Best Smart Pet Doors of 2026

Short answer: For most cats and small dogs, the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect is the best smart pet door: it reads the microchip your pet already has, runs on batteries, and adds app locking and alerts through the Sure Petcare Hub. Cat-only homes should pick the smaller SureFlap Microchip Cat Door Connect. Dogs over about 25 pounds need a bigger opening, so look at the PetSafe SmartDoor Connected (Large) or, for large dogs and a steel frame with deadbolts, the Pawport Smart Pet Door.

A smart pet door decides who gets in. Most models read your pet's implanted microchip or a key worn on the collar, then unlock for that animal only. Connected models add an app, so you can lock the door from work, set a curfew and see when your cat came home.

The right pick depends on your pet's size, your door or wall, and whether your pet will wear a collar key. Here are those decisions first, then six doors worth a look in October 2026.

Quick comparison

What to look for

Microchip, collar key or app. Microchip doors read the chip your vet implanted, so your pet wears nothing extra, which suits cats that lose collars. Collar-key doors work for any pet, including dogs without chips, but the key can fall off and needs its own battery. The app is a separate layer for remote locking, schedules and alerts, and it needs Wi-Fi or a bridge such as the Sure Petcare Hub.

Flap opening, not frame size. Measure your pet's widest point (usually the shoulders) and its height from belly to shoulder top, then compare with the published flap opening. The frame is much bigger than the hole.

Installation type. Every door here fits a regular exterior door. Walls need a tunnel extender. Glass needs a round hole cut by a glazier, and only some models are approved for glass; PetSafe lists it for its Medium SmartDoor only. Sliding patio doors are easiest with a panel insert that sits in the track. Renters should look at inserts first.

Weather sealing. Look for brush seals, magnetic closures or a sealed panel. Motorized doors that raise a solid panel, such as the Power Pet and Pawport, seal differently from swinging flaps.

Power. Battery doors are easy to place but need fresh cells once or twice a year. Mains-powered doors need an outlet nearby, and a backup battery keeps them working in an outage.

Schedules and security. Curfews keep pets in at night, but the lock only decides which animals get in. Sure Petcare's manual says its motorized locks are not a security device. A door big enough for a 100-pound dog may admit a small person, so motorized doors with deadbolts (Pawport, Power Pet) are the better fit there. Lock the door when you are away for long, check collar keys regularly, and give the companion app a strong, unique password.

The best smart pet doors

SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect: best overall for cats and small dogs

Who it is for: Homes with large cats or small dogs that already have microchips and want app alerts and remote locking. Who should skip it: Owners of dogs too big for a 7.5-inch-wide opening, and anyone who does not want a Hub plugged into the router.

The Pet Door Connect reads implanted microchips (Sure Petcare says it handles all common types) or an optional RFID collar tag. The reader is on the outside only, so it controls who comes in; any animal can push out. With the Hub, the Sure Petcare app can lock or unlock the door from anywhere, set lock and unlock times, notify you when a pet enters or leaves, and share access with family. It installs in doors, walls (with tunnel extenders) and glass.

Real cost: The Hub is sold separately unless you buy a bundle. The door takes four C batteries, rated at up to six months on this Connect model. Wall installs need extenders. Sure Petcare lists no app subscription, and the doors and Hub carry a three-year warranty.

Drawback: The battery compartments are on the sides. A 2018 Trusted Reviews review found that with the door mounted close to a wall, changing batteries meant taking the unit off.

See the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect at Sure Petcare. If you buy the door on its own, add the Sure Petcare Hub to use the app.

SureFlap Microchip Cat Door Connect: best for cat-only homes

Who it is for: Cat households, especially ones mixing outdoor cats with indoor-only cats. Who should skip it: Owners of very large cats; check the opening first.

This smaller sibling has an opening of about 5 5/8 by 4 3/4 inches. Its useful extra is per-pet exit control: you can mark a cat as indoor-only so the flap lets it in but never out, while other cats come and go. It stores up to 32 pet identities and runs on four AA batteries, quoted at up to six months.

