The Best Bedside Gun Safes Are Actually Affordable (And Biometric)
If you need a reliable bedside safe for your handguns, I'm here to help you make the best choice on your next purchase. I tested and ranked the 10 most popular options on Amazon right now.
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Awesafe Gun Safe with Fingerprint Identification and a Biometric Lock
Top-rated: 12,877 ratings | 14 answered questions
Highlight: For added convenience, this compact gun safe is lightweight, for use whether you’re home or on the go. It's easy to conceal under car seats, in spare tire wells, between mattresses and other out-of-the-way locations.
Helpful review: "There is nothing to dislike, for me or my wife, about our two safes we just bought. Yup, we got a "his and hers" and are SO glad we did. This thing gives us the security we need, to keep our guns handy and safe from anyone else that might want to access them. I can feel good about keeping our mags loaded in the weapons and bullets chambered and still have them secured. I love the ease of access, with the fingerprint reader, which gives me instant access to our weapons. The code and backup keys are also awesome. The key feature is especially good, since batteries die, at some point, and if you don't pay attention to the low battery warning LED, and your batteries go dead, you still have access to your safes, though it will take you slightly longer to gain access to your firearms. The inside is roomy enough for my full-size pistol and a few mags. You could, also, fit a couple smaller firearms in there. It's roomy and I love the blue LED that comes on when you open it, so that you can easily see your goods inside when you have to open it in the pitch-black of night. The light is indirect, so it doesn't blind you, but gives light to the firearm so you can easily see and grab it on the fly. The keypad buttons light up when you touch them, so you can see what you're doing if you're using your keypad. I also like that the fingerprint reader allows you to set two fingerprints, per person, so that you can throw your finger up there and have it work, even if you put the thing at a different angle than you had it the night before. Anyway, great product, especially for the price and what you get. Highly recommend this for anyone looking for a bedside (or anywhere, really) handgun safe. We bought two and might have to buy more so that we can have them bolted into our vehicles, for the rare occasion we have to leave them in the vehicles." — Darren Lyda
Trending review: "Nothing to complain about with this quick-access gun safe. The materials used, the fingerprint pad, the quick opening mechanism, blue night light, foam padded interior, and size - all great!!! For me the safe fits perfectly inside of one of my desk drawers which is a huge plus. I was able to secure it in the drawer with the mounting holes located on the underside so it doesn't slide around. It's large enough for two smaller pistols but I opted to purchase a second one for another drawer so as not to clutter up each compartment. I've had my first one for over a month, and so far with many repeated openings it hasn't failed me yet. Having the fingerprint pad, key pad, and key lock is nice - but the fingerprint pad is where the counts when you need it quick. You do need to make sure you place your finger in the same spot and at the same angle each time. Practice often so you're not having to fumble with it in the event of an emergency. Only gripe is that the first safe I received opens very quietly, while the second has a bit of mechanical noise to it upon opening. It's not loud but it is noticeable compared to the first. All-in-all I would certainly recommend the safe." — Chad Weisbrodt
Get it from Amazon now: $169.00 & FREE Returns
2. RPNB Quick-Access Safe for 2 Handguns and Ammo with a Biometric Fingerprint Lock or RFID
Top-rated: 8,599 ratings | 234 answered questions
Highlight: Sturdy steel construction.
