Drop Safes Ranking Factors: Security, Reliability, Storage Capacity, Price
Overview
All Drop Safes are not created equal and it’s pretty easy to tell once you start doing a few searches in Amazon and Google. You’ll find giant pieces of shit made from Sentry, Barska, Mesa, Paragon, Giantex and a load of other sellers trying to make a quick buck at the expense of your security. I highly recommend you stay away from anything made by the brands listed above and read below for my recommendations on the Top 3 Best Economical Drop Safes of 2020.
#1 Best Drop Safe – Stealth Drop Safe DS2014
Review
Combining security, reliability, storage capacity and price, the Stealth Drop Safe is our pick for the #1 Best Economical Drop Safe of 2017. Featuring a UL approved Type 1 Electronic Lock and a ½” steel door, the Stealth Drop Safe provides a higher level of security than the AMSEC DSF2014 for less. Add in the 1” solid steel locking bolts, thick steel body, anti-fish baffles and most importantly the recessed deposit door and you have a B-Rate qualifying security container. What makes this drop safe so unique is the recessed deposit door and to my disbelief, it actually has a higher storage capacity in the drop than the AMSEC and the Steelwater with more security.
As of 2019 Stealth has now moved this safes and a whole line of drop safes production over to the USA and the quality of these safes are impeccable. They now have cast iron door hinges, the LP UR-2020 high security electronic lock, thickened 12 gauge steel bodies and a more advanced hopper design. The price on this safe has gone up considerably which makes it hard to qualify as an economical drop safe but with the quality of the other options out there constantly diminishing this is a bare minimum of the security you need.
Original models of this Drop Safe had an issue with the bolt detent system getting stuck but it has since been fixed and this safe is extremely reliable. The UL Type 1 Electronic Lock has gone through tens of thousands of cycles and has a failure rate far under 1%. The response from customers has been extremely favorable regarding the reliability of this safe.
In terms of storage capacity, the body of the safe is the exact same size as the AMSEC and far larger than the Steelwater and the Drop Door has a larger capacity than both, so in this situation you get more safe for less money and I like that. So in our last ranking factor of price, the Stealth Drop Safe is the clear winner.
#2 Best Drop Safe – Viking VS-40DS
Review
The Viking Drop Safe is the new kid on the block and has been getting raving reviews from the start. With a smaller body than the Stealth and AMSEC options, this economical drop safe is true to it’s name. Measuring only 16″ H it sacrifices 4″ from the standard 20″ Height but can still fit a full size deposit bag, although you’ll only be able to get about 1 in the safe at a time.
While I would typically hate a non UL Rated Electronic lock on a drop safe, Viking used the motorized locking bolts similar to a Barska safe and a key override. Typically cheap drop safes will use a solenoid lock that you can open by just banging the top of the safe, however the motorized locking bolts are a bit trickier. Considering it still has a key override it can be easily picked but for the price it does a fantastic job of keeping your employees hands away from the excess cash for the day.
Where the Viking safe really lacks compared to the Stealth and the AMSEC is it’s security. It lists it’s thickness in MM meaning it’s obviously a Chinese product imported and branded for sale by Viking but the actual thickness is 5 mm for the door, about 3/16″, and 2 mm for the body about 16 gauge. That’s really thin! But if you just need to keep the employees out and are not terribly worried about an overnight break-in, this is a great economical drop safe. The last feature I really like is the internal light that helps you see your money!
#3 Best Drop Safe – American Security DSF2014
Review
American Security Products is the biggest manufacturer of commercial safes in the United States since the 1940’s and with over 70 years of experience in production, they’ve learned a thing or two about making safes. Unfortunately, they too have followed the race to China trend in producing a large number of their safes overseas. This leaves us to rely on Chinese quality and AMSEC’s imported lines haven’t always had the best reputation.
In terms of security, the AMSEC DSF2014 also features a ½” door but adds an additional 1” steel locking bolt. Additional locking bolts supposedly add additional pry resistance, but considering it’s a ½” door you wouldn’t be able to get any leverage with a crowbar anyways, so while it’s a nice feature it doesn’t actually increase the security on this product at all.
Reliability seems to be AMSEC’s biggest weakness on this product. Nearly all sellers of this product are using the ESL5 lock, known in the safe industry as the least reliable lock of all time. They have had issue after issue and I’ve personally heard of hundreds of warranty issues on these ESL5 locks. Their ESL10XL lock is much higher quality and significantly more reliable, if you’re gonna go electronic go with ESL10XL.
In terms of storage capacity, it is identical to the Stealth Drop Safe however has a slightly smaller sized drop slot. It’s a bit more expensive than the Stealth, however I don’t feel in this situation that you get what you pay for. The Stealth is actually more safe for a lower price.
Comparison Chart
| Security | Reliability | Storage Capacity |
Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stealth DS2014 | #1 | #1 | #1 | #2 |
| Viking VS-40DS | #3 | #2 | #3 | #1 |
| AMSEC DSF2014 | #3 | #3 | #2 | #3 |
