Round one: the radio, and why it settles so much
A smart lock is only as remote as its radio. Schlage publishes built-in Wi-Fi on the Encode Plus with no additional accessories, so the lock reaches the internet by itself: you can check it from work, let a contractor in from the office, and ask Alexa or Google whether the door is locked. Schlage lists the Encode Plus for Amazon Alexa, for Google Home and Google Assistant, for Apple Home and Home Key, and for the Ring Video Doorbell integration through the Key by Amazon app.
Level is Bluetooth. Bluetooth is excellent at the door — it is why the lock can be invisible and still unlock as you walk up — and useless from anywhere else. Level’s route to remote access is Apple Home, which means an Apple TV, iPad or HomePod has to be sitting at home as the hub. Our registry lists Apple Home as the only ecosystem the Level Lock+ works with. On an Android household, or a household with no Apple hardware beyond phones, the Level is a very expensive Bluetooth lock.
Round two: the keypad, which is really a question about guests
Both locks let an iPhone or Apple Watch unlock the door by tapping it — Schlage publishes Apple home keys and HomeKit tap-to-unlock on the Encode Plus, and Level builds its identity around Home Key. The difference is what happens when the person at the door is not part of your household.
The Schlage has a keypad on the outside, and Schlage publishes up to 100 scheduled access codes. A dog walker, a cleaner, your in-laws for a week, a plumber on Tuesday afternoon — each gets a code that works when it should and not when it should not, with no app to install and no phone to configure. That is the single most useful thing a smart lock does and it is why the Schlage wins for any household that admits other people.
The Level has no keypad, because a keypad would ruin the entire point. Access is a phone, a watch, or the physical key. For a couple with iPhones and nobody else coming in, that is fine. For a family with a teenager who loses phones, or any door that trades people through it, it is a daily friction. If you want codes and the door-looks-untouched property, the honest answer is that no lock we cover gives you both — the closest is the August, compared with the Level here, which retrofits inside but mounts a separate keypad outside.
Round three: the hardware itself
Schlage wins this outright and it is not close on paper. Schlage publishes an ANSI/BHMA A156.40 Grade AAA rating on the Encode Plus along with a built-in alarm, a 5-pin tumbler C keyway, and one physical backup key in the box. It is a real deadbolt that happens to be smart.
The Level is a different proposition: the smart parts go inside the bore of the deadbolt you already have, so the physical security of the door is whatever your existing hardware was. That can be very good or quite poor and the lock does not change it. It is also the reason the Level keeps your existing keys working, which is a genuine practical win covered in can you still use a key with a smart lock?
The battery is the other hardware difference and it is worth a sentence. Schlage publishes four AA cells with up to six months of typical use, plus a low-battery indicator on the touchscreen and in the Schlage Home app. The Level runs on a CR2— a small cylindrical cell that is not in your kitchen drawer and that you will buy online. Neither is a problem; the Level is just the one you have to plan for.
The published specs, side by side
Manufacturer-published figures and the live listings, read on the date at the top of this page. 'Not published' means the maker does not state that figure — never an estimate. | Schlage Encode Plus | Level Lock+ |
|---|
| Install type | Replaces the deadbolt | Hardware hidden inside your existing deadbolt |
|---|
| Visible from outside | Keypad and Schlage escutcheon | Nothing — the door looks unchanged |
|---|
| Wi-Fi | Built in, no accessory | No |
|---|
| Other radios | Thread + Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
|---|
| Remote access | Direct over Wi-Fi | Via Apple Home, needs an Apple hub at home |
|---|
| Apple Home Key | Yes (Thread-enabled home hub required) | Yes |
|---|
| Works with | Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, Ring/Key by Amazon | Apple Home |
|---|
| Keypad | Yes | No |
|---|
| Entry codes | Up to 100 scheduled codes | App and Apple Home access, no keypad codes |
|---|
| Build rating | ANSI/BHMA A156.40 Grade AAA | Not published (your existing hardware) |
|---|
| Built-in alarm | Yes | Not published |
|---|
| Auto-lock | Yes, with a choice of time delays | Per Level's app |
|---|
| Battery | 4 x AA, up to six months typical use | CR2 |
|---|
| Physical key | One included, 5-pin tumbler C keyway | Your existing keys keep working |
|---|
| Monthly fee | None | None |
|---|
Read the Wi-Fi row, the Keypad row and the Works with row together and the verdict is already written. The Level is winning exactly one row, and it is the second one — but that row is the entire reason the lock exists, and for the person who cares about it, nothing else on the table competes.
Honest cons on both
Schlage Encode Plus.It is the most expensive lock in our registry and it looks it — the exterior keypad is large, and on a nice door some people will hate it. Having Wi-Fi always on is what shortens battery life, which is the standing trade in this category. And Schlage does not mention Matter anywhere on its works-with page, so if you are buying for a Matter-first future, the Yale’s swappable module is the safer bet.
Level Lock+. You are paying a premium for design rather than for capability. The best features assume Apple Home, and on Android the lock loses most of its point. The CR2 battery is an order rather than a drawer. And because nothing is visible outside, there is no keypad fallback at all: if the phone is dead and you did not bring the key, you are outside.
So which one?
Buy the Schlage Encode Plus if anyone other than you needs to get in, if the household is not entirely Apple, or if you want the lock to be reachable without an Apple TV in the living room. That covers the large majority of front doors, which is why it is first.
Buy the Level Lock+ if the appearance of your front door is a real consideration, you are all-in on Apple Home, and access is limited to people who carry your phones. It is the best-looking smart lock there is, and that is a legitimate thing to buy.
And if neither trade appeals, the Yale Assure Lock 2 is the middle ground and the cheaper lock: a keypad deadbolt with unlimited shared codes, Alexa and Google support, and a swappable radio module so it can move to Matter or Z-Wave later. It is our overall pick in the main lock ranking, and the Schlage-versus-Yale version of this argument is in Yale vs Schlage. If the Apple side is what you are really shopping for, our Apple Home lock page puts both of these in the wider field.
