Smart speakers bring AI assistants like Amazon Alexa+, Google Gemini, and Siri to any room of your home. I’ve been reviewing smart speakers since the first Amazon Echo was released in 2015, so I can help you find the best one for your home, regardless of which voice assistant you prefer. Amazon’s smart speakers still lead the pack, and the Echo Dot Max is the most well-rounded of the bunch, offering impressive sound for its size and wide interoperability with other smart home devices. The second-generation Apple HomePod is ideal if you use other Apple devices and love talking to Siri. If you prefer Google, I recommend waiting a few months to see how the upcoming Google Home Speaker fares. Until then, these are the best smart speakers I’ve tested.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
March 17, 2026: With this update, we removed the Amazon Echo Spot. We also removed the Google Nest Mini, which is out of stock, and the Nest Audio, which is being replaced by the Google Home Speaker due out this spring. Our remaining picks have been vetted for currency and availability.
- Big, balanced sound for the size
- Lots of connectivity features
- Supports multiple smart home hub standards
- Instant Alexa+ access
- Not as powerful as its predecessor
Thanks to built-in Thread and Zigbee antennas, the well-rounded (and spherical) Echo Dot Max acts as a capable smart home hub. It’s compatible with Matter and an impressive array of third-party gadgets. The AI-powered Alexa+ makes interacting with it to ask questions or control connected devices more seamless and conversational than ever. The Dot Max also has impressive sound quality, especially for its size. Music playing through it sounds full-bodied and well-balanced, with punchy bass. Moreover, you can put two to five of these speakers together to act as satellites in an Alexa Home Theater setup.
Alexa users: Go with the Echo Dot Max for its ideal combination of size, sound quality, smarts, and affordability. Other options on this list produce better audio for more money, or provide similar smarts for less, but the Echo Dot Max strikes a skillful balance. It’s an outstanding smart speaker for nearly any room.
Channels
Mono
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa
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Amazon Echo Dot Max Review
- Big sound field
- Detailed mids and highs
- Multiple angled drivers enable spatial audio
- Supports Alexa+ and three smart home hub standards
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity
- Support for home theater setups
- Underwhelming bass
- Limited selection of spatial audio music
With three times the bass of the Echo Dot Max, the Echo Studio has the best sound quality of any current Amazon smart speaker. It can play spatial audio, including Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio content. You can also pair it with up to four other Echo Studios and a compatible Fire TV media streamer to create a surprisingly effective Alexa Home Theater spatial audio system. Aside from listening to music or movies, it has an excellent list of credentials as a smart home controller. The AI-powered Alexa+ makes issuing commands more conversational than ever, and it features built-in Thread and Zigbee antennas, enabling it to act as a Matter hub.
Audiophiles: If you’re an Alexa fan and want to prioritize sound quality without paying Sonos prices, opt for the Echo Studio. It’s the best-sounding Echo speaker available.
Home theater enthusiasts: For Alexa Home Theater setups, I recommend the Echo Studio over the Echo Dot Max because it offers far superior directionality. Arranging four of them around my couch produced a compelling spatial audio field that did justice to Dolby Atmos content.
Channels
5.1
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa
Learn More
Amazon Echo Studio (2nd Gen, 2025) Review
- Rich bass response and clear highs
- Room-sensing audio
- Strong mic clarity
- HomeKit and Matter support
- Temperature and humidity sensors
- Expensive
- No user-customizable EQ
- Matter setup issues in testing
Apple’s second-generation HomePod fixes most of what made the original a bit unappealing: It costs less, and Siri is much more useful. Apple’s largest smart speaker offers impressive sound quality and volume, providing an enjoyable experience for movies and music. Excellent mic performance, Matter support, and sensors for temperature and humidity round out the package.
Apple acolytes: If you’re a dedicated Apple user who wants a centerpiece Siri speaker with room-filling sound for controlling your HomeKit smart home, this is the HomePod to get.
Channels
Stereo
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Apple Siri
Learn More
Apple HomePod (2nd Generation) Review
- Room-filling sound with strong bass depth and bright highs
- Supports Dolby Atmos
- Works with Alexa and Sonos voice commands
- Terrific companion app with room analysis and adjustable EQ
- Wide support for music streaming services
- Expensive
- No Google Assistant or Cast support
The Era 300 seamlessly integrates into any Sonos multi-room system, offering Alexa voice control and supporting Dolby Atmos spatial audio. It sounds excellent, too, especially when paired with a second speaker for more directional audio.
