You probably don’t think about your garage door opener that often. However, it’s tough to ignore if it’s loud, slow, or not working correctly.
There are several major garage door opener manufacturers in the US, but it can be tough to tell the differences between them. So, I’ve created this complete list of garage door opener brands filled with information about each company and its products to help you choose the best new garage door opener for you.
With this information, you’re sure to find the perfect new garage door opener that works well with your brand of garage door.
Overhead Door Company
The founder of Overhead Door, C.J. Johnson, invented the first garage door that lifted straight up instead of swinging up and out in 1921. In 1926, he created the first electric garage door opener, which automatically raised and lowered his trademark new door style.
Since the company was the first to sell the original design of upward-lifting garage doors over 100 years ago, it’s natural to start with them.
There are ten different brands underneath the Overhead Door umbrella manufacturing commercial and residential garage doors, roll-up doors, and pedestrian gates. Two of those companies, Overhead Door and Genie, also manufacture garage door openers.
Their products include a combination of safety features like their Safe-T-Beam® system that reverses the door if anything passes through the infrared beam and The DoorDetect™ system that stops the door if it detects changes.
Overhead Door customers can control the doors with the OHD Anywhere® app that allows remote operation and monitoring through a smartphone.
Some products also include the CodeDodger® access security system that prevents someone from pirating the signal and opening your garage door.
Most openers have battery backups, motion-detecting lights, and frequency scanning to ensure the doors open even if there’s interference in the area.
All the garage door openers work with the HomeLink® and Car2U®systems.
Overhead Door purchased Genie in 1994 to expand its reach into the garage door opener market.
Genie
Genie has been a well-known, trusted name in garage door openers since the mid-1950s. The company was initially called the Alliance Manufacturing Company in 1923 and created its first garage door opener, the Genie, in 1954.
The company created the first screw-drive garage door opener in 1958 and changed its name to Genie in 1985.
Like its parent company, Overhead Door Company, Genie garage door openers use the self-diagnostic Safe-T-Beam® system. This safety system puts an infrared beam in front of the door, which stops the door if anything crosses the beam.
Standard features on most of Genie’s garage door openers include motion-detecting lights, frequency scanning to ensure the door opens even with interference that could stop other brands, wi-fi monitoring and operation, and ultra-quiet performance.
Some doors use the Aladdin Connect®, which uses your router to monitor and report your garage door’s status. These smart features mean you don’t need a separate smart-home system to tell if your garage door is open.
The GenieSense™ technology monitors the door operation and diagnoses problems. If changes occur in the door, this system stops it immediately, providing extra safety.
The Intellicode® system prevents unauthorized access and piracy of your signal so intruders can’t open your garage door. These openers are also compatible with the HomeLink® and Car2U®systems.
The company also sells two models of wall-mount openers for garages with low headroom and space restrictions.
Genie offers a helpful product selector on its site to help people choose the right garage door for their needs, whether professionally installed or DIY.
Chamberlain
The Chamberlain Group owns the garage door opener brands Chamberlain, LiftMaster, and Craftsman. They also own several other companies, including the Australian garage door opener brand Merlin, and Grifco, its commercial garage door opener company.
Chamberlain sells over two dozen garage door openers, including belt and chain drive openers, wall-mount models, and smart garage door openers compatible with the Chamberlain Group’s myQ® Smart Home System.
Their flagship garage door opener is the RJ070. The RJ070 is a wall-mount garage door opener that’s quiet, vibration-free, and helps maximize your garage ceiling space. It has built-in wi-fi and smart capabilities through the Chamberlain myQ® app. It also has automatic locking, battery backup, safety sensors, and an ultra-bright LED light.
Many of Chamberlain’s models work with Amazon Key, which lets homeowners authorize in-garage package delivery. Chamberlain also supports the vehicle HomeLink® system.
Other Chamberlain garage door opener lines come with your choice of features like battery backup, LED lighting, and wireless keypads. The product lines include:
- Ultra-Quiet Wi-Fi®
- Secure View™ Camera
- Corner To Corner Lighting™
- Chain Drive MAX
Chamberlain sells every type of garage door opener, with several models available for each type.
