Credit:
Reviewed / Rachel Murphy
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Credit:
Reviewed / Rachel Murphy
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The Philips Hue Color and White Ambience Bulb was a painless experience to set up and also lets you adjust the temperature of the bulb. Read More
This smart bulb offers high-class features for an affordable price that makes it one of the best deals you can find on a smart bulb right now. Read More
The Wyze Bulb Color is a fantastic choice for an LED smart bulb if you want big, bold, and bright color for your smart home. Read More
Kasa's multicolor bulb offers fun lighting settings, energy tracking, and works well with Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control. Read More
This inexpensive white smart lightbulb is easy to set up, so easy that you can set up your new lights in the blink of an eye. Read More
There are dozens of smart bulbs available, but Alexa light bulbs have the added benefit of being compatible with Amazon’s voice assistant—as well as Echo devices—to help you control the lights in your home.
After extensive testing, the best smart bulb for Alexa is the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit (available at Walmart for $208.56) , because of its vibrant colors, easy installation, and ease of use.
We’ve tested a wide range of different bulbs, with different features and unique uses, so you can pick the perfect fit for your home.
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.
The Wiz smart bulb, which displays 16 million colors as well as shades of white, is the best smart bulb for the money.
Vibrant colors
Easy to use
Good features
App scenes can be confusing
The Wyze Bulb Color offers some of the brightest, most vibrant colors of any smart bulb we've tested.
Vibrant color
Good app controls
Works with Google and Alexa
Does not support HomeKit
The Kasa app offers energy monitoring, so you can keep track of your usage.
The Ring smart bulb requires a Ring lighting bridge, and can be used indoors and outdoors (in a covered fixture).
Easy setup
Works with Alexa
Dimmable in Alexa app
No Colors
Bridge required
Color changing bulb
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
Simple setup
App is slightly confusing
The Geeni Prisma Smart Bulb is a steal at twice the price.
App offers two-factor authentication
Color or white tunable bulb
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
None we could find
App offers two-factor authentication
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
No hub required
Slow app on iOS
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
Bright, vibrant colors
Good for Abode ecosystems
Hub required for some basic features
To find the best smart bulbs for Alexa, we bought the bestselling, highest-rated bulbs and put them through their paces in an actual home, installing them in lamps and various other light fixtures.
We tested each bulb’s functionality through the smart bulb’s companion app on both an iOS and Android device. Then, we also tested each bulb with Alexa to measure the bulb’s functionality and responsiveness to voice commands.
These are the best smart light bulbs Alexa works with.
Alexa smart bulbs let you control brightness, activate certain lighting presets and scenes, power the lights on/off, and adjust color temperature through Alexa voice commands. In order to enable Alexa voice control, you will need to set up your compatible smart bulbs in the companion app first, and then add them in the Alexa app to enable voice control.
In the smart bulb’s companion app, you can often set schedules so that your bulbs turn on and/or off at a certain time every day. You can also set them to coincide with alarms in the morning, or even changes in your location. For instance, you can set your smart lights to turn off and on as you leave or come home from work.
Many smart bulbs also work with Alexa Routines. Routines let you group together several tasks and execute them with a single voice command. For example, you can set a bedtime routine that turns off all of the Alexa smart bulbs in your home when you say, “Alexa, goodnight.”
One of the coolest things about smart bulbs is that color bulbs, at least, 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, smart bulbs offer versatility and fresh features without making you break out the tool kit or mess with the wiring. They can do so much more than a regular light bulb, but the installation process isn’t onerous. That makes them ideal for renters, or for people who are new to the world of smart home technology.
Smart switches are another way that you can control your lights from anywhere. Installing a smart switch takes longer and is more work compared to installing a smart bulb.
However, one smart switch can control an entire light fixture’s worth of regular light bulbs. That can represent significant savings compared to shelling out to replace a home full of smart bulbs.
And don’t forget about smart plugs. They can’t be used to control hardwired lights the way that smart bulbs or smart switches can. However, they’re an ideal choice for regular lamps that plug into an electrical outlet.
Whenever you use internet-connected devices at home, including Alexa, there’s always a potential privacy risk. However, there are steps you can take to help safeguard your smart home.
Two-factor authentication: Devices with this security feature send a verification code to your mobile device. If someone tries to hack your account, the device sends an alert and you can take care of the issue before it becomes a problem. Many devices allow you to activate email or other push notifications in the settings to alert you if someone has logged on.
Use a unique, strong password: A good password should be composed of multiple characters, numbers, and letters for each of your smart home accounts. Using different passwords for websites and apps can help protect you from data breaches.
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.
Looking for more privacy tips? Read our guide on securing your smart home.
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 is Reviewed's home editor. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a freelance writer for publications like Insider and Mashable, and as an associate editorial producer for Good Morning America. Aside from smart home tech, her interests include food, travel, parenting, and home renovation. You can usually find her sipping on coffee at any time of the day.
Jill Duffy
Contributor
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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