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The Best Smart Plugs for a Smarter Home

A smart plug gives you the ability to control any “dumb” gadget — like a lamp, fan or space heater — with your smartphone or voice.

collage of three smart plugsCourtesy

By Tucker Bowe

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A smart plug is a little gadget that plugs into an outlet and connects to your home’s Wi-Fi. It then allows you to control whatever device is plugged into that smart plug with your smartphone or your voice. It basically has the power to turn any gadget — be it a lamp, fan, space heater, humidifier, coffee maker or whatever other appliance — into a “smart” gadget.

Products in the Guide

What to Look for

Smart home compatibility: When considering which smart plug you should buy, the most important thing is to make sure that it’s compatible with your existing smart home ecosystem. If you have an Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri smart speaker, you want to make sure that the smart plug will actually work with it. (Most popular smart plugs will work with Alexa or Google Assistant, but compatibility with Apple’s HomeKit is a little harder to come by.)

The brand of smart plug: A lot of smart plug manufacturers make other smart home devices, such as smart lights, smart switches and smart cameras, and make it easier to set them up and control them all via one companion app. For instance, if you have other smart home devices by Wyze or Philips Hue, it will be easier for you to control scenes and set timers if you get smart plugs from those same companies.

The type of smart plug: There are just a few other things you want to consider before buying a smart plug: mainly its size and whether it has a physical button or switch on its side. The smaller the better when it comes to smart plugs because they’re less likely to cover up an additional outlet. And you want a physical button or switch because it allows you to control it when you don’t feel like using your voice or opening up your smartphone.

Yes, Smart Plugs Can Save You Money

Aside from the convenience and the ability to create a more complete smart home, a smart plug can help you save money. The job of a smart plug is primarily convenience — to turn a dumb gadget into a smart one — but by integrating these gadgets in cycles as well as giving you the ability to control them from afar, it gives you the ability to turn something off when you’re not using it. After all, one of the most common ways your home wastes money is when you (or somebody) leave on lights and other appliances, like fans and heaters, when nobody is actually using them.

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Pros

  • Very small design
  • No separate hub required
  • Works with most major smart home ecosystems
  • Has a physical button for manual control

Cons

  • A touch on the expensive side
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit

The Wemo Smart Plug is our pick for the best all-around smart plug. It’s roughly half the size of most other smart plugs, meaning you don’t need to worry as much about blocking other sockets. It works with all the major smart ecosystems (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit). It has a physical on/off button. And the latest model supports Thread protocol.

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Button on the side for manual control
  • No separate hub required

Cons

  • No HomeKit support
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

The Wyze Plug is one of the best and most budget-friendly smart plugs you can buy. A two-pack costs less than $20, which is half the price of many other single smart plugs, and it can easily be integrated into any Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant smart home. The only real downside is that it’s not compatible with Apple’s HomeKit.

Pros

  • Works really well with Alexa app and ecosystem
  • Physical button for manual control
  • No separate hub required

Cons

  • Only works with Alexa
  • A touch on the expensive side
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa

The Amazon Smart Plug is a great option for anybody with an Amazon Echo or an Alexa smart home. It’s ideal because it’s small enough that it will only cover one outlet. It also has a physical button to toggle on/off. The only downside, other than the fact that it’s only compatible with Alexa, is that there are cheaper and more versatile alternatives out there.

Pros

  • Works great with Alexa and Ring ecosystems
  • Fairly affordable for an outdoor smart plug
  • Physical button for manual control

Cons

  • Doesn't work with Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit
  • Requires separate bridge for full features
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa

This is an excellent outdoor smart plug for anybody with an Amazon smart home and, specifically, for anybody with several of Ring’s smart home devices: lights, doorbell, camera, etc. It has two outlets and thus can power (and control) two different devices. The only real caveat is that it does require you to have the Ring Bridge to work.

Pros

  • Works with all the major smart home ecosystems
  • Perfectly suited for dimming lamps
  • Comes with a separate remote

Cons

  • A touch pricey
  • Requires a separate bridge for full features
  • Smart home compatibility: Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit

The Lutron Caseta Dimmer Plug is unique among smart plugs because it’s specifically designed for lamps. There are buttons on the smart plug that let you dim it or turn it on or off. Maybe most significantly is the fact that it comes with an actual remote for those dimming controls as well, which is a great analog option for those who don’t want to deal with a smart speaker or an app. This smart plug does work with all the major smart home ecosystems, although it does require a separate Wi-Fi bridge.

Pros

  • Great option for those with Philips Hue smart lights
  • Works with all the major smart home ecosystems
  • Button for manual controls
  • Neat compact design

Cons

  • Requires separate hub for full features
  • Smart home compatibility: Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit

The big advantage of using the Philips Hue Smart Plug is that it works well with the company’s ecosystem of other smart home products. So if you have Philips Hue smart lights or the Hue Bridge, this smart plug will allow you to easily integrate any lamp (or appliance) into your existing ecosystem. It’s compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and Apple HomeKit, but not Google Assistant.

Pros

  • It's a nice combo or smart and non-smart plugs
  • Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
  • One of the few smart power strips on the market

Cons

  • No HomeKit compatibility
  • It's not cheap
  • Smart home compatibility: Alexa, Google Assistant

A smart power strip works exactly the same as a smart plug, but it allows you to control more devices. And you can control each individual smart outlet that’s in the power strip (you just set them up individually within the app). The Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip HS300 is a great all-around option because it adds six outlets (only three are “smart”) and three USB ports. And it’s also not much more expensive that a lot of individual smart plugs. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but not HomeKit.

Smart home capability: Alexa and Google Assistant

The Wyze Plug Outdoor is essentially a slightly more sophisticated and more water-resistant version of the Wyze Plug. It has the same capabilities, including support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but it also has two outlets instead of one. It also has physical buttons on the outside to control each outlet, in case you don’t want to use your voice or smartphone to control them. It’s the cheapest outdoor smart plug you can buy.

Pros

  • Fairly affordable for an outdoor smart plug
  • Physical button for manual controls
  • Physical buttons for manual control

Cons

  • No HomeKit support
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

This is another great option for anybody who wants an outdoor smartphone plug. It allows you to control two different devices and it has physical buttons on top so you can control them manually (if you don’t want to whip out your smartphone). It’s compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa ecosystems.

Pros

  • Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
  • Compact design
  • Physical button for manual control
  • No separate hub required

Cons

  • No HomeKit support
  • Smart home compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

The Kasa Smart Plug is another affordable smart plug that’s small, well-reviewed and works with every major smart home ecosystem except for Apple’s HomeKit. It’s the best option for people with other Kasa smart home devices, such as smart lights and smart switches, as you can control everything (and set scenes or timers) within the Kasa app.

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