SwitchBot Lock Pro Review: $100 and Keep Your Keys
Published: July 8, 2026
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The SwitchBot Lock Pro answers one question better than anything else: how do I make my existing deadbolt smart as cheaply as possible? For $100 it clamps over your interior thumb-turn, leaves the outside of the door and your keys completely alone, and puts the lock in your phone. It's the budget retrofit champ. It's also, let's be honest, kind of ugly, and the $100 is just the starting line.
How does the retrofit approach help?
The same way August's does, for less money. Nothing about the outside of your door changes, your physical keys still work, and there's no re-keying or landlord conversation. It motorizes the thumb-turn you already have, so install is reversible and renter-friendly. If you like your current deadbolt and just want app control, auto-lock, and the ability to let someone in remotely, this is the least-invasive way to get there.
What does $100 actually get you?
The lock and the motor, and not much else. Matter, Wi-Fi, and fingerprint all require buying more SwitchBot gear: a Hub for Wi-Fi and Matter, a Keypad Touch for codes and fingerprints. Factor those in before you celebrate the price. The other honest knock is the look: it's a chunky black box on the inside of your door, more industrial than the sleek August. Once it's installed and dialed in, though, the motor is quiet and strong and the automation options are surprisingly deep.
Specs, Pros & the Bottom Line
SwitchBot Lock Pro
The cheapest way to keep your keys and go smart
- Our Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
- Price: $100 (lock only)
- Install: Retrofit (keeps your key)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth (Wi-Fi/Matter via hub)
- Apple Home Key: No
- Battery life: 6–9 months (4 AA)
- Entry methods: App, auto, keypad/fingerprint (add-on)
- Matter: Yes (via hub)
Pros
- $100 gets your existing deadbolt online with nothing to re-key
- Retrofit install leaves your keys and exterior untouched
- Quiet, strong motor once it's dialed in
Cons
- It looks brutalist, like a big black box on your interior door
- Matter, Wi-Fi and fingerprint all need extra SwitchBot hardware
- Install can be fiddly on off-brand deadbolts
Two honest warnings first: it's ugly, a chunky black box on the inside of your door, and the $100 price is lock-only, so Matter, Wi-Fi, and fingerprint mean buying the hub and keypad on top. If you can look past the brutalist slab, it's the cheapest legitimate way to make a deadbolt smart without touching the outside of your door or re-keying anything. Once installed the motor is quiet and strong, and the app has more automation options than a lock this cheap has any right to. Buy it if you rent or love your current keys and want smarts on a budget. Want it to look good and read a fingerprint out of the box? Spend a little more on the eufy E30 or Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro.
What to buy instead
Want a lock that looks good and reads a fingerprint straight out of the box? The eufy Smart Lock E30 or Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro are full deadbolts for a bit more. Prefer a polished retrofit and don't mind paying up? The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is the classier version of this idea.
The verdict
The SwitchBot Lock Pro is the budget retrofit for people who value keeping their keys over how the lock looks. It's the cheapest honest path to a smart deadbolt, and once installed it works quietly and well. Just go in knowing it's brutalist on the door and that the good stuff (Matter, Wi-Fi, fingerprint) costs extra.