Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has measured the clearance under four different bed frames the hard way
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Quick answer: measure your bed clearance before you read any further, because it decides everything. If you have seven inches or more, the Hornady RAPiD Safe AR Gunlocker is the best under-bed safe here and opens by RFID. At six inches, the SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Large takes a long gun. At five, the SnapSafe Medium. Below four, only the Hornady 4800KP fits at all.
Table of Contents
| Safe | Height | Holds | Access | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST FOR RIFLES Hornady AR Gunlocker |
6.75″ | 2 rifles | RFID | Lowest Price ↓ |
| BEST MID-SIZE SnapSafe Under Bed Medium |
5″ | Long guns and valuables | Keypad | Lowest Price ↓ |
| BEST PREMIUM Vaultek ViSN RS Slider |
6.5″ | Rifles and pistols | Biometric | Lowest Price ↓ |
| BEST LARGE SnapSafe Under Bed Large |
6″ | Long guns and valuables | Keypad | Lowest Price ↓ |
| LOWEST PROFILE Hornady 4800KP |
2.9″ | 2 full-size pistols | RFID | Lowest Price ↓ |
| BEST FOR LONG GUNS SecureIt Fast Box 47 |
6.5″ flat | 2 long guns | Keypad | Lowest Price ↓ |
| MADE IN USA Monster Vault |
Low profile drawer | Long guns | Keypad | Lowest Price ↓ |
How we tested: Every pick here is ranked against our testing methodology. Minimum round counts, accuracy and reliability protocols, the failures that disqualify a gun. Where we have not shot a specific variant ourselves, we say so in that section.
Why Under-Bed Gun Safes Make Sense
The space under a bed is the most wasted square footage in a house and the closest secure storage to where you sleep. That is the whole argument, and it is a good one: a safe you have to walk to is a safe you will not reach at three in the morning.
It hides well, too. Nobody visiting your house looks under the bed, and a flat black drawer sitting in shadow behind a valance reads as nothing at all even if they do. In a category where concealment does most of the real security work, that matters.
The catch is that this is the one gun safe category where a purchase can fail on delivery. Every other kind of safe fits somewhere. An under-bed safe either slides under your frame or it does not, and the difference is often less than an inch.
So the section below is the clearance table, and it comes before the picks rather than after them. Measure first, then read.
Measure Your Bed Clearance First
Get a tape measure, go to the side of the bed, and measure from the floor covering to the lowest point of the frame. Not the mattress, not the valance rail, the lowest thing the safe has to pass under. Then take half an inch off for carpet compression and the fact that nothing slides perfectly flat.
What the frames actually give you
A divan or platform base is the tightest of the lot, often under four inches and sometimes nothing at all. A standard metal or wooden bed frame commonly gives seven to thirteen inches. Bed risers add another three to five and are the cheapest fix if you fall an inch short, though they change how the bed looks and feels.
The honest position is that a lot of modern beds simply cannot take an under-bed safe, and no amount of wanting one changes that. If you measure under four inches, your options on this page are one.
The heights, smallest to largest
- 2.9 inches Hornady RAPiD Safe 4800KP, handguns only
- 5 inches SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Medium
- 6 inches SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Large, takes a long gun
- 6.5 inches Vaultek ViSN RS Slider and the SecureIt Fast Box 47 laid flat
- 6.75 inches Hornady RAPiD Safe AR Gunlocker
Those are the manufacturers’ published exterior heights. Nobody else in this category puts them in one place, which is odd given it is the only number that can make the purchase fail outright.
Leave room to open it
Clearance is not the whole job. A drawer safe needs to slide most of its own depth out to be useful, so check what is beside the bed as well as under it. A 22-inch-deep SnapSafe Large wants nearly two feet of clear floor on the side you open it from.
And decide which side before you fit it. Sliding a drawer out on the wall side of a bed, in the dark, is a mistake you only make once.
