The Best Smart Speakers of 2026

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5GHz), 3.5mm line in/out
• Special features: Dolby Audio, Zigbee, Sidewalk compatibility
• Smart assistant support: Amazon Alexa
• Weight: 2.14 lbs
• Dimensions (HWD): 5.2 x 5.7 x 5.7 inches

The fourth-gen Echo smart speaker is our pick for the best smart speaker. This fabric-covered orb’s modern, minimal aesthetic offers a sleek look for your smart home. It has rich sound for a small speaker, and acts as a Zigbee and Matter hub for certain smart home devices. Its built-in temperature sensor helps deploy smart thermostat automation.

The sound on the 4th-gen Echo is respectable for a speaker that’s not much larger than a softball, though it can’t compete with the bass produced by larger speakers. But committed Alexa users won’t be disappointed in this new Echo, using it solo, as a stereo pair, or for multi-room music.

Overall, this tiny smart speaker packs a big punch for smart homes. It comes in several colors, and you can frequently find it on sale via Amazon.

Read our full Amazon Echo (4th gen) review

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5GHz), 3.5mm line in/out, Zigbee, Matter
• Special features: 4 microphones, lossless high definition, automatic room adaptation, built-in smart home hub,
• Smart assistant support: Amazon Alexa, Alexa+
• Weight: 17.82 oz
• Dimensions (HWD): 4.27 x 4.27 x 3.9 inches

At $99, the Echo Dot Max (2025) delivers a lot of bang for the buck.

We got our hands on Amazon’s latest smart speaker, powered by Alexa+, straight out of the box, but first, a word on the sound. Expect loud, clear, and well-balanced audio with significantly more bass than most of its predecessors, like the 5th Gen Amazon Echo Dot, despite its relatively small size. It can fill a small to medium-sized room with spatialized sound and optimize playback based on the room's shape and layout. That is, found in Amazon’s latest crop of smart speakers and displays, “Omnisense” is a sensor-fusion platform that, among other features, leverages the device’s internal microphones and audio processing to analyze how sound waves interact with the room and automatically adjust the speaker's equalizer (EQ) settings.

The biggest star of the new Echo Dot Max, however, is Alexa+, a smarter, highly conversational, and more personalized virtual assistant you can interact with. She is faster, too, thanks to her AZ3 chip.

Also read: Amazon Echo Dot vs. Echo Pop: Which one should you buy?.

Leveraging genAI, you don’t need to keep saying “Alexa” after the first time you wake her up, making it feel like you’re conversing with a real person. Alexa+ will remember things you tell her, such as the names of your family and their likes and dislikes, and perhaps allergies and dietary restrictions (ideal for when you’re planning a dinner party). Alexa+ learns your smart home routines, such as turning the alarm on every night at 10 pm, and if you don’t do it one day, you might be prompted to do so.

You can even have Alexa+ perform extracurricular tasks for you, such as booking restaurant reservations or a rideshare pickup.

After free Early Access (available through January 2026), Alexa+ will be free with a Prime membership or available to non-Prime members for $19.99 per month. We don’t anticipate people spending that much on a smarter Alexa, but we’ll see.

About the size of a grapefruit, the large, orb-shaped device sounded great when we tested music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. And it supports pairing so that you can connect compatible Echo or Fire TV devices for a complete home theater setup.

If you don’t want a smart display like the Echo Show, which lets you see (and not just hear) content, you can’t go wrong with the Echo Dot Max for your home or office.

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, USB-C, 3.5mm with optional line-in adapter, Ethernet with optional combo adapter
• Special features: Spatial audio through Dolby Atmos
• Smart assistant support: Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control
• Weight: 9.85 lbs
• Dimensions (HWD): 6.3 x 10.24 x 7.28 inches

It’s not often a speaker comes out that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with sound, but that’s exactly what Sonos has done with the Era 300. It’s the first spatial audio offering from Sonos, and while Dolby Atmos music is still a niche market, the depth of sound it delivers is remarkable, whether you’re listening in Atmos or stereo.

The Sonos 300 is one of the best-sounding smart speakers on the market, with rich and full response that is far bigger than you’d expect from a speaker of its size.

It looks unlike any other smart speaker—a design rooted in function while keeping an attractive and unique profile. Its cinched shape houses six speakers aimed in different directions with capacitive controls on the top for transport and volume control.

Love it or hate it, the Era 300 requires the use of the Sonos app for setup, and to get full functionality out of the speaker, including access to dozens of streaming apps, whole-home integration, and Alexa or Sonos Voice Control smart assistant setup for hands-free controls.

There’s a wealth of functionality at the detriment of being a bit unintuitive. The smart assistant is quick and responsive, though, and the built-in mics (which can be turned off with a switch on the speaker) can hear commands from across the room. The speaker can even be used as surround speakers with a Sonos soundbar like the Sonos Arc Ultra, adding more immersion to your home theater setup.

