A rental lock has exactly one job, and it is not the same job as a home lock. It has to let a guest in with a code you can create before they arrive and delete the moment they leave - all from your phone, without ever mailing a key, hiding one under a mat, or meeting anyone at the door. That single requirement, keypad entry with remote code management, is the filter that built this list. Every lock here has a way for a guest to type a code and get in, and a way for you to manage those codes without being on site.
What a rental host actually needs
Keypad entry, first and non-negotiable. Guests need a code, not a key. A keypad on the outside of the door - or, for the retrofit August, an included add-on keypad - is the whole mechanism of a self-check-in rental. That is why the picks here are keypad-capable locks, and it is why one popular lock is deliberately absent, which we get to below.
Remote lock/unlock and code management, second.Setting a fresh code per booking and killing it at checkout is the daily work of hosting, and you want to do it from an app, not a keypad you have to stand in front of. Four of these five have Wi-Fi built in and manage codes directly over your network. The Aqara U100 is the exception - it is Bluetooth on its own and needs an Aqara hub at the property to do remote management, which is real hardware to buy and place per unit. If you want to understand exactly what keeps working when a rental's internet drops mid-stay, our guide to whether smart locks work without Wi-Fi is written for precisely this worry.
Durability and a backup, third. A rental door is used by strangers, often roughly, far more than a family front door. A physical security rating and an auto-lock habit - so a guest who forgets to lock up does not leave the place open - both earn their keep. The Kwikset Halo leans hardest into this, being Grade AAA and UL listed on this list.
Why we left the Level Lock+ off this list
This is worth being explicit about, because the Level Lock+ tops other lists we publish and its absence here is deliberate, not an oversight. The Level Lock+ is designed to be invisible: nearly all of it hides in the door, and to pull that off it ships without an exterior keypad. Entry is by phone, key card or key. That is a wonderful trait for a personal front door and a dealbreaker for a rental, where the entire point is that a guest you have never met can walk up and type a code. A lock a guest cannot enter with a code is the wrong tool for a rental, however good it is elsewhere - so it is off this page on purpose. If the rental is actually your own Apple household and code entry is not the priority, our best smart locks for Apple Home covers the Level and its Home Key peers.
Own the door, or just rent it? That splits the list
The biggest fork for a host is whether you can change the door hardware at all. If you own the property, a full-replacement deadbolt is the cleaner answer: the Schlage Encode Plus, Yale Assure Lock 2, Kwikset Halo or Aqara U100 all swap out the old deadbolt for fresh, keyless hardware with a keypad built into the exterior. These are covered as a group in our best smart deadbolts roundup if you want to compare only the full-replacement options.
If you leasethe unit you rent out, or a landlord will not let you change the exterior, the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is built for you. It is a retrofit: it clamps onto the inside of the existing deadbolt, so the exterior face and the landlord's keys stay exactly as they are, while you gain app control and - with the included Keypad Touch - code entry for guests on the outside. It is the one lock here that lets you run a code-based rental without touching the hardware your lease says you cannot. Every one of these also appears, ranked against locks for every use case, in our best smart locks overall guide.
Matching a pick to your rental
For most hosts who own the door, the Schlage Encode Plus is the safe top pick: full keypad deadbolt, built-in Wi-Fi for remote code control, no hub, no plan. The Kwikset Halo is the no-fuss alternative for a host who just wants a rugged, Grade AAA keypad lock and does not care about Apple - it is the simplest to live with. The Yale Assure Lock 2 suits a host who likes the idea of a module they can swap later and wants an optional keyed backup for a co-host or cleaner. The Aqara U100 is the call for an exposed door that needs IP65 weatherproofing and for a host who does not mind adding an Aqara hub per property. And the August is the answer whenever you cannot change the door itself.
The usual honest caveat, the same one on every page here: we do not run a lock lab. We built this list from each lock's own Amazon listing and manufacturer documentation, recorded only the platforms and features each one actually names, and marked anything a listing left unsaid as "Not listed" rather than assuming it. This is a researched roundup, not a hands-on test - and where a listing goes quiet, so do we.
Start with the door you are allowed to change
Before ecosystem, before features, answer one question: can you replace the exterior hardware? If you own the property, yes - and a full-replacement keypad deadbolt (Schlage, Yale, Kwikset or Aqara) is the cleaner rental lock, giving you a fresh keypad face and no dependence on old parts. If you lease the unit or a landlord says no, the retrofit August is the only pick here that works without touching the exterior, since it mounts on the inside and adds a guest keypad without replacing the lock the landlord installed.
Then decide how much you want to manage
A rental lives on remote code management, so favor built-in Wi-Fi. The Schlage, Kwikset and August all connect directly with no hub, so you set and delete codes from your phone with nothing extra at the property. The Yale does the same through its included Wi-Fi module. The Aqara U100 is the outlier: it needs an Aqara hub on site to manage codes remotely, which is fine if you already run Aqara but is one more box - and one more point of failure - per property otherwise.
Then match durability and ecosystem
For the toughest, most no-nonsense pick, the Kwikset Halo is Grade AAA and UL listed - a reassuring spec on a door strangers use. If the rental is an exposed cabin or beach door, the Aqara U100's IP65 rating is the differentiator. On ecosystems, only bother if the rental doubles as your own home: the Schlage and Aqara name Apple HomeKit and Home Key, while the Yale, Kwikset and August are Alexa/Google locks. For guests, none of that matters - they only ever touch the keypad. And because an internet blip should never lock a guest out, read our do smart locks work without Wi-Figuide so you know which of these still opens on the keypad when a property's connection drops.