LiftMaster
LiftMaster is a company that sells 20 openers with varying features and benefits. Owned by the Chamberlain Group, LiftMaster sells its products directly to garage door repair and installation companies. It is rare for an individual homeowner to purchase and install a LiftMaster garage door opener by themselves.
One of LiftMaster’s best garage door openers is the Secure View™ Ultra-Quiet Belt Drive Smart Opener which includes a security camera and corner-to-corner LED lighting.
Although not as bright as dedicated garage lighting, the LED light ring is enough for many homeowners. You can purchase the same opener with non-ring LED lights if you prefer.
LiftMaster builds several models of smart garage door openers that work with the Chamberlain Group’s myQ® app,. The app lets you monitor and control the door through your smartphone. Models with a built-in camera offer full video via your phone and two-way audio communication with anyone inside the garage.
This company offers a wall-mount opener, your choice of chain or belt drive in most models, and openers that range in horsepower, so there’s a lot of variety with a particular price range.
Battery backup, smooth start and stop, safety sensors, HomeLink® compatibility, and Amazon Key compatibility are standard features in LiftMaster’s garage door openers.
Learn more about the differences between LiftMaster and Chamberlain garage door openers here.
Craftsman
The Craftsman brand of tools and equipment has been a trusted American brand for almost 100 years. The company launched in 1927 by selling hand tools and expanded into electric drills in 1929.
Later, Craftsman began selling lawnmowers and equipment. The company sold two million radial saws and one million of its WeedWacker™ brand weed trimmers by 1978. Sears owned the name for almost 90 years but sold it to Stanley Black & Decker in 2017.
Chamberlain Group manufactures and sells Craftsman brand garage door openers. They have a small lineup of products that range in horsepower (hp) and come in belt or chain drive. Every model except one is a smart garage door opener that works with the Chamberlain myQ app.
Their models are:
- ½ hp chain drive opener with myQ compatibility
- ½ hp chain drive opener without myQ access
- Four belt drive openers with your choice of ½, ¾, 1, or 1-¼ hp, all with myQ integration
Like all the garage door opener brands manufactured by Chamberlain, Craftsman openers come with safety sensors, HomeLink® and Amazon Key compatibility, and battery backup, so you’ll always be able to open the garage door in a power outage.
A wireless garage door keypad and three-button remote with a 1500-foot access range come standard with all but the ½ hp chain drive opener that doesn’t have smart functionality. This opener includes the remote controls but has a single-function wall controller instead.
Marantec
Marantec is a German company that has manufactured and sold quality garage door openers since 1989.
The company pushes for innovation in drive-system design and partners with several other companies like Key Automation and Nymea to help create new products.
Marantec creates garage door openers in four different series.
The Comfort 300 line uses Marantec’s patented blueline technology that keeps the opener from consuming electricity when it’s not operating. You can choose their 360, 370, or 380 models depending on the size and weight of your garage door.
Each has an LED light about as bright as a 160-watt light bulb and a lift speed of nearly 9.25 inches per second.
The Comfort 200 line is available in models 260, 270, or 280 for various door sizes and weights. Each has a bright LED light and the option of a battery backup.
The Comfort 260 Accu garage door opener is suitable for garages without a power hookup. This AC-powered opener can lift doors to 200 pounds and give users without an electric option in their garage the convenience of a door opener.
The high-powered battery lets you know when to plug it into a standard home outlet for a recharge. You can also charge the battery by hooking it to a solar panel.
The Comfort Speed line offers models 260 for doors up to 360 pounds and 270 for doors up to about 411 pounds. These speed-focused garage door openers take only 9 to 9.5 seconds to lift a door.
Ryobi
Ryobi is a Japanese company that began manufacturing die-cast components for Mitsubishi in the 1940s. The company eventually expanded and began manufacturing consumer end-products like cameras, tools, and garage door openers.
In 1985, Ryobi founded a die-casting plant in the United States. The company also has operations in the UK, Asia, and Mexico. Today, the Techtronic Industries Company (TTI) owns the Ryobi brand.
Ryobi has one garage door opener model, their Ultra-Quiet Garage Door Opener. This opener features a 2-hp motor, a lithium-ion battery backup good for 100 openings in a power outage, an LED light, wireless indoor and outdoor keypads, and two remotes.
