A keypad removes the key without adding credentials to manage. Nobody carries anything, nobody loses anything, and for the right door it is the most sensible and economical option available. The limits are equally real and worth being honest about before you buy one.
Typical range: $375–$1500 CAD. Ranges are typical for the GTA and depend on the door, the hardware and the time of day. We confirm the price before dispatching.
Where keypads work well
- Interior doors — storage, server rooms, offices within a secured building
- Small businesses with a stable, small staff where a shared code is genuinely manageable
- Doors needing temporary access — contractors, cleaners, seasonal staff on a code you change afterwards
- Back-of-house doors in retail and hospitality
- Residential rentals and short-term properties, where handing over a code beats handing over a key
- As a second factor alongside a card on a genuinely sensitive door
The honest limitations
Codes get shared. That is not a hypothetical — it is what happens, and within a year of installation a shared code is usually known to more people than the list of current staff. Unlike a card, there is nothing to hand back.
Codes also get observed. Someone watching from a few metres away, or a camera positioned badly, captures a code in one use. Keypads with scrambling displays or privacy shrouds mitigate this.
And on cheaper keypads the most-used buttons wear visibly, which narrows a four-digit code to a handful of possibilities. Using a code that exercises more digits, and choosing a keypad with hard-wearing keys, both help.
Multi-code keypads address much of this by giving each person their own code, which can be revoked individually and, on networked units, audited. If a keypad is the right answer for your door, a multi-code one is usually the right keypad.
Mechanical versus electronic
Mechanical pushbutton locks need no power and no batteries at all, which makes them genuinely maintenance-free and reliable in unheated spaces where batteries struggle. They support one code and changing it means a mechanical procedure.
Electronic keypads support many codes, scheduling, audit trails and remote management, and they run on batteries or wired power. Batteries in an exterior lock through a Canadian winter drain faster than the specification suggests, so a wired unit or a schedule of proactive replacement is worth planning for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are keypad locks secure?
A good one on the right door is secure against the threats it is designed for. The weakness is procedural rather than mechanical — codes get shared and observed, and there is nothing to collect back from someone who leaves. Multi-code units with individual codes per person address most of that. For a door where you need to know exactly who entered and when, a card or mobile system is the right tool.
How often should I change the door code?
On a single shared code, every few months as routine and immediately whenever someone who knew it leaves. If that sounds unmanageable, that is the signal to move to a multi-code unit where you revoke one person instead of re-teaching everyone a new code.
What happens if the batteries die?
Most electronic keypads warn you well in advance with a low-battery indication, and nearly all have an external contact point where a 9V battery can be held to power the unit long enough to enter and open. Many also retain a mechanical key override. The failure mode is inconvenient rather than catastrophic — but in an unheated exterior location, plan replacement proactively rather than waiting for the warning.
Can I have different codes for different people?
Yes, on a multi-code keypad, and it is the configuration we recommend for any business use. Each person gets their own code, individual codes can be revoked without affecting anyone else, and networked units log which code opened the door and when.
Keypad Entry across the GTA
We provide keypad & code entry systems throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Pick your city for local detail, or call and we will tell you straight away whether you are in range.
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