| Strike screws | 3-inch, with reinforcer | Long, per Consumer Reports | Length not listed |
| Thickest door | 1-7/8 inches | 1-3/4 inches | 1-3/4 inches |
| Public lab result | None for this model | Consumer Reports best budget lock, 2018 | None |
Schlage B60N Single Cylinder Deadbolt
Good fit if: most front and back doors
Model B60N 619
- Top listed ratings
- Locksmiths chose it over Kwikset
- Comes with 3-inch strike screws
- Hardened anti-drill plates
- Easy to install
- Rekeying takes a kit or locksmith
- Skilled pickers can open it
- Costs far more than the 660
Schlage lists this lock as AAA, the top residential rating, and as commercial Grade 1, the top commercial grade. That's two grade steps above the Kwikset 660.1 2 6 Wirecutter chose it after interviewing eight locksmiths, experts and makers, and all four locksmiths it asked preferred it to a similar Kwikset.3
The more useful detail is in the box. Schlage says the lock includes a strike reinforcer with 3-inch screws, which is the fix Consumer Reports points to.2 4 SafeWise lists weak screws as a con without saying which ones, so check what you get, and Wirecutter still recommends adding a reinforced strike.3 7
It isn't pick-proof. LockPickingLawyer, a well-known lock picker who also sells picking tools, opened one on camera after a false start and says its five pins shouldn't trouble intermediate pickers. He still calls it one of the top few entry-level locks, and his teardown found a hardened steel plate at the front of the core and a second anti-drill plate behind the face.8 That shouldn't change your purchase, because picking accounts for few real break-ins.9
It's easy to fit. Bob Vila's reviewer called it one of the easiest locks to install, thanks to self-aligning screws, though a little pricey for one deadbolt.10 Owner reports are thin and show no repeated failure. One of five reviews on a retailer page said the key felt stiff at first.11 To rekey it you need a kit or a locksmith. One Reddit owner says a kit takes about 20 minutes a lock when you start.12
Verdict: Buy this for any door you use every day. Skip it only if changing keys yourself matters more to you than having the locksmiths' favorite.
Kwikset 980 Single Cylinder Deadbolt with SmartKey
Good fit if: new owners who want to change keys themselves
Model 980 514 SMT 6AL STRKP
- Consumer Reports' best budget lock in 2018
- Pros couldn't pick it
- Long screws hold the strike
- Rekey with a tool, no kit
- Locksmiths prefer Schlage
- Forced open in one demonstration
- Owners report sticking keys
- Doors up to 1-3/4 inches only
This lock has the strongest public test result of the three. Consumer Reports named it the best budget lock in 2018, because its pros couldn't pick it and its long screws anchored the strike.5 Kwikset lists it as AAA, with security, durability and finish all certified at Grade 1.13 Its install guide says to put the longer screws closest to the jamb.14 No public test compares it directly with the B60N.
The reason to choose it is SmartKey, Kwikset's system for changing the key with a small tool instead of swapping pins. As long as you have the working key, you can set every door to one key without a kit.15
SmartKey is also the trade-off. All four of Wirecutter's locksmiths preferred Schlage, and an answer on Stack Exchange calls the mechanism more delicate than a pin cylinder.3 16 The repeat complaint from owners is about SmartKey, not the bolt. In three Stack Exchange threads, owners report keys that stick, a lock that stopped turning, and a cylinder that got out of step during rekeying. One says Kwikset offered to send a new cylinder and keys.16 17 18 SafeWise also lists rekey failure as a con.7
A SmartKey lock was forced open in under a minute with a screwdriver, a wrench, a hammer and a filed key blank, in a demonstration by security researcher Marc Weber Tobias that CNET described in 2013. The attack was noisy and damaged the lock, and CNET couldn't tell which model it was.19 Locksmith Ledger reported in 2009 that a redesigned cylinder made force tools less likely to work, and that a successful attempt leaves noticeable damage.20 Kwikset told CNET the videos showed earlier models.19
Verdict: Buy this if you want to rekey doors yourself after moving in. Skip it if you'd rather have a conventional pin cylinder, or if your door is thicker than 1-3/4 inches.
