Locksmith pricing across the Front Range looks confusing on purpose. Half the ads lead with a number that has nothing to do with what you will actually pay. Here is what the work really costs and why.
Most calls fall into a handful of categories, and each has a real range. A home lockout during standard hours usually runs $65 to $200, depending on the lock and how the door is secured. Push that same call to 2 a.m. on a Saturday and it runs $150 to $300 because a tech is on the road overnight. Residential locksmith work covers lockouts, deadbolt installs, and rekeys, and the lock type matters as much as the clock.
Here is the honest table we work from on the phone. Every figure is a range, not a flat rate, because the door, the hardware, and the hour all move the number. We narrow it with a few questions before anyone drives out.
| Service | Usual range | What drives the number |
|---|---|---|
| Home lockout (standard hours) | $65 to $200 | Lock type and how the door is secured. |
| Home lockout (after-hours / weekend) | $150 to $300 | Overnight or holiday response premium. |
| Full house rekey (4 to 6 cylinders) | $150 to $300 | Cylinder count and hardware age. |
| Deadbolt install | $100 to $250 | Hardware grade and door prep needed. |
| Car lockout | $75 to $200 | Vehicle and lock complexity. |
| Transponder car key (cut + program) | $150 to $400 | Chip type and programming time. |
| Commercial lockout / service | $150 to $400 | High-security keyways run higher. |
| Smart lock install | $150 to $350 | Door prep; hardware extra if not supplied. |
| Safe opening | $150 to $400 | Lock type and whether drilling is needed. |
A rekey or lock change is usually the smarter buy when you have lost keys or moved in somewhere new. Rekeying four to six cylinders runs $150 to $300, far less than swapping out every lock body on the house.
A lot of Denver locksmith advertising leads with a number that sounds too good to pass up. The $19 or $29 service call exists to get a foot in your door, and the real total arrives once a technician is on site and the scope has somehow grown. The lock was harder than described. The job needed drilling. There was a trip fee, a hardware fee, and a labor fee that the ad never mentioned.
Colorado makes this easier to pull off than most states. There is no statewide locksmith license here, so anyone can print a card, post a bait number, and answer the phone. That does not mean every cheap ad is a scam, but it does mean the price you see in an ad carries no guarantee. In our experience, the shops worth calling are the ones that give you a full total before the truck rolls, then stick to it.
Four things move the number more than anything else: the time of day, the lock itself, the work involved, and where you are in the metro. A noon lockout on a modern deadbolt is the cheap end. A 1 a.m. call on an original mortise lock in a Capitol Hill rowhouse is the expensive end, and both are normal.
After-hours, weekend, and holiday calls add roughly $50 to $100 over standard rates. That covers a technician being awake and on the road when most people are asleep. If your lockout can wait until morning safely, daytime service is the cheaper route. If it cannot, the premium is the cost of someone showing up at 3 a.m.
Denver carries one of the widest hardware spreads in the region. The brick rowhouses of Denver proper still run original mortise and warded hardware that takes real skill and time to rekey. The new stucco-and-frame tracts out toward Aurora use modern cylinders that go faster. Older and rarer almost always means a longer job and a higher number.
A clean lockout where the tech picks the lock open is the low end. A job that needs a cylinder rekeyed, a deadbolt replaced, or a stuck mechanism drilled and rebuilt costs more because it is more labor and more parts. A good locksmith tells you which path the job needs before starting, not after.
The single best protection is a written or texted quote before any work begins, which matters more in Colorado precisely because no license backstops you. Get the full total, not just a service-call fee. Ask whether that number includes labor, hardware, and any after-hours premium. A company that commits to a figure in writing has tied itself to it.
Beyond the quote, look for the basics of a real local operation: a verifiable Denver-area address, proof of insurance, a marked vehicle, and reviews that name actual neighborhoods. An out-of-state call center that dispatches whatever subcontractor is nearest is not the same as a local shop. We cover what to confirm in detail on the FAQ page. The few minutes of vetting usually save you the bait-and-switch upcharge entirely.
A standard daytime home lockout usually runs $65 to $200, and after-hours or weekend calls run $150 to $300. A full house rekey of four to six cylinders usually runs $150 to $300, a car lockout $75 to $200, and a transponder car key $150 to $400. We quote the real total before anyone drives out, not after.
That low number is a bait price meant to get a technician to your door, then the real cost shows up once they are standing there. Colorado has no state locksmith license, so anyone can post a number. A legitimate Denver shop gives you the full total in writing before the truck rolls, not a teaser that climbs on site.
After-hours work means a tech is on call overnight, on weekends, or on a holiday, and that response carries a premium of roughly $50 to $100 over standard rates. The job is the same, but the time of day is not. A 2 a.m. lockout in a RiNo loft costs more than the same call at noon on a Tuesday.
Yes, especially in Colorado where no license backstops you. A written or texted quote ties the company to a number before work starts, so the figure on the invoice matches the figure you agreed to. If a Denver locksmith will not commit to a total over the phone, treat that as a warning and call someone who will.
A little. Historic Capitol Hill and Five Points homes carry older mortise and warded hardware that takes longer to rekey than a modern deadbolt, which can nudge the number up. New-build tracts in Aurora or Arvada are quicker. Distance from central Denver to the outer suburbs can also add a small travel component on some calls.
We post real ranges and quote the full total before we drive out, not after. Insured, local crew, every Front Range neighborhood covered, day or night.
Last updated: May 28, 2026.
