One key for every door, or a different key for each? There's a right answer for most homes — and a smarter answer for others.
When you order multiple entry sets or deadbolts for the same home, you have a choice: keyed alike (one key opens every lock) or keyed different (each lock has its own key). Most people assume keyed alike is always better. The truth is more nuanced — and the right answer depends on who has access to what.
What "keyed alike" means
Keyed alike means every lock in the group uses the same key cut. One key opens the front door, the back door, the side gate, the garage entry — all of it. You carry one key. Simple, convenient, and the default preference for most homeowners.
When you order keyed alike hardware, the manufacturer sets the locks to the same key code before shipping. You can also have a locksmith re-pin locks to match after the fact, which is useful when you are adding new hardware to an existing home and want everything on one key.
What "keyed different" means
Keyed different means each lock has a unique key cut. Your front door key does not open the back door. The garage entry key is different from the side gate key.
This approach is used intentionally in situations where controlled access matters: you give a housekeeper a key to the back door but not the front; a contractor has access to the garage but not the main house; a rental suite has its own lock that shares nothing with the primary residence. Keyed different gives you the ability to grant or revoke access to individual doors independently.
Keyed alike: the risks
The convenience of keyed alike comes with a real security tradeoff: if a single key is lost or copied, every door in the keyed-alike group is compromised. You either re-key all of them (which means re-keying or replacing every lock at once) or accept the risk. For homes where key control is important, this is not a trivial concern.
The other risk: if a key is given to someone — a dog walker, a contractor, a neighbour — that person now has a key that opens every keyed-alike door in the group. Make sure you are comfortable with that before deciding on keyed alike.
Keyed different: the risks
The obvious downside is key management. If you have four exterior doors and four different keys, you need to keep track of which key goes to which door — or label them. For most homeowners, the mental overhead of managing multiple keys is the real cost, and it is why keyed alike is so popular.
The smart middle ground: zoned keying
For larger homes or multi-unit situations, a zoned approach works well. Group the locks by zone and key alike within each zone:
- Main residence zone: front door, back door, and garage entry all keyed alike to Key A
- Rental suite zone: suite entry and suite back door keyed alike to Key B
- Outbuilding zone: workshop and storage shed keyed alike to Key C
A and B do not open each other's doors. This gives you the convenience of keyed alike within each zone while maintaining real access separation between zones.
Master key systems
A master key system takes zoning further: you have a master key that opens every lock, and individual keys that open only their assigned zone or door. This is common in commercial buildings and multi-family residential; it is occasionally used in large custom homes with service quarters, staff access areas, or significant security requirements.
Master key systems require planning before the locks are ordered and typically require working with a locksmith who can set up the key hierarchy correctly. The hardware itself must support master keying — most quality residential hardware brands do, including Emtek.
What to order
When placing a hardware order that includes multiple entry sets or deadbolts, specify your keying preference clearly:
- "KA" or "Keyed Alike" — all locks in the order share one key
- "KD" or "Keyed Different" — each lock gets its own unique key
- "KAC" or "Keyed Alike to Customer's Key" — you provide an existing key code and new hardware is cut to match it
Have a more complex access situation? Contact us before ordering — we can help you plan a keying system that makes sense for how your home actually works. We ship hardware across Canada and can coordinate keyed-alike orders regardless of quantity.
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