Aqara, Yale and Salto are the three smart lock brands worth installing on an Australian door in 2026. Here's how they compare on features, price, door compatibility and long-term reliability.
Aqara is the value pick and our most-installed brand in Perth. The U100 ($550-$680 installed) fits most standard timber front doors and supports fingerprint, PIN, NFC card, Apple Home Key and Bluetooth in one unit. The U200 adds Wi-Fi for remote access without a hub, and the U300 replaces a full mortice lock for heritage doors. All three integrate with Apple Home, Google Home and Aqara's own ecosystem.
Yale is the incumbent Australian brand and the default for sliding doors. The Yale Unity fits sliding aluminium doors that Aqara can't - a critical option for the majority of WA homes with a back sliding door. Yale Assure handles standard timber doors and integrates with Google Nest and August. Reliability is excellent; the app is functional rather than polished.
Salto is the commercial-grade option. If you're running a short-stay accommodation business, a multi-unit building, or a home office where different people need different access, Salto is the platform designed for it - cloud-managed key permissions, full audit trails, and integration with commercial access-control systems. Overkill for a single-family home; essential for anything above that.
Compatibility warning: none of these three will fit every Australian door. Old heritage doors with narrow stiles, custom-fabricated pivot doors, and some aluminium security doors need a site measure before ordering. We measure first, quote second - always.
What to skip: no-name smart locks from marketplaces (Kwikset, generic Tuya-app locks, unbranded Aliexpress units). We see the failed installs when clients ring us to replace them - usually within two years. The $200 saved upfront becomes a $700 replacement plus door damage.