Kwikset 660 Single Cylinder Deadbolt with SmartKey
Good fit if: low-risk secondary doors only
Model 660 / T66015SMTCPK6V2
- Far cheaper than the B60N
- SmartKey rekeying
- Quick to install
- Grade 3, the lowest grade
- No drill plate, per one retailer
- Strike screw length not listed
Kwikset lists this lock as Grade 3, the lowest of the three grades, while the 980 gets Grade 1 with the same SmartKey rekeying.6 13 Bob Vila liked the install, which took its reviewer under 15 minutes, but limits it to low-crime areas and low-risk exterior doors.10 One retailer says it has only two security pins and no drill-resistant plate. That's a seller's account, not a lab finding.21
Its appeal is the low cost.10 On a door that doesn't matter much, that's fair, and the money you save is better spent on long screws. Kwikset's page doesn't give the strike screw length, and its install guide says only that the longer screws go closest to the jamb, so measure what comes in the box.6 14 The SmartKey complaints listed under the 980 apply here too, since it's the same mechanism.16
Verdict: Don't put this on your main entry. Use it only on a low-use door, and fix the strike screws when you do.
How to choose
Check the strike before you shop
Back out one screw from your current strike plate and measure it.22 Consumers' Checkbook says most strikes are held by two 3/4-inch screws.23 Use 3-inch screws that reach the framing behind the jamb. Old wood can crack as the screw goes in, so drill a pilot hole first.24 25
This is the cheapest fix on the page, and the evidence for it is the strongest. Consumer Reports swings a 100-pound steel ram at a locked door up to eight times from rising heights. Its 2021 article says failure is more often than not caused by short strike screws, and that a reinforced strike improves kick resistance by magnitudes.4 In 2018 its lock engineer said the bolt itself isn't the part that fails.5
Federal data shows why this matters. In completed forced entries when nobody was home, 73 percent involved a door, and the door was damaged or removed in 44 percent.9
Use the grade to rule locks out
BHMA, the US hardware makers' association, runs two systems. Grades 1 to 3 run from best to lowest. The newer residential system scores security, durability and finish separately from A to C, so AAA is the top score.1 6 13 26 Buy Grade 1 or AAA for the doors you use most, and don't put Grade 3 on a main entry.
Read the grade on the maker's page for the exact model. Even then, check for conflicts: Kwikset's own 780 page shows both Grade 2 and Grade 3.27
Don't use the grade to choose a winner among good locks. BHMA says its lab results can differ in real homes because of installation, the door and the frame.26 Consumer Reports rated the Yale YH82 Good for drilling, its top score among standard deadbolts in 2021, and Yale lists that line as only Grade 2.4 28 In its 2011 test of 19 locks, a few hard kicks or a drill got past most of them, and only the Medeco Maxum passed everything.29
Always choose a single cylinder with a thumbturn
A single-cylinder deadbolt has a key outside and a thumbturn inside. A double-cylinder deadbolt needs a key on both sides, and that's dangerous in a fire. The International Residential Code requires the egress door of a house to open from inside without a key, and a double-cylinder deadbolt doesn't meet that rule.30 31 Local amendments vary, but a key you can't find during a fire is the risk.
If there's glass near the lock, deal with the glass. Burglars dislike double-cylinder locks, according to a literature review in one university report, but they can still beat them with tools or force.32
Worry about force more than picking
In federal data for 2003 to 2007, 40 percent of no-force entries at empty homes came through an unlocked door or window, 8 percent used a key and 4 percent involved a picked lock or window.9 In a 2012 survey of 422 jailed burglars, about one in eight reported picking locks or using a key they already had. That survey was self-reported and funded by an alarm industry foundation.32 33
So spend on resistance to force and on rekeying, and treat pick resistance as a smaller concern. Rekey whichever lock you keep, because you don't know who holds a key to your house. If you'd change keys only once after moving in, a Schlage with a kit or a locksmith visit is a one-time chore. If you want to change them often, SmartKey does it with the included tool.15
Don't stop at the door
Better locks do cut burglary at scale, and they work best in combination. A Dutch rule from 1999 required burglary-resistant doors and windows in new homes, and economists estimated it cut annual burglary in those homes by 26 percent, from 1.1 to 0.8 percent.34 In England and Wales, homes with window locks plus door deadlocks had 13 times lower risk than homes with no security, while deadlocks alone were only 3 times lower.35 Those are European homes and neither study tested a specific deadbolt, but the advice holds: pair a good deadbolt with working window locks.
