The Very Best Doorknobs
For a home refresh that’s quicker than painting.
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“If you’re trying to make your old home look new, doorknobs are one way to do it,” says designer Barbara Schmidt. “It’s not nearly as costly as painting everything.” Switching out doorknobs can be a quick afternoon project — in many cases, you won’t need anything fancier than a screwdriver to install them — but takes some advance consideration. Interior designer Raena Albers suggests keeping your home’s existing fixtures in mind; she advises against mixing “faux-French brass” with modern black door levers, for example.
Doorknobs look simple but contain a complex set of mechanisms — spindles, springs, latches — that have to reliably convert the movement of turning a knob into a door unlatching. When you buy a new doorknob, you’re buying new inner mechanisms as well, which is why they can be more expensive than you’d think. (If you are DIY inclined, you can buy knobs on their own without the internal hardware — here’s a link — but it requires measuring to confirm that they will be compatible with the existing latch.) To find the best doorknobs for all kinds of spaces, I consulted 13 designers and DIY-ers, then tested their top picks myself.
Updated on August 14, 2026
I added a solid-brass doorknob and an artistic door pull, and confirmed availability and prices for all of our recommendations.
What we’re looking for
Material
Doorknobs are made of materials that are resistant to being damaged over time by the oils and grime on hands. Metal, porcelain, crystal, and glass are common, and although you’ll occasionally see a wooden or plastic doorknob, they tend to be less hardy in the long term. For metal doorknobs, zinc and brass are two of the most popular materials. Brass tends to be more expensive, but has some qualities that make it especially good for doorknobs: It resists corrosion and rust and is naturally antimicrobial. Zinc or brass knobs are often finished in another metal, and which is mostly a matter of aesthetics. For a home with a lot of antique or vintage furniture, you may want to match brass fittings; matte black, chrome, and nickel are more neutral options.
Closing mechanism
There are four main styles of doorknobs: “passage” knobs, also called hall-closet knobs, which turn and latch but are non-locking; “privacy” knobs, also bed-bath knobs, which have a pin, thumb-turn, or push-button locking mechanism built into the kit; keyed entry knobs, which have a key-operated lock; and “dummy” knobs, which are non-latching, decorative knobs, sometimes used for closet doors without a latch. We’re prioritizing doorknobs with a passage or privacy option, which are the most versatile, though many styles also come in dummy or keyed entry options as well.
Best doorknob overall
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Material: Zinc, four finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, dummy, and keyed entry
This Kwikset doorknob checks all the boxes: It’s versatile and affordable, and it’s available as a passage, privacy, and dummy knob, as well as an exterior keyed-entry knob. It’s also highly customizable: It comes in four finishes, and is also available with either a square or circular rosette. Stylist and interior designer Emily Henderson likes that this knob is “modern, but can talk to almost any other style.”
When I tested the Pismo knob, it felt substantial in my hands and turned smoothly. The pared-down proportions of the knob and rosette and satin nickel finish make it look more expensive than its $24 price tag, a useful quality for any home DIY project. The entry knob also has a neat feature called SmartKey, which allows you to reset the lock to correspond to a new key without calling a locksmith, which sounds more complicated than it is — it took me three-and-a-half minutes to figure out. Following the instructions step-by-step, I rekeyed the lock in 40 seconds once I already knew what I was doing. It’s especially useful if you want to be able to operate multiple locks with the same key, or have members of your household who lose their keys often. (You do need to have at least one copy of the previous key on hand to reset the lock.)
Best door lever
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Material: Zinc, five finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, dummy, and keyed entry
For a more modern look, you can forego a traditional knob for a door lever. “I think they’re a little more interesting than a knob,” says interior designer Raena Albers. This Kwisket lever has similar benefits to the Pismo knob: it’s affordable, reliable, comes in several finishes and styles, and has SmartKey technology. Rayman Boozer, principal designer at Apartment 48, especially likes this Kwikset lever in a polished-chrome finish because it “provides a shiny, jewel-like accent to your space.”
Best brass doorknob
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Material: Brass, eight finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, dummy
When we asked dozens of designers for their home upgrade tips, old-house expert Robert Khederian suggested brass knobs from House of Antique Hardware as a quick, high-impact upgrade. “Make sure to get unlacquered brass,” he says. “The factory-new finish will yield to a wonderful patina that develops over time.”
Best vintage doorknobs
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Material: Brass, bronze | Closing mechanism: Multiple
“Nothing says well curated and thoughtful like finding doorknobs that are from the same era as your home,” says Schultz, who suggests searching for vintage knobs online from the retailer Olde Good Things. There are a ton of great options on its website, and you can filter for products that are available in multiples, an important criterion if want to avoid mismatched vintage fixtures.
Best vintage-inspired doorknob
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Material: Brass, three finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, dummy
For the aesthetic of vintage hardware without the hassle of tracking down matching fittings, this simple knob with an elongated backplate is “the perfect complement to both traditional projects as well as more contemporary designs,” says Joe Berkowitz, president and designer at JAB Design Group.
Best doorknobs with non-traditional shapes
Material: Brass, six finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, and dummy
Although a round knob is standard, choosing a less-traditional shape for your doorknob can add visual interest to your home. Emtek is a favorite brand among the designers we spoke to for its high-quality knobs, and I especially love their deep catalogue of non-circular knobs. Schmidt especially likes this octagonal knob, which she describes as “very Hollywood Regency” and which would also look at home in a Memphis-inspired postmodern space full of geometric furniture. The white bronze “egg” knob is a splurge but is beautifully proportioned and unique while still being subtle.
Best porcelain doorknob
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Material: Brass, porcelain; eight finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, dummy, and keyed entry
Another modern update to a classic, these porcelain knobs were discovered by New York deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff a few years ago. On the advice of an interior-designer friend, she searched for vintage knobs to refresh an apartment that looked “a little Pottery Barn circa 1998” and ended up with this kit. Although it isn’t vintage, it looks it, and has the benefit of being very easy to install.
Best decorative door pull
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Material: Brass, powder-coated black stainless steel also available | Closing mechanism: Dummy
Several designers recommend hardware company Petra as a source for unusual pieces from independent design studios. Its catalogue skews more toward cabinet knobs and pulls than doorknobs, but it has a handful of funky dummy knobs from the French studio Bonnemazou Cambus: I love the geometric and asymmetrical brass backplates of the Feston and Ile models.
Best splurge door lever
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Material: Brass, seven finishes | Closing mechanism: Passage, privacy, and dummy
For an upgraded door lever, Schmidt likes this one for its knurled handle — the textured industrial finish is used to make tools easier to grip, and she’s noticed it gaining popularity for appliances and faucets. “This is a piece of art that you’d want to touch every day,” she says.
Some more quick DIYs we’ve written about
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Our experts
• Raena Albers, interior designer
• Joe Berkowitz, president and designer at JAB Design Group
• Rayman Boozer, principal designer at Apartment 48
• Lauren Cox, interior designer
• Emily Henderson, stylist and interior designer
• Sarah Leon, editorial consultant
• Briana Nix, interior designer
• Barbara Schmidt, founder of Studiobstyle
• Ana Claudia Schultz, interior designer
• Alexis Swerdloff, New York Magazine deputy editor
• Teddy Wolff, photographer and co-founder of The Deligram
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