Nuki Smart Lock Pro review – slimmer, faster and with a great battery

If you’re still locking your door with a key in 2026, are you really even a tech fan? Smart locks have been around for many years but the features and ease of installation has come on leaps and bounds in the past couple of years. One of the big drivers of this change is a brand called Nuki.

Its devices are designed to be easily installed on any door, making them perfect for home installation and renters needing a temporary solution that can be reversed when they move out. Unlike a lot of the competition, it is designed to replace the need for a key lock at the handle, rather than just providing an additional deadlock. However, this is something that has now become more common.

I tested the first Ultion Nuki smart lock back in 2023, and the updated Ultion Nuki Plus model in 2024, so I was keen to see how the new Nuki Smart Lock Pro had improved on the design. The difference is actually huge this time. Not only does the new Pro model look different, but it’s also faster and quieter in operation, and noticeably has a much better battery life.

I’ve now been using the Nuki Smart Lock Pro for just over two months and can confidently say it’s the best model to date. Here’s why I would recommend putting this model on your door.

How much is the Nuki Smart Lock Pro?

Prices for the Nuki Smart Lock Pro start from £229 in the UK, €269 in Europe, A$444 in Australia and $199 in the US. You can also buy it in a bundle with the Keypad and door sensor, as well as with the replacement Ultion lock barrel.

Features and design

The big change with the Nuki Pro is the design. The boxy design with an extending barrel that sits on the inside of the door has been replaced with just a barrel that mounts directly on to the door. It extends our further and is wider than the barrel on the old model but it’s a much cleaner design and looks more premium for it too.

The Nuki Pro fits onto your existing lock barrel, or you can replace the barrel with a state-of-the-art Ultion three-star plus barrel, which comes with a £5000 guarantee. You can turn the barrel to manually open and close the lock or press the central button to use the motor to lock or unlock.

One of the niggles with the older model was that the brushed motor could be a little slow and noisy to operate – you could hear it through the house when it activated. The motor on the Nuki Pro is a brushless motor and is considerably quieter. It’s also much faster, with a choice of three speeds to choose from. Even the slowest option, though, is quicker than on the Nuki Plus.

Of course, the clever part about a smart lock is how it can integrate with your smart home system. The original model required a separate Wi-Fi model to be installed to connect to your router – this was built in to the Plus version and remains built in for the new Pro model.

You can connect to the lock locally via Bluetooth to your phone, or set up the WiFi to allow wireless control and even remote access. With Matter compatibility, it can connect to just about any home setup, including Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Home controls. Using one of the available accessories, the device can be opened via a keypad or fingerprint reader, or simply using geofencing to automatically lock or unlock when your phone moves out or into the proximity of the lock.

Installing the Nuki Smart Lock Pro

The Nuki Smart Lock Pro is designed to work with most lock types, but it depends on the cylinder, door thickness and spacing of your lock. There’s a guide on the website to check compatibility before you buy. Living in a flat, my main door wasn’t a typical design, but the installer has managed to fit all three Niki locks to it, with a little adapting. If you have a Euro-style cylinder on a standard front door, or even a typical patio door, the installation is pretty simple and can be done yourself.

Nuki recommends changing the lock barrel at the same time as installing the smart lock, which is also an easy swap. Once the old lock is removed, you can simply slide out your existing barrel and replace it with one of the Ultion barrels. This gives you the most secure option for the key lock.

In addition to the smart lock being openable via your phone or a key, you can add a keypad to your setup, which provides number code entry, and with the Keypad 2 module, a fingerprint entry as well. This unit connects to your lock via Bluetooth and is battery-powered. You can then place it on the front or next to your door.

Nuki app

Nuki’s app is used to set up your device as well as to connect it to your home WiFi. Set up is really quick, especially if you’ve used a previous device. Once connected to your WiFi, you can add the device to your home network, and I quickly added it to both Alexa devices and my Apple Home Hub.

One useful part of the app integration is that it can send you a notification any time the door is locked or unlocked. This is handy for when you’re not home but want to keep track of kids arriving back or a cleaner or dog walker arriving.

My favourite feature from the app, though, is the geofencing. You can set the lock up so that when your device is within Bluetooth range, or a reassigned distance of the lock, it will automatically open – and can also lock when you leave the area. This means that I rarely have to touch the lock or even the keypad to enter. I simply walk up to the door, and it unlocks.

Another handy feature is the autolock setting, which can lock the door again after a preset amount of time. This is great for security as it avoids you accidentally leaving the door open when you leave, and saves you having to lock it again each time you open it. There’s also a night mode, to automatically lock your door at night with a double lock.

Battery life

The most impressive part of the Nuki Smart Lock Pro over my current three months of testing is the battery life. I am still yet to charge the unit and the battery is now at 32% – so I probably have another month before I need to plug it in.

The way you charge the Pro has changed slightly in that there’s now a dedicated cable, rather than just a USB-C cable, however this is magnetically attached, so there’s no danger of it breaking the cable or port when someone opens the door during charging. The only danger is remembering where you put the cable after four months of use!

Should I buy the Nuki Smart Lock Pro?

Of all the smart locks I’ve used in the past few years, the Nuki Smart Lock Pro stands out as the best. Not only does the unit look great and install easily, but the software also works really nicely with my home network and makes day-to-day use a breeze.

While certainly not silent in operation, it is much quieter than the previous model and has a choice of three speeds depending on your needs. The gentle setting is quieter, while the ‘Insane’ setting is really fast and not much louder than the standard one.

Best of all for me, though, is the battery life, with nearly four months between charges, even with steady usage, is really impressive. However, I’d have still liked an option to charge using USB-C if I lost the magnetic cable.

I would recommend to anyone buying this, to opt for the Ultra home set, which includes the Ultion lock barrel and the Keypad 2, which provides number combination opening and a fingerprint reader. While this adds around £150 to the price, it’s more than worth it for the complete package.