Neither of these touches the outside of your door. Both clamp onto the interior of the deadbolt you already have, turn the thumbturn for you, and leave the exterior cylinder and your existing keys working exactly as before — which is why both are on every renter's shortlist and why neither needs a landlord's permission or a drill. The difference is what you bolt on around that core. August builds the Wi-Fi radio into the lock and ships the more mature app; SwitchBot splits the job across a Bluetooth motor and a hub, and sells the keypad and fingerprint pad separately. You are choosing between an integrated package and a kit you assemble.
August vs SwitchBot Lock Pro: the short answer
Buy the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock if you want remote access working out of the box with nothing else to buy, and you value the most refined app and the most reliable auto-unlock in the retrofit class. Buy the SwitchBot Lock Pro if price is the deciding factor and you want to add a code keypad — or fingerprint entry — affordably, and you do not mind a second box on a socket indoors to reach the lock from away. Both keep your key, both reverse on move-out, and both are ranked on our no-drill renter roundup. The split is integration against price-plus-modularity.
The decision rule in one line: if you want it to work remotely the moment you install it and you will open the door with your phone, August. If you want the lowest entry price and a cheap route to codes or a fingerprint, and a separate hub box indoors is not a dealbreaker, SwitchBot.
Head to head: what actually separates two retrofits
Both share the parts that make a retrofit a retrofit: interior-only install, existing deadbolt untouched, existing key still works. So the columns below are the places they diverge — how remote access is achieved, how you add codes, and what you feed for power.
Compiled from manufacturer specifications, August 2026.| Model | Install | How remote access works | Keypad & fingerprint | Power |
|---|
| August Wi-Fi Smart Lock | Clamps on interior; keeps deadbolt and key | Built-in Wi-Fi — no hub needed | No pad in box; keypad is a separate accessory | 2x CR123A lithium |
|---|
| SwitchBot Lock Pro | Mounts on interior; keeps deadbolt and key | Through a SwitchBot hub — included in the bundle we link | Add-on keypad, with a fingerprint option | Rechargeable battery pack |
|---|
What August is genuinely better at
Built-in Wi-Fi with no second box.The August talks to your network on its own. Install it, and remote lock, remote unlock, and away-from-home notifications work immediately — there is no separate bridge to place, power, and troubleshoot. SwitchBot gets there too, because the bundle we link puts the hub in the box, but it does so with a second device that needs a socket indoors — so August still wins on simply having fewer parts.
The more mature app and auto-unlock.August largely defined the retrofit category, and it shows in the software. Auto-unlock — the lock sensing your phone returning and opening the door before you reach for it — is the feature owners report still using a year later, and August's implementation is the one others are measured against. It is not a gimmick you toggle once; it is the reason a mature app matters on a lock you touch every day.
A cleaner single purchase. For a buyer who will enter by phone or key and does not need a code pad, August is the whole system in one box. No hub, no accessory pad, no second thing to charge. That simplicity is worth real money to some people, and it is why August remains the default recommendation on the main smart lock roundup for renters who want the least fuss.
What SwitchBot Lock Pro is genuinely better at
Price, plainly. The Lock Pro is the cheaper way into a smart retrofit, and for a renter who wants app control and a reversible install without a premium outlay, that matters. It sits on our budget smart lock roundup for exactly this reason: it does the core job for less.
The cheapest path to codes and fingerprints.August has no keypad in the box and its accessory pad is an added cost; SwitchBot's add-on keypad is inexpensive, and the fingerprint version of that pad is the least expensive route to biometric entry on a retrofit anywhere. If you want to hand guests a code, or open the door with a thumb rather than a phone, SwitchBot gets you there for less. The wider field of code locks is on our keypad door lock roundup.
A rechargeable pack instead of a diet of cells. August runs on CR123A lithium cells you replace; the Lock Pro uses a rechargeable pack you top up. Over years that is fewer disposable batteries in the drawer and in the landfill. It is a modest advantage, but a real one on a device you would otherwise be feeding lithium cells for a decade.
