The best Amazon Alexa smart speakers

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Updated less than 5 days ago

Amazon Alexa is a powerful voice assistant, and when paired with a good smart speaker, the team is the perfect duo for a centralized smart home. Alexa makes it easy to check your calendar, get updates on the weather, or dish out commands to the rest of your smart home gadgets, while the best smart speakers let you enjoy crisp audio throughout your entire house. There's no shortage of Amazon Alexa smart speakers available today, so regardless of your budget, there's bound to be something that fits your needs.

Whether you want something robust like the Sonos Era 100 or prefer something more affordable like the Echo Pop, here's a look at the best Amazon Alexa smart speakers. Keep in mind that all these products come with Alexa built in, so you'll be able to start using the voice assistant right out of the box.

If you don't mind looking at other assistants, be sure to check out our list of the best smart speakers overall – which features devices that work with Google Home and Apple HomeKit.

Sonos Era 100

The Sonos Era 100 is the successor to the iconic Sonos One. It’s built with a faster processor, improved acoustics, and native support for Bluetooth. All those premium features make the Sonos Era 100 the best Amazon Alexa smart speaker on the market.

One of the coolest features on the smart speaker is Trueplay tuning. Using the accompanying smartphone app, you can allow the device to automatically tune itself based on the acoustics of your room. The feature makes it easy to find the perfect sound without wading through dozens of menus and fiddling with a bunch of sliders.

How you control the device has also been reworked. Instead of using gestures on top of the unit (as was the case with the Sonos One), track selection and volume controls are now distinct buttons. They’re not backlit and can be a bit hard to see in the dark, but there's no doubt that it’s a big upgrade from the Sonos One.

Like most products in the Sonos catalog, the Era 100 isn’t cheap. But if you don’t mind its price tag, you’ll be well-served by this Amazon-enabled smart speaker.

Sonos One (Gen 2)

The Sonos One is an all-around incredible smart speaker, designed to sit on a shelf or counter and fill a room with sound. With the addition of Alexa, you can also tap into the voice assistant’s wide range of capabilities, like answering questions or scheduling reminders and timers. The speaker also works with Google Assistant, so there’s no need to pick a favorite unless you want to.

Like most smart speakers, the Sonos One does require a Wi-Fi connection for voice assistants to work, but it also supports Airplay 2 and other technologies, along with easy app controls if you don’t feel like using your voice. It can also link easily to another Sonos speaker or speaker system, allowing for innovative setups from being part of a home theater system to linking two speakers together for more stereo-like sound.

Amazon Echo Studio

Those primarily interested in sound may already have invested in a high-quality audio system or started listening to more spatial audio songs: The Echo Studio is a great companion to this setup with its focus on music and a larger design featuring five internal speakers to cover bass, midrange, and highs more completely. The speaker also includes sensors that can adapt the audio to the nearby acoustics no matter where you decide to place the speaker.

For those who have a host of smart devices, the Studio is also one of the only Alexa speakers left that can support the older Zigbee smart protocol, which may be important for controlling certain devices in your home. This is also a good time to mention that Alexa allows you to choose a default music service to play from including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more, which makes giving song-related commands a lot easier.

Amazon Echo Show 15

The Echo Show line adds a touchscreen to the Echo speaker, something we really like for its expanded options – you can use it to watch shows, view a photo slideshow, video chat, and do a whole lot more. While the Echo Show 10 was a fine example, its rotating display certainly wasn’t for everyone. But the Echo Show 15 is a massive improvement: The screen is larger than ever at 15 inches, and it sports a versatile design that allows you to hang the Show 15 on a wall or stand it on a counter.

These qualities make the Echo Show 15 one of the best smart displays we’ve seen to date, especially when you want to use it to watch shows or as an interactive wall calendar or – well, so much more. It fits well in a kitchen, office, hallway, or similar spot in the home. Just remember to keep it within arm’s reach, and purchase the stand if you need it.

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)

The Echo Dot 4 was a vast improvement to the Echo Dot line, staying affordable while offering surprisingly big sound for its size. But the Echo Dot 5th-generation made even more improvements to the model, making it a better fit for a smart home.

Let’s start with the model options: There’s an LED version you can use as an alarm clock in places like the bedroom and a kids' version with colorful skins and a subscription to Amazon’s kids' content. The new speaker is also equipped with extra sensors to detect when someone has entered a room, allowing you to link it to things like smart lights or thermostat changes when people come home.

There’s even compatibility with Eero’s mesh Wi-Fi network system (now also owned by Amazon), so the speaker can act as a Wi-Fi extender for spots in the house that may not be getting good coverage. Really, it’s amazing what the speaker can do for the price.

Bose Home Speaker 500

Those who want a little of everything may finally find their perfect solution in this Bose model. It’s a large speaker that produces seriously impressive sound and supports both Alexa and Google Assistant. There are also more sound options than most smart speakers with touch panel presets for your favorite music options and adjustments via the Bose Music app.

The speaker even has a little mini display that can display the current song and some album artwork, making it easy to show off at parties and other get-togethers. But all these features do come at a price, and it’s no surprise this there's a hefty price tag here too.

Sonos Roam

If you want to bring your smart speaker on the road with you, then look no further than the Sonos Roam. Offering a waterproof design, impressive sound, and full support for Amazon Alexa, few portable speakers can match the spec sheet of the Sonos Roam. It’s also relatively affordable, clocking in under $200.

Because it’s built by Sonos, you know you’re getting a product that can pump out incredible sound despite its tiny footprint. Much of that is due to its accompanying smartphone app that lets you adjust its settings on the fly, along with an Automatic Trueplay feature that optimizes performance based on the acoustics of your surroundings.

Toss in multiple available colors, a battery that runs for ten hours on a single charge, and a simple setup process, and you’ve got one of the best portable Amazon Alexa smart speakers money can buy.

Echo Pop

Clocking in at just $40, the Echo Pop offers much more than its price tag would suggest. Access to the Alexa voice assistant is the biggest selling point, but its audio output is no slouch – although it does start to get a bit distorted at higher volumes. It also comes with Eero built in, making your wireless connections better than ever. A vareity of color options are available, and if you're looking for an affordable way to bring Alexa integrations into your home, the Pop deserves a much closer look. It might not be a great fit for audiophiles, but it's well-suited for playing background music as you work.

Sonos Era 300

The Sonos Era 300 is one of the newest additions to the Sonos catalog. Building on the success of the Sonos One, the Era 300 offers incredible, immersive, room-filling sound that makes it both a great smart speaker and addition to your home theater. Its design is a bit quirkier than others on this list (boasting a unique hourglass shape), but its size allows it to pack in premium drivers that churn out crisp audio. Best of all, it features built-in support for Alexa. So if you’re looking for a premium smart speaker and don’t mind the large footprint, you can’t do better than this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you looking for something a little more portable that still works with Alexa? Take a look at our current best picks for portable smart speakers. You’re likely to find some options that support the voice assistant.