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We don’t test safes ourselves. We compare published specs, independent certifications and public safety records. Read our method.
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The heaviest published construction in this list, with a mechanical dial
Recall check:
A tall 14-gauge electronic safe from AMSEC with a key override and anchor hardware.
A tall keypad safe from an established safe maker
Recall check:
A 1.8 cubic foot keypad safe whose listing states 11-gauge steel walls, sold by Amazon.
The most steel and space for the money, on the listing's own figures
Recall check:
A 1.2 cubic foot keypad safe with two live bolts, two override keys and bolt-down hardware.
A low-cost shelf safe for a closet, sold by Amazon
Recall check:
A low, wide hotel-style safe with a keypad or card-swipe lock and concealed override keys.
A low-profile safe for a closet shelf or a laptop
Recall check:
A 1.45 cubic foot fingerprint safe with backup keys and mounting hardware, sold by Amazon.
Fingerprint access for a household that shares one safe
Recall check:
A small 14-gauge AMSEC keypad safe for a drawer or shelf, with a key override.
A small, light safe for passports and a phone, bolted inside a cabinet
Recall check:
SPEC TABLE
Each tag shows who stands behind the claim. What these ratings mean
| Specification | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire rating | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Water rating | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Burglary rating | B RATEMaker’s claim | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated |
| Steel gauge | Not publishedLower number = thicker steel | 14-gauge bodyMaker’s claimLower number = thicker steel | 11-gauge bodyMaker’s claimLower number = thicker steel | Not publishedLower number = thicker steel | Not publishedLower number = thicker steel | Not publishedLower number = thicker steel | 14-gauge bodyMaker’s claimLower number = thicker steel |
| Bolts | 4 bolts · 1.25 in diameterMaker’s claim | 2 boltsMaker’s claim | Not published | 2 boltsMaker’s claim | 2 bolts · 0.75 in diameterMaker’s claim | Not published | 2 boltsMaker’s claim |
| Lock type | mechanical dialMaker’s claim | keypad + keyMaker’s claim | keypad + keyMaker’s claim | keypad + keyMaker’s claim | keypad + keyMaker’s claim | biometric + keyMaker’s claim | keypad + keyMaker’s claim |
| Capacity | Not published | 1.56 cu ftMaker’s claim | 1.8 cu ftMaker’s claim | 1.2 cu ftMaker’s claim | 1.2 cu ftMaker’s claim | 1.45 cu ftMaker’s claim | 0.29 cu ftMaker’s claim |
| Weight | 80 lbMaker’s claim | 40 lbMaker’s claim | 55 lbMaker’s claim | 26.84 lbMaker’s claim | 35 lbMaker’s claim | 48.5 lbMaker’s claim | 16 lbMaker’s claim |
| Outside size | 20 H × 15 W × 15 D inMaker’s claim | 19.75 H × 13.75 W × 12.25 D inMaker’s claim | 19.75 H × 13 W × 13.75 D inMaker’s claim | 10.63 H × 16.93 W × 14.57 D inMaker’s claim | 9 H × 18 W × 15 D inMaker’s claim | 19.75 H × 14 W × 13 D inMaker’s claim | 7.875 H × 12.25 W × 8 D inMaker’s claim |
| Anchoring | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim | holes onlyMaker’s claim | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim | holes and hardwareMaker’s claim |
| Price | $582Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $371.92Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $112.67Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $119.99Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $186.71Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $324.03Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon | $254.68Amazon price as of Oct 19, 2026 Check price on Amazon |
We don't test safes ourselves. We compare published specs, independent certifications and public safety records.
Our pick is the Hollon B2015C. A home safe is for theft, not fire, so we looked for what slows a burglar: thick steel, real bolts, a lock that resists drilling and a way to bolt it down. No security safe in our Amazon pool carries an independent burglary rating, so every pick here is judged on construction its maker or seller publishes, and the spec table labels each figure by who stands behind it. If fire is your main worry, start with our fireproof safe roundup instead; for what the ratings on safes mean, read our guide to gun safe security ratings, which covers home safes too.
Hollon is a safe maker, and its B2015C page reads like one. It lists a solid steel door plate, large chrome-plated active bolts, a drill-resistant hard plate in front of the lock, a spring-loaded relocker that jams the bolts if the lock is attacked, and a locking bar along the hinge side. The lock is a Sargent & Greenleaf dial that Hollon calls UL listed Group 2. It is the heaviest safe in this list and comes with anchor bolts.
