How we score gun safes

We review gun safes from the brands' and sellers' published product, specification, warranty and returns pages and their US prices, read on the date shown on each page (last on November 13, 2026). We don't run a furnace or a pry-bar bench: we read, compare and score what each page states. Every safe gets one score out of 10, and that score is the same on every page of the site.

What are the 6 criteria?

We compare three kinds of product, because a bedside handgun box and a 500 lb fire safe don't do the same job: long-gun safe, lightweight long-gun storage, handgun safe. Each kind is scored on the same 6 criteria with its own weights, and its price is compared with the median price of its own kind.

How is each criterion scored?

Each criterion is turned into a score out of 10. Where a scale is given as anchor points, we interpolate in a straight line between them and cap at both ends.

• Price: the dated US price at the seller we link, divided by the median price of the same kind of safe (long-gun safe: $1,899.99; lightweight long-gun storage: $699; handgun safe: $299). Ratio to the median: 0.4× → 10, 0.6× → 9, 0.8× → 8, 1× → 7, 1.25× → 6, 1.5× → 5, 2× → 4, 2.5× → 3.
• Body steel: the gauge printed on the page; a lower gauge is thicker steel: 7-gauge → 10, 9-gauge → 9.6, 10-gauge → 9, 11-gauge → 8.2, 12-gauge → 7.5, 14-gauge → 6, 16-gauge → 4.5, 18-gauge → 3. A thickness given in millimeters is converted with the standard sheet-steel table. A body stated as polymer scores 3.
• Fire rating: the minutes the brand claims, from its own test or the lab it names: 0 min → 3, 30 min → 5, 40 min → 6, 60 min → 7.5, 75 min → 8.3, 90 min → 9, 120 min → 10. A page that says "not fire rated" counts as 0 minutes. The test temperature is quoted next to every rating but not scored, because brands test at different temperatures; a page with no word on fire is "not stated". Fire doesn't count for handgun safes.
• Lock and ways to open it: 4 points, plus 1.5 for each way in stated on the page (fingerprint, keypad, key, phone app or key fob, mechanical push buttons; four at most), plus 1.5 when the page says the lock is UL listed, plus 1 for a way in that needs no battery (a backup key or a mechanical lock). Capped at 10.
• Published approvals: a UL Residential Security Container listing stated on the page (6 points), or a "UL listed" body without the RSC wording (5), plus a California DOJ approval stated on the page (4). We quote the brand's words; we don't certify anything ourselves.
• Warranty, returns and shipping: warranty for 50% (10 for a lifetime warranty that also promises repair or replacement after a fire or a break-in, 8.5 for a plain lifetime warranty, and for a term in years: 1 → 5, 2 → 6, 5 → 7.5, 10 → 8), return window in days for 25% (0 → 1, 14 → 5, 30 → 7.5, 45 → 8.5, 90 → 10), shipping for 25% (10 when the seller ships free, 4 when delivery is charged or quoted).

Why isn't gun capacity a criterion?

Because a claimed long-gun count is the most optimistic figure on a spec sheet, not a measure of quality. A "24-gun" safe holds 24 slim, unscoped guns packed muzzle to muzzle. We print every capacity as the brand's claim, add the realistic figure when a brand gives one, and score what protects the contents instead.

What happens when a figure isn't published?

A criterion the seller's page doesn't publish scores 2/10. We can't credit what isn't stated, and a safe should not win on silence. A safe with no published price, or fewer than 3 published criteria, gets no score at all.

How does the raw score become the score you see?

The raw score is the weighted average of the 6 criteria. Every safe we list is a current product sold in the United States by an established brand, so we show it on an editorial scale: displayed score = 7.5 + 0.68 × (raw score − 5), kept between 7.5 and 9.6. The order of the raw scores never changes. Labels: Excellent from 9.0, Very good from 8.5, Good from 8.0, Fair below 8.0.

Why do two safes never show the same score?

Scores are shown with one decimal, so two safes can round to the same number. When that happens, the order comes from the formula first and then from a published tie-break:

1. the higher raw score (before rounding);
2. then the thicker body steel (the lower gauge);
3. then the lower price;
4. then alphabetical order.

A safe that would display the same score as the one ranked just above it (or more) shows 0.1 less, and so on down the list, so every displayed score is different and the order is still the formula's. Scores stay between 7.5 and 9.6. Right now this applies to the Winchester Ranger 26 (formula 9.3, shown 9.2), the Rhino Kodiak KGXR5933 (formula 9.3, shown 9.1), the Barska AX13092 Desk Safe (formula 8.9, shown 8.8), the Liberty Centurion 24 (formula 8.8, shown 8.7), the Fort Knox Original Pistol Box (formula 8.6, shown 8.5), the Browning Sporter 23 (formula 8.5, shown 8.4), the Steelwater Heavy Duty 20 (formula 8.4, shown 8.3), the Vaultek LifePod 20 (formula 8.4, shown 8.2), the SecureIt Agile 52 (formula 8.3, shown 8.1), the SentrySafe QAP1BLX (formula 8.3, shown 8.0), the Fort Knox Maverick (formula 8.2, shown 7.9), the Vaultek RS500i (formula 7.9, shown 7.8).

How are the rankings by need built?

Each ranking puts the same criteria in a different order of importance, and most only admit safes that meet a condition: a fingerprint reader for the biometric list; a published fire rating of 30 minutes or more for the fire list; handgun safes only for the handgun list (ordered with the handgun weights above); a claimed capacity of five long guns or more for the rifle list; long-gun storage at $1,500 or less for the budget list; a "made in USA" statement on the page for the American-made list; lightweight long-gun storage for the apartment list. The weights change the order of the list, never the score: each safe keeps its one overall score everywhere.

Where does the data come from?

• Specs and prices come from the US product page of the seller we link (the brand's own store or product page) and its warranty, returns and shipping pages. Every review links its sources.
• Prices are the price you could pay on the date shown, in US dollars, before delivery unless the page says shipping is free. When a seller shows a discount, we use the discounted price and say so, with the regular price next to it.
• Stock is read on the same pages. A safe sold out at the linked seller is flagged with the date, and the ranking keeps the formula's order.
• We don't use user ratings or star averages from stores.
• Storage laws vary by state. When we mention a rule, we link the official page, such as the California Department of Justice's gun safe standards. Nothing on this site is legal advice.

What are the current scores?

Questions about the method? Write to contact@best-gun-safes.com.