Best Deadbolts – 10 Handpicked Reviews, Guide, FAQs, More

The different types of deadbolts available in the market are:

• Single-Cylinder Deadbolt 

This is by far the most common type of deadbolt lock. It has a thumb-turn twist knob on the interior side of the door and a keyway cylinder on the exterior side.

• Double-Cylinder Deadbolt

A Double-Cylinder deadbolt is more secure than a single-cylinder deadbolt but it does raise some safety concerns.

A double-cylinder deadbolt has no thumb-turn twist knob on the interior side. It has a keyway cylinder on both the interior as well as the exterior side of the door. Hence, you will need a key to access the door even if you’re going from inside the building to the outside. This type of lock shines on doors that have a glass pane or something similar on them. In this case, an intruder can’t just break the glass and reach in to unlock the door from the inside.

However, double-cylinder deadbolts are often criticized because in an emergency, you may not have time to look for the deadbolt lock’s key.

• Keyless Deadbolt

A keyless deadbolt, as the name suggests, does not require a key for you to gain access to it. Some common access mechanisms that keyless deadbolts utilize can be a touchpad, smartphone app or fingerprint sensor. The obvious advantage of this lock is that you won’t have to worry about misplacing your key or it getting stolen.

• Vertical Deadbolt  

A vertical deadbolt, as the name implies, is not located on the traditional position on your door. It’s normally placed near the top of your door which makes it very difficult for a potential burglar to pry it open using a crowbar or something similar.

There also exist other less common types of deadbolts that have niche functions. Some of these types of deadbolts are:

• Classroom-function (they unlock the door just through a thumb-turn) 
• Exit-only function (these types of deadbolts have no external cylinder)
• Push-button deadbolt (these types of deadbolts unlock through a push-button. They can be electrical or mechanical)
• Single-cylinder deadbolts with a removable thumb-turn.

Here are some factors you should think about and look at before purchasing a deadbolt:

• Picking and Bumping Vulnerability

Lock-picking and lock-bumping are two of the most common techniques that burglars employ in order to gain access to locks that have a keyway. A deadbolt definitely does have a keyway. However, you can put your mind at ease by choosing a deadbolt that is specifically designed in a way so that it stands up to these types of attacks. It’s very important that you get such a lock. This is because these two techniques are definitely one of the first things that a robber will try when attempting to gain access to your home.

• Material Strength and Quality

It’s very important that you inspect the deadbolt you intend on getting thoroughly to make sure it does not consist of any sub-par materials. In recent days, a lot of cheaper companies have been trying to cut corners on their locks by replacing metal components with parts made of plastic. This is something you should definitely be wary of.

• Key Override Feature

If you intend on getting a smart deadbolt, be sure to get one that has a way to unlock it mechanically with a traditional key or something similar. This is important because if the electronic component of the deadbolt stops working, you should have a mechanical way to gain access to it.

ANSI grading stands for American Nation Standards Institute grading. It is a grading system that determines the effectiveness of deadbolts. It ranges from 1 (highest grade) to 3 (lowest grade). Grade 1 deadbolts are used for commercial use. Grade 2 deadbolts are meant for home use while grade 3 deadbolts are meant to be used in homes as secondary or additional locks. The grading is based on many different aspects of the locks such as longevity, latch length and toughness.