Rekeying vs Replacing Locks: Which One Do You Actually Need?

Updated September 2026. Written and checked by the technicians at Safe & Secure Locksmith, 4105 Macdonald St, Vancouver. Every figure below matches our published price list. Call 604-734-7233 for a quote before anyone is dispatched.

They are not the same decision

Rekeying changes the pins inside your existing cylinder so old keys stop working. Replacing swaps the hardware for a different lock. People treat them as cheap-versus-expensive options for one problem. They are actually answers to two different questions: who can open this door, and how good is this lock.

Rekeying is $25 to $45 per cylinder on standard hardware, or $60 to $120 on high-security platforms. A lock change is $80 to $160 installed plus the hardware. Both are on the prices page.

Rekey when the keys are the problem

You have just moved in. A key has been lost or stolen. A tenant, a roommate, a contractor or an ex-partner has moved on. You have five doors and five different keys and you want one. In all of those cases the lock is fine and the key population is the problem, and rekeying solves it completely for a fraction of the price of new hardware.

Moving in is the clearest case. You cannot know how many keys exist for a house you just bought: previous owners, their adult children, a cleaner, three trades, a realtor's lockbox. Rekeying every exterior cylinder in one visit ends all of it. The service page is lock rekey Vancouver.

Replace when the lock is the problem

Rekeying a bad lock gives you a bad lock with a new key. Replace when the cylinder is worn and the key turns roughly, when the hardware is a builder-grade set that already failed once, when the finish has corroded, when the lock has been forced or drilled, or when you are upgrading deliberately to a higher grade or a restricted keyway.

Upgrading is the honest reason to replace. If you want a lock that resists picking, bumping and key copying, you need different hardware, not different pins. High security locks covers the options, and lock change Vancouver is the service page.

What rekeying does not do

This is where people get a false sense of security. Rekeying does not make a door harder to kick. It does not fix a thin strike plate held by two short screws into soft jamb wood. It does not help a hollow-core door, a frame that has rotted, or a window beside the door with nothing but a latch.

Most break-ins are not sophisticated attacks on the cylinder. They are force applied to the weakest point, and the weakest point is almost never the lock. Read how burglars actually get in and why your strike plate matters more than your lock before you spend money on cylinders.

The cost comparison, done properly

For a typical Vancouver house with a front deadbolt, a front knob, a back door and a garage entry, rekeying all four cylinders to one key is four times the per-cylinder rate plus one service call. Replacing the same four with mid-range hardware is four sets of hardware plus the installed labour, and it usually lands at several times the rekey figure.

The exception is when you were going to replace hardware anyway for looks or function. In that case the rekey is free in effect, because the new locks are keyed alike when they go on.

The hybrid answer

The most common right answer on a real house is a mix. Replace the one lock that is genuinely worn or weak, rekey the rest to match the new key, and reinforce the strike plates while the technician is there. One visit, one key, and the money goes where it does something.

Doing it yourself

Rekey kits exist for Kwikset and some Schlage hardware and they work if you are patient and the lock is on that list. What they do not cover is anything restricted, mortise, commercial or high-security, and they do not include the alignment check that stops the door binding afterwards. If you are removing and reinstalling cylinders yourself, mark which one came from which door.

Rental property

For landlords the answer is rekey, between every tenancy, without exception. It is the cheapest way to close a key population you do not control, and it removes the argument about who still has access. Buildings with several units usually want a master key system so one management key opens everything while each suite key opens only its own: see master key systems explained and how often to rekey a business.

Article history

Updated September 2026. This article absorbed two older posts that argued the same case at different lengths, so the site now has one page on rekeying versus replacing rather than three. Call 604-734-7233 or book online if you want someone to look at the doors and tell you which is which.