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There are so many gun safes on the market today, ranging from low-end safes to high-end safes above many cars on the market today. However, finding the right safe for you in this ever-changing market can be difficult, and knowing the proper budget will be even more difficult.
A good gun safe with a high-security level will cost you somewhere between $3000 to $4000 or more. However, if you are looking to spend less, safes that will do the job well and are reliable can be purchased in the $1000 to $2000 range.
A great rule of thumb is to ensure your safe’s value is about 10-20% of the cost of all items you have within the safe. If you have $10,000 in the safe, you likely should spend $2000 to $3000.
That said, it really comes down to your wants and needs for a safe gun. If you are looking for basic storage, you can even have great gun safes down at the $600 price point; however, it will be missing a lot.
You need to know precisely what you are buying and not assume it will do more than another, more expensive safe.
What makes a safe cost more?
A few things can drive the price of a gun safe up, mainly due to build quality, security, the thickness of the steel, and the fire rating.
You can take the pricing we discussed before and treat it like a sliding scale. If you don’t need one feature, you can spend money on another safe that may not have that feature and is less expensive.
1. Thickness of steel
Gun safes are primarily made up of steel that can range heavily in thicknesses, ranging from thin steel like 16 or even 14 gauge steel to safes with 1/2″ steel or more!
The thicker the steel is, the more it is going to cost! This is not only because of the material cost but also the machinery required to bend and form the thicker steel that the heavy-duty safes need.
2. Fire rating
As we learned in this article, fire ratings can range heavily in gun safes, both in ratings and material used to achieve those ratings.
Cement fire-rated safes are incredibly expensive, while safes with drywall are less costly due to their development cost. The higher the fire rating, the more expensive the safe will be!
Another Note: Higher-end fire ratings will also be more expensive due to the testing required to uphold them and give the consumer trust.
3. Quality of build
Like everything else on the market today, companies with high and low build quality exist. Not only does this come down to the quality of components like locking mechanisms, carpeting, lighting, and even mirrors, but it also comes down to other essential things like continuously welded bodies and fitment.
4. Security options
This is another significant component of the safe’s price! The cheaper a safe is, the more essential it will be, with some lower-end safes only having a key lock, with basic one to two locking bars.
However, once you get into higher-end gun safes like Fort Knox or Browning, you will see re-lockers (regular and glass), gear ratios, clutches, inner steel liners, ballistic liners, stainless steel liners, and the list can go on.
What specifications would I consider a “Good Gun Safe.”
There are a couple of things I would want on a good gun safe. These would be 11-12 gauge steel, a name-brand locking mechanism, a fire rating of 60 minutes at 1200 degrees, four-sided locking bolts (or bars), USA-made, and have a capacity of at least 25-30 guns.
This would make for a well-rounded gun safe that you know made well and can trust to take care of your belongings.
If this sounds like the specifications, the main ones that come to mind are the Browning Silver SR33 you will find here, or the Rhino CD6030X, which you can find here. Both of these safes have all of these things!
Suitable gun safes at different price points
We have discussed a vast range of safes under different price points on this site to help you understand what to expect!
Here are a few of our articles that you might find interesting at different price points.
- Top 5 Best Gun Safes Under $500
- Top 5 Best Cheap Gun Safes Under $600
- Top 12 Best Gun Safes Under $1000 [Comprehensive Guide]
- Top 5 Best Gun Safe Under $2000
- Top 10 Best High-End Gun Safes In the USA
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
While the best, suitable gun safes are in the $3000 to $4000 range, you can get suitable ones for quite a bit less! I hope this article helped you find out what price you should be looking at on your safe and what features you may be willing to do without if you need to go to a lower budget.
