5 Best Smart Speakers (2026): Alexa, Google, Apple

There are three big players in the running for the best smart speaker: Amazon, Google, and Apple. Each voice-assistant-powered system has its own benefits and limitations, and you’ll have to consider several factors to pinpoint the right smart speaker for your needs.

You may already have a favorite ecosystem. Maybe it’s the one that’s compatible with your phone, as an Apple or Android user. Or maybe it’s Amazon’s Alexa, if you already own one of the many speakers that the company launched following the 2014 arrival of the first Amazon Echo. Amazon’s smart-speaker fleet, in particular, is expansive, often seeing multiple new models every year, while the offerings are much narrower for Google and Apple. That said, a few months ago, Google did launch a new smart speaker for the first time in years—the 2026 Google Home Speaker—and I share my thoughts on it in this guide.

After trying nearly every single smart speaker that’s come out in the last decade, I have a sense of the best options available today to fit various needs. Also, check out my guides to the Best Alexa Speakers, Best Google Speakers, and Best Smart Displays if you want more insight into each category.

Updated July 2026: I’ve added the Google Home Speaker as a pick and ensured links, prices, and product information are correct throughout.

Best for Google Users

Google’s latest smart speaker, the Google Home Speaker (8/10, WIRED Recommends), is an amalgamation of great features from other smart speakers. It shares its name with the original Google speaker from 2016, but its shape and size are reminiscent of an Apple HomePod Mini. It has the tap controls and fun colors I remember from the older Google Nest Mini. And it joins the rest of Google’s smart speakers (other than the Google Pixel Tablet with the charging dock) by using Google Gemini as the default assistant instead of Google Assistant.

Gemini does sound impressively human, offering answers that approximate an interaction with another person. Sometimes its answers get a little long-winded, so just be prepared for that. But Google Gemini is nonetheless a touch smarter than other assistants in its cohort; it’s able to answer questions about my own schedule and knows to check with me about my artist preference if a song I request has multiple covers.

Gemini for Home is free, but some features you might like to use are hidden behind paywalls. For instance, Google rebranded its video camera subscriptions to “Google Home Premium,” which bundles some smart-home assistant features and video storage into one price. There are two tiers: Standard ($10 per month or $100 per year), which includes 30 days of event-based video history, intelligent alerts for things like familiar faces and packages, Gemini Live, and an AI-based tool to help you create smart-home routines for your household. The Advanced tier ($20 per month or $200 per year) includes 60 days of event-based video history, 10 days of 24/7 video history, descriptive notifications, searchable video history, video event descriptions, and daily summaries of recorded events, plus everything in the cheaper plan.

Gemini Live is the main behind-the-paywall feature you might want; it lets you switch your smart speaker into a more conversational mode. Using this feature, I had a long, natural-feeling chat with my speaker that covered my 3-year-old’s sleep patterns, scalp sunburns, and the previous night’s Love Island episode. It worked well, but it’s not a capability I imagine I’ll use when I’m not actively testing.

Gemini Live doesn’t work on every Google speaker, but—in addition to working on the Google Home Speaker—it also works on all three versions of its available smart displays, including two iterations of the Nest Hub. My favorite is the 10-inch Nest Hub Max; it doubles as a digital photo frame powered by Google Photos, which works much better than Amazon’s clunky uploader and might even be a tool you’re already using. Google accounts get up to 15 GB of free storage (that’ll include any Gmail or Drive files, too), so there are a lot of photos you can store and display on this device.

The Nest Hub Max has a solid sound profile given its slim frame with two 10-watt tweeters and a 30-watt woofer. The 10-inch touchscreen is a great size for everything from controlling your smart-home and streaming videos to pulling up recipes and enjoying your own photos. Many of these capabilities rely on the smart display, which means you couldn’t access them with a screen-free smart speaker. It’s not the only smart display option on the market, but it has a prettier interface than Amazon’s Echo Show 11 (below), and unlike on the Show 11, you won’t see any ads sliding onto the screen on this Nest. There’s also a camera for video calls and gesture-based controls. While there’s no cover for the camera, you can disable it if you prefer.

Best for Amazon Users

Most of the smart speakers I spot in friends’ homes come from the Amazon Echo line. Options are aplenty, and many that I see are older models, like the puck-shaped Echo Dot. Such dated speakers are still fairly well-supported, though not all of them can gain access to Alexa+, Amazon’s newer AI-powered voice assistant. But even if your smart speaker can use Alexa+, it’s only worth the upgrade if you have Amazon Prime, which includes access to the assistant. Without a Prime subscription, you’d have to pay $20 a month for Alexa+ on its own. It’s literally cheaper to get Amazon Prime ($15 a month for most plans), which comes with a wider range of benefits. This price model is surely intentional, as it may serve as a push to get you to sign up for Prime if you haven’t already.

