These days, more and more home appliances are becoming “smart”. From light bulbs and door locks, to sound speakers, TVs, and even refrigerators – all of these now come with advanced electronics which allow you to remotely control them and modify their behavior. However, there are still many devices that aren’t smart. Fortunately, that’s where smart plugs come in.
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Smart plugs represent an affordable way to upgrade your existing home appliances, lights, and electronics into smart home devices. These cool gadgets allow you to connect your ordinary lamp, coffee maker, smoothie blender, or anything else to your smart home. Most smart plugs nowadays support voice control from Amazon, Google and Apple, and feature scheduling capabilities, automation, and energy monitoring.
Most smart plugs are small enough to fit next to one another in standard wall outlet, however, not all of them are. Some have additional outlets on their sides, while some of them can even work with outdoor outlets.
Smart plugs use Wi-Fi to connect to your home network, and can be controlled via mobile apps. You can use them to automate devices to automatically turn on at different times of day, or week. For example, you can program your smart plug to automatically turn on your coffee machine every day at 7:00 AM. Some smart plugs also allow you to create scenes, or scripts which tell multiple devices how to interact with each other. For instance, you can create a specific “movie” scene which tells your smart lights to dim, and your air conditioning to turn on. There are also smart plugs with energy monitoring capabilities which allow you to measure the power consumption of your devices.
Not all smart plugs share the same features. Some of them are specifically optimized to support Apple’s HomeKit, while others use Alexa or Google Assistant to get the job done. There are also smart plugs that exclusively support devices from a particular brand, as well as smart plugs that support nearly everything via online services like IFTTT or Zapier.
With so many different options out there, picking a right smart plug for your home may seem complicated. That’s why we’ve prepared this roundup for you in order to help you choose the best smart plug for your home.
Best Overall:
TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug HS103P2
Best Outdoor Plug:
Wyze Plug Outdoor
Best Budget:
Esicoo Smart Plug (4-pack)
Best for HomeKit:
WeMo Smart Plug
Best Smart Plug Power Strip:
TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip KP303
Best EU Smart Plug:
Elivco EU Smart Plug 16A
Best Overall: TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug HS103P2
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant | IFTTT support: Yes | Outlets: 1
TP-Link Kasa is one of the best smart plugs out there. The device has more than 67,000 positive reviews on Amazon, with average score of 4.6. The Kasa smart plug supports hands-free voice control via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. It also comes with its own Kasa app that allows you to remotely turn on and off devices in your home, as well as set timers or countdown schedules, adjust fans, lights, and air conditioning. The plug has a 15 amp rating, and it also supports automation via IFTTT, which is a huge plus. Since it connects via Wi-Fi to your home network, this plug requires no hub. It is also quite affordable, so getting this smart plug to enhance you ordinary home appliances is a no-brainer.
Best Outdoor Plug: Wyze Plug Outdoor
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant | IFTTT support: Yes | Outlets: 2
The Wyze Outdoor Plug is a great way to automate your outdoor devices, such as lights, fans, lamps, smart cameras, and other electronics. This smart plug works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it also supports automations via IFTTT. Thanks to its long-range Wi-Fi, the plug can be placed up to 300 feet from your Wi-Fi router without any connection issues. Being made for the outdoors, this device is IP64 weather resistant, meaning you can safely plug it in areas exposed to rain, dust, or snow. Another great thing about this plug is that it features two outlets, and its only downside is that it doesn’t work with Apple’s devices.
Best Budget: Esicoo Smart Plug (4-pack)
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant | IFTTT support: Yes | Outlets: 1
At just $30 for a four-pack, the Esicoo smart plug offers the best bang for the buck. The plug is extremely easy to install, and it connects to your smart home network via Wi-Fi, meaning it doesn’t need a hub. The Esicoo smart plug support both Amazon Alexa and Google Echo voice commands, and it comes with its own Cloud Intelligence mobile app that also works with iOS devices. The plug features support for customized schedule lists, countdown timers, scenes, and family device sharing. The only downside of this smart plug is that it’s too big for two of these to be plugged in the same outlet.
Best for HomeKit: WeMo Smart Plug
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit | IFTTT support: No | Outlets: 1
The WeMo Smart Plug is an affordable Wi-Fi smart plug that features native support for Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. The device is simple and easy to use, and it features minimalistic design. It also comes with its own dedicated WeMo app, which allows you to easily automate, schedule, and turn on and off your home appliances. Unfortunately, this plug doesn’t support automations via IFTTT.
Best Smart Plug Power Strip: TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip KP303
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant | IFTTT support: Yes | Outlets: 3
In case you are looking for a complete power strip filled with smart plugs, then TP-Link Kasa KP303 is the best solution for you. Just like the Kasa Smart Plug, the Kasa Power Strip features native support for Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. The power strip itself has three separate power outlets which can be controlled individually, and it even has two USB ports which you can use to charge your home devices. The device also has ETL-certified surge protection which shields sensitive electronics from sudden power surges.
Best EU Smart Plug: Elivco EU Smart Plug 16A
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Yandex Alice | IFTTT support: No | Outlets: 1
In case you live in Europe, and you are looking for a smart plug compatible with EU outlets, then be sure to check out this 16A smart plug by Elivco. Featuring native support for Yandex Alice, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa, this versatile smart plug allows you to remotely control and program your electric appliances such as fridge, dishwasher, electric cooker, Hi-fi speakers, and so on. The plug supports maximum electric current of 16 amps, and has a total power rating of 3000 W. The device also comes with Wi-Fi capabilities, timer function, scene editor, energy monitor, and is compatible with Tuya Smart app.
Things to consider when buying a smart plug
When choosing the best smart plug for your home, there are several factors to consider before settling on a certain model.
First thing you should ask yourself is what are you planning to do with it? Not all devices will start once you turn on the power. For example, coffee makers, blenders, or air conditions may require to press a certain button before they start performing their intended purpose. Devices like lamps, TVs, and window fans are much better suited to work with smart plugs, as they can automatically turn on with the flick of a switch.
You should also pay attention to the size of the smart plug you are going to buy. Some smart plugs are quite thick and bulky. You might not be able to fit anything else into your second socket if you plug one into a socket. Measure before you buy and read user reviews. You can generally find dimensions of the devices on the company or retailer’s website.
Not all smart plugs work with the same voice assistants. For example, some of them only support Amazon Alexa, while some of them only work with the Apple HomeKit. Most smart plugs also come with their own dedicated apps. To set up a smart plug, you normally need to download an app to your phone. This is where you can manage it and access more detailed settings, such as the ability to create schedules and put many smart plugs into a single category. If you want to utilize a lot of smart plugs in your house, buying them all from the same brand will make things easier.
Keep in mind that smart plugs can also help you save money, but only if you’re the type of person who forgets to switch off the lights when they’re not in use. For example, if you keep your laptop on charge all the time, even though the battery is fully charged, it will continue to use energy; or maybe you forgot to switch off the lights or the radio when you leave the room? If that’s the case, a smart plug might be the solution.