Ryobi is a brand exclusively sold in Home Depot stores, so you won’t be able to purchase this garage door opener anywhere else. However, at the moment, you can’t find this product at Home Depot, either.
Chamberlain sued TTI because they claimed TTI used two of the garage door opener patents it held. In 2018, the court found that TTI did violate the patents and banned them from selling the Ryobi garage door opener in Home Depot stores until at least 2023.
SkyLink
SkyLink is a Vietnam-based company that sells the SkyLinkNet home alarm system, garage and gate control devices, and wireless home automation products. In addition to Vietnam, they have offices in the US and Canada.
SkyLink’s garage door opener is the ATOMS™ opener they market as compact, powerful, and quiet. This opener is a chain-drive device that uses the company’s Quite-Drive Technology to minimize noise and vibration.
Features include battery backup compatibility, in-car remote compatibility, a passcode-protected remote, an anti-break-in system, a diagnostic display, and LED lighting.
You can control it with voice commands through your Alexa or Google Assistant device or use their Orbit Home App to monitor and control your garage door opener.
BeamUP
BeamUP is the garage door opener brand sold by Beamlabs, a company that has manufactured garage door openers for 30 years.
The BeamUP line of openers are single-door control openers that come in six models:
- The Volta, their premier 1-¼ hp belt drive opener
- The Everlift, a ¾ hp chain drive system
- The Centurion, a 1-¼ hp belt drive opener with a wireless, keyless entry keypad
- The Sentry, a ¾ hp chain drive opener without wireless, keyless entry
- The Workhouse, a ¾ hp chain drive opener without bells or whistles
The BeamUP Smart Controller system converts your garage into a smart garage with a photo-eye safety system. The smart features on these garage door openers work with Alexa, Apple Watch, IFTTT, and HomeLink.
Sommer USA
Sommer USA, Inc. is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and sells garage door openers made in Germany.
Established in 1980, Sommer also owns Direct Drive, another of the garage door opener brands on this list.
Sommer’s garage door opener is the evo+ with Direct Drive technology with only one moving part for long-lasting performance. Battery backup and a magnetic lock or the motor are optional.
This quiet, vibration-free system attaches directly to most garage doors up to 8′ tall. It comes with a lifetime warranty on the motor. Available accessories include an alarm, a wireless keypad, and a two-button transmitter.
The device has 128-bit encryption, advanced object force detection, automatic locking, and counter pressure to prevent break-ins. Users can communicate with the garage door opener with their smartphone, tablet, or web app via the SOMlink service module.
Direct Drive
Direct Drive, one of the garage door opener brands sold by Sommer USA, uses innovative Direct Drive technology, greatly reducing the number of moving parts in the motor. This limits wear and tear and eliminates sound and vibration.
Like the evo+, this opener can handle doors up to eight feet tall, is attached to the door, and has a lifetime warranty.
The Direct Drive garage door opener is HomeLink® compatible and built for easy DIY installation. If you already have one of the other garage door opener brands installed, replacing it with the Direct Drive opener is even easier.
Direct Drive sells separate accessories and systems like the ismartgatePRO garage kits with wireless sensors, cameras, and lights that let you access your garage door opener with your smartphone.
Performax
Originally called Performance Products, Performax sold sanders and woodworking tools when it began in 1986. Jet purchased the company in 1999, and in 2002, the WMH Tool Group, a company that also owns brands like the Wilton cake decorating company, took it over.
Performax sells three garage door opener models: a ½ hp belt drive, a ½ hp chain drive, and a ¾ hp smart chain-drive model that comes with an app that works with Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and the Apple Watch.
All three models are HomeLink® compatible, but only the smart chain-drive model works with smartphones and smart home assistants. You can only buy Performax garage door openers at Menards home improvement stores.
Image Credits:
- https://www.overheaddoor.com
- https://www.geniecompany.com
- https://www.chamberlain.com
- https://www.liftmaster.com
- https://www.craftsman.com
- https://www.marantecamerica.com
- https://www.ryobitools.com
- https://www.skylinkhome.com
- https://www.beamlabs.io
- https://www.sommer-usa.com
- https://www.directdriveopener.com
- https://www.performaxopeners.com
