The Best Smart Speakers of 2025

Smart speakers offer much more than just a means to stream your favorite audio content. They can serve as smart home hubs and as a means to organize your daily schedule, making them an invaluable resource to tap into.

What to Look for in a Smart Speaker

A good smart speaker isn’t just a device for streaming music, podcasts, or audiobooks. Sure, it can do all those things, but its smart home integrations make it an invaluable piece of kit to install in your home. Therefore, one of the primary factors to consider is how well any given smart speaker is likely to integrate into your ecosystem.

Does your chosen smart speaker support the devices around which you want to build your ecosystem? For instance, the Apple HomePod supports Matter and Thread smart home devices, while speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot support Zigbee and Matter devices. So, you’ll need to check whether it’s compatible with the smart devices that you want it to control.

If you’re looking to use your smart speaker as a virtual assistant of sorts, organizing your calendar, setting reminders, and so on, it’s worth checking the functionality of each device to see whether or not it’s a suitable choice to match your needs. If you’re looking to build up a multi-room or whole home speaker system, you should check first that your chosen speaker supports this functionality.

Content-wise, if you have younger children at home, you’ll want to know how effective each smart speaker is at filtering unsuitable content, to stop them from accessing anything unsavory. And if privacy is a concern, we recommend investing some time in researching the applicable privacy settings to ensure you’re getting the level of control that you require.

Ultimately, once the rest of the boxes have been ticked, it comes down to the audio quality itself. Generally speaking, the bigger the speaker, the better the sound quality—although more power means a heftier price tag. But although there’s always some degree of trade-off between power and price, most smart speakers are high-quality devices that are (at the very least) more than adequate for smaller and mid-sized spaces, delivering high-quality audio that the whole family can enjoy.

Below, you’ll find our recommendations for the best smart speakers on the market. We’ve selected a range of devices to suit different tastes, budgets, and requirements to help you narrow down your search and find the best speaker for you.

How Did We Research
Models Evaluated	Hours Researched	Reviews Analyzed
10	5	20

How-To Geek’s product recommendations come from the same team of experts who have helped people fix their gadgets over one billion times. We only recommend the best products based on our research and expertise. We never accept payment to endorse or review a product.
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Best Smart Speaker Overall: Amazon Echo

The Amazon Echo (4th Gen) might be knocking on a bit now, but it’s still an excellent all-purpose smart speaker for your home. This most recent version boasts a super simple setup and improves over its predecessors in numerous ways. For starters, it sounds bigger and better than previous generations, thanks to its 3-inch neodymium woofer and dual front-firing 0.8-inch tweeters, which can easily fill most rooms with premium HD audio.

It works seamlessly with most audio streaming platforms, making it a prime choice for music, podcasts, and audiobooks. It can also be used as a smart home hub for compatible Zigbee and Matter devices (and selected Ring Smart Lighting devices). It can set reminders, timers, and alarms, and you can make announcements using the broadcast function to check on other rooms at any time.

Crucially, this device also features multiple security layers, making filtering content a total breeze. You can easily adjust your security settings using the Alexa app, and a simple button press on top of the device disconnects the microphone, anytime you don’t want Alexa to listen in. Parents might prefer the Amazon Echo Dot Kids instead, but the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is a family-friendly choice if you’re happy to customize a few settings.

With its easy-breezy setup, impressive audio playback, and range of features (including compatibility with Fire TV), the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is the best overall choice of smart speaker for most people.

If your budget can’t quite stretch to the Amazon Echo, the Amazon Echo Dot is the next best thing. It may be smaller and less powerful than its bigger brother, but it costs half the price and is equipped with more or less the same functionality. It’s a budget-friendly choice for smaller, more enclosed spaces like the kitchen or bedroom.

As with the larger Amazon Echo, setting up this Alexa smart speaker is a total cakewalk. It can be customized with your own timers, alarms, and routines, and everything is easily manageable using the Alexa app. Its front-firing 1.73-inch speaker can fill a smaller room and delivers crisp audio playback from all your favorite streaming platforms.

You’ll find all the same privacy settings here as you would with the Amazon Echo and a bunch of accessibility features (such as adaptive listening and Alexa Accessibility) to help you customize your experience. It can be a smart home hub for all your compatible devices and connect to multiple Amazon Echo Dots for more comprehensive home coverage.

If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to the Amazon Echo and don’t mind missing out on bigger, bass-y audio, then the Amazon Echo Dot is a cost-effective substitute that doesn’t skimp on features and is kinder on the wallet.

Best Smart Speaker for Audio: Sonos Era 300

If you’re looking for a smart speaker that delivers best-in-class audio, you can’t go wrong with the Sonos Era 300. This powerful wireless speaker supports Dolby Atmos Audio and delivers an immersive spatial audio experience that may surprise you, given its small size. It’s fitted with six optimally positioned drivers that project room-filling audio from floor to ceiling in crystal clear high-definition.

Sonos voice control adds hands-free convenience to your Sonas Era 300, and the Sonos App brings everything together, allowing you to customize all your settings easily. With Alexa built-in, you can add controls for all compatible smart devices and easily manage your calendar with reminders, timers, and schedules to suit your daily routines.

There’s plenty of power to enjoy here, with a meaty 2.54-inch subwoofer to beef up your audio. Plus, when you pair two speakers with Arc or Beam (Gen 2), you can experience powerful surround sound to really up the ante and reap the benefits of a fully fledged soundstage.