Audiophiles who want multi-room setups: The Era 300 is a centerpiece for any home with other Sonos speakers. It produces loud, detailed sound even on its own and looks more stylish than most other models on this list.
Channels
Dolby Atmos (4 tweeters, 2 woofers)
Physical Connections
USB-C
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control
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Sonos Era 300 Review
- Solid audio performance with rich bass and bright highs
- Multiple speakers can be grouped and used as stereo pairs
- Easy Siri voice control
- Good Apple Home app integration for smart home controls
- Not the absolute best audio quality for the price
- No aux input
The HomePod mini is Apple’s smallest and least expensive smart speaker option. It offers hands-free Siri voice control, solid sound for its petite size, and Apple AirPlay 2 support.
Budget-minded Apple fans: This is a small smart speaker for Apple users who rely on Siri instead of Alexa or the Google Assistant for everything they need. If you have an iPhone and have been careful to ensure all your smart home devices are HomeKit-compatible, this is ideal. You can also pair it with a second HomePod mini for stereo sound. Of course, if you aren’t already on a first-name basis with Siri, you don’t need to give it much thought.
Channels
Mono
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Apple Siri
Learn More
Apple HomePod mini Review
- Convenient tap gestures
- Well-balanced sound
- Can serve as an Eero mesh network node
- No 3.5mm jack
- Limited frequency range
The Echo Dot offers full hands-free Alexa access and delivers good audio quality for its size. Its powerful voice assistant lets you seek out sports scores, weather reports, and other useful information; set alarms and timers; search for and play music and audiobooks; control smart home devices; and make voice calls. Additionally, integrated motion sensors allow you to interact with the speaker with a tap, and it can also serve as an Eero mesh network node.
Budget-minded Alexa fans: The Echo Dot is ideal for smaller spaces where you want to use Alexa but don’t require a large sound field. Its small size makes it a great smart speaker for a nightstand.
Channels
Mono
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa
Learn More
Amazon Echo Dot Review
- Powerful audio output with rich bass and bright highs
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi streaming
- Excellent Sonos app
- Hands-free Alexa and Sonos Voice Control
- Improved battery life
- Not fully waterproof
- Outdated Bluetooth specs
- Expensive
Unlike most smart speakers, the Sonos Move 2 can be used in the great outdoors thanks to its internal battery. It even has an IP56 rating, meaning you can take it to the beach and leave it out in the rain without worry. On the audio front, it produces powerful stereo sound with a pleasing mix of sculpted lows and highs. The slick, full-featured Sonos companion app is another highlight.
Decks, backyards, and beaches: If you’re willing to spend a premium on a smart speaker you can take around your home or out to the beach, the Sonos Move 2 is a top choice. It gets loud, lasts up to 24 hours on battery power, and lets you choose between hands-free Alexa and Sonos Voice for assistance.
Channels
Stereo
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control
Learn More
Sonos Move 2 Review
- Plenty of kid-friendly activities and audiobooks available through Alexa
- Comes with six-month Amazon Kids+ subscription
- Silicone skin helps protect it from bumps
- Two-year warranty
- Only available in Disney-licensed designs
- Alexa skills are difficult to browse
The Echo Pop Kids includes a colorful faceplate (with Disney Princesses or Marvel’s Avengers), a protective silicone skin, a two-year warranty, and a six-month subscription to the Amazon Kids+ service. That’s a lot for just $10 more than the regular Echo Pop, especially when you consider that Amazon Kids+ gives you access to kid-friendly audiobooks, ebooks, games, and video content on Amazon’s various Echo and Fire devices, plus all smartphones and tablets.
Kids: This is the best smart speaker for little kids thanks to its protective skin. You can get a full year of Amazon Kids+ with the slightly more expensive Echo Dot Kids, but that speaker is less likely to withstand being tossed around.
