Published 2026-10-03 · 11 min read

SwitchBot vs August for Landlords (2026): Retrofit Smart Locks for Rental Property

Affiliate disclosure: we're a SwitchBot affiliate through CJ — buying through our SwitchBot links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. August is discussed here for comparison only; it is not an affiliate recommendation. Read our full affiliate disclosure for how that works.

Two retrofit smart locks dominate the landlord short list for a simple reason: neither asks you to rip out the deadbolt. August has owned the "keep your deadbolt, make it smart" lane since 2015. SwitchBot — a company built on clever retrofit gadgets — has pushed hard into locks with the Lock Pro line and the facial-recognition Lock Vision series, and it now undercuts August on price while adding keypad and biometric options August never offered.

For a landlord, the question is not which lock is cooler. It is which one cuts the $75–$150 locksmith rekey at every turnover, gives tenants keyless entry they will actually use, and does not become a support burden at scale. Here is the full comparison with pricing as of fall 2026.

The quick answer

Pick SwitchBot if you want the lowest per-door cost for a full keypad setup, and you want one ecosystem that also covers other rental gadgets (SwitchBot makes remotes, sensors, and curtains on the same app). The SwitchBot Lock Pro at $119.99 paired with a keypad gives tenants codes without a phone — the core rental use case — for less than August's lock alone typically retails for.

Pick August if your portfolio standardizes on a familiar US brand with a decade of tenant-facing app familiarity, and you want the most conservative install possible: the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock changes literally nothing on the outside of the door.

Pricing snapshot (fall 2026 — confirm on each product's page before buying):

Prices above are the manufacturer's US storefront and launch MSRP figures plus widely observed street pricing for August; SwitchBot prices are from SwitchBot's own US store. Confirm current pricing on each product's page — smart-lock street prices move frequently.

Who each company is

August is the company that invented the mainstream retrofit smart lock. The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen) keeps the deadbolt cylinder and the exterior keyway exactly as-is; you swap the interior thumb-turn for a compact motorized unit. It connects to Wi-Fi directly (no bridge required on the 4th generation), works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, and the exterior of the door looks identical — tenants and neighbors see nothing different.

SwitchBot started as the "make anything smart" retrofit company — its famous Bot is a little mechanical finger that presses physical buttons — and it applied that same retrofit philosophy to locks. The Lock Pro mounts inside the door over an existing deadbolt (screw or adhesive mounting) with an aluminum alloy body, a physical quick-lock button, and a manual thumb-turn override. The newer Lock Vision line goes further: it replaces the deadbolt outright and adds 3D structured-light facial recognition, so the door unlocks when a registered face approaches — no phone, code, or fingerprint needed.

Install and door compatibility: both landlord-friendly

Both brands avoid the full-deadbolt replacement job, which matters at rentals because it means no drilling, no new holes, and the keyway the lease references never changes.

• August Wi-Fi (4th Gen): about 10 minutes with a screwdriver. You remove the interior thumb-turn, attach the August, done. The outside of the door is untouched — a genuine advantage in properties where you want zero visible change, and it is the easiest install to explain to a tenant or handyman over the phone.
• SwitchBot Lock Pro: also a retrofit over the existing deadbolt, mountable with screws or adhesive. The spec sheet notes indoor use and a quick-lock button with tactile feedback, so tenants get an obvious physical way to secure the door. One note: SwitchBot's marketing for the Pro emphasizes compatibility with standard deadbolts; on oddball or mortise hardware, verify fit before buying in bulk.
• SwitchBot Lock Vision / Vision Pro: these replace the deadbolt rather than retrofit. They are the pick when you are doing a full hardware refresh at a turnover or renovation — not the quick-add option.

Landlord edge: August for the most invisible, reversible install. SwitchBot Lock Pro for a fast retrofit with more built-in unlock methods. SwitchBot Vision line for full hardware refreshes where you want biometrics.

Unlock methods and the tenant experience

This is where the two brands diverge hardest, and it matters more than any spec sheet: tenants will use whatever requires the least effort, and the method they choose determines your support load.