1. Hornady RAPiD Safe AR Gunlocker, Best Under-Bed Rifle Safe
- Height under the bed: 6.75″
- Exterior: 42″ x 15.25″ x 6.75″
- Interior: 40.5″ x 13.5″ x 5.5″
- Access: RFID, keypad code, two barrel keys
- Capacity: up to two tactical-length rifles or shotguns
- Steel: 16-gauge with four internal hardened locking lugs
- Weight: 50 lbs
- Model: 98190
Pros
- RFID opens in about a second
- Takes a carbine with optic fitted
- Mains power with battery backup
- Exceeds ASTM child-resistance standards
- California DOJ approved device
Cons
- Tallest thing on this page
- No fire rating whatsoever
- Fifty pounds to slide out
- Two rifles is the ceiling
Live pricing across our retailers
Hornady designed this one to live under a bed, and it is the fastest thing here to open. Wave an RFID tag, the spring-assisted door drops, and the rifle is in your hand. No code to type lying down in the dark, which is the specific problem an under-bed safe has that a nightstand safe does not.
Five and a half inches of interior depth is what makes it work with a real rifle. An AR wearing an optic, a light and a forward grip goes in assembled, and 40.5 inches of interior length takes a 16-inch carbine.
Check your clearance before anything else. At 6.75 inches it is the tallest safe on this page, and a divan base or a low platform bed will not take it. Measure from the carpet to the underside of the frame, then take an inch off for the slide-out.
Same RFID system as the rest of the RAPiD line, so one wristband opens this and any other Hornady safe in the house. There is no fire rating and Hornady do not claim one.
Best For: a defensive rifle under the bed, for anyone whose frame gives them seven inches or more.
2. SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Medium, Best Mid-Size Under-Bed Safe
- Height under the bed: 5″
- Exterior: 5″ H x 26″ W x 20″ D
- Access: digital keypad with key backup
- Steel: 14-gauge heavy-duty
- Weight: 51 lbs
- In the box: 5-foot security cable, pre-drilled for permanent installation
- Model: 75402
Pros
- Five inches clears most bed frames
- Fourteen-gauge, thicker than the Hornady
- Five-foot cable included
- Slide-out drawer, no lifting
- Pre-drilled for permanent fixing
Cons
- Twenty-six inches is not long-gun length
- Keypad only, no RFID
- Fifty-one pounds to position
- No fire rating
Live pricing across our retailers
Five inches is the number that makes this the default pick. It is the lowest full-size drawer here, and five inches clears the bed frames that six and a half will not. If you are not sure what you have got, this is the one that most likely fits.
The trade for that height is length. Twenty-six by twenty inches takes handguns, magazines, documents and a broken-down long gun, but it will not take an assembled rifle. For that you want the Large below it or the Hornady above.
Fourteen-gauge steel is genuinely good at this size, thicker than the 16-gauge Hornady locker, and SnapSafe put a five-foot cable in the box alongside pre-drilled holes. Under a bed the cable matters more than usual, because a drawer safe that is not anchored slides out with the thief rather than with you.
The drawer runs on slides, so you pull rather than lift. On a 51-pound safe that is the difference between something you use and something you stop using after a fortnight.
Best For: the default under-bed safe: handguns and valuables, in the lowest frame clearance most people actually have.
3. Vaultek ViSN RS Slider, Best Premium Under-Bed Safe
- Height under the bed: 6.5″
- Exterior: 40.16″ W x 16.06″ D x 6.5″ H
- Interior: 36.22″ W x 13.9″ D x 4.13″ H
- Access: biometric storing 80 fingerprints, keypad, backup keys
- Steel: progressive-formed 14-gauge
- Weight: 88 lbs
- Fire rating: none, Vaultek publish “Fire Rated: No”
- Connectivity: ViSN WiFi monitoring
Pros
- Thirty-six inches of interior width
- Eighty fingerprints stored
- WiFi alerts on tamper and open
- Fourteen-gauge with a modular interior
- Rifle and pistols in one drawer
Cons
- By far the most expensive here
- Eighty-eight pounds, awkward to place
- No fire rating at any price
- Needs power and a network
Live pricing across our retailers
This is the one that does everything, and it is priced accordingly. Thirty-six inches of interior width takes a rifle laid flat with room beside it for pistols, magazines and a torch, all in foam, all reached in one pull.
The access is Vaultek’s best. Eighty fingerprints, so you can enrol the same thumb from several angles and stop fighting misreads, plus a keypad and physical keys behind it. ViSN adds WiFi, which means a phone alert if the drawer opens while you are out, and under a bed that is more useful than it sounds because you would not otherwise notice.
