Amazon offers a range of Alexa-enabled Echo devices, with the Echo Pop and Echo Dot positioned at the more affordable end of the spectrum.
While the Echo Dot (5th Generation) boasts a near-perfect 4.5-star rating, the Echo Pop falls slightly short with a 3.5-star rating instead. To help you understand what really separates the Echo devices, we’ve compared the two below.
Continue reading to see how the Echo Pop and Echo Dot compare in areas like design, features, and sound quality. Plus, visit our guide to the best smart speakers to make sure you know all your best options.
Price
The Echo Pop is the most affordable option in the Amazon lineup, with an RRP of £44.99/$39.99.
On the other hand, the Echo Dot is slightly more expensive with an RRP of £54.99/$49.99. However, with both the Pop and the Dot, it’s not unusual to find price drops and deals for these products, especially during Amazon Prime Day sales (you can keep up with the deals via our live blog).
Design
- Echo Pop is available in more colours
- Echo Dot has more buttons on-device, including the Action Button
- Although the Echo Pop appears smaller, it takes up the same amount of space as the Dot
The Echo Pop and Dot are similar sizes, with matching rounded edges, but the Echo Dot is a sphere, while the Echo Pop is a flat-edged semi-circle. In fact, we noted that if you took the Echo Dot and sliced the front off, you’d more or less end up with the Pop.
Both smart speakers are equipped with mute, volume up, and volume down buttons, although the Dot benefits from an action button that enables the speaker to listen to voice commands without needing to say the Alexa wake word. You’ll know when Alexa is listening as the ring light on the Echo Dot, or the top section of the Echo Pop, will illuminate blue.
The ring light also illuminates different colours to reflect different notifications. For example, yellow shows that your Amazon account has a notification while a red ring light means the microphone has been switched off and isn’t listening out for that all-important wake word.
Otherwise, neither smart speaker sports a 3.5mm audio output, and instead, both have just one port for power output.
Finally, while both are available in Charcoal or Glacier White, the Pop is also available in Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal, while the Dot comes with a Deep Sea Blue option too.
Winner: Echo Dot
Features
- Both are naturally fitted with Alexa
- Echo Dot has new tap controls for controlling the device
- Echo Dot is equipped with a motion sensor and temperature sensor
Naturally, as part of Amazon’s smart speaker range, both the Echo Dot and Echo Pop are fitted with Alexa built-in. In a nutshell, Alexa is Amazon’s voice assistant, which provides voice responses to questions, controls compatible smart devices, and can also remind you of upcoming events.
For a more in-depth look, our guide to Amazon Alexa goes into more detail.
Alexa aside, both smart speakers are equipped with three far-field microphones that constantly listen for that all-important “Alexa” wake word. While we had no real issues with either smart speaker when testing Alexa, we did note the Dot was slightly more sensitive in picking up requests for Alexa over the Pop.
Unfortunately, that’s where the features end with the Pop. However, the Dot is equipped with heaps of other tools that help make it stand out compared to its cheaper counterpart. Firstly, there are tap controls which allow you to control the Dot when it’s inconvenient to use a voice command.
The Echo Dot is also equipped with a temperature sensor, which can be used to create Alexa Routines that automatically run according to the room temperature, plus a similar Ultrasound Motion Detection sensor too.
Verdict: Echo Dot
Sound quality
- Echo Pop has a slightly larger front-firing speaker
- Echo Dot delivers an overall better audio experience, with a better range
- Echo Pop is better for voice responses than audio
At 1.95 inches, the Echo Pop actually has a larger front-firing speaker compared to the 1.73-inch speaker of the Echo Dot. However, you shouldn’t assume this means the Pop is a better speaker.
In fact, we found the Echo Pop lacked the warmth and bass of the Echo Dot and struggled through many tracks. Having said that, it’s still loud enough to fill a regular-sized room and should suffice for more casual listening. We also noted that the Pop coped better with Alexa’s responses, as the voice could be understood clearly across even large rooms.
While the Echo Dot tends to struggle with very bass-heavy tracks, the smart speaker delivers a “surprisingly good audio experience” with an overall better range than its predecessor too.
Winner: Echo Dot
Verdict
Considering it boasts a near-perfect 4.5-star rating and a spot on our best Echo devices list, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the Echo Dot trumps the Echo Pop in all of our tests. While the Pop might be cheaper, the Dot sports enough additional features to justify the extra spend.
Having said that, if you do just want a cheap way to interact with Alexa and aren’t fussed about having all the bells and whistles of the Dot, then the Pop is a cheap and cheerful purchase.
Buy the Echo Pop if…
You want to save money and want to add a pop of colour to your home.
Buy the Echo Dot if…
You want to best-sounding Echo speaker under £60 and the benefits of a temperature sensor.
