Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
How Much Does Locksmith Cost in San Francisco?
Most residential locksmith jobs in San Francisco run between $95 and $450, with the median service call landing around $180. A standard rekey of one door typically costs $95 – $165, a lockout with no damage runs $85 – $150 during business hours, and a full deadbolt replacement with labor falls in the $175 – $390 range. Emergency calls at 2 a.m. in the Mission or a rekey after a breakup in the Sunset can push higher, but the number is always written down before we touch the door. We’re Dunmore Locksmith, part of the Threshold Group family of independent locksmith businesses, and we’ve been serving San Francisco homes since 2007.
Before you call anyone, it’s worth knowing what a fair price looks like. The rest of this page breaks down real San Francisco numbers, including what drives them up and the simplest ways to bring them down.
Why Locksmith Prices Vary So Much in San Francisco
Locksmith pricing in San Francisco is not the wild west, but it isn’t uniform either. A row of 1920s Edwardians in Noe Valley with original mortise locks takes longer to service than a 2015 condo on Rincon Hill with a modern Schlage deadbolt. Labor is the biggest variable, and it correlates directly with how old and how unusual the hardware is.
San Francisco also has a specific set of conditions most cities don’t. Marine layer humidity off the Pacific works into exterior cylinders year after year, and we see more seized pins and corroded springs here than in drier Bay Area cities like Walnut Creek or Concord. Fog Belt homes from the Richmond District to the Outer Sunset pay the price for that exposure in service frequency. Depending on where you live, that’s roughly every three to five years for a tune-up.
If you want the bigger picture of what we do beyond lock costs, start at our home page.
Locksmith Cost Breakdown (2026)
Below are the prices we see most often in San Francisco in 2026. Ranges reflect standard residential hardware. High-security or vintage hardware will land at the top of the range or above.
| Service | Typical San Francisco Range |
|---|---|
| House lockout (no damage) | $85 – $150 (day) / $135 – $225 (night & weekend) |
| Rekey one standard knob or deadbolt | $95 – $165 |
| Rekey additional locks (same visit) | $25 – $50 each |
| Standard deadbolt replacement (Kwikset, Schlage) | $175 – $390 installed |
| High-security cylinder install (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy) | $290 – $650 installed |
| Mortise lock repair (vintage Victorian or Edwardian) | $180 – $520 |
| Broken key extraction | $95 – $185 |
| Commercial door hardware service | $215 – $600 |
| Emergency after-hours response | +$50 – $120 on top of base rate |
| Written estimate / service call | Free |
What pushes a job up? Hardware age, lock type (mortise work on a 1915 Richmond District building takes real time), number of locks, and time of day. High-security cylinders like those from Medeco and Mul-T-Lock command more because they require factory-authorized training and specialty key blanks. On the other hand, a simple rekey of one modern Kwikset is at the low end every time.
What About Millwork and Multi-Unit Buildings?
Two- and three-flat owners in neighborhoods like Bernal Heights and the Haight regularly ask us to rekey a shared entry and four unit doors in the same visit. That bundle is where the per-lock math gets tight: the first lock stays at the base rate, and each additional lock is $25 – $50, so a five-lock job that would cost $500 separately often lands closer to $260 – $340. It’s the highest-value call we get in this city.
What Affects Locksmith Pricing in San Francisco
- Time of day. After-hours calls between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. carry a $50 – $120 premium. Weekend and holiday calls fall in the same band. Standard business-hours work is always the cheapest.
- Lock type. A modern pin-tumbler cylinder rekeys in minutes. A vintage Mortise lock from a pre-war Pacific Heights building can take an hour or more to disassemble, clean, and re-pin.
- Lock hardware brand. Common brands like Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale are on every service van. Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Sargent, and Baldwin require factory-authorized handling, which we carry.
- Access and parking. A locked door on a steep Potrero Hill stairway or a building without a nearby garage is a longer visit than a flat ground-floor entry in Glen Park. We tell you if parking is factored into the quote.
- Fog belt exposure. Exterior hardware in the Richmond, Sunset, and other western neighborhoods corrodes faster than in Bernal, Mission, or Potrero. More corrosion means more time on the job for a full-service repair.
- Daylight vs. dim entryway. Old buildings on narrow alleys with poor lighting take extra care and, occasionally, a portable light kit. It’s a small line item but it’s real.
