The Takeaway:
1. Our Pick: Diversion Book Safe 82-14762
2. Runner-Up: NanoVault NV200 by GunVault
3. Also Great: Drawer Safe PDS-500-12 by Stack-On
It’s not easy to find the best gun safe for the money. There are a lot of different types and brands of cheap gun safes available, which makes the question of who makes the best gun safe for the money just as difficult to answer.
To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve put together a list of some of the best gun safes, keeping performance and price as our guiding criteria.
Our top pick is the Diversion Book Safe by Trademark Home, which we’ll explain right away. Don’t agree with us? Check out the other three best-priced gun safes we reviewed; maybe you’ll find something more your style.
Our Pick: Diversion Book Safe 82-14762
This is one of the best gun safes for the money and features a clever design that adds extra security to your hand gun or valuables. For all intents and purposes, this safe looks just like a book, just an average dictionary. But, opening the cover reveals the concealed interior compartment -securely sealed with a key lock.
While it’s easy to dismiss diversion safes as a novelty, they’ve been found to provide extra security simply because they hide in plain sight. Should a burglar break into your home, they’re apt to move quickly, spending as little time inside as possible. That means they’re going to check the obvious places for guns and valuables first -and one of many books on your shelf is not an obvious place.
This book safe measures 2.25 by 6.125 by 9.5 inches externally and provides a secure internal space measuring 2 by 5.625 by 9 inches. This plenty of space to hold slim handguns and maybe an extra magazine. Despite the high performance and security, this diversion gun safe provides, this is also one of the most affordable gun safes available. It comes with two keys and weighs about a pound and a half.
Runner-Up: NanoVault NV200 by GunVault
This is a compact gun safe that is perfect for placing in a drawer, a file cabinet, under your bed, or even inside your vehicle. It’s made of heavy duty 20 gauge steel with a simple no-nonsense key lock entry. It does not lock automatically: it requires the use of the key to both unlock and lock the safe. It features 1/2 inch thick memory foam inside, along the top and bottom.
It comes with a 1500-pound test security cable for more secure mounting within your home or office. It measures 9.5 by 6.5 by 1.75 inches on the exterior and measures 6.25 by 9.25 by 1.5 inches internally.
This affords plenty of space inside to hold a Smith and Wesson bodyguard or a Glock 26 with an extra magazine, for example. It has a limited one year warranty against defects and a five-year full warranty for fire and burglary. It is TSA approved and can be taken on airplanes.
Also Great: Drawer Safe PDS-500-12 by Stack-On
If you’re looking for the best gun safe for the money, you can’t wrong with the current #1 best seller in its class. This safe features an electronic lock, with two live action steel locking bolts. This safe requires between a four and eight digit key code to secure the safe and the code can be easily set and reset.
This safe also will remember the key code should the battery go dead, which offers reassurance as you won’t have to reset the code and have to try to remember a new key code. It does also come with a safety override key. The pry resistant steel doors are complimented by concealed hinges which provide a greater level of security.
This gun safe measures 11.8 by 8.6 by 4.2 inches, plenty of space for large hand guns or for holding a good supply of ammo for your full size 1911, for example. There are pre-drilled holes along the bottom of the safe to allow for permanent and secure mounting inside of a drawer, onto the floor, or within a wall.
Check Upgraded Model: Stack-On PDS-1500 Drawer Safe
Honorable Mention: Personal Safe PS-514 by Stack-On
This is a larger gun safe that offers a lot of convenience in being able to store multiple items, as well as multiple hand guns and plenty of ammo. This safe measures 9.6 by 13.8 by 9.6 inches and comes with a removable shelf that allows for more versatility in use and functionality with this gun safe.
This is an electronic lock safe, requiring a numerical key code between four and eight digits long, although it does come with an override key. Both the bottom of the safe and the shelf feature foam padding to protect your belongings and to prevent dings and scratches to your guns.
This gun safe includes adjustable barrel rests that can be extended to accommodate the added depth that’s needed to store tactical weapons. Two live action steel bolts provide security, with added reassurance in the concealed hinges and pry resistant door. There are pre-drilled holes for secure and permanent mounting, and all necessary hardware is included.
What Is The Best Gun Safe For The Money In 2024?
The best gun safes for the money can differ greatly in size and features, and we hope that in showing you the best of the best, that we gave you a good idea of what features provide the most value and what to look for when looking to purchase a cheap gun safe.
Our favorite was the Diversion Book Safe by Trademark Home. The deceptive appearance provides extra security as a dictionary is that place anyone would expect to find a safe. Special mention goes to the Personal Safe by STACK-ON with its large internal space and removable shelf that allows for greater versatility and storage function.