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Combination padlock vs keyed padlock

Updated: October 2026

You are choosing a mechanism. Someone loses keys, three people need the gate, and a combination feels modern until you ask what happens if the shed holds a bike or the paperwork names a grade. This combination padlock vs keyed padlock page keeps the code for shared, low-risk access and the key for a named standard. The ten code locks are in the [combination lock comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/combination-lock), all open shackles from amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026, none with a printed grade. Peter F. did not lab-test keyed locks for this page. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing a mechanism. Someone loses keys, three people need the gate, and a combination feels modern until you ask what happens if the shed holds a bike or the paperwork names a grade.

Our top picks

NovLock NovLock NLCL003

Best overall

NovLock NovLock NLCL003
9.4/10about £14.99
View offer
XShield XShield 4-digit padlock

Best value

XShield XShield 4-digit padlock
9.2/10about £3.77
View offer
Squire Squire CP50/2.5

Rank 3

Squire Squire CP50/2.5
8.4/10about £22.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a code is for
  2. 2.What a key still does better
  3. 3.A worked pair from this set
  4. 4.The recommendation

What a code is for

A combination padlock earns its place when several people must get in and extra keys are the problem. A leisure-centre locker, a side gate, or a shed of hand tools with one shared number: that is the job. There is no key to lose, and one code can be told to a group. Four wheels, if each runs from 0 to 9, give 10,000 codes. Anyone who has watched you dial it, or who finds the wheels left on the number, has the secret. When someone who knew the number leaves, change it while you still know the current one. The steps differ by lock and live on how to set a combination padlock.

What a key still does better

A keyed padlock can carry a mark you can look up. Sold Secure publishes approved padlocks, and its Bronze to Diamond lines align with CEN grades 3 to 6. BS EN 12320:2021 grades padlocks from 1 to 6. Insight Security's account is that combination padlocks have not achieved Sold Secure or CEN ratings, which matches these ten listings. A key also gives you control of copies. Keyed-alike sets and master-key systems are not in this product set. If the schedule names Sold Secure, a CEN grade, or a closed shackle, a 4-digit wheel does not satisfy the sentence. Read the schedule.
NovLock NovLock NLCL003

Testsieger

NovLock NovLock NLCL003
9.4/10about £14.99
View offer

A worked pair from this set

The CP40 at about £13 is 3.9 from 230 reviews and aimed at lockers, bags, and cabinets. The listing sets gates and sheds aside. The familiar name did not add a grade. The CP50/2.5 at about £22.99 offers a 2.5 inch shackle, and the seller says it is not high security. High-value items, remote sites, and coastal weather are written out. Put that beside the GRIFEMA at about £3.78, with no stated diameter and no CEN line. The NovLock NLCL003, the top pick at about £14.99, and the XShield, the best value at about £3.77, state a diameter and still print no grade. Outdoor seizure and rust are on the combination padlock for a shed.

The recommendation

Choose a combination padlock when several people share access and the loss, if the hasp is forced, is limited. Choose a keyed, graded lock when the schedule or the contents need a named standard. Stay with a code for the gym locker and the low-risk garden gate. Leave the code behind for a bike, trade tools, a remote shed, or any wording that names Sold Secure or a CEN grade. A 4-digit wheel is not a substitute for a keyed CEN 3. If you are staying with a code, the combination padlock buying guide covers the hole and the clearance. If you are moving to a key, look up the approval and match it to the schedule.

Common questions

Which is more secure, a combination padlock or a keyed padlock?
A keyed padlock that carries a Sold Secure mark or a BS EN 12320 grade is the one you can cite. Combination padlocks, in Insight Security's account, have not achieved those ratings, and none of the ten amazon.co.uk listings here prints either mark. A code is more practical when the problem is lost keys and a shared gate of low value. Security in the graded sense stays with the keyed lock whose certificate you can check.
When is a code the better buy?
When several people need the same access and the thing behind the hasp is replaceable. A leisure-centre locker and a garden gate for the dog are the usual cases. You tell them the number, you scramble the wheels afterwards, and you change the number when someone leaves. A code is a poor buy when the site is remote or the paperwork names a standard, because the convenience does not create a grade.
Can I give everyone the same number?
Yes. That is the point of a combination padlock, and it is also the risk. Everyone who knows it, and anyone who watches you dial it, can open the lock. Pick something less obvious than 1234, keep a record at home rather than on the hasp, and set a new code when the group changes. Keyed-alike padlocks are the alternative if you would rather hand over a key than a number. They are not in this set.
What is keyed alike?
Keyed alike means several locks open with the same key, so one household key can cover the gate and the shed. A master-key system goes further and lets one key open a group while other keys open only their own lock. Insight Security offers that as the keyed answer to a shared building. You still have to collect keys back when people leave. You gain a lock that can sit on an approval list, which a shared 4-digit code in this set cannot.
Will insurance accept a combination padlock?
Read the schedule. We are not going to invent a clause. If the wording names Sold Secure, a CEN grade, or a closed shackle, these listings do not meet it, and Lock Shop Warehouse's point is that an unrated combination lock gives that wording nothing to attach to. If the schedule is silent, a code on a low-risk gate is a practical choice with the limits already described. Silence is not the same as an endorsement.

Related pages

Padlocks keyed alike

Combination lock

Best combination padlock: locker lock or gate hasp

Combination padlock buying guide: measure the hole

How to set a combination padlock: three reset types

Combination padlock for a shed: open shackle limits

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings for B0DSV9C75V, B0F4886GRM, B0CF21Y5JZ, B0FLQBNYPP, B0BNPRS182, B07VK5NKLP, B0CR3963NB, B0BG8WFGT2, B0FT1VCCKQ and B0BG8VSS54. Prices stored 19 October 2026. None of those listings prints a BS EN 12320 grade or a Sold Secure mark.

  1. BSI, BS EN 12320:2021 padlocks and padlock fittings (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Insight Security, combination or keyed padlocks (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Insight Security, ten factors when choosing a padlock (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Sold Secure, padlocks and fittings (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Sold Secure 2024 approved product catalogue (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Lichfield District Council, protect your home (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Kelvedon Parish Council, garage and shed security (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Squire, CP50 combination padlock (retrieved 19 October 2026)