Perry Osgood, who leads Dunmore Locksmith, has said the same thing for years: the price should be boring. The customer should know exactly what they’re paying before any tool comes out of the bag, and the technician should be someone they were told about in advance. That’s how our pricing works.
How Our Technicians Arrive
Every Dunmore locksmith is background-checked, identity-verified, and sent to you by name and photo before the visit. They arrive in clean marked uniforms and show a photo ID badge at the door. Under what we call The Threshold Standard, if anyone arrives whom you weren’t told to expect, that visit is covered at no charge. You’re not guessing who’s about to walk in.
The name Dunmore comes from old words for a great fort, a stronghold built to keep what’s inside safe. That’s the idea behind every job we run in San Francisco.
How to Save on Locksmith Costs
Most locksmith savings come from planning ahead rather than waiting for a crisis. A few that hold up in San Francisco:
- Bundle your rekey. If you’re rekeying after a move or a roommate change, do every exterior door in one visit. The per-lock rate drops to $25 – $50 after the first.
- Schedule during business hours. If you’re not locked out right now, book for a weekday morning. You’ll skip the $50 – $120 emergency premium.
- Ask about full-cylinder upgrades. If your hardware is 15+ years old, replacing the cylinder once often costs less over five years than three separate repairs.
- Get the price in writing. Any honest locksmith in San Francisco will put the number down before work starts. If someone won’t, that’s your cue to call someone else.
- Take the free estimate. We give written quotes at no charge and there’s no obligation to book. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll walk through your door count and lock types.
FAQs – Locksmith Cost in San Francisco
How much does a locksmith cost in San Francisco in 2026?
Most residential calls land between $95 and $450, with a typical service call averaging around $180. Rekeys run $95 – $165 for one lock, deadbolt replacements $175 – $390 installed, and after-hours emergency calls add $50 – $120 on top of the base rate. Call (910) 714-4287 for a written estimate before any work is scheduled.
Is it cheaper to rekey or replace my locks?
Rekeying is almost always cheaper: $95 – $165 versus $175 – $390 for a full deadbolt replacement. Rekeying changes the internal pins so old keys stop working; you keep the same hardware. Replace the lock instead when the body is corroded, the mechanism sticks, or you want to move up to high-security cylinders from Medeco or Mul-T-Lock. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll tell you which one your door actually needs.
Can you come today?
Yes, in most of San Francisco, same-day service is available and after-hours calls are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, every day of the year. A standard daytime lockout runs $85 – $150, and after-hours response adds $50 – $120. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll confirm a window on the phone.
Why do San Francisco locksmith prices run higher than the national average?
Labor, parking, and building age. San Francisco’s labor rates sit well above the national median, commercial parking near downtown can add real time to a service call, and a large share of the housing stock goes back a century. Working on a 1920s mortise lock in Pacific Heights is a different job than swapping a modern deadbolt in a Texas suburb.
What does the emergency rate cover, and is there any guarantee?
Emergency calls add $50 – $120 to the base rate and cover after-hours dispatch, a background-checked technician sent to you by name and photo, and a live person on the phone at any hour. Every repair we do is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the same repair fails within a year, we return at no charge. Call (910) 714-4287 for a free estimate.
Why San Francisco Homeowners Choose Dunmore Locksmith
We compete on who shows up, not just how fast. Every technician is background-checked, identity-verified, and photo-badged, and you’ll know their name before the doorbell rings. Pricing goes in writing before any work begins, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise backs every repair for a full year. We work on the industry’s trusted hardware lines, including Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin, Medeco, Sargent, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy, so we can service both a standard rental door and a high-security commercial cylinder without sending you to another shop.
If you’re locked out now, planning a rekey after a move, or upgrading to high-security hardware, call (910) 714-4287. We’ll give you a written price up front, send a technician you can look up by name, and stand behind the work for 365 days.
Pricing reflects the San Francisco market as of 2026. Dunmore Locksmith offers free estimates – call (910) 714-4287.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving San Francisco since 2007.
What Our Customers Say
"We moved into a new house and wanted to know nobody else had a key. He rekeyed every exterior door and showed me how the pins work. Clear and patient."
- Anita P."Our storefront door lock was worn and tough to turn. He repaired it on the spot and left us extra keys cut properly."
- Camille W."Good work installing a keypad lock on our back office. Showed up fifteen minutes late, but he called first. Programming codes took a while, but he made sure I understood it."
- Mitchell K.