Best Home Safe Money Can Buy

Do you have valuables you’d hate to lose in a burglary or fire? Perhaps you have a collection of irreplaceable family heirlooms and high-value items like precious metals, jewelry, and large cash reserves. Costco safes and Tractor Supply gun safes seem like a large, presumably heavy solution. Dozens of Amazon gun safes sport five-star ratings. But do these budget-friendly solutions offer the level of security you need?

Since 1988, NW Safe has been helping people like you find the best safe to meet their needs. Our family of safe experts and installers can help you navigate the wide range of safes for sale. Our nearly 40 years of experience have taught us that buying a safe is a generational investment in your safety and security.

While we’re clearly in the business of selling safes, our ultimate goal is to help you buy the best safe to meet your needs. With that goal in mind, we’ll share our honest insights into the following:

• Why a TRTL is the Most Secure Safe

• How a TRTL Compares to a TL Safe

• Commercial Safe Ratings

• How to Pick Your Safe Based on the Value You’re Protecting

Why a TRTLx6 is the Most Secure Safe

A TRTL (Torch and Tool Resistant safe) is considered one of the most secure safes due to its torch and tool attack resistance. TRTL safes are tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) under the UL 687 standard. Underwriters Laboratories is an independent safety certification organization respected worldwide for its rigorous testing and dependable ratings.

A TRTL-30x6 or TRTL-60x6 designation means the safe can withstand intense burglary attacks using high-powered tools and oxy-fuel torches for up to 30 or 60 minutes, respectively. These safes are constructed with advanced composite materials, including high-strength concrete amalgamated with metal alloys, and are designed to dissipate heat and blunt tool effectiveness.

The presence of relocking devices, hard plates, and sophisticated locking mechanisms makes unauthorized access incredibly difficult, even for professional thieves. In addition to their robust physical defenses, TRTL safes are equipped with high-security locking systems that might include dual control time locks and biometric authentication.

Their design is typically intended for institutions requiring maximum security — such as banks, jewelers, and government agencies — underscoring their industry-standard status in high-risk asset protection. Because of these rigorous specifications and proven resistance in simulated break-in scenarios, TRTL safes are widely acknowledged as the gold standard for burglary protection, ensuring peace of mind for both commercial and high-net-worth residential clients.

How a TRTL Compares to a TL Safe

To earn an TL or TRTL rating, the complete blueprints of a safe are provided to the UL’s engineering team prior to testing. Additionally, the team has the opportunity to completely disassemble the safe before testing. This allows the team to identify potential weak spots or flaws.

During the testing of a TRTL safe, engineers use a combination of torches, electronic tools, and manual tools to gain access to the inside of the safe, either by opening the door or creating a 6-inch by 6-inch hole in the safe. These implements can include:

• Torches

• Common Hand Tools

• Picking Tools (such as a pick ax)

• Mechanical or Portable Electronic Tools (such as drills and power saws)

• Sledgehammers

• Grinders (such as angle grinders)

A TRTL-60x6 safe is rated to withstand attack for 60 minutes, but that time frame can be a bit misleading. During UL testing, the 60-minute clock only runs while technicians are actively attempting to breach the safe.

If they stop to switch tools, examine blueprints, strategize their next move, or even take a short break, the clock pauses. As a result, a “60-minute” test often stretches over several hours—or even an entire day—demonstrating just how formidable these safes truly are under real-world conditions.

The difference between a TL-rated safe and a TRTL-rated safe is that engineers do not have access to a torch when testing a TL-rated safe.

Commercial Safe Ratings

Underwriters Laboratory conducted its first burglary resistance testing on a safe in 1923. Today, UL has five commercial burglary ratings. These ratings indicate the safe’s security level (listed from least to most secure):

• TL-15

• TL-30

• TL-30x6

• TRTL-30x6

• TRTL-60x6

Both TL-15 and TL-30 safes are ratings that apply only to the door of the safe. As your commercial safe ratings increase, the ratings apply to all six sides of the safe.

How to Pick Your Safe Based on the Value You’re Protecting

We always recommend buying a safe that’s proportional to the value you’re storing. For example, we would never recommend you buy an entry-level Centurion 24 to store $20K in cash and valuables. While a solid choice for someone storing a few shotguns (more on this below), the Centurion 24 doesn’t offer an adequate level of protection.

You Just Need to Keep the Kids Out

If you’re protecting minimal value and aren’t concerned about losing your valuables or firearms in theft or fire, an entry-level home or gun safe will serve you well. In fact, we sell hundreds of these safes every year to customers who are looking to keep kids away from firearms or to simply organize some minimal paperwork or medication. Our best sellers for this level of entry-level safe include:

• Liberty Centurion Series (GOOD)

• Champion Challenger Series (BETTER)

• Liberty Home Safe (BETTER)

• American Security AM Home Safes (BEST)

Best Safe’s $20-$30K in Value

If you’re protecting $20-$30K in value, you're looking to invest in a mid-level safe that will make smash-and-grab robberies extremely difficult and offer a fighting chance in residential home fires.

• Champion Estate Series (GOOD)

• Liberty Colonial Series (BETTER)

• Champion Trophy Series (BEST)

Best Safes for $50-$75K in Value

This level will put you into a safe built with a thicker steel body and door, heavier internal framework and mechanisms, and higher fire ratings. These safes are appropriate for up to $50-$75K in overall value and include many of our best-selling above above-average safes, including:

• Liberty Lincoln Series (GOOD)

• Liberty Premium Home Safes Series (GOOD)

• American Security BF Home Safes (BETTER)

• Fort Knox Safes® Maverick (BEST)

Best Safes for $100-$150K in Value

High-end residential safes not only keep out smash and grab thieves for a considerable amount of time, they also prevent prying and cutting attacks for most amateur thieves. These safes are built with thicker steel. In the case of the Fort Knox Titan, they even feature ballistic AR500 steel to thwart cutting attacks. Top picks include:

• Superior Master (GOOD) *best seller

• American Security BFX (BETTER)

• Fort Knox Titan (BEST)

Best Safes for $150K in Value and/or Irreplaceable Items

When you start wanting to protect more than $150K in value or sentimental items that are irreplaceable, we’ll automatically recommend you consider a TL or TRTL-rated safes. As explained above, these safes undergo extensive testing, offering both extreme burglary protection and fire resistance.

• $250K or Less In Value: TL-15 Safes

• $500 - $700K in Value: TL-30 Safes

• $1m in Value: TL30x6 Safes

Keep in mind, these ratings and ranges have been created by the insurance industry for commercial/business applications. Generally, these ratings and recommendations can be directly applied to a residential application as well.

When TL-rated safes aren’t quite enough, we then look at the highest-rated security and fire safes in the world — TRTL-rated safes. This is the top of the heap. When only the best will do, invest in a TRTL-rated safe. We carry the only UL TRTL-60x6 rated safe in the world, built by ISM.