The best garage door openers we tested in 2021

The best garage door opener overall

When you need to have all the latest features in a garage door opener, the Chamberlain B1381 delivers an impressive list of options.

Pros : Backup battery, quiet operation, lifetime warranty for motor and belt, control pad displays battery life, compatible with Key by Amazon to allow access for deliveries

Cons : Relatively expensive, you may need to purchase a range extender to ensure a strong enough Wi-Fi signal from your home router.

If you want a few extra benefits beyond what you'll find with your typical garage door opener, the Chamberlain B1381 could be just what you're looking for.

The most prominent feature, and my favorite part, of the Chamberlain B1381 is the lighting system. I was honestly shocked at how bright these lights were, and as someone who uses their garage as a workshop/project area, I can't emphasize that benefit enough.

Like all current Chamberlain models, the Chamberlain B1381 allows you to use MyQ smartphone control, letting you monitor and access your garage door from anywhere. This unit is all set to connect directly to your router, allowing you to use the MyQ app right away, and control your opener from anywhere.

That said, I have run into a few instances where the home Wi-Fi router was too far away from the garage, and the signal strength too weak for a solid connection to the opener. If that's the case, you might have to reposition your Wi-Fi hardware.

With a 1.25 horsepower motor, the opener is powerful enough to handle doors up to 550 pounds, and up to 10 feet high (although anything over 7 feet will require a separate extension kit).

The Chamberlain B1381 comes with two remote controls, but if your vehicle is HomeLink enabled, it can connect straight to your car, eliminating the need for remote controls all together.

An adjustable time-to-close setting will close the door automatically in case you forget, and the security feature encrypts your remote control and guards against hacking. In addition to programming a variety of closing and opening schedules, the B1381 takes this customization one step further, allowing you to change individual settings depending on which controller is being used.

The best garage door opener for heavy garage doors

The Chamberlain B970 has the horsepower needed to handle older garage doors, while still running more quietly than other heavy-duty openers.

Pros: Handles over-sized and heavy wooden or metal garage doors easily, good anti-vibration features, carries a 1.25-horsepower motor, steel-reinforced belt runs quietly

Cons: Carries an above-average price point, some tech connectivity features are difficult to set up

One problem people have with large, heavy wooden garage doors at older homes is that many openers can't handle the weight. The Chamberlain B970 has a 1.25-horsepower motor, which is quite a bit more powerful than some other models, giving it the power to raise heavy doors.

The B970 is belt-driven with steel reinforcement, which allows it to run more quietly than other styles of heavy-duty garage door openers. Beyond its powerful motor, this Chamberlain model has a battery backup system, smartphone access, and long-range remote controls, all of which simplify the operation of the opener.

Additionally, the B970 includes encryption features that prevent others from hacking the system to gain entry to your garage. The Chamberlain B970 is pricey, but it delivers when it comes to excellent build quality and anti-vibration features.

It does need an extra component that's not included to use the HomeLink feature that's built into many newer vehicles. Similarly, if you want to use the extra Internet-related features, such as having the system sense when your vehicle is nearby and automatically open, you might run into trouble while setting them up.

The best garage door opener on a budget

Because it doesn't have advanced features, the price for the Genie 1035-V is low, so it works perfectly for those on a budget.

Pros: Very low price point, extremely easy to install with a lightweight design, included instructions are clear, will work well for standard garage door designs

Cons: Includes inexpensive parts, doesn't have a lot of high-end features, limited to one light bulb for illuminating the garage

Most garage door openers are pretty expensive. So if you need an opener on a budget, the Genie 1035-V (also known as the Genie Chain Drive 500) gives you that desirable low price point. It doesn't have a lot of high-end tech features, nor will it manage heavy garage doors, but it does the basic work of raising and lowering the garage door perfectly well.

Installation of the 1035-V is an easy process because its components are lightweight. Even with a lightweight design, it still can open doors of up to 7 feet in height and up to 350 pounds in weight with its 1/2-horsepower motor.

To receive this low price, you will have to make a few sacrifices. For example, the Chain Drive 500 only has one light bulb socket, and it is limited to a 60-watt bulb. Other options in our guide can take two 100-watt bulbs, providing much more light. And the kit doesn't ship with an exterior keypad opener, so you'll have to buy that separately.

The best wall-mounted garage door opener

The LiftMaster 8500 mounts to the wall adjacent to the garage door instead of the ceiling, freeing up valuable space that would otherwise be taken up by overhead openers.