Helpful review: "I bought this as a way to lock up my EDC when not carrying. I have 5 kids and needed to secure it at night. I knew going in an inexpensive model might not function well but that hasn't been the case. I expected to have the batteries fail and it not open but o have had it nearly a year and it has never failed to open. It is nice to have a key, combo, and fingerprint. The fingerprint reader can be finicky at times but if you give it a few seconds, it will usually read it on the second try. Combo has never failed. I have it set with a 5 digit combo and can type it in less than 4 seconds. It also comes predrilled so you can bolt it down. I haven't had a single issue with this safe and would recommend. It's easier to get into than my other dial single gun boxes I have around the house. It also holds two pistols I have a compact and full-sized pistol in mine and the both fit without holsters. If you want the holster stored with gun, it will only hold one." — SPW
Trending review: "The keypad is impossible to find and accurately engage in the dark so I tried 2 different methods of illumination. The first was painted on fluorescence (top line and around numbers and fingerprint area) which required MULTIPLE coats but works. The second, very time efficient, was commercial fluorescent green tape (bottom of the 2 lines. I would recommend to the manufacturer's that customers may need their weapons in a hurry at night and some kind of keypad illumination would be a benefit. I am quite happy with this and it sits at my bedside with a large 9mm weapon, a flashlight and a spare mag with room to spare. The fingerprint sensor is a bit finicky and requires a CAREFUL placement of one of your assigned fingerprints to open. This is partially solved by putting several sets (3 prints per set) of each finger you choose. Getting it set up was VERY tricky as my unit required EXACT timing to accept a print or it would dump every attempt in that series. The MOMENT it would accept a print was between 9.5 and 10 seconds - so I used a timer on my phone and succeeded. There are other ways to open the safe: number pad and key so you will never be locked out." — Alfa Geek
Reassuring review: "This arrived on time and its sturdier than I expected. It was easy to program. I gave this 5 stars but there is no cable and you have to mount it if you want it to stay securely in place. I bought this as a nightstand pistol holder and I'm not mounting it to my nightstand because it sits on top easily accessible. When I leave the house I transfer the pistols to a large safe. I have been testing how quickly I can access it from the bed and its really fast!! It holds 2 of my full size pistols with an extra magazine each. I store them with one magazine in and one extra out. Overall it serves its purpose. Kids can't open it and it can't be easily pried open. Yes they can just take the whole case, that's why they only sit in this case when I'm home. I set it to silent operation and can get to my handguns quickly in case of a break in or home invasion. I'm sure it would make a great car safe as well." — Augusto
Get it from Amazon now: $155.99 & FREE Returns
3. VAULTEK VT20i Biometric Handgun Bluetooth Safe with an Auto-Open Lid and a Rechargeable Battery
Top-rated: 1,714 ratings | 259 answered questions
Highlight: Easily portable. EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS: 11.5” x 9” x 2.625”. INTERIOR DIMENSIONS: 11” x 5.75” x 2".
Helpful review: "Fingerprint reader works nearly perfectly for me. Safe will open 100% of the time with my thumbprint. 80 to 90% of the time with my index finger. I assumed my finger would have to be in the same orientation it was during setup, but that is not the case, which is great. This means when I reach over to my nightstand drawer and place my finger on the sensor, my finger can be rotated e.g. 90-degrees) on the sensor compared to setup. Very cool! My positive experience with the sensor - in contrast to several reviews here - made me think that maybe my sensor was glitching and accepting any fingerprint, or was somehow still in factory default mode. A quick test with other fingers proved this was not the case. So don't save the $80 like others have suggested. Get the version of this safe with the biometric sensor. In an emergency, I would use the sensor because it would be quicker than entering a code, but the keypad is a nice backup for sure. Setup was super easy. Battery (li-ion 18650) came partially charged and was fully charged within an hour. Battery can be installed with no regard for polarity, since the battery compartment is designed to auto-detect polarity. Vaultek app took a few seconds to install, and pairing was straightforward. Currently, I've got one S&W 380 Shield in this safe, in the drawer next to my bed. My S&W 9mm fits at the same time, but I have no reason to store two guns in this safe at the same time, so the second handgun stays in the big gun safe in the closet. Very pleased with this product, and would buy again. Fun fact: gun safes are exempt from sales tax in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Washington." — Andrew
Trending review: "I just purchased the Vaultek VT20i biometric pistol gun safe, and I am very impressed. The first thing you’ll notice is the first class product packaging. I can’t throw that box out. This pistol safe is solid and extremely well built. The product’s user manual is clearly written and easy to understand. Neat that you can’t even screw up putting the included lithium battery in. This Vaultek safe automatically detects battery polarity, so you can install in either direction and it works. The keys work fine. Again, clear instructions made programming the biometric finger prints easy. And – they do work extremely well. Likewise, programming the five number keypad was a snap. This pistol safe is really built well, and the included steel cable should be good for traveling. The door is spring loaded and opens more like a quality jewelry box than a jack-in-the-box. If you want a good safe to SAFELY and securely store your pistol with reliably quick access when needed, you will not be disappointed with the Vaultek VT20i. One more point I’d like to make. If you are one of the many people who like traveling in an RV (recreational vehicle) you have probably found that there isn’t really much of a secure place in an RV to store valuables like passports, extra cash, and your wife’s expensive earrings. Depending on where you visit, you may even want to put a pistol in there! With a little ingenuity you can incorporate a steel mounting plate to solidly attach the pistol safe to a solid bed stand or closet wall. If your wife has lots of jewelry, you'd better buy the Vaultek PRO VT. Vaultek has a mounting plate for that one." — Just Dave
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
4. SentrySafe Biometric Gun Safe with Interior Light - 1 Handgun Capacity
Top-rated: 4,127 ratings
Highlight: Gun safe is equipped with an improved gas strut for long-lasting performance. Ideal for use as a bedside gun safe.