Channels
1
Physical Connections
None
Built-In Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa
Learn More
Amazon Echo Pop Kids Review
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The Best Smart Speakers for 2026
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Buying Guide: The Best Smart Speakers for 2026
How to Talk to Your Smart Speaker
Every smart speaker responds to a wake word or phrase, such as “Alexa” for Amazon Alexa, “Hey, Google” for Google Assistant, and “Siri” for Siri. Once the speaker indicates it’s listening, you can ask whatever you want. The question then is how to ask.
All three voice assistants are fairly easy to talk with, but their base versions can trip up if you don’t use the proper syntax. To achieve the best results, you need to speak to Alexa or Google Assistant in a specific way. This isn’t a problem once you get used to the syntax, but the voice assistant too often gets confused if you use a term it doesn’t know or phrase a command in an unfamiliar way.
Amazon is rolling out Alexa+ for its smart speakers, and Gemini is already available on Google’s. Both upgraded voice assistants have much more conversational and natural language parsing thanks to large language model (LLM) AI. Alexa+ is included with Amazon Prime (or available on its own for $19.99 per month), while Gemini for Home requires a $10 Google Home Premium or $20 Google AI Pro monthly subscription.
As for Apple HomePod speakers and Siri? The rollout of Apple Intelligence has been amorphous and inconsistent, and Siri itself hasn’t seen any LLM-powered conversational improvements like Alexa+ and Google Gemini offer.
Left to right: Amazon Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio (Credit: Will Greenwald)
Managing Your Smart Home With a Smart Speaker
Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri can now control nearly any smart home device. In the Alexa and Google apps, and with the Siri Shortcuts feature, you can set up rooms for multiple devices to control, plus configure multi-step routines, such as “I’m leaving the house.” All three assistants support most major smart home device brands, though there are a few gaps among them.
The Amazon Echo Dot Max and the Echo Studio add support for the Zigbee smart home standard, which means they work with more third-party devices (and other Echo speakers in your home). Most newer smart home devices are Wi-Fi-based and hubless, or they work with Alexa and Google Assistant, so you shouldn’t encounter compatibility issues.
If you intend to use Siri to control your smart home, ensure the devices you purchase are HomeKit-compatible and that you have a HomePod, iPad, or Apple TV to serve as a hub. These devices enable you to create rooms, groups, and multi-step routines, and to control your devices remotely—but only from iOS devices. Apple’s Home app is gorgeous, but you have to be all-in with Apple for it to work well.
Matter is an emerging standard worth monitoring, though it isn’t yet widely available for smart home devices.
You can also use Alexa, Gemini, Google Assistant, or Siri to control a TV or home entertainment center with a compatible TV or appropriate hardware add-on (for example, a media streamer like an Amazon Fire TV device for Alexa, a Chromecast or Android TV for Google Assistant, an Apple TV for Siri, or a Roku device for any of them).
Recommended by Our Editors
The Google Home Speaker comes out later this spring (Credit: Google)
Can You Use Smart Speakers for Phone Calls?
Amazon and Google assistants let you make free phone calls directly from your smart speaker. Google’s voice assistants can call numbers in the US and Canada, but only to phone numbers in your Google Contacts. Alexa can call anyone in the US, Canada, and Mexico, but not toll-free numbers. You can also use Amazon Drop In to make voice calls to any friends or family with Alexa devices or the Alexa app, including different Echo speakers in your own home. The HomePod also functions as a speakerphone, but you can’t ask Siri to make a call for you; you have to initiate the call from your iPhone.
How Do Smart Speakers Sound?
All smart speakers can play music from your phone, but if you rely only on voice commands, you are stuck with cloud services. The Alexa and Google assistants connect to Apple Music and Spotify Premium accounts, as well as to Pandora, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio for free. Alexa speakers also play Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, while Google speakers can access YouTube Music. Siri on the HomePod and HomePod mini can play Apple Music and songs from your Apple Music account. For any of these services, you can just ask the smart speaker to start playing music from them.
Sonos Era 300 (Credit: Tim Gideon)
Most smart speakers also support Bluetooth, as well as Apple AirPlay and Google Cast, allowing you to stream audio directly from your phone, tablet, or computer. A few feature 3.5mm ports, though some are output-only (for connecting to larger, non-smart speakers) and not intended as aux inputs.
Ultimately, the best smart speaker for you is one that has the voice assistant you want, along with the right power, size, and price for your needs. And if you also want video support, there are always smart displays, which are basically smart speakers with touch screens.
