The Best Smart Bulbs of 2021

Feit Electric Smart Bulbs provide affordable smart lighting that's quick to set up and simple to use. The bulbs connect over a 2.4 GHz internet connection (without the need of a separate hub) making it easy to control the lights from anywhere with the companion app. The bulbs also support hands-free voice control with smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, but not Siri.

We had a little trouble figuring out how to change the color of the lights from the app at first (press and hold the bulb in the app), but it was easy to do once we figured it out. Feit’s bulbs can be set to millions of colors and shades of white, and you can dim the brightness in the app or by voice.

One downside is the app lacks two-factor authentication, a feature that helps keep your account secure. The bulbs support scheduling and groups, but are not as feature-packed as others that offer location-based smart controls and timers. However, these bulbs are responsive to voice commands from Alexa and Google Assistant and maintain a reliable connection.

The latest version of C by GE's bulbs ditches the need for a hub, making these bulbs an ideal choice for anyone who wants to quickly set up a few lights that they can control from an app. You can use voice commands via smart assistants Alexa and Google Assistant to control these lights, but it does not offer integrations with Apple HomeKit as the previous generation did.

The bulbs can be set up in the Cync app, which offers-two factor authentication to keep your account secure, but it can be slow to load on iOS devices. In the app, you can tap anywhere on the color wheel to choose the exact shade and hue you want, or keep each bulb white and select the warmth or coolness that suits your mood.

You can also save your favorite colors so you can choose them quickly next time, adjust the brightness with a slider bar that also shows the percentage, and create automations that turn your lights on, off, or to a particular color and brightness settings at the times and days you set. These bulbs don't offer any preset lighting scenes, which is a fun extra you'll find in other bulbs in our guide.

Cync makes outdoor smart plugs, indoor security cameras, and other smart home devices to help you build out your own Cync-powered smart home, which is where we think these full-color bulbs fit in best.

The Kasa Multicolor Smart Light Bulb is similar to other picks in our guide, offering an array of 16 million colors to choose from, including warm to cool whites. It works with Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control but does not integrate with Apple HomeKit. This intuitive bulb can be set to automatically adjust the lights based on the time of day.

It also offers remote control via the Kasa app, which is simple and easy to use, though it lacks security features like two-factor authentication. Away Mode is also available on Kasa smart bulbs, which can randomly turn your bulbs on/off to give the appearance you're there when you're not. One nice thing about Kasa bulbs is that you can track their energy usage in the Kasa app, something most smart bulbs don't offer.

The most important thing to know about the Merkury Smart Bulb is that it’s an A21 bulb and not an A19 bulb. This means that it's bigger in size and brighter in color than A19 bulbs. The color-changing LED bulb supports voice control with smart assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana, but does not offer integrations with Apple HomeKit.

It runs through the Geeni app where security features like two-factor authentication are available. In the app, you can adjust the color, saturation, and brightness of the bulb. Scenes and scheduling features are available in the app and work well. The bulb works without a hub, though it does require a 2.4 GHz internet connection like most others. If you need a big, bright smart bulb, Merkury’s is a reliable choice.

If you don’t want color changing, the Govee Smart Light Bulb is a fantastic choice. The LED smart bulb puts out a lovely, soft white color and can be controlled remotely via Bluetooth (only available when you're within range) or Wi-Fi via a 2.4 GHz connection. Voice control is also available via Alexa and Google Assistant, however, Siri is not compatible with Govee’s smart bulbs.

In the Govee app you’ll find convenient smart lighting features like scheduling, timers, and group control. There are several different lighting scenes to pick from like reading, night light, and relax.

Like many bulbs on this list, Govee’s app does not have two-factor authentication to help secure your account. In the app, you can enable a feature called Device Safety, which makes it so that the bulb can only be paired with your account (best to prevent people from taking over your bulb via Bluetooth). However, it does not prevent people who have your password from gaining access to your account.

All in all, Govee’s dimmable smart bulb’s warm glow is ideal for bedside lamps. But If you need a color bulb, check out other options in our guide.

Lifx White is an inexpensive, tunable white smart bulb that doesn't require a hub and works with all the three major home assistants: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. If you get started with an Apple mobile device, the Lifx app automatically prompts you to connect with HomeKit and Siri, making for an extremely smooth process no matter your level of expertise.

