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Kasa's multicolor bulb offers fun lighting settings, energy tracking, and works well with Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control.
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Turning the lights on and off has never been simpler thanks to Alexa. If you’re all in on Amazon's voice assistant, you probably already know about a few of the different smart bulb choices, but there are more options than you might think. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your current smart home lighting setup or are ready to dip your toes in the water for the first time, we are here to help you find the best light bulbs that work with Alexa.
Ever since we started testing smart bulbs in 2015, the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit(available at Amazon) has stood head and shoulders above other Alexa-enabled smart bulbs. They’re bright and simple to use, and easy to control with your voice with Alexa devices like Amazon Echo speakers. For something cheaper, the Geeni Prisma Smart Bulb (available at Amazon) offers plenty of smart Alexa lighting features on a budget. That said, there are some other great options we’ve tested, with different features and versatility so you can pick the perfect fit for your home.
These are the best Alexa smart bulbs we tested, ranked in order:
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit (Gen 3)
Geeni Prisma LED Smart Bulb
Feit Electric Smart Bulb
Kasa Smart Bulb 125
Cync Full Color Direct Connect Smart Bulb
Govee Smart Light Bulbs Dimmable
Abode Color Bulb
Sengled Smart Bulb
Wyze Bulb 800 Lumen Tunable White LED WiFi Bulb
Ring A19 Smart LED Bulb
LIFX White
Credit: Reviewed / Nick Schmiedicker
The Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance bulbs offer some of the brightest and most vibrant colors of any smart bulb we've tested that works with Alexa.
Best Overall
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit (Gen 3)
Across the board, Philips Hue makes the best smart bulbs for Alexa. The bulbs are among the brightest and easiest to use of any we’ve tested. When using Alexa voice control, you can call out to your Echo speaker or use the Amazon Alexa app to change the bulb’s 16 million colors and tunable whites, adjust the brightness, and activate special lighting presets.
The only downside is that, unlike some other smart bulbs, the Hue bulbs do require a hub in order to work. Additional hardware isn’t usually a strong point, but it’s a small price to pay for the sheer performance and reliability the Hue bulbs offer—especially if you opt for the Starter Kit that comes packaged with the Hue bridge.
The Geeni Prisma Smart Bulb is a steal at twice the price.
Best Value
Geeni Prisma LED Smart Bulb
If you’ve never used a smart bulb before, the Alexa-compatible Geeni Prisma Plus LED smart bulb is a great budget pick for beginners. These bulbs are a a quarter of the price of Philip Hue, making Geeni one of the cheapest Alexa smart bulbs you can buy. Once paired with Alexa, you can say voice commands like "Alexa, dim the bedroom light to 25%" or "Alexa, set the bedroom light to cool white." You can also control the lights via the Geeni app, which offers two-factor authentication to help keep your account secure.
The bulb offers preset light scenes like rainbow, cocktail, night, reading, and rave. You can also create your own scenes and set the bulbs to a schedule. For a value-packed smart bulb that works with Alexa, Geeni’s Prisma Smart Bulb is the one you want.
Hi, I’m Rachel. I live in a home full of voice-activated smart speakers, remote-controlled light switches, and a slew of other connected gadgets. I’m the senior staff writer for Reviewed’s smart home section, helping to test everything from smart coffee makers and pool water monitors to the latest video doorbells and home security systems. I'm adding to the previous testing by Sarah Kovac, Reviewed’s former smart home editor, and Jill Duffy, a freelance consumer technology and software writer.
The Tests
To find out which smart bulb is the very best on the market today, we gathered popular bulbs and tested them in an actual home, with a regular router, in a typical lamp. We installed the bulbs’ apps on both iOS and Android to assess their ease of use and see whether the experience was the same on both platforms, testing response times over Wi-Fi connection and data. We also connected each bulb to Alexa using the Amazon Alexa app and Amazon Echo speakers to measure each bulb’s functionality and responsiveness to voice commands. So, you can say phrases like, “Hey Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights,” when you get home from work. Or, “Hey Alexa, turn off the hallway lights” before you go to bed.