The hub question, stated honestly
The one line that decides a lot of these purchases is this: SwitchBot needs a hub to be reachable from away, and August does not. The lock itself is Bluetooth — excellent when you are standing at the door and unreachable when you are not — so remote lock, remote status and voice-assistant control all run through a SwitchBot hub. The bundle we link includes that hub, so remote access works without a second order, but it is still a second device to find a socket for and keep powered. That is not a flaw so much as a different architecture. Check which SwitchBot SKU you are actually buying: the bare lock is also sold on its own, and on that one the hub is a separate purchase. Our guide on whether a smart lock needs Wi-Fi walks through when remote access earns its keep and when Bluetooth-only is genuinely enough.
Where each one costs you
Neither charges a subscription. On both, app control and the core lock functions are free forever — SwitchBot's hub is hardware, not a plan, and August's Wi-Fi is included. So the recurring cost is only power: replacement CR123A cells for August, a recharge cycle for SwitchBot. The battery mechanics, and why a motor fighting a stiff bolt drains faster, are covered in how long smart lock batteries last.
On up-front cost, read them as systems rather than sticker prices. August's number includes the radio; the SwitchBot bundle we link includes the hub but not the keypad you may want. Adding the fingerprint keypad closes part of the gap to August, while the lock-and-hub bundle on its own stays the cheaper way in. Decide which SwitchBot you are actually buying before you compare.
The shared caveat: a retrofit is only as good as your deadbolt
Both of these drive the deadbolt you already own, which means both inherit its problems. If your bolt is stiff, or the strike is misaligned so you have to lean on the door to throw it, a small motor will struggle, jam, drain its battery, and report failures — and no app setting fixes a mechanical bind. Before either lock, work the deadbolt by hand: it should throw and retract with one easy finger. If it does not, fix the strike alignment or replace the deadbolt first. This is the single most common reason a retrofit disappoints, and it is worth confirming your door is a candidate at all with will a smart lock fit my door.
The decision rule
There is no winner here because the two locks target different priorities. Pick the sentences that describe you.
Buy the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock if…
- You want remote access the moment it is installed, with no hub to buy, place, or power.
- You will open the door mostly by phone or key, so a code keypad is optional rather than the point.
- You value the most mature app and the best auto-unlock in the retrofit class — the features you actually use daily.
- You would rather pay a bit more for one integrated box than assemble a lower-cost kit.
Buy the SwitchBot Lock Pro if…
- Entry price is the deciding factor and you want a reversible smart retrofit for less.
- You want to add a code keypad — or the cheapest fingerprint entry on a retrofit — without a premium.
- You already own SwitchBot gear, or a separate hub box indoors is not a dealbreaker for you.
- You prefer a rechargeable battery pack to a steady supply of disposable lithium cells.
What decides the price
August charges for integration: the radio is in the lock and the app is the most refined in the class, and you pay for both up front. SwitchBot builds the same capability out of modules — hub for remote, keypad for codes, fingerprint pad for biometrics — and sells them in different combinations. That is why the honest comparison is not lock against lock but the specific SwitchBot configuration you intend to run against the all-in-one August. The lock-and-hub bundle is cheaper; a fully kitted one is close.
The mistake buyers make
The frequent error is comparing the shelf prices and stopping there. SwitchBot lists the Lock Pro in several configurations, and if you buy a bare one expecting to check the door from work, you will find remote access needs a hub you did not budget for. Decide first whether you need remote access and codes at all; if you do, tally SwitchBot with its hub and keypad, and the choice becomes an honest one. The second mistake — installing either on a stiff deadbolt — is covered above and is worth re-reading before you order.
How we compared these
Everything above is compiled from manufacturer specifications and published support documentation, the only method we use. Both locks, and the rest of the retrofit field, sit on the smart locks hub, and the rest of this hub is indexed at comparisons; our rubric and sources are published in full on the methodology page. If a full deadbolt swap is on the table instead, the Schlage versus Yale comparison is the next read.
