Locksmith prices vary wildly from one locksmith and because the industry remains largely unregulated there are no set pricing structures that a locksmith needs to follow.
On top of this it is completely up to the locksmith to set their prices for these different services, which is why you will find such a large range of locksmith prices.
The best advice is to always get a range of quotes first to help you make your decision on which locksmith to choose.
What Influences a Locksmiths Prices?
Locksmiths offer a wide range of services but we've looked at how much a locksmith costs for the most common services that you're likely to need:
1) Time of day / week
A locksmith's cost starts to increase if you call them outside of the standard working day ie:
- Evenings
- Weekends
- Holidays
Remember, for a 24 hour emergency locksmith, costs rise significantly and you could expect to pay up a lot more
2) Location
Locksmith prices will vary depending on your location. You'll probably pay a premium price in a city anyway, but the main factor is how far away from the locksmiths premises you are located.
Their travel expenses and the duration of their callout will both be affected by the distance from their office, so try to find a locksmith near to your home for a cheaper price.
3) Speed of Response Required
A locksmiths call out charge will change depending on how quickly you will need them to come to your property. If you need them in a hurry then you can usually find a locksmith to help you out within an hour, but you're going to be a premium for that service.
If you can afford to spend some time waiting at a neighbours place instead, then you're less likely to need to pay for the quick turnaround time.
4) Type of Lock
In most countries across the world, locks generally fall into 3 different categories, each of which can have a bearing on the locksmiths charges depending on how easy it is to remove/break into the lock and how easy is it is to replace the locks:
Nightlatch
You'll find these locks on doors that you just need to close shut to lock them. Typically you'll find a lever or handle on the inside of the door that will retract the lock. These locks are found mainly on residential properties
Mortice Lock
These locks usually require a much longer, deeper key, and the lock itself is cut into the door. These are much more heavy duty locks and are used widely for commercial properties.
Euro style Cylinder lock
These locks are very common as well and come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Sometimes they will have a thumbturn on the inside of the door so you can exit a property quickly
TYPICAL LOCKSMITH PRICES
Locksmith Call Out Charge
You’ll typically need to call out a locksmith when you've locked yourself out of your house or apartment. Yes, this happens to the best of us and happens a lot more often than you may think.
Typically there will be a standard minimum fee but the locksmiths callout charges depend on a number of different factors that will influence the price:
24 Hour Emergency Locksmith Callout
Unfortunately, there will be times when you’re standing on your doorstep in the middle of the night and the door has closed behind you…. Trust me, this happened to me once when I was sleepwalking.
In this case you’re going to need to call out an emergency 24 hour locksmith, where you will pay a premium for their services.
Cost of Key Cutting
If you’ve recently been locked out then you’ll probably want to get a few spare keys cut and give them to people that you trust who live near to you so you don’t get stuck again.
Well luckily this service is the locksmiths bread and butter service. Pop into any locksmith shop and they will be able to cut or copy most types of keys for you including door keys, car keys, safe keys and keys with an electronic transponder chip.
How much does it cost to change a lock?
There will be times in your life when you need to change the locks on your property.
Usually this will be because:
- You’ve moved into a new house and you want to make sure that no one can still access your property
- Your locks are getting a bit stiff and difficult to use
- Your insurance company dictates that you need to change the locks
Whilst you could try do this yourself you’re probably better off paying the locksmith costs to change the locks and do a professional job for you. The cost to change a lock will vary depending on the type of lock that you have installed,.
What is the cost to rekey a lock?
Rekeying a lock is different to changing a lock because you are not destroying or removing the lock itself.
You can ask a locksmith to come and rekey your lock so that you have a new set of keys to use, and will be safe that no previous key holders will be able to access your property.
Car / Automotive locksmith Prices
Another common occurrence when you’ll need to call up your friendly locksmith is when you’ve locked yourself out of your car or lost your car keys. Automotive locksmiths specialise in this area so will have a specialist pricing structure for these services.
Often the car locks and keys will contain electronic chips that will need to be programmed to work with your car, so you need to goto a specialist automotive locksmith who will have the specialist equipment. Often the prices for an automotive locksmith will be less than the cost of ordering a set of replacement keys from your car dealership.
How to Get a Quote from a Locksmith
So we’ve done our best to give you indicative locksmith prices for a range of different services. However, the most important thing for you to do now is to arrange some quotes and decide for yourself which locksmith you would like to hire.
When you call to get the locksmith costs then you need to give them the following information in order to receive the most accurate quote for their work:
- Specify the service you are looking for
o Lockout services prices
o Costs for changing a lock
o Costs for rekeying a lock
o Automotive locksmith services - Give them your location
- Specify where the lock is on your premises and if it is easily accessible
- Specify the type of lock that you have:
o Nightlatch
o Mortice Lock
o Euro cylinder lock - Let them know how quickly you need them to respond
Once you’ve given them this information they should be able to give you a fairly accurate quote for the job.
Make sure that they give you a detailed breakdown of the quote rather than a single figure.
Ideally they should specify:
• Cost for locksmith call out
• Cost for labour
• Costs for parts / materials
• Costs for mileage
If they give you this information then there should be no hidden surprises when they give you the final invoice.
You should contact a number of different companies and write down the cost of each locksmith for the service you are looking for.
Compare these costs against the typical locksmith prices that we have listed above, although remember these are only really for guidance.
Very informative this post every people to get easily knowledge i like it.. more blogs share us thanks 🙂
And with all that being said with your post. My advice is to get quoted before hand! I heard a horror story once of a poor person getting a $600 or so bill for a 2am locksmith and the police were called. He was told to pay or get arrested.
So always ask ahead for the price.