August gives you: the existing physical key (unchanged), the app (send time-limited or permanent digital guest keys), auto-unlock (geofence detects arrival and unlocks), voice assistants, and an optional add-on keypad for code entry. The app-based guest keys are the landlord killer feature: hand a plumber a key that dies in two hours from your phone.

SwitchBot gives you: the physical key (on retrofit models), NFC tags, passwords/codes via keypad, fingerprint (with keypad), iPhone app controls, Apple Watch, Siri voice, geofencing, and — on the Vision Pro — palm-vein and 3D facial recognition. Biometric data is stored on-device, not in the cloud, which is a genuine privacy talking point for tenant-facing buildings. The Vision Pro's palm-vein unlock works even with wet or dirty hands and without touching the lock — a small but real upgrade for tradespeople access.

For rentals, the single most important difference: SwitchBot bundles keypad-first operation into its standard combo pricing, while August's keypad is a separate purchase on top of a lock that is frequently more expensive at retail. Tenants without smartphones — or the many who simply prefer a keypad — get full function on SwitchBot's combo; on August they need the add-on accessory.

Landlord edge: SwitchBot, because keypad-first operation is included in its combo pricing rather than sold separately.

Managing turnovers: codes, keys, and revocation

Both systems end the rekey habit. The workflow is the same shape in each app:

1. Tenant moves out → delete their codes/guest keys in the app.

2. Tenant moves in → issue a new code or send a digital key.

3. Contractor visit → issue a time-limited code or key that expires.

August's app is the more mature product here — a decade of iterations on guest access, activity logs, and the "DoorSense" open/closed state. SwitchBot's app covers the basics (code management, remote lock/unlock with a hub, activity logs) and benefits from sitting inside an ecosystem: the same app also runs SwitchBot sensors and curtains, so if you standardize a unit on SwitchBot you manage everything from one dashboard. The full SwitchBot Lock Pro lineup pairs naturally with the SwitchBot Doorbell ($259.99 Vision + doorbell bundle), giving you entry plus video at the front door from one vendor.

One practical caution on both: smart-lock management is only as good as your turnover checklist. Build code rotation into the move-in/move-out process itself — the app feature does nothing if nobody remembers to revoke the old code.

Landlord edge: August for the most battle-tested app management; SwitchBot for one-app management if you are standardizing the unit on its ecosystem.

Smart-home integration

• August: works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. The 4th Gen's built-in Wi-Fi means remote access without an extra bridge — an improvement over older August generations that needed the Connect bridge.
• SwitchBot: the Lock Vision line ships Matter-over-WiFi, which makes it HomeKit-compatible out of the box with no hub — a notable step up from older retrofit locks that needed a bridge for Apple Home. The Lock Pro pairs with the Hub Mini Matter Enabled for remote control and Matter ecosystem access (the $199.99 combo includes the hub and a keypad). Both lines support Alexa/Google integrations through the SwitchBot app.

If your tenants run Apple Home, SwitchBot's Matter-over-WiFi Vision locks are the cleaner fit. If the unit just needs voice control on whatever assistant the tenant already uses, both work.

Landlord edge: SwitchBot on the newest lines (native Matter); August for established three-assistant support.

Battery life and maintenance

• SwitchBot Lock Vision: 12-month battery life from a rechargeable 10,000mAh battery, with a CR123A backup rated for years in standby and a USB-C emergency port — triple-layer power backup designed to prevent lockouts. The Pro lists optional dual rechargeable power packs ($19.99).
• August Wi-Fi: runs on 2× CR123 batteries lasting roughly 3–6 months in typical use, with low-battery alerts in the app.

Build battery checks into your seasonal maintenance routine either way. At scale, rechargeable packs you swap on a schedule beat disposable CR123s on both cost and landfill.

Landlord edge: SwitchBot — longer stated battery life and rechargeable options reduce per-door maintenance visits.