What to Know About Smart Bulbs
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy
These are the best smart light bulbs Alexa works with.
After spending a few years testing and writing about smart bulbs, we've learned a few things that can help you decide which smart bulb to buy, and what to expect from your purchase. Switching from regular light bulbs to smart bulbs may be a bit of a hassle upfront (and a price increase), but once everything is set up, the bulbs are easy to control and there are so many benefits to how you can customize your home’s lighting.
Setting up a smart bulb goes a bit beyond simply screwing the light bulb into a socket and calling it a day. There's the question of whether or not it needs a "hub," works via Bluetooth, or can function on your Wi-Fi network alone. Once you've set up a hub, you'll go through an in-app setup process to identify your bulbs, assign them to rooms, and give you full control over their features.
Smart bulbs can do much more than turn your lights on or off via your phone or a smart speaker. Smart bulbs can control brightness, adjust color temperature (a cool blue-white light to a warm yellow), and change the light to any color in the rainbow.
Outside of color and brightness, most smart light bulbs will have additional options for creating scenes or setting schedules. Scenes are pre-existing or custom settings of color and brightness that you can easily select—making it a snap to change your room from bright white light to a soothing dim blue that's easier on the eyes. Schedules are exactly what they sound like: you can set your bulbs to automatically adjust based on time of day, alarms in the morning, or even changes in your location, such as turning lights off/on as you leave or come home from work.
All the smart bulbs we tested are compatible with Amazon Alexa.
Smart Bulbs vs. Smart Switches: What's the Difference
From smart switches to smart bulbs to smart plugs, you've got several options when it comes to automating your home lighting. One of the coolest things about smart bulbs is that they can display an array of 16 million colors. So, if you're looking to add some color to your home, that's one reason to choose smart bulbs over smart switches. Additionally, there's no messing with wires and breaking out the tool kit when it comes to installing a smart bulb. Although smart bulbs can do so much more than a regular light bulb, the installation process isn’t onerous, making it a great choice for renters or those who are new to the world of smart home.
Smart switches are another way that you can control your lights from anywhere. Installing a smart switch takes longer and is more work as compared to installing a smart bulb, but the cost of replacing every smart bulb in your home can add up quickly. A smart switch can control an entire light fixture's worth of regular light bulbs.
And don’t forget about smart plugs, which are an ideal choice for regular lamps that plug into an electrical outlet. Smart plugs cannot be used to control hardwired lights like smart bulbs and smart switches.
Privacy
There’s always a potential privacy risk involved when you use internet-connected devices at home. To help safeguard your smart home, there are some steps you can take. First, look for devices that offer two-factor authentication, which sends a code to your mobile device to verify it’s really you. That way, if someone tries to hack into your account, you will receive an alert and can quickly take care of the problem. Many devices also allow you to activate email or other push notifications in the settings to alert you if someone has logged on.
Additionally, make sure to use a unique, strong password composed of multiple characters, numbers, and letters for each of your smart home accounts. Data breaches feel like the norm as of late, making it all the more important to use different passwords across multiple websites and apps.
When using any devices with Alexa, you can further protect your privacy by regularly deleting your voice recordings and muting the speaker’s mic when it’s not in use.
Feit Electric Smart Bulbs provide affordable smart lighting that's quick to set up and simple to use. The bulbs connect over a 2.4GHz internet connection (without the need for 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 Alexa.
We had a little trouble figuring out how to change the color of the lights from the app at first but it was easy to do once we figured it out—just press and hold the bulb in the app. 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.
The TP Link 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. The bulb supports Alexa voice control with commands like "Alexa, adjust the kitchen light to cool white" or "Alexa, brighten downstairs to 60%."