Read the fire line before you spend the money. Vaultek publish it in one word on their own specification: Fire Rated, No. At this price that is worth knowing, because several fire-rated safes cost less. What you are buying is access speed, capacity and monitoring in a six and a half inch package.
Eighty-eight pounds is the practical catch. Position it once, bolt or cable it, and leave it. This is not a safe you move house with casually, and at that weight it is also the hardest thing here to steal.
Best For: one drawer holding the rifle and the handguns together, for a buyer who wants biometrics and alerts and will pay for them.
4. SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Large, Best Large Under-Bed Safe
- Height under the bed: 6″
- Exterior: 6″ H x 40″ W x 22″ D
- Access: digital keypad with key backup
- Steel: 14-gauge heavy-duty
- Weight: 105 lbs
- In the box: 5-foot security cable, pre-drilled for permanent installation
- Model: 75401
Pros
- Forty inches wide takes long guns
- Heaviest steel box here
- Same 14-gauge as the Medium
- Five-foot cable included
- One inch taller than the Medium
Cons
- A hundred and five pounds
- Forty inches needs the floor space
- Keypad only, no biometric
- No fire rating
Live pricing across our retailers
The Large is the Medium stretched to take long guns: 40 inches wide against 26, and 22 inches deep against 20, for one extra inch of height. If your frame clears six inches, this is a lot more safe for very little more clearance.
That extra inch buys a genuinely different product. A shotgun or a broken-down rifle lies flat with handguns and magazines beside it, which the Medium cannot do. It is the cheapest way here to get a long gun under a bed.
A hundred and five pounds is the honest cost. It is a two-person job to position and it is not moving again afterwards, which is a security feature and a nuisance in equal measure. Get it where you want it first time.
Same 14-gauge steel, same five-foot cable, same pre-drilled housing as the Medium. SnapSafe have not cheapened anything to make it bigger, which is not always true when a maker scales a design up.
Best For: a long gun and handguns in one drawer, in a bed frame with six inches of clearance and floor space to match.
5. Hornady RAPiD Safe 4800KP, Lowest-Profile Under-Bed Safe
- Height under the bed: 2.9″
- Exterior: 10.5″ x 12″ x 2.9″
- Interior: 7.2″ x 11″ x 2.2″
- Access: RFID with up to five tags, four to six digit code, barrel key
- Capacity: two 1911 pistols or one large revolver
- Steel: 14-gauge with two internal hardened locking lugs
- Model: 98141
Pros
- Under three inches, fits anywhere
- Fourteen-gauge for a small box
- Five RFID tags programmable
- Exceeds ASTM standards including saw
- Security cable and mains supply included
Cons
- Handguns only, no long guns
- Small enough to be carried off
- Hornady publish no weight
- Interior depth is only 2.2 inches
Live pricing across our retailers
If your bed frame is the problem, this is the answer. Two point nine inches will slide under a divan base, a platform bed or a low sofa, and there is nothing else on this page that comes close to that.
The trade is obvious and worth stating plainly: it holds two 1911s or one large revolver and nothing longer. This is a handgun safe that happens to fit under a bed, not an under-bed gun safe in the way the SnapSafe drawers are.
The steel is better than the size suggests. Fourteen-gauge with two internal hardened lugs, and Hornady put it through the full ASTM sweep for child and pry resistance, lock strength and drop, pick and saw attacks. RFID with five programmable tags, a keypad code and a barrel key give it three ways in.
Because it is small it is also the easiest thing here to pick up and walk off with, so the included cable is not optional. Loop it round a bed leg the frame is built through, not something that lifts.
Best For: the lowest bed frame in the house, or a handgun kept under a sofa or a divan where nothing else fits.