The Echo Dot Max is one of Amazon’s newest models. It launched in late 2025, taking the small form from past Dot models and upgrading the device with impressive sound quality, a built-in smart-home hub, Alexa and Alexa+ access, and a slightly different look. It’s surprisingly loud without getting muddled, especially considering its small size. Impressively, it can still hear my requests even when the room is loud or it is playing loud music. I tested it against the latest Echo Studio last year and found the speakers were more similar in quality than I expected. The Dot Max is more expensive than older Dot models; if you don’t need next-level sound, the affordable Echo Dot (fifth gen), available for half the price, might be a good fit for your needs.

If you’re looking for something with more capabilities, like being able to read recipes, stream shows, and even make video calls, you might want a smart display instead of a smart speaker. These devices can perform the same functions as any other smart speaker, but they add a screen and camera to unlock a variety of new abilities.

Amazon launched two new smart displays last fall: The Echo Show 11 ($220) is the pricier of the two, but I liked it better than the new Echo Show 8 ($180). The Show 11 has better sound, and its 11-inch screen was a nice size for both my desk and kitchen counter. The interface is updated for Alexa+, but I didn’t love some of the changes. For instance, when you ask Alexa+ questions, the Show 11 brings up a chat-like interface. Because of this, some answers don’t provide the same level of detail as I got with the original Alexa. The change that I like the least is how Alexa+ handles the weather; I loved seeing the pages of weather info for the day and week that original Alexa would show, and now I just get a small snippet in a sea of written words. If you want something similar but cheaper, I’d recommend the older third-generation Echo Show 8 ($150) over the newest one. That model had a better sound when I tested both Echo Show 8 versions side by side.

It’s also important to note that Echo Show devices have a lot of screen clutter, and the devices also show ads. You might not see the ads right away, but eventually you’ll start seeing prompts to buy things on Amazon. You can activate photo mode to hide the ads, but that will only last three hours before going back to regular mode. You can also remove clutter (like the multiple news, sports, and food-related topics it’ll show by default) by going into the device’s settings. An Echo Show device can technically double as a digital photo frame, but it’s annoying to upload pictures and won’t put vertical photos side-by-side.

Best for Apple Users

Smart speaker options are the most limited for Apple users. My colleagues and I weren’t impressed by the sound quality of the larger HomePod when it relaunched in 2023. But the smaller HomePod Mini is a fine investment for the price, and you’ll find it to be the most convenient option if you already use the Apple Home app and Siri.

It’s about a third of the price and smaller than the full-size speaker; otherwise, it’s capable of just about everything the larger model can do. It doubles as a smart-home hub to connect your Apple-compatible devices, so you don’t need the larger speaker or Apple TV if you’re mainly looking for smart-home control. It’s still not my favorite smart speaker overall, and Apple HomeKit isn’t my favorite ecosystem. It has serious limitations, and I find myself running into more issues adding my devices to the Home app than on any other platform. But if you’re committed to your Apple ecosystem, this is the speaker to buy.

There’s also no smart display option in Apple’s ecosystem, so if you’d like one of those in your home, you’ll have to go with Google or Apple. Notably, Apple’s price hikes in June affected both the Apple HomePod Mini and the larger HomePod. The HomePod Mini used to be $99 but now retails for $129.

Comparing Our Favorite Smart Speakers

Honorable Mentions

There are tons of smart speakers available for purchase. Here are a few more that I like:

Amazon’s Echo Spot for $80 is a great partial smart display. While the music quality doesn’t offer the same depth you’ll get on the Echo Dot, the fun little half-screen display on this second-gen Echo Spot (7/10, WIRED Recommends) proves useful. It shows time, weather, your calendar, and the name of the song playing. It’s a nice set of features that make it a great speaker for the bedroom, especially since its lack of a camera removes any visual privacy concerns.

Amazon’s Echo Show 8 (third gen) for $150 is the best Alexa smart display for the money. It’s smaller than my top pick Echo Show 11, but if you’re okay with the size, know that the sound here is better than what you’ll get on the newer Echo Show 8. Though older, this edition is still enabled for Alexa+ and has a built-in smart-home hub.

Amazon’s Echo Studio (second gen) for $220 is the best-sounding Alexa speaker. I love this smart speaker (8/10, WIRED Recommends) for its fantastic sound quality and power, built-in smart-home hub, and spatial audio capabilities. While it’s smaller than the Apple HomePod, it easily filled my entire second-floor great room with music.

What’s Alexa+?

Amazon announced the new and improved Alexa, named Alexa+ in February 2025. This second generation of the Alexa voice assistant is more conversational than its predecessor, offering an experience similar to what you get with AI assistants like ChatGPT. This makes sense, given that Alexa+ was built on generative AI. Alexa+ does a better job at answering a variety of questions than first-gen Alexa and responds quickly to all kinds of requests. You can learn about my firsthand experience with Alexa+ here.

Alexa+ is free for Amazon Prime members. If you aren’t a member, you can get a free trial of the new assistant for 30 days, but after that, a subscription carries a $20 monthly fee. At that point, it’s cheaper to join Prime than it is to subscribe to Alexa+. This is likely by design to hook you into Amazon’s larger ecosystem. Yes, the Prime subscription fee is a big jump from being free, but most people who choose to get an Amazon Alexa device in the first place are also likely Prime subscribers. If you aren’t, though, this assistant isn’t worth the cost of the subscription.

