The Best Alexa-Friendly Smart Home Devices of 2021

The Ring Video Doorbell 4 is one of the best video doorbells that works with Alexa. It offers useful smart features at no additional cost like Quick Replies and color Pre-Roll video clips that enhance the overall experience. Because of the multiple installation options (hardwired or battery), this doorbell can be installed pretty much anywhere in a matter of minutes, something many video doorbells can’t match.

Pairing the doorbell with an Echo speaker or Amazon smart display like the Echo Show 5 allows Alexa to announce when someone is at the door and automatically pull up the live view. You can also ask Alexa to show you a live stream of your front door camera.

Two-way talk is available from the display to your Ring doorbell and vice versa, which isn’t available on every doorbell that works with Alexa.For a versatile and value-packed doorbell that works with Alexa, the Ring 4 is a no-brainer.

Check out our roundup of the best video doorbells

A great smart thermostat like the Google Nest Thermostat is the easiest way to control the temperature in your home from anywhere, and it even works with Alexa. We love the smart thermostat’s sleek, intuitive design and robust set of smart features like changing the temperature via the thermostat's dial, using the Nest app, or by asking Alexa.

You can use the app to set a traditional time-of-day schedule—far simpler than most non-smart thermostats—or let the Nest learn your daily habits and adjust the temperature automatically. The thermostat can also use your phone’s location to adjust the temperature when you’re not there, which in turn can save you money on your monthly energy bill.

Check out our roundup of the best smart thermostats

For a DIY home security system that offers truly awesome Alexa integration, you’ve got to go with Ring’s Alarm System. With Alexa, you can arm/disarm your system by voice and it supports Alexa Guard, which uses your Echo speakers to listen for possible emergencies like glass breaking and smoke/carbon monoxide detector alarms.

It’s well-packaged for installation and includes clear instructions for a quick and easy setup. The system sends detailed smart alerts whether you’re tethered to paid professional monitoring or not, and plays out a powerful 104-decibel siren when the alarm sounds. Ring’s plans are some of the most affordable too, including free self-monitoring or continuous professional monitoring. For a home security system that plays nice with Alexa, Ring’s alarm kit is the way to go.

Check out our roundup of the best DIY home security systems

A smart speaker is the central command station of your smart home and the best way to interact with Alexa. While there are certainly plenty of great smart speakers out there, the Amazon Echo (4th gen) is the best option for Alexa voice control.

The latest version looks nothing like previous generations of Echo speakers, taking on a more modern and minimal aesthetic as a fabric-covered orb. It also has the Zigbee smart home hub capabilities of the previous Echo Plus, and it comes loaded with a new processor that speeds up Alexa's response time. It also supports Adaptive Volume, a new feature that helps Alexa hear you better when the room is noisy.

If you’re in a committed relationship with Alexa, upgrading to the 4th-gen Echo is a worthy investment.

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From underneath kitchen cabinets to lining hallway baseboards and door frames, there are many ways to use light strips to brighten up your home. Not all light strips are the same, though, which is why you should buy the best: the LIFX Lightstrip Color Zones.

Using Amazon’s smart assistant, you can turn the lights on/off, change the color, activate a preset lighting scene, and adjust the brightness. During our tests, the strip light responded immediately to our Alexa commands and offered one of the speediest setups. (It also works with Apple HomeKit and Google Home.)

The lights put out a bright 1,400 lumens, but the best thing about LIFX, and what sets it apart from most others, is that the adhesive strip offers eight different customizable color zones. The strip comes in two lengths: 40 inches and 80 inches. Additional 40-inch extension strips can be added for up to 33 feet, or you can cut the strip down to a smaller size.

This Alexa-friendly smart light strip is bright, vibrant, and full of features for a personally tailored lighting experience.

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Our favorite smart lock, the Schlage Encode, also works with Alexa—and there’s a lot to love about it. For starters, thanks to the app’s interactive step-by-step guide, installation and troubleshooting are a breeze. The lock and accompanying app are simple and intuitive to use, jam-packed with useful features, and they have the fastest lock and unlock times with remote access.

The Encode’s Amazon Key compatibility means that you can allow delivery persons to digitally unlock your smart lock to set your Amazon packages inside the door for you if you’re not into answering the door in your pajamas. And if you’re not crazy about letting random people unlock your front door, note that using the Encode with Amazon Key is optional. It’s a great lock even without the Key integration.

Check out more of The Best Smart Locks

This snazzy little Alexa-compatible plug checks a lot of boxes on our wish list. It’s compact and doesn’t block the second outlet in any position, and after testing it for the better part of the year, it’s one of the most reliable plugs we’ve ever used. While it doesn’t offer energy monitoring, it does offer helpful insights into total runtime and usage.

The Wyze app offers two-factor authentication, which we recommend enabling to keep your account secure, and a shared device user list to help you keep tabs on who has access to your plug. It also offers home automation features like scheduling, timers, and Vacation Mode, which can turn your devices on and off at random times to give the appearance that someone is home.

It’s rated for 15 amps, which means you can plug in anything from your bedside lamp to small appliances like dehumidifiers and standing fans. The Wyze Plug is everything a great Alexa-enabled smart plug should be.

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Robot vacuums become more popular by the minute and are an easy way to clean your floors. Luckily, the best smart robot vacuum we’ve tested, the LG Hom-Bot Turbo+ CR5765GD, works with Alexa. And, like other smart robot vacuums, you can control it remotely from your smartphone, telling it where and when to clean. It will even show you a map of where it was cleaned, and you can send it to specific rooms via remote control.

