Smart Locks

The default recommendation for European Euro-cylinder doors, and for good reason: Nuki has iterated this product for a decade, and the mechanics are the most refined in the category. It clamps over the existing thumb-turn, keeps the physical key working, and the Pro adds a built-in Wi-Fi bridge so it doesn't need Nuki's separate Bridge accessory for remote access.

Matter support means it pairs directly with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa or a Matter-capable hub without going through Nuki's own cloud for local commands. The company has also been unusually transparent about local API access for people who want to script around it.

Tedee's selling point is battery life: the Pro claims roughly double the cycles of most retrofit motors on a comparable battery, which in practice means fewer nights spent worrying whether the lock will make it to morning. The body is also notably compact, sitting flatter against the door than Nuki's or Danalock's.

The trade-off is that remote access and automation both need the separate Tedee Bridge accessory, which is an extra purchase most competitors have started building in.

Aqara undercuts Nuki and Tedee on price while still shipping Matter support, which makes it the value pick for anyone already inside Aqara's ecosystem of sensors and hubs. Fingerprint and keypad entry are available as bundled options rather than pricey add-ons.

It is a newer entrant to European retrofit locks than Nuki, so the long-term reliability track record is shorter, but early reviews are positive and Aqara's hardware quality elsewhere in this guide's other categories has generally held up.

LOQED's distinguishing feature is a built-in touch keypad on the lock body itself, so there's no separate keypad accessory to buy, mount and pair. It also ships with a physical Wi-Fi-connected "Open Sesame" style contact point that most rivals treat as an upsell.

It's the most expensive lock here, and the touch keypad's battery drain is real — expect the shortest replacement interval in this list if guest codes get heavy daily use.

Yale is one of the very few mainstream lock brands offering a genuine full-body Matter lock rather than a retrofit motor, which matters for UK and North American doors that don't use a Euro-cylinder thumb-turn. Build quality benefits from decades of Yale's core lock-making business.

Full-body replacement means professional fitting is worth budgeting for unless you're comfortable with a door lock installation, and the deadbolt option needs the door prepped to accept it.

SwitchBot's Lock Pro is the budget entry with Matter certification, aimed at people who want the category without the premium-brand price. It pairs with SwitchBot's own optional keypad and works reasonably well as a first smart lock.

The trade-off is a noisier, slower motor than Nuki or Tedee, and SwitchBot's build quality, while adequate, doesn't match the decade of refinement behind the market leaders.