Read our full review of the Sonos Era 300

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB (wired line-in via optional adapter)
• Special features: Noise canceling, IP56 dust and water resistance, 24-hour battery life
• Smart assistants: Alexa
• Weight: 6.61 lbs
• Dimensions (HWD): 9.49 x 6.29 x 5.00 inches

When you think of a portable speaker, the Sonos Move 2 may not immediately come to mind, but its excellent audio quality and range of helpful features make it worth considering. It also fits into the much-beloved Sonos ecosystem, allowing it to interface with speakers like the Ikea-branded Symfonisk and even the Sonos Arc Dolby Atmos soundbar. Plus, it has a 24-hour battery life that lets you use it on the go.

It's important to note that the Move 2 isn't particularly rugged compared to some other portable speakers. It does have an IP56 dust and water resistance rating, which should help keep it working fine even with the odd splash, but you'll want to take care of it. The speaker is also pretty big and heavy, so it's perhaps better served as a portable speaker around the home rather than one that you'll throw in a bag for the beach.

Unlike some previous-generation Sonos speakers, the Sonos Move 2 only supports Alexa, not Google Assistant—likely due to an ongoing legal dispute between Sonos and Google.

If you don't mind its heft, and you plan on using Alexa, you'll find that it's arguably the best-sounding smart speaker out there, with deep bass and detailed highs.

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
• Special features: Stereo pairing
• Smart assistant support: Google Assistant
• Weight: 2.65 lbs
• Dimensions (HWD): 6.9 x 4.9 x 3.1 inches

The Google Nest Audio offers great performance and sound. It also supports control of your Matter smart home devices.

The sleek design comes in five colors, with three hidden touch controls on top that play or pause music and control the volume. While the bass could be deeper, the speaker puts out crisp and clear sound, even when cranked up.

It has a stereo pairing feature that allows you to sync two Nest Audio speakers in the same room in stereo through the Google Home app. It can also be paired with other Google smart speakers for sharp, multi-room audio, and it has Google Assistant built-in to help control your smart home.

While it doesn't come with USB-C or auxiliary input ports, it supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Overall, the Nest Audio is a great option for anyone looking for a Google Assistant-friendly smart speaker for around $100 that packs in smart features and ear-pleasing sound.

Read our full Google Nest Audio review

• Connectivity: 802.11n Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth 5, Thread/Matter
• Special features: Touch surface controls, stereo pairing, spatial audio
• Smart assistant support: Google Assistant
• Weight: 5.16 lbs
• Dimensions (HWD): 6.6 x 5.6 x 5.6 inches

The second-gen Apple HomePod is the best smart speaker for HomeKit, booming with impressive sound and intriguing features like support for Spatial Audio, compatibility with Matter smart home devices, and Siri integration. As long as you’re not an Android user, it may be the smart speaker you’re looking for.

The HomePod’s 4-inch woofer and five tweeters work in unison to deliver a powerful soundstage that fills a space. It also works as a stereo pair with another HomePod to establish left and right channels for your tunes.

It supports 360-degree Spatial Audio for a more immersive listening experience when using streaming options like Apple Music, and we think it sounds fantastic.

Beyond audio, the second-gen HomePod is a useful smart speaker and incorporates Matter. The HomePod also has built-in temperature and humidity sensors, a handy feature if you have a smart thermostat.

Despite perhaps being a step behind Google Assistant and Alexa, Siri voice assistant brings all the standard conveniences, including working in tandem with Apple’s Find My iPhone feature if you’ve misplaced your device around the house.

Outside of a $300 price tag, the one blemish on the second-generation HomePod is that it works exclusively with Apple products, meaning, if you’re deep in the Android ecosystem, you’re out of luck.

That said, Apple owners will be extraordinarily hard pressed to find a smart speaker that offers a better combination of sound and features tailored to them than the HomePod.

Read our full HomePod (2nd gen) review.

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth
• Special features: Amazon Sidewalk, mesh Wi-Fi extender capabilities with Eero networks, and color-changing lighting serve as a notification center
• Smart assistant support: Amazon Alexa, Matter
• Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Dimensions (HWD): 3.6 x 3.9 x 3.3 inches

The Amazon Echo Pop is the smallest, most affordable Echo smart speaker yet. It supports Matter-enabled devices and works as an Eero Wi-Fi extender. The Echo Pop delivers decent sound quality for a speaker that isn't much larger than your morning cup of espresso. The audio is crisp, clear, and just fine for listening to in the background. However, when volume is up, the Echo Pop struggles with clarity, especially on hard rock songs.

It does not have an audio jack on the back like the Echo Dot; its only port is meant for power with the included 15W power cord. It comes in fun colors like lavender and midnight blue.

The Echo Pop isn't the smart home powerhouse that the fourth- and fifth-gen Echo Dots are. Its size and affordability mean that it lacks the motion and temperature sensors of higher-end Echo speakers. But, for less than $40, the bright and cheerful Echo Pop offers quick and easy access to Alexa in one compact size, making it a great smart speaker for small spaces, like a dorm room.

Read our full Amazon Echo Pop review