Helpful review: "I was primarily interested in a quick access gun safe for my Springfield XD-S that could be placed bedside. I looked at the reviews for three of what seemed to be the most popular such gun cases and ultimately decided on the Sentry Safe Biometric Quick Access Pistol Safe, Model QAP1BE. I have grandchildren who visit frequently and I needed something that gives me quick and reliable access for personal protection at home, yet at the same time be secure from inquisitive little folks. First of all, I wanted a safe that would set on top of my bed nightstand and not be difficult to locate and open in the dark. I didn't want the hassle of having to open a nightstand drawer to access it. Besides, I would have to make sure the drawer is open wide enough to allow the top of the gun safe to open all the way. To me, storing it inside a drawer increases access time as well as makes for more noise. The first gun safe I looked at was the GunVault. I really liked the dimensions of the safe and the fact that it was biometric and used a code as well to open it. However, the reviews were less than stellar for reliability in opening using the fingerprint so I steered away from it. Another gun safe that I reviewed was the Barska Biometric Top Opening Safe. It received better reviews as to reliability than the GunVault safe, but some reviewers still reported issues with first-time open attempts using the fingerprint. A deciding factor for me not choosing the Barska was the outside dimensions. The Barska is 14.75 by 11.25 by 5 inches. This was larger than I was wanting setting on top of my nightstand. The Sentry is smaller at 12.0 x 9.9 x 3.2. While the inside capacity of the Barska is larger than the Sentry, my XD-S and extra magazines fit nicely inside the Sentry.
The five star reviews of the Sentry convinced me to give it a try. When I received it I noticed that it was pleasingly heavy, weighing in at just over 13 pounds. The construction seemed very sturdy. It comes with predrilled holes in the bottom for screws if you choose to securely mount it, but my choice was to set it out where I could quickly and quietly reach it when needed. To prevent the metal case from sliding and scratching the wood on my nightstand, I placed four of those clear plastic cupboard door bumpers on each corner underneath. They work great to keep it in place and prevent scratching the wood, even when the top door pops open. Unlike the other two gun safes which hold something like 30 fingerprints, the Sentry holds only four fingerprints, so my wife and I each coded in our forefinger and thumb. Once we coded them in, neither of us has had one failed attempt at opening this safe in the two weeks 2-3 weeks since we've had it. The lid pops open completely each time using the gas strut. I try it on a regular basis just to practice and also make sure it is operational. We've tested trying to open it with other fingers and found that it will only open with the coded fingerprints. Would I buy the Sentry gun safe again? Yes, definitely. Would I recommend it to a friend? Again, definitely. I am not affiliated in any way with Sentry, Barska, Gunvault or any other gun supply business." — Vaughn
Get it from Amazon now: $180.29 & FREE Returns
5. Smart Auto-Open Lid RPNB Mounted Gun Safe with Biometric Fingerprint Identification or a Keypad Lock
Top-rated: 5,417 ratings | 290 answered questions
Highlight: Stores great under a desk or nightstand, discreetly on a bookshelf, or inconspicuously in a vehicle. For added convenience, mountable from right, left, or top side, depending on desired preference.
Helpful review: "I shopped for a month and pulled the trigger on this quick defense safe. I am pleased with the ease of programming for the key code unlock feature. I did not get biometrics as I have always believed that a number in my head is harder to get out of me then my fingerprint. If I get murdered, they could frame me after death by opening the safe with my finger, but that number goes with me to the grave. I bought it to attach to my nightstand but the unit itself is made to mount under a desk. I just flipped the mounting bracket backwards, found a longer 8‐32 thread screw and fastened the plate to the top of my nightstand. I recommend laying in bed under the covers to practice your maneuver of reaching over, unlocking the safe and grabbing your pistol to find the ideal mounting position. I found that lining up the front of the safe with the front of the nightstand to be just right. Think of a code you can easily type in with 1 or 2 fingers quickly. Make sure to mute the buttons so bad guys don't hear you typing in that code! The peace of mind this quick defense safe provides is priceless. Not only for self defense, but also safety for children or guest snooping around. I'm extremely satisfied!" — Jack Frye
Trending review: "As others have said they think it’s garbage, let me just say that this isn’t a safe to keep a million dollars in. It’s mostly designed to keep children out or friends that are over out. If a thief wants to get in they can and will, just like with most safes. Now I have an alarm system which would be sending the police over and creating LOUD noises, so that if the thief even knew to look for this next to my bed where it’s mounted on. I suppose they could try to yank it off etc... But remember most thieves are amateurs and just want to smash and grab things such