6. SecureIt Fast Box Model 47, Best Under-Bed Long Gun Box
- Height under the bed: 6.5″ laid flat
- Exterior: 47.25″ x 6.5″ x 13″, 14″ with the knob
- Interior: 47″ x 6″ x 12″
- Capacity: 2 long guns, per SecureIt
- Steel: 14-gauge welded, textured powder coat
- Weight: 47 lbs
- Mounting: under a bed, in a closet, or vertically
Pros
- Forty-seven inches of interior length
- Fourteen-gauge welded, not folded
- Forty-seven pounds, one-person job
- Works flat or standing vertically
- Narrow enough for a closet too
Cons
- Six and a half inches laid flat
- Thirteen inches deep only
- No fire rating
- Long guns rather than mixed storage
Live pricing across our retailers
The Fast Box is the long, narrow answer. Forty-seven inches of interior length takes a full-size rifle or shotgun without breaking it down, in a box only thirteen inches deep, which is a shape that suits the space under a bed better than a wide drawer does.
SecureIt weld it from 14-gauge rather than folding it, which is a meaningful difference on a box this long: a welded seam does not open up under a pry bar the way a folded corner can. Forty-seven pounds keeps it a one-person installation.
It is also the most flexible thing here. The same box stands vertically in a closet, lies flat under a bed, or goes behind a door, so if you move house and the new bed frame is too low, it has somewhere else to go. Nothing else on this page can say that.
Six and a half inches laid flat puts it level with the RS Slider and just under the Hornady, so it is not a low-clearance option. Measure first, as with everything on this page.
Best For: a full-length rifle or shotgun under the bed, in a box that can be repurposed anywhere else in the house later.
7. Monster Vault Under Bed Safe, Best Made-in-USA Option
- Type: low-profile slide-out under-bed drawer
- Range: Original Underbed Safe, a Tactical mid-size for SUVs, and a Compact
- Access: electronic keypad with key backup
- Made: USA, sold direct with free continental US shipping
- Availability: none of our retailers carry it, so there is no live pricing card below
Pros
- Made and sold in the USA
- Three sizes including a vehicle one
- Full-length drawer on slides
- Free continental US shipping
- Direct from the maker
Cons
- No retailer we carry stocks it
- No live pricing on this page
- Monster Vault publish limited specifications
- Direct-only means direct-only returns
Monster Vault build under-bed safes and effectively nothing else, which shows in the product. The drawer runs the full length on slides, the lining is carpet rather than thin foam, and the range covers an Original, a mid-size Tactical aimed at SUVs, and a Compact.
The made-in-USA point is the reason it earns a slot on a page otherwise dominated by two brands. If where a safe is manufactured matters to you, this is the option here that answers it, and Monster Vault sell direct with free shipping in the continental United States.
There is no pricing card below this section and that is deliberate. None of the retailers we work with carry Monster Vault, so a card would either render empty or serve you somebody else’s safe. Buy this one from the maker.
They publish less specification detail than Hornady, SnapSafe or Vaultek do, so if steel gauge and exact clearance heights are how you make the decision, take one of the picks above instead. This one is here for the buyer who wants an American-built drawer and will ring the manufacturer to get the numbers.
Best For: the buyer who wants an American-made under-bed drawer and is happy to order direct from the manufacturer.
How to Choose an Under-Bed Gun Safe
Anchor it, or it is a drawer with a lock
An under-bed safe is designed to slide, which is exactly the problem. Everything here comes with a security cable or pre-drilled holes and often both, and unanchored the whole unit slides out and leaves with somebody.
Bolt it to the floor if you can. If you cannot, loop the cable round a bed frame leg that the frame is actually built through, not a leg that unscrews and not the frame rail itself.
Long gun or handgun changes everything
If you only need handguns, the 4800KP at 2.9 inches fits under nearly anything and the SnapSafe Medium gives you room for documents too. The moment a rifle or shotgun is involved you need 40 inches or more of interior length, and that means the SnapSafe Large, the RS Slider, the Fast Box or the AR Gunlocker.
Do not try to solve both with one small safe. Two safes in two places beats one compromise, and the handgun boxes here are cheap enough to make that realistic.
Nothing under a bed is fire rated
None of these seven carries a fire rating, and none of the makers claim one. Vaultek publish it as a single word on the RS Slider spec sheet: Fire Rated, No. Fire lining needs bulk and bulk is the one thing an under-bed safe cannot have.
So treat this as fast-access and anti-theft storage. Documents and anything irreplaceable belong in a rated safe elsewhere in the house.
