Smart Locks
Aqara
Smart-home hardware with guest-friendly locks for short-term rentals
Best for Small Hosts
Affordable, ecosystem-friendly smart locks for hands-on small-portfolio hosts
From $169 • No free trial
Comparison
Aqara vs Tedee
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Smart Locks
Tedee
Retrofit smart locks with PMS sync for EU short-term rentals
Solid Option
Solid EU retrofit smart lock with real PMS integrations, but accessory pricing is opaque
Contact sales • No free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Aqara or Tedee?
Pick Aqara if you run 1–10 doors already inside Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings, or Home Assistant and want verified USD pricing with biometric entry on the U100. Pick Tedee if you operate EU short-term rentals on euro-profile cylinders and want native Guesty, Hostify, or Smoobu PMS sync for per-reservation code automation.
Editorial perspective from the Aqara side; factual claims about Tedee are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Aqara
Full pricing →From $169 • No free trial
Smart Lock U200
$169.99 one-time
- Apple HomeKit-focused smart deadbolt for US & Europe
- Remote and time-bound passcode support via Aqara Home app
Smart Lock U100
$189.99 one-time
- Biometric keypad deadbolt
- Up to 50 fingerprint slots managed via Aqara Home
Smart Lock U400
$269.99 one-time
- Premium deadbolt SKU listed in Aqara US storefront
- Multi-method entry (code, fingerprint, app)
Hub M3
$129.99 one-time
- Multi-protocol Matter / Thread / Zigbee hub
- Bridges Aqara devices to Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Home Assistant, IFTTT
Tedee
Full pricing →Contact sales • No free trial
Contact sales
Hardware purchase model, not a subscription. Tedee GO listed at €129.00 VAT-included on the vendor product schema (2026-04-24). No consolidated pricing page exists at tedee.com/pricing. Tedee PRO, keypad, bridge, and cylinder accessory prices are sold as separate SKUs and are UNVERIFIED from direct vendor product-page fetches. USD pricing for US customers is UNVERIFIED on the vendor site.
Try TedeeWhat each tool does well — and where it falls short
What Aqara does well
Strong cross-ecosystem compatibility via Matter, Thread, and Zigbee
Aqara hubs and locks plug into all four major US smart-home ecosystems plus Home Assistant. The Amazon listing for the Hub M3 lists support for Apple HomeKit, Alexa, SmartThings, Home Assistant, and IFTTT.
One-time hardware cost, no subscription required
Unlike RemoteLock or igloohome's cloud tiers, Aqara devices work locally through a hub with no mandatory monthly cloud fee for owner use, which compounds well over years of ownership.
Purpose-built guest-access features in lock firmware
Aqara locks support one-time and time-bound passcodes plus up to 50 fingerprints managed remotely from the Aqara Home app, fitting short-stay turnover without a PMS round-trip.
What Tedee does well
Broad smart-home ecosystem support including Matter
Tedee supports Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Home Assistant, Fibaro, and Matter — wider than typical STR-only locks, per the vendor's compatibility page (2026-04-24).
Native Guesty and Hostify PMS integration for automated guest codes
Operators can auto-generate per-reservation access codes tied to booking windows without manual key handoff — Hostify's integration page confirms guest data syncs directly to Tedee locks (2026-04-24).
Retrofit cylinder install with no door drilling
Tedee GO and PRO mount on existing euro-profile cylinders, allowing reversible installation — a real advantage for leased STR properties where structural changes aren't permitted.
Where Aqara falls short
No native PMS integration
Aqara has no documented native integration with Hostaway, Guesty, Lodgify, OwnerRez, or Hospitable. Hosts must rotate codes manually, use Apple/Google automations, or layer third-party lock middleware.
Hub-dependent for full functionality
Most Aqara devices are Zigbee 3.0 and require an Aqara hub for remote control, adding a $129.99+ per-property capex line and a single point of failure that owners of one-bedroom condos may find heavy-handed.
Mixed user reviews vs. competitors
On consumer aggregator Knoji on 2026-04-25, Aqara scored 3.9/5 versus Eufy's 4.7/5. Operators should weigh that gap against Aqara's lower price point.
Where Tedee falls short
No consolidated vendor pricing page; accessory-dependent total cost is opaque
Keypad, bridge, and cylinder pricing are sold as separate SKUs; assembling a STR-ready kit cost requires hunting across multiple product pages, since tedee.com/pricing returned no tier list (2026-04-24).
