What are the quietest garage door openers in 2022?

Below are our TOP 3 picks for the quietest residential garage door openers in 2022.

1. Liftmaster 8500w or Chamberlain RJO70

2. Liftmaster 87504-267 or Chamberlain B6753TC

3. Liftmaster 84501 or Chamberlain B6713T

Keep reading for more in-depth explanations about quiet garage door openers.

What is the quietest garage door opener?

Garage door openers have come a long way in the last 50 years. It started from the most basic operation of opening and closing the garage door without much attention to safety. Now turning into a programmable machine that calculates the weight of the door for auto-reverse, connects to your home Wi-Fi, and films your garage with a 360 security camera. But there’s one thing that some of the brand new openers and those from the early ’80s have in common—the noise they make.

Garage door opener noise can be a disaster for those with an attached garage and a bedroom right above it. Some garage door openers are so loud that they can easily wake up the kids sleeping above the garage. If you find yourself in a similar situation, let us walk you through the guide to the quietest garage door openers.

First, let’s understand why most homeowners think that all garage door openers are loud. It’s not a secret that the vast majority of home builders will use the cheapest materials to maximize their profits. Therefore, it is common among contractors to install the most basic, entry-level garage door openers, which are cheap, and… you guessed it, loud. So many homeowners wonder, Is there such thing as a quiet garage door opener? By default, most garage door openers installed at the time of construction will be the most basic units. Only after its failure the homeowner has a chance to compare it to a different and hopefully more quiet garage door opener.

What are the different types of garage door openers?

There are four main types of overhead garage door openers: screw drive, chain drive, belt drive, and jackshaft or wall-mounted opener. Some of them are more popular than others and might have different noise levels depending on several factors.

What type of garage door openers is the quietest?

Rated below are the quietest types of garage door openers based on our experience.

Jackshaft opener
Belt drive opener
Chain drive opener
Screw drive opener

Now let’s address some of the common questions regarding garage door openers and their noise levels.

Why are some garage door openers quiet?

Several factors should be taken into account when answering this question—opener type and whether it has a DC or AC motor in it. As mentioned above, some types of garage door openers are louder than others by design. Screw and chain will always make more noise than a rubber belt or a jackshaft opener, which barely exposes moving parts.

What is the difference between AC and DC garage door openers?

Even more significant noise impact comes from the type of motor used in the garage door opener. DC motors typically used in openers are much smaller and barely make any noise. So if you compare two chain drive units, one with DC and one with AC motors, the DC version will be significantly quieter. The most widely used garage door motor type is AC, simply because only recently have most popular brands started transitioning away from the noisy AC motor design into a DC system.

How do I make my garage door opener quieter?

Many homeowners wonder why is my garage door opener so noisy? If your opener is loud but you’re not ready for an expensive upgrade, below are a couple of steps you can take to make your garage door opener quieter.

Check if your garage door is balanced. Pull the manual release cord and try to lift your garage door by hand. If the door feels heavy to you, it sure affects the operation of your garage door opener. Hire a local garage door professional to add tension or replace your garage door springs.
Belt or Chain tension. Having your belt or chain too tight or loose can cause extra vibration and a loud ticking noise coming from the opener. That’s your chain or belt hitting the steel boom, causing excess noise. Adjust the tension as needed to mitigate this.
Lubricate the chain, garage door tracks, hinges, and rollers. Sometimes homeowners complaining about a noisy garage door opener have more noise coming from the door itself because of lack of maintenance and lubrication. Use a silicon-based spray to lubricate all moving parts.
Is your opener strong enough for your garage door? If you have a heavy garage door with a wooden overlay, we suggest having at least a 3/4hp opener installed. A standard 1/2hp garage door opener may do the job for a while, but it will fail sooner and will be very loud in operation.
Upgrade to a new and more advanced garage door opener. If none of the above steps brought you the change you wanted, the next step would be replacing your current garage door opener with a new unit. From this article, you will find out what are the best options when it comes to quiet garage door openers.

How much horsepower do I need for a 2 car garage door opener?

Typically a 1/2hp garage door opener will be enough for most standard residential garage doors. An exception would be a heavy custom door or a steel door with a wooden overlay. For those, we recommend using at least 3/4hp garage door openers.

Is belt drive better than chain drive opener?

Many homeowners ask why would you use a belt drive instead of a chain drive? Isn’t chain openers more reliable? Which is quieter chain or belt garage door opener?
When first belt garage door openers came out a few decades ago, they were less reliable than chain openers. The belt could stretch over time or fall apart entirely in some cases. These days though, leading garage door opener manufacturers like Chamberlain and Liftmaster use steel-reinforced belts and offer a lifetime warranty on them. In addition, belt drive openers are usually not as loud, and most garage door repair companies move entirely to the belt openers.

What is the difference between a belt drive and a screw drive garage door opener?

Screw drive garage door openers were popular in the ’90s when Liftmaster and Gennie came out with their first models. However, a screw drive design proved to be more susceptible to wear and tear, excess noise, and premature failure. Therefore most garage door opener manufacturers quickly moved on and focused on improving belt-drive garage door openers instead.

Are Jackshaft garage door openers quiet?

Yes! If you’re looking for the quietest garage door opener type- jackshaft it is. Thanks to minimal moving parts and clever design, jackshaft garage door openers offer an extremely smooth and quiet operation. Jackshaft openers by Liftmaster and Chamberlain also offer an extra layer of safety by introducing a cable tension monitor and magnetic lock, which automatically locks and unlocks the door when needed.