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Best Microchip Cat Flap UK 2026: Seven Flaps Compared
The SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap (about £70) is the best microchip cat flap for most UK homes: it reads more microchip types than the PetSafe and stores 32 cats. If you want a curfew and a phone app, the SureFlap Connect with its Hub (£205 to £225) is the only app-controlled option.
Prices and specs checked 28 September 2026.
A microchip cat flap reads the chip your cat already has and only unlocks for cats you have registered, so next door's cat stays out. The flaps below are the ones UK retailers stock, compared from the makers' specs and UK retailer prices. We have not lab-tested them.
Quick picks
- Best for most homes: SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap, about £70.
- Most cats stored: PetSafe Microchip Cat Flap, about £70, 40 cats, 15-digit chips only.
- One cat in, one cat out: SureFlap DualScan, about £110.
- App and curfew: SureFlap Connect with Hub, £205 to £225.
- Large cats: SureFlap Microchip Pet Door, £120 to £123, with a timed curfew built in.
- Curfew timer without an app: Cat Mate Elite with timer, about £80.
Microchip cat flaps compared
| Flap | Price (Sept 2026) | Cats stored | Controls who goes out | Curfew | App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap | About £70 | 32 | No | No (manual 4-way lock) | No |
| PetSafe Microchip Cat Flap | About £70 | 40 | No | No (manual 4-way lock) | No |
| SureFlap DualScan | About £110 | 32 | Yes, per cat | No | No |
| SureFlap Connect | About £140; £205 to £225 with Hub | 32 | Yes, per cat | Yes, via app | Yes (Hub needed) |
| SureFlap Microchip Pet Door | £120 to £123 | 32 | No | Yes, built in | No |
| PetSafe Petporte | Varies; roughly twice the standard flaps | 25 | No | Optional night mode | No |
| Cat Mate Elite with timer | About £80 | 9 | No | Yes, built-in timer | No |
Specs from Sure Petcare, PetSafe and Cat Mate UK product pages and manuals; prices across UK retailers (Sure Petcare's UK shop, Zooplus and Pets at Home), checked 28 September 2026. The SureFlap vs PetSafe comparison has the full spec table, including chip types, openings, cut-out sizes and battery life.
The best microchip cat flaps
1. SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap: best for most homes
This is the default choice, and one of the most-reviewed cat flaps on Amazon UK. It reads 15-digit chips, most older 10-digit and 9-digit chips, and Sure's own RFID collar tag, so it works for almost any cat. It scans on the way in only, so any cat can push out, and it has a 4-way manual lock but no timer. The 142 x 120mm opening suits most cats; very large cats need the Pet Door below.
2. PetSafe Microchip Cat Flap: most cats stored
The direct rival to the SureFlap at the same price. It stores 40 cats, has a slightly wider 150 x 121mm opening and a low-battery indicator. It only reads 15-digit FDX-B chips, so check your cat's chip number first. Like the SureFlap, it reads on entry only and has no timer.
3. SureFlap DualScan: best for one cat in, one cat out
The DualScan scans on the way out as well as in, so you can keep one cat indoors (after surgery, for example) while the others come and go. It works without a hub or app; permissions are set with buttons on the flap, and you will want the manual the first time. It has no timer.
4. SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap Connect: best smart flap
The Connect adds a phone app through the Sure Petcare Hub (£78 to £85 on its own), which plugs into your router by cable. You get timed curfews, remote locking, a log of who came in and out, and per-cat exit permissions. Without the Hub it works like the standard flap, so budget for both. Reviewers' complaints: curfew times apply to all cats rather than one at a time, and some owners found the clock did not change to British Summer Time on its own. Sure supports the Hub with security updates for two years from purchase.
5. SureFlap Microchip Pet Door: best for large cats
This is the large version, for Maine Coons, big Ragdolls and small dogs. Unlike the cat flap, it has a timed curfew without the app. It needs a bigger cut-out in the door (207 x 234mm).
6. PetSafe Petporte Smart Flap: biggest opening from PetSafe
It has a 160 x 160mm opening, an optional night mode and a beep when the cat comes in, and comes with a UK power supply. It stores fewer cats and reads fewer chip types (15-digit UK/EU only) than the others, and at roughly twice the price of the standard flaps it only makes sense if the opening size decides it.
7. Cat Mate Elite with timer: curfew timer on a budget
You get a built-in curfew timer and a screen showing where each cat is, without paying for a hub. It stores only 9 cats and lets any cat out. It is the only flap here whose maker states it self-lines doors up to 100mm thick, which saves buying tunnel extenders for a thick door.
How do microchip cat flaps work?
A reader in the tunnel scans the microchip under your cat's skin as it comes in, and the flap unlocks only for chips you have registered to it.
You register each cat once: press the flap's learn button, then let the cat put its head into the tunnel so the flap reads its chip. There is no subscription and no account for the standard flaps. Most models only scan on the way in, so any cat inside can push its way out; the DualScan and Connect also scan on the way out. If your cat is not chipped, or its chip is one the flap cannot read, SureFlap sells an RFID collar tag that its flaps accept.
Do microchip cat flaps keep other cats out?
Yes: a cat whose chip is not registered cannot push the flap open from outside, which is the main reason people buy one.
The flap relocks within seconds of your cat coming through. A visiting cat right on your cat's tail can occasionally slip in before it does, but that needs the two cats to be very close together. The flaps do nothing about a neighbour's cat that is already inside, since most let any cat out.
Which microchip cat flap is best for a large cat?
The SureFlap Microchip Pet Door, whose 178 x 170mm opening is much bigger than the 142 to 150mm width of the standard flaps.
The PetSafe Petporte (160 x 160mm) is the other option. The standard PetSafe flap suits cats up to about 8kg with shoulders up to 150mm, and the standard SureFlap opening is 142 x 120mm. Measure your cat across the shoulders before choosing.
Can you fit a microchip cat flap in a glass door?
Yes, but not by cutting the existing glass: a glazier makes a new sealed unit with the hole in it, which costs about £180 to £320 fitted with a standard flap.
Toughened and double-glazed glass cannot be cut on site. Both the SureFlap and PetSafe flaps need a 212mm hole, and each has an adaptor for a bigger one (up to 260mm for SureFlap, 285mm for PetSafe). Allow 1 to 2 weeks for the new unit to be made. Swapping the glass for a uPVC panel with the flap in it (about £180) is often cheaper. The fitting cost table gives figures by door type.
Can you fit a microchip cat flap in a uPVC door?
Yes: a fitter charges about £100 in a uPVC door panel including a standard flap, or about £60 to £120 to fit a flap you supply.
uPVC is unforgiving as a DIY job, because a slip can crack the panel. A wooden door is the easiest to do yourself with a jigsaw and the template supplied with the flap. Composite doors cost more to have fitted (about £160), and an external wall about £270, because it needs a core drill and a wall liner. Measure the door thickness first: the SureFlap and PetSafe tunnels are about 70mm deep, and thicker doors need extenders (Sure's are 50mm each, £9).
Do microchip cat flaps need Wi-Fi?
No: only the SureFlap Connect uses the internet, through the Sure Petcare Hub, which plugs into your router by cable.
Every other flap here works standalone, with no internet connection. For battery life by model, see the SureFlap vs PetSafe comparison.