How many you need, and how to fit them
You need one deadbolt per exterior door, including the front, back and side doors and any door from the garage.
Measure the door thickness and the backset, which is the distance from the door's edge to the center of the lock hole. The B60 and the 980 both adjust to 2-3/8 or 2-3/4 inches. Kwikset lists the 980 for doors up to 1-3/4 inches thick, and Schlage lists the B60 up to 1-7/8 inches.1 13
Others we looked at
- Medeco Maxum 11TR503Consumer Reports calls it the strongest deadbolt in all of its lock categories, and in 2018 its testers couldn't drill or pick it.4 5 A dealer lists it as Grade 1 with a restricted key, and it costs more than six times as much as the B60.3 36 Buy it if you have a specific reason to fear drilling or a targeted attack. The strike and frame still matter.
- Baldwin Prestige 380Consumer Reports scored it almost the same as the Kwikset 980 in 2018, with long screws and no successful pick. It suits buyers who want a brass-plated look, but check that it's still sold.5
- Yale Premier YH82Consumer Reports said in 2021 that it holds up to kicks as sold, though other locks resist picking better.4 Yale lists the line as Grade 2, so it's a fair alternative if you can find it.28
- Kwikset 780Its page lists Grade 2 in the specs and Grade 3 in the features, so its rating is unclear. The 980 avoids that doubt.27
- Prime-Line U 9539 or Battalion Strike PlateThese are add-ons, not locks, and they're worth having on a soft frame. Wirecutter picked the Battalion as its reinforced strike and calls the Prime-Line virtually identical. It says the Battalion's 2-inch screws are on the short side, so buy 3-inch or longer.3
How we picked
We haven't tested these locks ourselves. The picks rest on maker certifications, Consumer Reports' public articles from 2011, 2018 and 2021, one Wirecutter summary, one teardown video and a modest number of owner reports. Consumer Reports' detailed scores are for members only, and none of its public articles gives a result for the B60N, so the case for that lock rests on its ratings, its hardware and expert opinion rather than a published kick test. Grades here are the makers' own listings. Nobody has published a failure rate for SmartKey or a recent force test of the current cylinder. The federal burglary data is from 2003 to 2007 and comes from what victims reported. The European studies didn't test specific locks, and no peer-reviewed study compares deadbolt brands or grades in real burglaries.
Sources
- Single Cylinder Deadbolt (B60) Schlage, accessed 2026-11-05
- B60 trade product page Schlage, accessed 2026-11-05
- The Best Door Lock (Wirecutter, archived PDF of the Nov. 2024 update, summary portion only) Wirecutter, copy hosted by Security Laboratories, 2024-11-20
- Best and Worst Door Locks (Consumer Reports, syndicated) Consumer Reports via Yahoo News, 2021-08-04
- 5 door locks that will keep you safe (Consumer Reports, syndicated) Consumer Reports via News4Jax, 2018-07-17
- 660 Deadbolt, Keyed One Side, featuring SmartKey Kwikset, accessed 2026-11-05
- Top Door Locks to Prevent Break-Ins SafeWise, 2025-10-06
- [1234] The Best Door Lock According to NYT Wirecutter LockPickingLawyer (YouTube), 2021-02-01
- Victimization During Household Burglary Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010
- The Best Door Locks Bob Vila, 2023
- Schlage B60 Deadbolt, Single Cylinder Door Locks Direct, accessed 2026-11-05
- What is something every new home owner should get? (comment) Reddit r/AskReddit, 2023
- 980 Deadbolt, Keyed One Side, featuring SmartKey Kwikset, accessed 2026-11-05
- Installation and Reference Guide (regular deadbolts, including 660 and 980) Kwikset
- SmartKey Security Kwikset, accessed 2026-11-05
- Are easy-rekey locks reliable? DIY Stack Exchange, 2011
- Removing a key stuck in a SmartKey lock DIY Stack Exchange, 2019
- Did I break my Kwikset SmartKey lock by trying to rekey with a key that doesn't fit all the way? DIY Stack Exchange, 2012
- How secure is the deadbolt in the Kwikset Kevo smart lock? (CNET, archived PDF) CNET, copy hosted by Security Laboratories, 2013-10-29
- KWIKSET SmartKey IS IMPROVED Locksmith Ledger, 2009-10-01
- Kwikset 660 vs 980: Which is right for you? Door Locks Direct