Which Garage Door Remote Should You Buy? 3 Things to Consider

which garage door remote to buy

Perhaps you are looking for the perfect replacement for your damaged garage door remote, or maybe you want a single device that can operate your home and office garage door openers. Whatever the case may be for you, this post will help you choose the right garage door remote for your needs.

Ideally, you want to buy a garage door remote made by your garage door opener’s manufacturer. However, if you are going to use the remote to operate multiple garage door openers made by different manufacturers, you should purchase a universal garage door remote. 

I’ll walk you through the factors to consider when choosing a garage door opener remote and a few excellent options available that you can pick up right away.

Factors to consider when choosing a garage door remote

Before you choose a garage door opener remote, there are some considerations you need to make. I have categorized those under three sections. That is the manufacturer, number of buttons, and frequency. Read on to have a full understanding of how to pick the right remote for your needs.

Manufacturer

The top garage door opener brands still make replacement parts for their products. If your garage door opener brand is still in business, then chances are you will find a replacement garage door remote that is the same as the original.

Manufacturers like Liftmaster, Chamberlain, Genie, Overhead Door, Linear, amongst others, still provide 100% support for their garage door openers and replacement parts. If you own any of these brands, then you are in luck because you will probably find the exact match of your damaged garage door remote.

Even when you don’t find the same remote as you own, these brands make “one fits all” remote control for their garage door openers. What do I mean by that? All of these brands have at least one remote entry that works with all of their garage door openers.

These remotes are uniquely designed to have the much secure rolling code technology, but at the same time, works with older-generation garage door opener models. We will take a look at some of these remotes later in this article.

Over the years, some garage door opener manufacturers have merged, and others have gone out of business. This means if you use any of these garage door openers, you may not find a replacement garage door remote made by the manufacturer. Two of these manufacturers are Stanley and Moore-o-Matic.

With these manufacturers, the only option you have is purchasing a universal garage door remote. Universal remotes for garage doors have the technology of several garage door remotes from different brands built into it. This makes it versatile and works with most garage door openers. We will also take a look at some universal garage door remote options available.

Number of Buttons

Most garage door opener remotes have multiple buttons. All of these buttons operate differently. You can think of each button as a separate remote control. This means you can program each button to work with a different garage door opener. This is a well thought out feature that prevents users from having multiple remotes cluttering up their car’s visor.

If you need to operate multiple garage door openers, then you have to get a remote with multiple buttons. For instance, if you purchase a 3-button remote, you can program one of the buttons for your home garage, and then another button for your work garage.

Something you should keep in mind, however, is all of those garage door openers have to be made by the same brand. For instance, if you purchase a 3-button Genie garage door remote, all of the garage door openers you intend controlling has to be made by Genie.

If that is not the case, then you need to purchase a universal garage door remote with multiple buttons. That is always the safest way to go if you are unsure.

Frequency

The frequency is also another thing you might want to consider when purchasing a garage door remote. A garage door remote can only communicate to a garage door opener when they are on the same frequency. If you want to learn more about how a garage door remote communicates with the opener, I recommend you read my post on how a garage door remote works. See here.

Essentially, you want to check which frequency your garage door opener works on, and use that to find a compatible remote control. Nowadays, modern garage door openers and remotes work on multiple frequencies. Liftmaster’s remotes and openers, for instance, works on three radio frequencies. So, this shouldn’t be of much concern. Look at this check more as a confirmation that the remote will work with your opener.

Clicker Universal Garage Door Remote by Chamberlain

The Clicker Universal Garage Door Remote (on Amazon) is one of the most sought-after remotes available today. That’s because this garage door remote works with a ton of garage door openers. The Clicker remote works with all models of Liftmaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, Genie, Overhead Door, Linear, Stanley, Wayne Dalton, and Moore-O-Matic garage door openers. These brands cover the majority of garage door openers used in the United States.

It has two buttons, which means you can control up to two garage door openers at a time. And since this is a universal garage remote, the two openers can be from different brands. This does not only control garage door openers; it can also control gate openers made by Chamberlain. So one button can be used for the gate, and the other button used for the opener.

It comes with a visor clip, a battery, and an instructional manual that you can follow to program it. These are pretty standard items you would expect with most remotes. Because this is a popular remote, you will find instructional videos online that you can follow during the programming process. Personally, I prefer instructional videos to manuals.

Liftmaster 890max Mini Keychain Remote

Liftmaster is one of the most popular garage door opener brands out there, and not surprisingly, this is a remote a lot of homeowners are interested in. The Liftmaster 890max Mini Keychain Remote (Amazon) works with all Liftmaster garage door openers made after 1993.

This is a very secure remote to use because it operates on Chamberlain’s Security +2.0. This means you don’t need to worry about a hacker getting access to your home, ever. It has three buttons that can control three different Liftmaster devices at a time. It’s compact design also makes it easy to hang on a keychain.

We have an easy to follow guide on how to program this remote. If you pick this remote up, which I recommend you do, then you can check our guide out. See here.

Genie G3T-R Garage Door Opener Remote

This is the most versatile remote made by Genie. The G3T-R Garage Door Remote (Amazon) works with all Genie garage door openers made from 1997 to present. It has a feature known as the Auto-Seek Frequency that automatically searches for the garage door opener’s frequency and connects to it. This helps improve the overall security and performance of this device.

It has three buttons to operate three different Genie garage door openers, and within five minutes or less, you can get it working with your garage door opener. It’s effortless to program.

If you own a Genie garage door opener, I recommend you pick this up.

How Much are Garage Door Remotes

Garage door remotes cost on average $13 – $27. The price varies based on the number of programmable buttons and the manufacturer.

Single-button garage door opener remotes are cheaper than a two or a three-button remote, and that makes perfect sense. That’s because having a remote with multiple remote is like having multiple individual remotes. All the buttons operate like a single unit.

If you are going to use the remote to operate just one garage door opener, then purchase a remote with a single button. You are going to save a few bucks doing so. Going for a multiple-button remote, however, can be a safer bet. Why do I say this? Maybe the extra button might be used in the near future without having to buy a new unit. Ultimately, it all depends on your needs.

Conclusion

Obviously, there are a ton of garage door opener remotes from various brands I couldn’t cover in this piece. However, these are the most popular garage door opener brands available, so I know they will be beneficial to many people.

The universal garage door remote, in my opinion, is one of the best remotes out there. And it is guaranteed to work with most openers without any flaw. I recommend you check it out. If you have any questions, do well to leave it in the comments.