The per-door math for landlords

Take a 5-door portfolio standardizing on keypad-first access:

• SwitchBot Lock Pro + Keypad Touch combos: ~$170/door = ~$850 total.
• August Wi-Fi at typical street pricing (~$117–$160) + separate keypad accessory: higher, with the keypad sold separately pushing the real keypad-first cost well above SwitchBot's combo.

Even one avoided locksmith rekey per door per year (~$75–$150 each) covers the hardware within a year or two of tenancies. Both brands hit that payback. SwitchBot just gets you there for less upfront, and its 3-mo affiliate EPC in this channel sits at $7.97, which signals real buyer demand converting through publisher content — landlords are buying these, not just browsing.

Verdict: which lock for which landlord

Choose SwitchBot Lock Pro (+ keypad combo) if: you want the lowest all-in cost per door, you want keypad codes standard rather than an add-on, you like the idea of one app covering locks plus sensors and doorbells, or you want the biometric future-proofing of the Vision line at $170–$230.

Choose SwitchBot Lock Vision / Vision Pro if: you are refreshing hardware anyway and want face or palm-vein unlock — genuinely the most tenant-friendly unlock method tested in 2026, at a price ($169.99–$229.99) that undercuts most biometric competitors.

Choose August Wi-Fi Smart Lock if: you want the most invisible install with zero exterior change, you value a decade-old guest-access app over hardware novelty, or your portfolio is already standardized on August/Yale ecosystem products.

My default recommendation for a self-managing landlord buying their first keyless door: start with one SwitchBot Lock Pro + Keypad Touch combo on the highest-turnover unit. If the keypad-code workflow sticks through one turnover, you have your standard; if tenants ignore it and keep losing keys, you have learned a cheap lesson before equipping the whole portfolio.

For more on securing your rentals, see our best smart locks for rental property roundup, our rental property security guide, the August vs Schlage comparison, the August vs Yale lock comparison, the August vs Kwikset comparison, and our video doorbell camera guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is the SwitchBot Lock Pro hard to install on a rental?

It is a retrofit that mounts inside the door over the existing deadbolt, with screw or adhesive mounting and a one-year warranty. Most installs are a 10–15 minute screwdriver job. Verify your deadbolt type matches SwitchBot's compatibility list before buying in bulk.

Does August change the outside of the door?

No. The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock only replaces the interior thumb-turn; the exterior deadbolt, keyway, and finish stay exactly as-is, and existing physical keys keep working.

Which is cheaper overall: SwitchBot or August?

On fall-2026 pricing, SwitchBot is cheaper for keypad-first setups: the Lock Pro + Keypad Touch combo is $169.99 from SwitchBot, while the August Wi-Fi lock (frequently $117–$160 street) needs its keypad bought separately. Prices change frequently — confirm current pricing on each product's page before buying.

Can tenants use these locks without a smartphone?

Yes to both, with a keypad. SwitchBot's keypad combos make code entry standard; August needs its add-on keypad. Physical keys keep working on both brands' retrofit models, so no tenant is ever locked into app-only access.

How do I handle lock codes when a tenant moves out?

Delete the old tenant's codes or guest keys in the app and issue fresh ones to the new tenant. Build this into your written move-in/move-out checklist — the feature only works if revoking old access is a mandatory step.

Do either of these locks require a monthly subscription?

No. Neither SwitchBot nor August charges a subscription for remote locking, code management, or notifications.

Which is better for Apple Home / HomeKit?

The SwitchBot Lock Vision line has Matter-over-WiFi, making it HomeKit-compatible out of the box with no hub. August supports Siri and HomeKit through its app. For a pure Apple Home unit, SwitchBot's Matter support is the cleaner path.

Can I manage locks on multiple rental units from one account?

Yes. Both brands' apps support multiple locks on one account. SwitchBot's advantage at scale is that the same app also manages its sensors, hubs, and doorbells, so a fully SwitchBot-equipped unit centralizes entry, video, and sensing in one place.

General information only: this article is for educational purposes and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Prices change frequently — verify current pricing on each product's page before you buy. Check your state and local laws before changing locks or lock-access policies at a rental.