Pros : Motor has a lifetime warranty, safety sensors keep pets and kids safe, can lift doors up to 650 or 850 pounds depending on the model/kit

Cons : Requires professional to install, expensive, backup battery must be purchased separately

One of the biggest differences between wall-mounted options like the LiftMaster 8500 and other models is their low noise level. Because it uses a jackshaft to open and close the door, instead of a chain or belt, the LiftMaster 8500 is one of the quietest garage door openers you can buy.

This minimal footprint is one of the primary benefits of the LiftMaster 8500 . The extra space it creates can be used for storage, like bicycles, or for parking vehicles that have roof storage boxes. It's also a great choice for garages that have low, high, or sloped ceilings that aren't compatible with track-and-rail systems that belt or chain-drive models have.

The LiftMaster 8500 is MyQ enabled, but you'll have to purchase a separate $40 gateway to act as a middleman between your home router and the opener itself.

Unless you're a professional yourself, you'll need to hire one to install the LiftMaster 8500 . If you don't know exactly what you're doing, you can easily injure yourself, and also cause expensive damage to your garage door.

(Here's a little insider info: the same company makes LiftMaster and Chamberlain garage door openers. The main difference is that Chamberlains are made to be installed by customers, and professionals should install LiftMasters.)

Even though wall-mounted openers have a significant upside, they don't give you that built-in overhead light that comes standard with ceiling-mounted models. That being said, since you don't have anything cluttering up the ceiling, you can install whatever lighting system you want.

How to choose a garage door opener

Jeremy Levine/flickr

Types of garage door openers

When selecting a garage door opener for your home or business, you have a few operating mechanisms from which you can choose. Each type of opener uses a motor to move a trolley (or the motor itself) along the rail, which lifts and lowers the door.

• Belt Drive: The belt drive on a garage door opener uses a steel-reinforced rubber belt to lift and lower the garage door, allowing it to run quietly and smoothly. If you have living quarters above the garage, a belt drive is a smart choice. But it does require a bit more maintenance than other models.
• Chain Drive: A chain drive garage door opener has been the most common type of opener available for many years. It uses a metal chain to move the trolley to open and close the door. Chain drives will cause more vibration and noise than other types of openers, but they do tend to cost less than other options.
• Direct Drive: With a direct drive system, the motor functions as the trolley, which means the entire motor moves along the rail. Because these systems don't have multiple moving parts, they tend to run quietly with minimal vibration.
• Screw Drive: For a garage door opener with a screw drive, you'll have less maintenance and moving parts to monitor over time. This type of drive uses a threaded rod to open and close the door, which works well for wider and heavier doors. The screw drive opener tends to run more quietly than other options too.

Key features for garage door openers

The garage door opener traditionally has been a simple device. And it still is for the most part. But as with a lot of household items, technological advances are finding their way into garage door opener hardware. There are quite a few cool features in modern garage door openers, some of which are things you never knew you needed to automate the process of opening and closing a garage door.

• Automatic Close: If you commonly forget to close your garage door, you can set up some systems to automatically close an open door after a certain period of time.
• Battery Backup: Should the power ever be out at your home when you drive up with your vehicle, some garage door openers have a battery backup so they'll still operate, allowing you to exit the car inside the garage, rather than caught outside in a rainstorm.
• Controls: Most garage door openers will ship with a wall-mount button for inside the garage and remote control devices you can place in your vehicle. Some will have a keypad that you place outside the garage door, so you can enter a code and open the door.
• Horsepower: The horsepower measurement, often shortened to HP, describes the power the garage door opener motor has. A motor with a greater horsepower measurement will open and close the door more quickly, while also being able to handle larger and heavier doors. Motors between 1/2 HP and 1 HP are the most common for residential garages.
• Security Code: To avoid problems with hackers accessing your garage door opener code, your unit should have some sort of encryption or rolling code technology built into it.
• Security Lights: Most newer garage door openers have at least two bright light bulbs, as well as lights activated by motion. On the other hand, some older or cheaper openers are limited to a single light bulb. This doesn't help much with a garage darkened by shadows, leaving you unsure if the rustling in the corner is your cat … or a skunk that snuck into the garage.
• Smartphone Control: Many newer garage door openers allow you to connect the device to your home's Wi-Fi network. You then can open and close the door through a smartphone app. In fact, many of these apps will give you an alert on the smartphone when the garage door is open for a certain period. Some opener models even can connect to your existing Smart Home system, incorporating all your appliances on one system.

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