How I Evaluated These Safes
Every height, dimension, steel gauge and weight on this page is the manufacturer’s own published figure, because on this page in particular a guessed number could cost somebody a return. Where a maker publishes less, as Monster Vault do, the page says so rather than filling the gap.
Every pricing card was then run on the reader path, the same request your browser makes, to confirm it returns the product its heading names rather than an accessory for it. That is a live hazard when you shop this category yourself: a mounting plate and the safe it mounts share most of a product name, and so do a medium drawer and a large one from the same maker. Read the full title and the model number, not the first three words.
FAQ: Best Under-Bed Gun Safes
How much clearance do I need for an under-bed gun safe?
Between three and seven inches depending on which safe. The Hornady RAPiD Safe 4800KP is 2.9 inches tall and fits under almost anything. The SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Medium is 5 inches, the Large is 6, the Vaultek ViSN RS Slider and the SecureIt Fast Box 47 are both 6.5 laid flat, and the Hornady AR Gunlocker is 6.75. Measure from the floor to the lowest point of your frame and take half an inch off for carpet.
Will an under-bed gun safe fit under a platform bed?
Often not. Platform beds and divan bases are the tightest frames there are, frequently under four inches and sometimes with no usable gap at all. If you measure under four inches, the Hornady 4800KP at 2.9 inches is the only pick here that fits, and it holds handguns rather than long guns. Bed risers add three to five inches if you are willing to change how the bed sits.
Can you fit a rifle in an under-bed safe?
Yes, in four of these. The SnapSafe Under Bed Safe Large is 40 inches wide, the Vaultek RS Slider gives 36.22 inches of interior width, the SecureIt Fast Box 47 gives 47 inches of interior length, and the Hornady AR Gunlocker takes two tactical-length rifles in 40.5 inches. The SnapSafe Medium at 26 inches and the 4800KP at 12 are handgun safes.
Are under-bed gun safes secure?
Against casual access and children, yes. Against a determined thief, only if you anchor them. The whole design slides, so an unanchored under-bed safe leaves the house intact and gets opened later. All of these ship with a security cable, pre-drilled bolt holes or both. Loop the cable round a bed frame leg the frame is built through, or bolt it to the floor.
Are any under-bed gun safes fireproof?
None of the seven here, and none of the makers claim otherwise. Vaultek state it plainly on the RS Slider specification as Fire Rated: No. Fire lining takes physical bulk, and bulk is the one thing a safe designed to be six inches tall cannot have. Keep documents and irreplaceable items in a rated safe elsewhere.
What is the fastest under-bed gun safe to open?
The two RFID Hornady models. Waving a wristband or fob is quicker than typing a code, and it matters more here than on a nightstand safe because you are reaching down and often lying down. The Vaultek RS Slider's biometric reader is close behind. The SnapSafe drawers use a keypad, which is slower but has nothing to wear or carry.
How much floor space does an under-bed safe need to open?
Roughly its own depth, on the side you open it from. The SnapSafe Large is 22 inches deep, so it wants nearly two feet of clear floor beside the bed. Decide which side before you fit it, because a drawer that opens towards a wall is a drawer you cannot use. Check for skirting boards, radiators and bedside furniture at the same time.
Is a Monster Vault available from your retailers?
No, and that is why there is no pricing card in that section. Monster Vault sell direct from their own site with free shipping in the continental United States, and none of the retailers we work with stock them. Everything else on this page can be bought through the cards, which show live prices across our retailers.
What is the thinnest under-bed gun safe?
The Hornady RAPiD Safe 4800KP at 2.9 inches tall, by a wide margin. Its interior is 7.2 by 11 by 2.2 inches, which Hornady rate for two 1911 pistols or one large revolver. It is a handgun safe that happens to fit under a bed rather than an under-bed gun safe proper, but if your frame is low it is the only thing that will go under it.
Related Guides
- Best Gun Safes
- Best Gun Safes for Home Defense
- Best Nightstand Gun Safes
- Best Hidden Gun Safes
- Best Wall-Mounted Gun Safes
- Best Gun Safes for Apartments
- Where to Put a Gun Safe
4,617+ Gun & Ammo Deals
Updated daily from 200+ top retailers. Filter by category, caliber, action type, and price.
Related Guides