Home Depot Rekeying vs a Locksmith in Las Vegas

Published October 24, 2026

By Ezra

Prices updated October 2026. People ask us about Home Depot rekeying all the time, usually right after they buy a house or lose a key. The store can be a cheap answer, but only when your lock, your key and your store all line up.

• Not free by policyHome Depot posts no free rekey promise. Stores that rekey set their own fee, so call before you go.
• Some stores really do itHome Depot lists Kwikset rekeying pins as for use in store only to rekey a lock.
• Kits cost about $12 to $14A SmartKey kit lists at $12.47 and a Schlage style pin kit at $13.97 on homedepot.com.
• You need the working keySmartKey and most pin kits need the key that opens the lock today.
• Lost key changes the answerWith no working key, a store or a kit usually cannot help, but a locksmith usually can.
• Our home rekeys start at $79.99We come to the door, so nothing comes off the house.

What Home Depot Actually Does With Locks

Home Depot does not advertise a rekey service on its website, but its own product pages give the game away. The store lists Kwikset rekeying top pins in 100 packs and marks them as not for retail sale, for use in store only to rekey a lock. Pins like that only make sense if associates are repinning cylinders behind the counter.

That does not mean every store offers it, because the work depends on having a trained associate, the correct pin kit and available time during the shift. When a store does rekey, the job is usually limited to the brands it stocks, and the lock has to come off your door and go to the store with you.

So the useful answer to the free question is simple. Call your store before you drive, and ask three things. Ask whether the store rekeys locks at all, which manufacturers it can repin, and what it charges for each cylinder. If the answer is free with a purchase, ask whether that covers locks you already own or only new ones from the shelf.

Bob Vila puts the counter rekey at a hardware store or lumberyard at around $5 per lock. That is cheap, but it assumes you can pull every lock out of every door, carry them in, and put them back the same day.

The Kits on the Shelf and What They Need

If the counter cannot help, the next stop is the rekeying kit aisle. In October 2026 homedepot.com listed the Kwikset SmartKey Security rekeying kit at $12.47 and the Prime Line rekey kit for Schlage C keyways, with pins and precut keys, at $13.97.

SmartKey is the easiest option on the shelf, because Kwikset says a SmartKey lock can be rekeyed by the owner in seconds with three things, the current working key, the SmartKey tool and the new key. Kwikset also says the feature works only on Kwikset products, and the Home Depot kit is sold as compatible with SmartKey products only.

Pin kits for other brands involve considerably more work, since you take the lock off the door, pull the cylinder, push out the old pins, match new pins to the new key and put it all back together. Bob Vila says a single lock kit typically runs $12 to $25, and that every lock must be the same brand if you want one key for the whole house.

The catch is the same for both. If you lost the key, the kit will not save you. Kwikset tells SmartKey owners who lost the working key to call a locksmith or Kwikset support, and Bob Vila says a lock you cannot open will not come apart for a DIY rekey, so you would replace it first.

When the Store Is the Wrong Trip

The store or the kit is a fine choice for one or two Kwikset locks, a working key in your hand and a free Saturday. The math turns the other way fast in a few common Las Vegas situations.

Imagine you just closed on a house and the previous owner left a single key. You have no way of knowing who else holds a copy, and pulling a knob, a deadbolt and a garage entry lock off the doors in the heat to drive them across town is a lot of work for a few dollars saved.

Another common situation is a key that was lost or stolen. Without the working key, a SmartKey lock cannot rekey itself, a pin kit cannot get inside the cylinder, and the store counter has nothing to work with. A locksmith can usually remove and repin a standard cylinder without the working key, which is the job our guide on what locks cannot be rekeyed walks through.

Mixed manufacturers create a different problem. A Kwikset knob and a Schlage deadbolt will never share one key through a kit, and Bob Vila says you would have to replace locks until they match. That is when a rekey versus replace decision gets real, and our guide on whether it is cheaper to replace locks or rekey lays out the numbers.

If you are replacing locks anyway, buy them keyed the way you want. Lowe's explains that some makers sell sets keyed alike, and some can key new locks to a specific key you already own, so you skip the rekey entirely.

Sometimes the lock is worn, sticking or was forced during a break in, and new pins will not repair a failing lock body, so a rekey of any kind is money spent on the wrong part.

What a Locksmith Rekey Costs Next to the Store

Bob Vila puts a typical locksmith service call at $40 to $100, plus $10 to $30 per lock, and calls it the most expensive of the three paths. That is a national range, and it buys the one thing the store and the kit cannot, which is the work done at your door, with or without a working key.

Our residential rekeys in Las Vegas start at $79.99. We change the pins in the locks you already have, so every old key stops working and you keep the same hardware. If you are buying new locks anyway, veterans and active military get 10% off new locks with us.

Ask any locksmith for the complete price on the phone before anyone drives out, and ask for the company license number as well. Ours is on our license page, and you hear our price before we leave.

★Make Silver State Locksmith a preferred Google source

Loose Ends

Will Home Depot rekey locks for free?

Not as a posted policy. Home Depot lists no free rekey offer on its website. Some stores rekey locks at the counter for a fee, and the price and brands vary by store, so call ahead.

How much is it to rekey a lock at Home Depot?

Each store sets its own counter price. Online, a Kwikset SmartKey rekeying kit was listed at $12.47 in October 2026. Bob Vila puts a hardware store counter rekey at around $5 per lock.

Can Home Depot rekey a lock without the key?

Usually not. The store and the kits work from the key that opens the lock today. Kwikset tells SmartKey owners who lost the working key to call a locksmith.

Which locks can Home Depot rekey?

Stores that rekey usually work on the brands they stock. Call your store and ask which brands it can repin before you take locks off your doors.

Is it cheaper to rekey at Home Depot or call a locksmith?

The store is cheaper when you have the working key and can carry every lock in. A locksmith costs more but comes to your door and usually does not need the old key. Our Las Vegas home rekeys start at $79.99.

Lost the key or just moved in? See our residential locksmith service, rekeying when you move in and what a locksmith costs in Las Vegas, or call (725) 280‑5051 and we will give you the full price before we drive out.

Original Documents

• The Home Depot, Kwikset Rekeying Top Pin, 100 Pack (Model 12981)
• The Home Depot, Rekeying Kit, Door Accessories
• The Home Depot, Kwikset SmartKey Security Rekeying Lock Kit for Door
• Kwikset, SmartKey Security
• Bob Vila, How to Rekey a Lock (updated May 5, 2025)
• Lowe's, Keying Options for Entry Door Locks (June 23, 2025)