Three cautions. "B-rate" is a construction description used by dealers and insurers, not a lab test, so the table shows it as the maker's claim. The dial has no key or keypad backup: lose the combination and you need a locksmith. And it is sold by a third party; on 2026-10-17 Amazon showed an 11 to 12 day dispatch.
Burglary ratings come in two kinds. UL ratings (Residential Security Container, TL-15, TL-30) are lab attack tests: technicians try to open the safe with set tools for set minutes. B-rate and C-rate describe steel thickness and nothing else. Our guide to safe security ratings explains each, with a steel gauge table.
On Amazon, the UL Residential Security Container rating appears on a handful of large gun safes and on no home security safe in our pool. So for this list we read the construction: steel thickness, bolt count, how the lock is protected and whether the safe can be anchored. Weight helps too, but even our heaviest pick can be carried off by two people if it is not bolted down.
The Paragon 83-DT5916 is the strongest buy on paper. Its listing states the heaviest-gauge walls of any keypad safe here, the most interior space on the page, a removable shelf and floor-or-wall mounting hardware, and Amazon sells it directly. The catch is the paper. Every figure comes from the Amazon listing; Amazon names the manufacturer as Trademark GLB, an importer, and we found no Paragon spec sheet to check it against. The listing also mentions a "double deadbolt" without saying how many bolts or how thick.
The Amazon Basics 27EI-43 is the cheapest full safe here: a keypad, live bolts, concealed hinges, override keys and mounting bolts. It publishes no steel thickness. Its listed outside size and weight match SentrySafe's published figures for the X125 almost exactly, down to the same weight, so the two may share a factory. We could not confirm that. We list the Amazon Basics because Amazon had one X125 left in stock on 2026-10-17 and the Amazon Basics costs less.
The AMSEC EST2014 is the electronic safe we would choose from an established maker. AMSEC (American Security) also makes the NF-series safe in our long gun safe roundup, and this one is a tall solid steel body with live bolts, a recessed pry-resistant door and a keypad with a key override. AMSEC's own site refused our requests, so its figures come from an authorised dealer's copy of the spec sheet. The only Amazon photo carries a retailer's watermark, so the card shows a labelled silhouette.
The Mesa MHRC916E is a hotel-room safe sold for homes: low, wide and deep enough for a laptop, with solid steel bolts and a keypad that also takes a swipe card. Mesa pre-drills four anchor holes but does not say the hardware is included, and there is no shelf.
The AMSEC EST813 is the smallest pick: the same steel and lock family as the EST2014, sized for passports, a phone and some cash inside a cabinet. At this size it must be bolted down, because anyone can carry it.
The Barska AX11650 opens with a fingerprint and stores prints for a whole household, with backup keys and mounting hardware; Amazon sells it directly. Barska's own page states a thin body and a thicker door, so treat it as a convenience safe. We include one fingerprint safe, not several, because every CPSC safe recall or warning since October 2023 in our research involves a fingerprint lock that could open for an unauthorised person, including the Fortress recall and the Stack-On warning. No action names the AX11650. If you store a handgun, read our biometric gun safe roundup, which checks every model against that record.
None of the seven picks makes a fire claim. Security safes put their steel into the walls and door; fire safes put most of their thickness into a fire lining behind thin steel. That is why no fireproof pick appears here and none of these appears there. Hollon and Steelwater sell two-hour home safes, but those make fire claims and belong with fire safes. If you need both protections, buy a fire safe for papers and a security safe for valuables, or keep papers in a fireproof document safe inside one of these.
A home safe without an independent rating is a time delay, and the cheapest way to add time is to anchor it. Use every anchor hole the maker provides, into concrete if you can. Put the safe where it cannot be seen from a window, and do not keep the backup keys inside it. Our method page explains every label in the table.
None of the seven models matched a CPSC recall or warning in exact-model searches on 2026-10-17. Searches for AMSEC, Hollon, Mesa and Barska returned no actions. Two names returned results that are not safes:
SOURCES
Manufacturer and listing claims stay labelled until confirmed in a certifier’s directory.