How much does a locksmith cost? Almost every locksmith website in South Africa answers that with “it depends”. That is not useful when you are standing outside your house at eleven at night. Below are the typical ranges charged for common locksmith jobs in Boksburg and the wider East Rand, compiled from rates published by South African locksmith companies and quote services in 2026.
These are market ranges, not a quote. Your actual price depends on the lock, the vehicle, the time of day and how far the technician has to travel. Always get a total figure confirmed on the phone, including the call-out fee, before anyone is dispatched.
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Call-out / base fee | R350 – R750 | Charged before any work. Varies with distance and time of day. |
| House lockout (daytime) | R400 – R1 500 | Non-destructive entry. Higher if the lock must be drilled. |
| House lockout (after hours) | R900 – R3 300 | Two different pricing models are in use here. See below. This is the widest band on the table for a reason. |
| Car lockout | R350 – R900 | Usually cheaper than a house lockout unless the vehicle has deadlocks. |
| Rekeying a lock | R250 – R1 200 | Cheaper than replacing hardware. Sensible after losing keys or moving in. |
| Standard lock replacement | R550 – R1 500 | Depends on lever count and hardware quality. |
| Car key cut and programmed | R550 – R2 500 | Basic transponder keys. Dealers typically charge several times this. |
| Smart / remote / proximity key | R2 000 – R4 950 | Luxury and newer vehicles sit at the top of this band. |
| High-security lock, supplied and fitted | R1 200 – R3 500 each | Per lock. Multiple doors add up quickly. |
Ranges compiled from publicly published South African locksmith rates, 2026. Individual quotes vary.
The call-out fee is what a locksmith charges to travel to you and assess the job, before any work starts. Published South African rates put it at roughly R350 to R750. It is normally payable whether or not the lock ends up being opened, because it covers the trip and the technician’s time.
Two things move it. Distance is the obvious one. The less obvious one is time of day, because on some pricing models the call-out itself changes after hours rather than the labour rate. That is worth knowing before you agree to anything.
Ask for one figure that includes the call-out, and ask what happens to that figure if the lock turns out to need replacing rather than opening. A locksmith who will not give you a total on the phone is telling you something.
This is the single biggest reason two quotes for the same midnight lockout can differ by two thousand rand, and almost nobody explains it.
The surcharge model. The locksmith charges the normal rate and adds a night, weekend or public-holiday fee on top. Published South African figures put that at roughly R200 to R500. A daytime house lockout at R900 becomes about R1 100 to R1 400 at midnight.
The emergency tariff model. After-hours work is priced as a separate service altogether, with published bands running from about R2 200 to R3 600 regardless of how simple the job turns out to be. Under this model the same lockout is R2 500 whether it takes four minutes or forty.
Both are legitimate and both are openly published by South African locksmiths. But you are entitled to know which one you are being quoted on before anyone gets in a vehicle. Ask directly: “Is that your normal rate plus a call-out, or an emergency rate?”
And if the job can wait until morning, wait. A spare key, a lock you want changed, a gate motor remote: none of that needs an after-hours call-out. It is the cheapest decision available to you.
A car locksmith is priced differently to a house call, and the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive job on a vehicle is wider than anything else on this page.
Opening a locked car runs about R350 to R900. It is usually cheaper than a house lockout, unless the vehicle has deadlocks, in which case it is not a quick job and should not be quoted as one.
Cutting and programming a replacement key is where the numbers move. A basic transponder key is roughly R550 to R2 500. A smart, remote or proximity key runs about R2 000 to R4 950. Dealers typically charge several times the low end of those bands for the same key.
The make, model and year decide all of it, so have those three ready before you phone. Anyone quoting a firm car key price without asking for them is guessing. More detail on the car keys and auto locksmith page.
The single biggest factor. The same lockout can cost two to three times more at 2am than at 2pm. If the job can wait until morning, it is worth waiting.
If the lock can be picked or bypassed you pay labour only. If it must be drilled, you are also paying for replacement hardware.
A plain mechanical key is cheap to cut. A transponder key needs programming equipment. A proximity or smart key for a recent luxury vehicle is the most expensive category by a wide margin.
Call-out fees scale with travel. A locksmith already working in Boksburg will usually quote lower than one driving from Johannesburg.
The cheapest jobs are key duplication and simple rekeying, which generally start around R250. Be careful with quotes far below the ranges on this page. Unusually low call-out fees are sometimes followed by a much larger bill once the technician arrives. Ask for the total, including call-out, before anyone is dispatched.
Published rates across South Africa generally fall between R250 and R3 500, with most routine residential jobs landing between R400 and R1 500. Gauteng tends to sit at the higher end of that band compared with coastal cities. Emergency and after-hours work is consistently the most expensive category.
A standard door lock replacement usually runs R550 to R1 500 including the hardware. Rekeying the existing lock is cheaper at R250 to R1 200 and is often the better choice if the lock itself is undamaged and you simply want old keys to stop working.
Very few locks are genuinely impossible, but some cannot be opened without damage. High-security cylinders with anti-drill and anti-pick protection, certain safes with relocking devices, and some modern vehicle immobilisers may require destructive entry or manufacturer involvement. A locksmith should tell you before starting if non-destructive entry is unlikely.
South African locksmiths use two different models for this, and the gap between them is large. Some add a night, weekend or public-holiday surcharge of roughly R200 to R500 on top of the normal rate. Others price after-hours work as a separate emergency tariff, with published bands from about R2 200 to R3 600 regardless of how simple the job is. Ask which one you are being quoted on. If the job is not urgent, waiting until business hours can halve the bill.
Opening a locked car is roughly R350 to R900. A replacement key is the expensive part: about R550 to R2 500 for a basic transponder key, and R2 000 to R4 950 for a smart, remote or proximity key. The make, model and year decide which band you are in, so have all three ready before you phone.
Usually yes. The call-out covers travel and time, so it is normally payable whether or not the job is completed. Confirm this on the phone before dispatch, along with what happens if the lock turns out to need replacing rather than opening.
Tell us what happened and we will give you a figure before anyone is dispatched. No call-out is charged until you accept.