However, the Sonos Era 300’s premium audio does come with a hefty price tag. At just a shade under $450, some buyers may find the cost prohibitively expensive. But for anybody prepared to shell out for the best-sounding smart speaker on the market, the Sonos Era 300 is the one to beat.

Featuring five directional speakers with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio processing technology, the Amazon Echo Studio is not only the best-sounding Amazon smart speaker, but it’s also the best Amazon smart speaker for Alexa. It boasts a powerful bass sound with an incredible depth of sound that’s hard to beat in this price range.

Adaptive audio automatically senses the acoustics of your space, adjusting the sound to optimal levels to suit whatever room it’s placed in. It accommodates lossless audio formats, such as HD and Ultra HD, allowing you to make the most of your music or favorite audio media. It also works seamlessly as a smart home hub, being compatible with Zigbee and Matter compatible devices, and provides convenient drop-in and announcement features, so you can talk to any room in the house.

All the Alexa-based features you would expect are present and correct here, from labor-saving automations to accessibility features and privacy settings. Plus, you can wirelessly connect your Echo Studio with Fire TV-compatible devices or pair your speaker with a second Echo Studio (or Echo Sub) for an even bigger, more immersive soundstage.

If you’re specifically looking for an Alexa speaker that can deliver room-filling sound, the Amazon Echo Studio certainly delivers. Price-wise, it may be at the higher end of the scale, but for the audio clarity and immersion it provides, it’s money well spent.

Best Smart Speaker for Google Home: Google Audio

If you’re already heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, the Google Audio Bluetooth Speaker is likely to be the best smart speaker for you. It comes with built-in Google Assistant and Chromecast, allowing for effortless wireless streaming of all your favorite music platforms and radio stations. It also allows voice command control of all your compatible smart home devices.

Considering its small stature, it’s equipped with a three-inch woofer and a 0.7-inch tweeter and packs a surprising amount of audio punch. Although it may struggle to fill a larger space, it’s ideal for small to medium-sized rooms and is discreet enough to blend into the background in any setting.

By using the Google Home app, you can connect your Google Audio speaker with other compatible speakers around the home, adjust the sound settings, and much more. With easy stereo pairing and room-to-room sound, you can move around the house while enjoying the same sound clarity, so you don’t have to miss a thing.

Priced at around $100 (when not on sale), the Google Audio Bluetooth Speaker offers decent value for money. It pairs impeccable sound quality with a smooth and sleek design. Plus, it’s made with 70% recycled plastic, which makes it a more eco-friendly choice for your home.

Best Smart Speaker for Apple HomeKit: Apple HomePod

For Apple enthusiasts and aficionados, the Apple HomePod is the smart speaker of choice. This latest generation, launched in November 2024, comes with Siri built-in for voice command control and provides a choice of wireless connectivity options (AirPlay, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi). It houses one 4-inch woofer and five beamforming tweeters, giving it impressive audio chops.

The HomePod is compatible with Matter and Thread smart home devices, so you can set up automations and schedules to suit your lifestyle and make labor-saving tweaks to your daily routine. Its Room Sensing feature perfectly adjusts the audio to suit the acoustics of your chosen space, and by pairing multiple HomePod devices, you can enjoy rich and immersive whole-home audio. Plus, you can use the HomePod with Apple TV 4K and enjoy Dolby Atmos audio for an authentic home cinema experience.

Plus, if (like most of us) you already own other Apple devices, you’ll appreciate the benefits of pairing your HomePod with your other Apple devices. This handy little speaker is compatible with iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and CarPlay, giving you enormous scope for multiple scenarios and uses.

Being an Apple product, the Apple HomePod does, unfortunately (although perhaps not surprisingly), come with a premium price tag. Whether or not you think the $370 cost of entry is worth it, will likely come down to your personal preferences. However, in terms of its performance, it is a superb wireless smart speaker and delivers dynamic audio that never fails to impress.

FAQ

What’s the difference between a smart speaker and a Bluetooth speaker?

The main difference between a smart speaker and a Bluetooth speaker is that smart speakers offer voice assistant compatibility and connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network while Bluetooth speakers do not.

Bluetooth speakers connect directly to devices such as smartphones and tablets, while smart speakers connect to the internet via your home Wi-Fi network. Smart speakers can also be used to control compatible smart home devices, such as light bulbs and thermostats.

Can you control a smart home with a smart speaker?

Yes. If you own a smart speaker, you can use it to control any compatible smart home devices, by using voice commands. Such devices can include things such as light bulbs, video doorbells, electrical plugs, door locks, and media streaming devices.

Can you play music on a smart speaker?

Yes. One of the key features of most smart speakers is their ability to stream music directly from popular music streaming sites, such as Spotify or Amazon Music. By using voice commands, you can select your chosen music by artist, song title, album title, playlist, or genre.

Are smart speakers always listening to you?

Not in most cases. For the most part, smart speakers engage in ‘passive listening.’ This means they are listening in the background, but do not actively listen to your conversations. They are usually prompted by a specific ‘wake word’ or phrase (such as “Hey Google” or “Hey Siri”), and once actively listening, they will record any related audio, which is then sent to their company’s servers.

However, most smart speakers have customizable privacy settings and mic-off functions, so you can tailor what they are able to listen to and when.