Real cost: Batteries, plus the Hub if your package lacks one. Same three-year warranty.

Drawback: The manual explains that the physical rotary lock and the app do not talk to each other. Turning the lock on the door overrides any curfew set in the app, which can surprise a busy household.

See the SureFlap Microchip Cat Door Connect at Sure Petcare

PetSafe SmartDoor Connected: best app door for dogs up to 100 pounds

Who it is for: Dog owners who want app schedules and remote locking with a large flap. Who should skip it: Anyone planning a glass install for a big dog, since PetSafe lists glass for the Medium only.

The Medium has a 7.1 by 7.8 inch opening for pets up to 25 pounds; the Large opens 11.9 by 16.1 inches for pets up to 100 pounds. Each door includes one collar key, and the Medium can also read several microchip formats. The My PetSafe app sets separate schedules per pet, locks and unlocks remotely, and sends activity and door-status alerts. PetSafe describes a flap with dynamic weather sealing and multi-point locking. It fits exterior doors, walls with a tunnel extension and, for the Medium, multi-pane glass up to 1 3/4 inches thick.

Real cost: Four C cells (Medium) or four D cells (Large), or the separately sold SmartDoor Power Adaptor, plus an extra key for each additional pet. No subscription is mentioned. PetSafe lists a 45-day satisfaction guarantee but not the warranty length on the product page, so check its warranty page before buying.

Drawback: Your dog has to wear the key; if it slips off, the door treats your dog like any other animal. PetSmart's listing says the door needs 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, a detail PetSafe's page does not spell out.

See the PetSafe SmartDoor Connected (Medium and Large) at PetSafe

Pawport Smart Pet Door: best for large dogs and security-minded homes

Who it is for: Owners of big dogs who want a motorized steel door, deadbolts and smart home control. Who should skip it: Anyone shopping in the budget or mid-range tier; Pawport sits at the premium end, well above the other doors here.

All three sizes have a 13.25-inch-wide opening; heights are 16.25, 20.25 and 24.25 inches, for dogs up to 100, 150 and 200 pounds. The frame is powder-coated steel and aluminum with two steel deadbolts. You can fit the indoor unit over an existing pet door without a contractor, or buy a complete system for a wall, door or glass panel. The app handles curfews, per-pet schedules and activity data, supports Alexa, Siri and Google voice control, and can lock the door when it detects rain or lightning nearby. Sensors stop the door from closing on a pet.

Real cost: Pawport's FAQ says the app has no monthly charge for basic functions. Extras include a rechargeable battery pack, a solar panel, a concealed power kit and an awning. The Smart Pet Tag's coin cell lasts about 12 months by Pawport's estimate. See Pawport's site for current pricing.

Drawback: It has a short track record. Most outside coverage, such as PCWorld's, covers its CES launches rather than long-term ownership, and the warranty is one year, shorter than Sure Petcare's.

Pawport sells direct; see the Pawport Smart Pet Door page.

High Tech Pet Power Pet (Wi-Fi): best for sliding patio doors

Who it is for: Owners of large dogs with a sliding glass door, or anyone who wants a solid motorized panel instead of a flap. Who should skip it: Homes without an outlet near the door, and dogs that dislike bulky collar sensors.

The Power Pet raises a solid panel when your dog approaches wearing an ultrasonic collar; directional sensing is meant to keep it shut when your dog just walks past. The Large opening is about 12 by 16 inches for pets up to 100 pounds. Wi-Fi versions add app control, a hold-open mode and timers, and High Tech Pet sells door-mount, wall-mount and patio insert versions.

Real cost: It runs on an AC adapter with an optional backup battery. Spare or rechargeable collars cost extra. High Tech Pet states a one-year warranty on products bought direct.