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 latest version of Cync'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. These LED smart bulbs work with Alexa voice control to dim the lights and change the color of the bulb.
The app 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. These bulbs don't offer any preset lighting scenes, which is a fun extra you'll find in other Alexa 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 Alexa bulbs fit in best.
If you don’t want color changing, the Govee Smart Light Bulb is a fantastic choice for Alexa smart homes. 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 2.4GHz connection.
In the Govee app are 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. All in all, Govee’s dimmable smart bulbs’ warm glow is ideal for bedside lamps and responsive to Alexa voice commands. But If you need a color bulb, check out other options in our guide.
Abode, typically known for DIY home security gadgets, is taking the plunge into smart lighting with its first-ever smart bulb, the Abode Color Bulb. The 800-lumen bulb puts out bright and vibrant white light and colors remotely via the Abode app and works for voice control with Alexa.
Abode’s bulbs technically don’t need a hub for basic controls like changing the color and dimming the lights, but there’s a catch. To access scheduling features other bulbs provide natively, a hub is necessary. If you have an Abode Iota Security System, which includes a hub for home automation, adding a few Abode Color Bulbs makes a lot of sense and keeps your smart home all in one ecosystem. If not, other bulbs in our guide offer more bang for your buck. Another thing to consider is that Abode’s Color Bulbs sell as a two-pack (with a higher price per bulb than others in our guide).
Some third-party automation features are available for Abode bulbs such as support for Alexa Hunches, which allows Alexa to intuitively control the lights when you are away or asleep, as well as Alexa Routines. The bulbs also work with Routines in the Google Home app.
The bottom line is that, while the colors are rich and bright, Abode’s new smart lights lack native features many other smart bulbs have. Unless you already have an Abode setup, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere on our list for your smart bulb needs.
Sengled's smart bulbs have required a hub in the past, but the brand seems to be moving away from the requirement, offering a line of dimmable Alexa-compatible LED smart bulbs to choose from. We found these bulbs easy to integrate and use with Alexa.
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 for added security.
Wyze is a budget smart home brand that makes light bulbs for Alexa. 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 that you can adjust using Alexa voice control. We didn’t experience any issues with this bulb. It’s a simple smart bulb that needs a 2.4GHz 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.
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 it’s a solid choice to build off if you need a tunable white smart bulb that plays nicely with Alexa.
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 Alexa for voice control. 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.
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), let alone any fading options. Ring’s app does offer 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 Alexa household, the A19 Smart LED is a solid, low-cost addition to rooms where you don't need anything fancy.
The Lifx White A19 is an inexpensive, tunable white smart bulb that doesn't require a hub and works well with Alexa. Using Amazon’s smart assistant, you can ask Alexa to turn on the lights and change the bulb to a particular shade of white. The bulb is also dimmable, so you can use Alexa voice control to adjust the brightness. All of these features are also available in the Lifx app, but you won’t get two-factor authentication for alerts when bad guys attempt to log into your account.
In the app, 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. 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 Alexa.
Sarah Kovac is an award-winning author and accessibility editor for Reviewed. Previously, she worked with a multitude of outlets such as Wirecutter, TIME, PCMag, Prevention, The Atlantic, Reviews.com, CNN, GOOD, Upworthy, Mom.me, and SheKnows.
Rachel Murphy covers smart home for Reviewed. She lives in an actual smart home home full of smart plugs, smart lights, and smart speakers equipped with voice assistants Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. Murphy holds a journalism degree from the University of Central Florida and has over a decade of experience reporting and writing. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer for Business Insider, Mashable, Elite Daily, and other major publications. Prior to her work in online journalism, Murphy worked as an associate editorial producer for ABC News' Good Morning America in New York City.
Jill Duffy is a writer covering consumer technology and software for both personal and business use. She has been testing and reviewing technology since 2011. Before that, she was a writer and editor covering video game development, e-learning, and other areas of tech and science.
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