Alexa+ also requires that all voice recordings be sent to Amazon for processing, and Amazon has changed its policy for recordings with regular Alexa, too—those now also go to Amazon. There was previously a “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” privacy feature that you could select, which would process voice requests locally, but Amazon killed that functionality last year. The privacy change will affect all users, whether or not you sign up for Alexa+, regardless of whether you’re using an Alexa+-compatible device or not.

What’s Gemini for Google Home?

Google announced late last year that Gemini for Home, the new version of its voice assistant, is rolling out to existing Google Home users. It’s replaced the previous Google Assistant entirely and is currently slated to roll out to almost all of Google’s devices. One of the notable exceptions is the Pixel Tablet; otherwise, Google’s existing hardware properly reflects what Gemini for Home will reach.

Unlike Alexa+, this new assistant will always be free. However, Google is changing its camera subscription, Nest Aware, to become a new subscription named Google Home Premium. As I mentioned above in my pick for the best smart speaker for Google users, this subscription has two tiers, Standard ($10 a month) and Advanced ($20 a month). Beyond cameras, each option includes several advanced smart assistant features.

Also Tested

Amazon’s Echo Hub for $180: The Echo Hub (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is designed to control your smart devices entirely. It acts more like a home security device than a true smart speaker. However, it also has the worst built-in speaker of Alexa’s ecosystem, since it’s designed to be used in tandem with a more powerful Alexa speaker, like the ones above.

Amazon Echo Pop for $28: The Echo Pop (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a cute little speaker that’s affordable and comes in fun colors. It’s a fine choice for college students or teenagers who want something with a little personality, but everyone else should just upgrade to the Echo Dot for much better sound and the same features otherwise. It’s essentially out of stock right now, but I’m watching to see if it returns or is discontinued.

Amazon Echo Show 5 for $90: The Show 5 has the same capabilities as the Show 8, but on a smaller, less convenient screen. It’s a good size for a bedroom, but it has a camera, which many don’t want in that space. I’d rather add the Echo Spot or the Google Nest Hub for a similar mini screen—hold the camera—on my bedside table.

Amazon Echo Show 8 (fourth gen) for $180: This is a solid smart speaker with Amazon’s latest physical design and Alexa+ right out of the box. But it’s not a sound improvement over the older model, so I’d personally pick the third-gen option (see above) or upgrade to the Echo Show 11 ($220).

Amazon Echo Show 15 for $300: The Show 15 exists somewhere on the continuum of being a smart display and a smart TV, but it doesn’t quite fully nail being either. The widgets are fun to use since you can add so many to the Show’s 15-inch screen. But after trying this device a few times, it’s left me underwhelmed. The Show 15 grew on me while I was using it with Alexa+, though, particularly with a stand ($125) to sit on my desk. But it’s still larger than I need for day-to-day tasks, and smaller than what I’d want from a television.

Apple HomePod for $349: Apple’s flagship smart speaker has a muddy midrange and high-end, which is disappointing for the price point. The HomePod does have a lot of bass, though, if that’s your jam. If you want an Apple-powered smart speaker in your home, the Mini is nearly a third of the price and has capabilities nearly identical to the full-size model. The price also increased from $299 to $349 last month after Apple increased all of its prices.

Google Nest Audio for $95: This is still a good smart speaker that has Google Gemini for Home and Gemini Live compatibility, but unless you buy it on a serious sale, there’s no reason not to buy the newest model instead to make sure you don’t miss out on features in the future. It’s becoming harder and harder to find in stock, so if your heart is set on one, don’t wait.

Google Nest Hub for $100: This petite smart display is a great bedside speaker for Google users. The 7-inch screen feels like a smartphone propped up on its side rather than a massive smart display. It also has motion-sense technology built in to track your sleep, which is a handy feature for people who don’t find sleep-tracking wearables comfortable. Plus, no camera. But it’s rapidly going out of stock at third-party retailers, and likely won’t be available for much longer.

JBL Authentics 200 for $380: This was my previous pick for a third-party smart speaker, but I’m uncertain of its ability to access Amazon’s and Google’s newest assistants. I’ll retest it once I confirm if it will gain access to one (if not both) assistants.

Sonos Era 100 for $219: Another third-party option, but it won’t grant access to Google support. You can connect it to Amazon Alexa, though. Sonos is a great investment if you’re really looking for a great speaker that can have smarts—but its smart assistant isn’t the primary feature.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 for $475: This is an older version of the Sonos Beam that still has Google support, but I’m uncertain if it’ll gain access to Gemini for Home.

WiiM A10 for $229: This speaker doesn’t have a voice assistant, but it does have compatibility with AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Siri to be used as a Bluetooth speaker. WIRED reviewer Parker Hall says it reminds him of a Sonos speaker, but that it can instantly connect with Spotify Connect—faster than any other speaker he’s tried.

FAQs

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.