The Best Outdoor Smart Plugs of 2021

C by GE recently rebranded to Cync, and with the rebrand came a suite of new products including the Cync Outdoor Smart Plug. It’s one of the best we’ve tested because it offers easy setup, account authentication to keep you secure, and two independently configurable outlets, doubling the amount of outlet space for your outdoor needs. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant but not Apple’s Siri. It also doesn’t require a hub.

The plug has weatherproofing outlet covers to protect from water, snow, dirt, and other outside elements. It held up well through several thunderstorms, coupled with high heat and humidity.

The setup can be completed in the Cync app, which works well for Android and iOS. The app may collect information linked to you like identifiers and diagnostics, but it offers two-factor authentication and a way to manage approved users (something not all of the plugs in our guide have). Overall, this is a fantastic outdoor smart plug to make your outside world a more connected place to be, as long as you don’t need Siri voice control support.

The Meross outdoor smart plug, our previous Best Overall pick, is rugged, weather-resistant, easy to use/control, and it has status lights that are easy to see and understand from a distance. It has two separate plugs that can be controlled independently. Since our outdoor outlet has two sockets, we could plug more than one thing at a time. This plug is very responsive, easy to use during setup and testing, and we love that we could see at a glance whether both outlets are turned on thanks to prominent indicator lights. The one thing that this plug does not offer, however, is reporting energy consumption.

The app makes it easy to create scenes. For example, you can set the smart plug to turn off when you are away from home or turn it on when you get up in the morning. These scenes are triggered by using voice controls with your smart assistant of choice. ("Okay Google, good morning" will trigger your morning scene).

It’s also very easy to set up routines for your Meross smart plug. Routines will either power the plug on or off according to a schedule or turn your plug off after a specified amount of time. The app’s settings tab contains helpful guides to walk users through setting up the plug with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. From looks to function to the app, this plug is just pleasant to work with.

If you're looking for a good outdoor smart plug that's a pleasure to operate and can accommodate more than one item being plugged in at a time, the Meross won't disappoint.

If you don't need a smart plug with dual outlets, the Geeni Outdoor smart plug is a good option. It's easy to set up and install, it works reliably and quickly, and it has bright status lights. It's on the small side for an outdoor smart plug, so it wouldn't be awkward to use indoors when you don't need it outside. It even has a notch that will allow you to hang it from a screw or nail, which is a nice touch that keeps it up off the ground.

The home screen shows the outdoor temperature, humidity, and air pressure—we’re not sure how useful that information is concerning a smart plug, but it doesn’t hurt. The app will walk you through the creation of scenes to turn your plug on or off with ease, but we didn’t find the setup process to be as intuitive in the Geeni as products like the Meross.

We also found it difficult to specify which action we wanted to trigger each scene. For example, the action could be local sunset, which would trigger the scene that turns the plug on. But if you’re not looking for automation, this plug is good enough at being turned off and on from a phone.

The Geeni app offers two-factor authentication to keep your account secure. However, the app can potentially collect information linked to your identity like your location, contact information, identifiers, and usage data. It also requires you to log in using your cell phone number, which might turn some people off.

If you want to control your outdoor smart plug remotely, but you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, the Geeni is worth considering since it is a few bucks cheaper than many competitors, and it comes with two-factor authentication. It’s a solid little plug and a good value for the price.

The Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug by TP-Link features two front-facing outlets, each of which can be controlled separately through voice commands or the Kasa app. Kasa’s Wi-Fi outdoor plug feels durable, doesn't require a hub, and has a wireless range of more than 300 feet.

We didn't run into any issues during the setup process, and the plug never lost connectivity during our tests. TP-Link’s outdoor plug works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and integrating the plug with both of these two popular smart assistants is easy as pie.

The Kasa app makes it simple to control the plug from anywhere and includes the ability to set schedules, program timers, and access Away Mode. Although it doesn’t offer energy monitoring, the Kasa app shows basic insights about the outlet’s current, daily, and total runtime.

The heavy-duty plug has a weatherproof rating of IP64, which means it can handle dusty environments, splashes of water, and sideways downpours without any problems. We put this plug to the test in Florida’s hot, humid, and sometimes rainy climate with no issues. But, it’s not fully waterproof, so it’s best to place the plug on an elevated surface or a spot with proper drainage and make sure it’s plugged into a GFCI receptacle when used outside or in wet locations.

One point to note is that there is no two-factor authentication available with the Kasa app, an important feature when it comes to securing your account. The app also may collect quite a bit of data about you like your purchases, location, and contact information.

Overall, Kasa’s Smart Outdoor Plug is a foolproof plug that’s easy to use when automating your outdoor setup, but you should consider opting for a plug that includes two-factor authentication and one that potentially collects fewer details about you.

If you’re all in on using Ring security products at home, the Ring Outdoor Smart Plug will be a natural fit into your existing smart home ecosystem. The weather-ready smart plug requires a Ring Smart Bridge to work, which is an additional expense to consider. The bridge can be used to connect to up to 50 other Ring devices like outdoor smart lights and motion sensors, so if you already own one, this plug could make a lot of sense to buy.

The plug does not integrate with Google Assistant or Siri, only Amazon Alexa (Amazon owns Ring). It’s responsive to voice commands via Alexa using an Echo speaker or via the Amazon Alexa app, available for iOS and Android. The app doesn’t offer energy monitoring insights but it does have mandatory two-factor authentication and a dedicated privacy control center to keep your account secure. The Ring app may collect details about your privacy like purchases, contact information, location, usage data, and more.

This plug makes perfect sense for anyone already roped in on Ring security products or anyone running an Alexa-only smart home ecosystem. But given that the bridge is an additional cost on top of the plug, and it collects a fair bit of information, you’re better off choosing a different, more affordable plug from our roundup.

The Lutron Caseta Outdoor Smart Plug is one of the few smart plugs that offers only one outlet instead of two, and it’s also larger than most other smart plugs. These two factors caused it to rank toward the bottom of our list, but the build is rugged and feels durable for the long haul. It also works across Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, which is rare for an outdoor smart plug.

Overall, the plug was easy to set up and connect with all three smart assistants, but it needs the Lutron Pico remote control or a Lutron Caséta Smart Bridge to operate. Two-factor authentication is available in the Lutron app, which may collect your contact information linked directly to you. The Lutron app may also collect other data not linked to you like your location, usage data, and diagnostics.

The rugged outdoor plug is rated IP65 for outdoor use and has an operating temperature range of -4 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

This plug is pricey but well-constructed. We’d only recommend it if you're already using Lutron smart dimmer switches, or if you need a plug that works reliably across all three major smart assistants.

The iHome Outdoor Smart Plug is a solid little spark plug, but it lacks some of the features of the others we tested. The plug itself is slim and compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. The indicator lights on the side of the plug are a little smaller than we'd like, as we can't see them without getting up close. It does have a notch that allows it to hang from a nail or screw but doesn't have energy monitoring, a plug cover, or dual outlets.

The iHome Control app on Android offers a quick view of your smart plug and its status. It doesn’t offer any extra information like local weather or energy usage like some of the others do, but it’s simple to operate, and it makes it easy to set up schedules and trigger power on/off in response to Nest’s home/away status or information from motion, leak, and window sensors.

The iOS version of the app is more impressive, as it connects with HomeKit and can, therefore, control every HomeKit-enabled smart item in your house. If you don’t need dual plug capacity and the rest of your smart home is operating on HomeKit, the iHome might be a good choice.

However, the developers of the iHome app have not disclosed what user data the app collects and how it’s managed. There’s also no two-factor authentication available. We suggest selecting a different plug from our guide with more in-app security.