The 4 Toughest Front Doors for Ultimate Home Security

After becoming a victim of a home invasion myself, I learned that my front door was definitely my home’s Achilles heel. As it turns out, my experience was no exception, and burglars often prefer breaking in through a door instead of a window.

Bottom Line: Main Door Mahogany is Secure and Stylish

The words “security door” usually bring to mind images of steel vaults and towering fortresses with doors that are heavy, sturdy, and secure. The Main Door Mahogany Prehung Front Door is everything you would hope a home security door might be but with a beautiful style that doesn’t even remotely resemble a bank vault. It’s also more affordable than many security doors on the market, and while the installation can be tricky due to its weight, hanging it is pretty straightforward. It doesn’t give you the visibility of the storm-door-style security doors, but the speakeasy portal allows for some airflow and protects you while you’re chatting with someone standing on your front porch. The overall look and construction of the door says, “Keep walking, criminals,” which is why we named it our top pick for the best security doors.

Compare the Best Security Doors

Data effective as of 7/13/20 8:43 a.m. Offers and availability subject to change. See full disclaimer.

Reviews for the Best Security Doors

Main Door Mahogany Prehung Front Door: Best Overall

Looking like it could guard a castle entrance, this solid, mahogany-styled old world beauty will fit right in as your home’s front door. We’re glad it’s not made from real mahogany because real mahogany is endangered. Instead, it’s made from FSC-certified Brazilian mahogany (Cedro Arana), a sustainably sourced tropical hardwood. This door features a speakeasy hatch in place of a peephole, and a distressed finish with iron accents, but we found the distressing to be less aged-over-time and more attacked-with-a-hatchet than we’d like (that is, unless you literally want to look like you’re living in a castle under siege).

This entry door is simple to install, but it is solid wood, so we recommend rounding up a few friends or a professional to help with the heavy lifting. The exterior molding is not included, and you’ll need to drill the hole for the deadbolt, so plan accordingly. This door works best in a protected location—you’ll void the warranty if you place it on an exterior wall without an overhang.

Unique Home Designs Su Casa Steel Security Door: Budget Pick

Home safety can get expensive, so if you need extra security but can’t afford a solid wood door, the Su Casa Steel Security Door is a budget-friendly option that can go in front of your regular front door and enhance your home’s curb appeal. It’s not as tough as some of the other doors on our list, but its design makes it a decent crime deterrent for the price.

The Su Casa’s metal screen allows for ventilation and keeps insects out, but the welded steel tube scrollwork grilles add a layer of protection to your home. We like that you can choose whether you want it to open from the left or from the right and that it has a powder-coated frame and galvanized steel screen for protection against rust and corrosion.

We recommend adding an extra layer of sealant for long-lasting wear before you install it since the one-way installation screws will make this screen door tricky to remove once it’s in. (One-way screws: great for preventing crime, not so great for door replacement.) This steel door comes with the one-way driver bit to make installation a little easier.

GlassCraft ThermaPlus Iron Door: Best for Climate Control

If you want a tough door without having to deal with a tough backache from installing it, the GlassCraft ThermaPlus is a good choice. Its 18-gauge steel skin is more than twice as strong as the 25-gauge steel you find on most front doors, but its core is made of lightweight thermal BioFoam, which reduces weight and adds a thermal barrier. The door’s interior structure is beefed up even more at the top and bottom with Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), an engineered wood product that’s specifically manufactured for enhanced structural integrity, to ensure that all the kicking in the world won’t budge your door.

The GlassCraft ThermaPlus is a solid choice for home security, but it comes at a price—it’s just over $1,400, and getting it prehung will add another $1,000. On the plus side, it comes in six different finishes, so you can choose the color that best suits your home’s design.

Prime-Line Woodguard Steel Security Door

If the Prime-Line Woodguard door were a little bit easier to install and didn’t have that wavy mesh screen look to it, we would have ranked it higher on our list. As it is, it’s an affordable choice for a security screen door, and we like the solid pinewood styling over the security steel. It has tamper-proof hinges, and the mesh screen (wavy though it may be) keeps out both human intruders and insect ones. The doorknob and deadbolt aren’t included in the package, so you can select your own for extra safety. For installation, be sure you have a tool on hand that can handle one-way security screws.

Things to Consider before You Buy a Security Door

Keep in mind that security doors aren’t always DIY-friendly, and even those with straightforward installation might not be a one-person job for safety reasons. A service like Thumbtack can help you find a professional to assist you in fitting and hanging your exterior doors with confidence.

While security doors are a good start to a more secure home, if you want to take it a step further, consider other ways to strengthen door security, like installing sensors on your doors and windows and using door jammers. For the most effective electronic door and window safety, it’s important to understand how door sensors work and how to find the best door and window sensors. For no-tools-required door security, and more peace of mind when you’re traveling, check out our picks for the Best Door Jammers.

Security Door FAQs

Can you turn regular front doors into security doors?

Most regular front doors aren’t designed to be security doors, but there are certainly things you can do to make them tougher, like installing door armor with a reinforced strike plate. You can also add security storm doors to standard front doors for added protection. To strengthen regular screen doors and storm doors, consider adding reinforced screening like Crimsafe screens.

Is it safe to have sidelights next to your front door?

It depends on where they’re located. It’s not a good idea to put vulnerable windows right next to the locking mechanism on your door because intruders can easily smash out the windows to reach inside and open the deadbolt. If you have storm doors in front of your doors, it adds another layer of protection because intruders would have to unlock and open both the storm door and the front door.

How can I make my patio sliding door more secure?

Sliding door locks, security bars, door braces, and contact sensors are all things you can use to create intruder-resistant doors for your patio. Adding simple coverings to the windows on your sliding glass doors can make your home less tempting to intruders in the first place by obscuring the view of valuables and people inside. For more on securing your patio doors, see How to Secure Your Sliding Glass Door.

How We Chose the Best Security Doors

To find the best security doors, we studied the most important qualities in effective security doors and scoured the web to find doors that fit the bill without breaking the bank. Our full methodology explains more about how we rank and review the products on our site.

Additional Resources

• How to Secure Your Sliding Glass Door
• 6 Simple and Effective Ways to Strengthen Your Doors
• 10 Simple Ways to Secure Your New Home
• 4 Common Sliding Glass Door Weaknesses and How to Overcome Them

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