Features in the app range from handy to quirky. For example, you can set an on/off schedule for your lights, create fade timers, and even view all the scheduled actions for the day in a timeline. On the quirkier end, there's a strange Flicker setting that makes it seem like there's something wrong with the wiring in your home, plus two other presets called Spooky and Strobe that do the same thing only with increasing intensity, seemingly designed for Halloween decor. A seizure warning accompanies the last one. The Lifx app does not offer two-factor authentication, a security feature that alerts you to attempted login attempts.

With an expected lifespan of roughly 22 years, the Lifx White is a good bulb to choose if you don't care too much about special features and want a long-lasting, tunable white bulb that works with your smart home.

Sengled's smart bulbs have needed a hub in the past, but the brand seems to be moving away from the requirement, offering a line of dimmable LED smart bulbs to choose from.

We tested Sengled's soft white smart bulb, which integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control. A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection is needed, like the majority of other smart bulbs.

In the Sengled app, you can remotely control the lights, set scenes, and create lighting routines. It also has modes to help you fall asleep and wake up by slowly brightening or dimming the lights, but you’re limited to white as your only color. The app does not offer two-factor authentication, a security feature that helps secure your account.

We didn’t experience any issues during our testing, but some reviewers have noted the bulbs randomly go offline and can turn on by themselves.

The Wyze Bulb is a budget smart lighting option that works with Alexa and Google Assistant. The tunable white bulb doesn’t offer vibrant colors like the Wyze Color Bulb, but it does offer a cozy selection of white light ranging from warm white to daylight. We didn’t experience any issues with this bulb. It’s a simple smart bulb that needs a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection to operate.

The Wyze bulb supports dimming via voice control or the Wyze app, both of which are responsive to lighting commands. One thing to know is that you cannot use this bulb with a dimmer switch. When using voice commands, you can ask Google Assistant or Alexa to turn the lights on and off, dim, or tune the color temperature to a certain level.

In the app, a handy vacation mode turns the lights on and off at random intervals when you're away from home to give the impression that someone's there. Another feature not seen in many other smart bulb apps is a sleep timer, which lets you schedule the light to turn off in however many minutes you choose. Wyze makes a lot of budget smart home devices, so you really can’t go wrong with this pick if you need a tunable white smart bulb.

Looking for something a little different? The Sengled Smart LED Vintage Edison Bulb is well suited for hanging pendants. With the design of an old-school filament lamp, the vintage Edison bulb fills any room with a warm chrome color. It looks sunny at 100 percent brightness, and you can dim it down from the connected app for a more cozy, candlelit atmosphere. It's compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT. It doesn't work with Apple HomeKit (unless you happen to own an older version of the Sengled Smart Hub that supports it).

The bulb comes with a three-year warranty and has an estimated 22-year life span. This particular bulb needs a hub like the Sengled hub. We set up for testing with a Sengled hub and found the process quick and straightforward.

It's equally simple to turn the bulb on and off, adjust the brightness, create a schedule for the lights to go on or off automatically and use other controls in the app. It’s worth noting that the Sengled app lacks security features like two-factor authentication. You can turn the lights on and off when you're not home or set them to run on a schedule to make it appear like you're home when you're not, although there isn't a randomized away-from-home option.

The Ring A19 Smart LED bulb is an inexpensive, white smart lightbulb that's easy to set up, including the Ring Smart Lighting Bridge. You'll need the bridge, which uses a simple USB plug and brick in an ordinary outlet, to control the light from the app or connect it to Amazon Alexa. Subsequently, you can also use the Echo (4th gen) smart speaker or the Echo Show 10 (third-gen) smart display in place of the bridge to access mobile notifications and custom settings. Like all Ring products, it doesn't work with other smart home platforms such as Google Home or Apple HomeKit.

Picking up a couple of Ring A19 bulbs plus a bridge doesn't cost much, and you can set up your new lights in the blink of an eye, but these bulbs are a little light on features. While dimmable, the Ring A19 system doesn't have warmth or coolness settings (in other words, it's not tunable), much less any options to have the lights fade to darkness slowly. We do like that the Ring app offers security features like mandatory two-factor authentication to secure your account.

You can create custom schedules for when you want the lights on and off, but there isn't a setting that turns them on at random times to make it look like your home when you're away. The bulb can be set to be triggered if motion is detected on your Ring doorbell or home security cameras, which helps bolster your home's security. If you're a Ring or Amazon Alexa household, the A19 Smart LED is a solid, low-cost addition to rooms where you don't need anything fancy.