Drawback: Its listings are inconsistent: the wall-mount Wi-Fi page gives different pet weights and timer counts than the door-mount page, and the door-mount Wi-Fi model showed as backordered when we checked. Confirm the exact model with High Tech Pet before ordering. It works on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only.

Sold direct; see the Power Pet Wi-Fi door page.

SureFlap Microchip Pet Door: best without an app or Wi-Fi

Who it is for: Owners who want microchip entry and a nightly curfew with no Hub, app or router setup. Who should skip it: Anyone who wants alerts or remote locking.

This is the non-connected version of our top pick, with the same 7.5 by 6 11/16 inch opening. It stores up to 32 pet identities and keeps them when the batteries are out. A curfew mode on the door locks and unlocks at set times each day, and the manual lock includes an in-only setting.

Real cost: Four C batteries, rated at up to 12 months here, about twice the Connect version's figure. Same three-year warranty.

Drawback: You cannot see who is home or change the lock from your phone, and the curfew applies to every pet at once.

See the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door at Sure Petcare

How we chose

This guide is based on manufacturer specifications, user manuals, warranty pages, app and subscription terms, and independent reviews and reporting. PawCog has not bought, installed or tried these doors itself; this is a research guide, not a product trial. We kept only doors still sold in the US in October 2026. Independent long-term reviews of smart pet doors are scarce, so where we lean on one review or a retailer listing, we say so.

FAQ

Will a microchip pet door work with my pet's existing chip?

Usually. Sure Petcare says its doors read all common microchip types, and its product pages let you check a chip number. PetSafe lists the formats its Medium SmartDoor reads. Ask your vet if you are unsure which chip your pet has.

Can other animals get in through a smart pet door?

The door only unlocks for registered pets, but another animal can sometimes follow a pet through while the flap is open. On SureFlap doors any animal inside can push out, because the reader is on the outside. Locking the door at night cuts the risk of raccoons and stray cats.

Do smart pet doors need a subscription?

None of the doors here lists a required subscription for core features. Sure Petcare and PetSafe mention none, and Pawport's FAQ says basic app functions have no monthly fee. The ongoing costs are batteries, extra collar keys and, for SureFlap, the one-time Hub.

Can I install a smart pet door in a sliding glass door?

Yes. The easiest route is a patio panel insert that sits in the door track, such as High Tech Pet's Power Pet patio models. SureFlap doors and the Medium PetSafe SmartDoor can go into glass, but that means a round hole cut by a glazier, and tempered glass usually means ordering a new pane.

What happens when the batteries die or the power goes out?

SureFlap doors flash a low-battery light first. Mains-powered doors stop moving without power unless you add the optional backup battery that Pawport and High Tech Pet both sell, and Pawport has manual controls on top of the frame.

Is a smart pet door safe for a cat that must stay indoors?

A door with per-pet exit control, like the SureFlap Microchip Cat Door Connect, can keep one cat in while others go out. For health questions about indoor or outdoor life, ask your veterinarian.

Sources

• Sure Petcare: Microchip Pet Door Connect (checked 2026-10-13)
• Sure Petcare: Microchip Cat Door Connect (checked 2026-10-13)
• Sure Petcare: Microchip Pet Door (checked 2026-10-13)
• Sure Petcare: Warranty (checked 2026-10-13)
• Sure Petcare: Microchip Cat Flap Connect user manual (PDF) (checked 2026-10-13)
• PetSafe: SmartDoor Connected Pet Door (checked 2026-10-13)
• Pawport: Smart Pet Door finishes and accessories announcement (checked 2026-10-13)
• Pawport: App FAQ (checked 2026-10-13)
• Pawport: Smart Pet Door FAQ (checked 2026-10-13)
• High Tech Pet: Wi-Fi Power Pet Door, Large (checked 2026-10-13)
• Trusted Reviews: SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect review (checked 2026-10-13)
• PCWorld: Pawport brings its revamped smart pet door to CES (checked 2026-10-13)