EU-centric distribution and euro-profile cylinder dependency
The vendor's product schema returns EUR pricing and US/USD retail pricing on the vendor site is unverified — North American operators with ANSI deadbolts will need a different lock.
Full STR use requires the separately-purchased keypad accessory
Without a keypad, guests need the Tedee mobile app to unlock, which is inconvenient for one-night stays and non-tech-savvy guests, per Tedee's own STR guidance (2026-04-24).
Which Should You Pick
Pick Aqara if
Hands-on hosts of 1–10 doors who already run an Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, or SmartThings ecosystem and want affordable Matter/Zigbee locks that issue one-time guest codes.
Skip Aqara if
You manage 30+ doors and need turnkey, audit-logged, PMS-synced lock automation — look at RemoteLock or August/Yale paired with Operto instead.
Pick Tedee if
EU-based short-term rental operators with existing euro-profile cylinders who want a quiet, small retrofit smart lock with Guesty, Hostify, or Smoobu PMS sync.
Skip Tedee if
You operate in North America with standard ANSI deadbolts — Tedee retrofits euro-profile cylinders and US distribution and USD pricing is unverified on the vendor site.
Where Aqara and Tedee actually differ
- Aqara publishes verified USD pricing on its US storefront (U200 $169.99, U100 $189.99, U400 $269.99, Hub M3 $129.99); Tedee has no consolidated pricing page, USD retail is unverified, and keypad/bridge/cylinder costs live across separate SKUs.
- Tedee natively integrates with Guesty, Hostify, and Smoobu for per-reservation code automation; Aqara has no documented native PMS or Airbnb integration as of 2026-04-25.
- Aqara locks are full deadbolt replacements designed for US/Europe doors; Tedee retrofits onto existing euro-profile cylinders without drilling — useful for leased EU properties but not a drop-in option for ANSI deadbolts.
- Aqara's U100 ships with an integrated biometric keypad supporting up to 50 fingerprint slots at $189.99; Tedee has no fingerprint support and requires a separately-purchased keypad accessory for guest PIN entry.
- Both support Matter, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, and Home Assistant; Aqara adds SmartThings and IFTTT, while Tedee adds Fibaro and ships native Guesty/Hostify/Smoobu PMS hooks Aqara lacks.
Common objections
- Tedee has native Guesty, Hostify, and Smoobu sync — isn't Aqara's lack of PMS integration a dealbreaker for EU STR operators?
- For EU operators whose workflow depends on per-reservation automated code delivery through Guesty, Hostify, or Smoobu, yes — Tedee solves a problem Aqara doesn't address natively. Aqara's fit is hands-on hosts who rotate codes manually via Aqara Home or smart-home routines and who want broader smart-home ecosystem depth (sensors, climate, lighting) sharing one hub. If PMS-driven code automation is the binding requirement, Tedee wins; if smart-home breadth matters more and you can manage codes manually, Aqara fits better.
- Tedee retrofits onto euro-profile cylinders without drilling — isn't that a meaningful install advantage over Aqara?
- For EU operators with euro-profile cylinders — especially in leased properties where structural changes aren't permitted — Tedee's reversible retrofit is a real advantage Aqara's full-deadbolt design can't match. The flip side is geography: Aqara is distributed in the US with verified USD pricing and supports both US and European door formats on the U200, while Tedee's US distribution and USD retail are unverified. The decision is largely about door geometry and market — not which lock is objectively better.
- Both publish opaque or partial pricing — is there really a transparency edge?
- Aqara wins meaningfully here. The US storefront lists U200 at $169.99, U100 at $189.99, U400 at $269.99, and Hub M3 at $129.99 with no hunting required. Tedee GO is listed at €129 VAT-included, but full STR-ready kit cost (lock plus keypad plus bridge) isn't consolidated anywhere on the vendor site, so direct comparison takes work. For buyers who need to model upfront cost before committing, Aqara is easier to evaluate; Tedee's opacity is a real friction point even before the EU-vs-US distribution question.
Keep Digging
Aqara
Affordable, ecosystem-friendly smart locks for hands-on small-portfolio hosts
Tedee
Solid EU retrofit smart lock with real PMS integrations, but accessory pricing is opaque