It works well on thick carpet and has good dirt pickup performance, an important feature of any vacuum. When we tallied up all its superior smart features, powerful cleaning, and slick design, we knew the LG Hom-Bot Turbo+ would earn its spot as the overall best smart robot vacuum that works with Alexa.

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Lutron’s Smart Switch isn’t the cheapest of the bunch, but it’s the easiest to install and we had it up and running with Alexa almost instantly. When we asked her to turn the switch on (and baack off), she executed the command immediately. It’s wired for single-pole, but can be turned into a three-way switch when paired with Lutron’s Pico remote.

The Lutron app is full of convenient smart home features like geofencing to turn the lights on when you get home (a rarity for smart switches), scheduling, and scenes, which all work well. Outside of Alexa, the switch supports a plethora of popular smart home systems like Sonos, Samsung SmartThings, Ring, and IFTTT. This system is really smooth, especially when it comes to controlling the lights with Alexa, and is best if you want to incorporate multiple switches throughout your home.

If you only need a switch or two, take a look at the more affordable Geeni TAP Smart Light Switch. It’s not as feature rich as Lutron’s, but it still offers plenty of value.

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The Lutron Caséta Wireless Smart Lighting Starter Kit is the best in-wall dimmer switch that works with Alexa, offering a near-perfect experience with buttery-smooth dimming and a very polished, responsive app.

The system has a higher initial cost than its competitors, but additional Lutron dimmers and Lutron switches can be purchased. Lutron offers one of the only smart dimmers and smart switches that don't require a neutral power line. Neutral power lines aren't common in older homes, and adding a neutral line to your home's electrical system can be very expensive. As a result, we highly recommend purchasing these switches over adding a neutral line—it's just not worth the cost for your Alexa-enabled smart home.

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Ring’s Indoor Security Camera is the best home security camera to pair with Alexa. With an Amazon Echo smart display like the Echo Show 10, you can pull up a live view of your camera’s feed instantly and use two-way talk to communicate from the display to your camera and vice versa. The live stream can also be viewed in the Ring app, which includes mandatory two-factor authentication to keep your private moments secure from others.

The 140-degree field of view looks great (so does the color night vision) and the two-way audio is loud and clear on both ends. The Ring app makes it easy to finetune the motion detection settings to your liking. The version we tested comes with a USB cord and plug for power, but Ring also sells a battery-powered model.

Ring’s indoor camera is responsive, easy to set up, and a true pleasure to use if you’re living in an Alexa smart home.

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A smart outdoor security camera can be your eyes and ears whether you’re at home or away, so it’s important to purchase a camera that not only works with your preferred smart assistant, but that excels at accuracy to help keep you safe. After extensive testing, we found that the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight camera is the best Alexa-friendly outdoor security camera you can buy.

You can use Alexa voice control to pull up the live stream on an Amazon smart display like the Echo Show 10. The camera has a spectacular 160-degree viewing angle and 2K video with high-def resolution, so you can always see what's going on outside day or night. It also has a built-in spotlight that illuminates when motion is detected and a smart siren that can be triggered remotely or automatically.

The installation process is simple, just make sure you have a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection, which is required for setup. There are no wires to fiddle with, as this camera includes a mount that can easily be screwed in on the exterior of your home.

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The Wyze Outdoor Plug is the best Alexa smart plug you can buy. During our tests, it excelled at responding to Alexa voice commands. It also offers two independently-controlled outlets, doubling the amount of power in one plug.

The Wyze app is very user-friendly, offering simple steps to get the plug up and running and detailed energy tracking to help you curtail your usage when necessary. The app also offers two-factor authentication for added security.

The plug is IP64-rated, meaning it's both dust and splash resistant. It can also withstand temperatures ranging from -4 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In the app, you can view a daily, weekly, and monthly breakdown of the plug’s energy usage. The plug can also be set to a schedule and incorporated into home automations for a seamless Alexa experience.

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The Roku Ultra is a powerful streaming device that touts top-tier entertainment features and integration with multiple voice assistants, including Alexa. Amazon smart speakers, like the 4th-gen Echo, can be used with Alexa voice control to launch select streaming apps, control playback, and find a particular show/movie on your Roku Ultra.

The Ultra also supports 4K/HDR (including Dolby Vision), Dolby Atmos sound on select services, and popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, and Prime Video. In fact, there are thousands of apps to let you pick your poison. The included remote is also easy to use and comes with a headphone jack that lets you hook up a pair of headphones for wireless audio.

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Philips Hue smart bulbs are the best you can buy for Alexa voice control. 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, or activate special lighting presets.

Useful features like geofencing are available, which automatically adjusts the lights based on your location. Scheduling, scenes, grouping, and more are controlled via the Hue app. Hue also makes a large lineup of different styles, like Edison bulbs and candle light bulbs to fit different fixtures and match decor styles.

The only downside is that, unlike some other smart bulbs, the Hue bulbs do require a hub in order to work over Wi-Fi and when you’re away from home. (Bluetooth control is available without a hub when you’re in range.) We recommend purchasing the Starter Kit that comes packaged with the Hue hub.

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You can let Alexa take charge of watering your lawn wIth a smart sprinkler controller like the Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler. You can ask her to water a specific zone, stop watering, and more helpful commands to make your garden grow. In addition to Alexa compatibility, the gadget currently tops our list because it offers a ton of easy-to-use options and isn't intimidating to install.

The model we tested offers control over eight zones, though there's an additional model that supports up to twice that. Smart home junkies will appreciate the integration not only with Alexa, but also Nest, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and Apple HomeKit. There's even a host of IFTTT recipes available to customize your sprinkler even further.

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