Google Nest Mini (2nd generation)
The best budget smart speaker
What is the best smart speaker?
The Amazon Echo speakers are among the most affordable and easy to set up smart speakers. That’s why the fourth-generation Amazon Echo is our pick for the best smart speakers overall. It will probably better meet the needs of most families. Although it is two years old, the device has improved sound quality over the previous generation, compatibility with a wide variety of smart devices, and its relatively low price of $100 (it can also be found on sale).
However, the fourth generation Echo may not be the best choice for your exact home. barely Every smart speaker It allows you to control lights, play music, ask questions, set reminders, and more with simple voice commands. The decision may simply boil down to which brand you’re actually investing in. If you have an affinity for a specific company’s products, whether you’re an Amazon fanatic, an Apple geek, or a Google stan, choosing a speaker is easy.
For people who are unfamiliar with the platform, the range of options may seem intimidating at first. We here at CNET have been testing voice control devices and smart speakers since they first came out. We’ve taken into account all the important smart hardware features, from the sound quality to the ease of installing multiple speakers. Aside from the fourth-generation Amazon Echo, our top picks are the second-generation Google Nest Mini, the second-generation Apple HomePod Mini, and the Sonos One. Find out why below.
The best smart speakers of 2023
We give the smart home edge in Amazon’s best smart speaker category thanks to Alexa and the $100 4th generation Amazon Echo.
The latest Echo (not to be confused with the fifth-generation Echo Dots) combines the usual Alexa intelligence with a speaker that sounds great, and it even has a built-in Zigbee radio.
This is a great inclusion that allows you to connect Zigbee lights, locks, sensors, and other devices to your setup without the need for a separate hub device.
Echo is useful even while you’re away, as Alexa can send alerts if the smart speaker’s microphones detect the sound of breaking glass or a smoke alarm.
Read our Amazon Echo (4th generation) review.
Google has done a great job of catching up to Amazon in the smart speaker race. At this point, choosing between the two companies’ lower-priced smart speaker devices comes down to splitting hairs.
The Google Assistant now has as many capabilities as Alexa, making the $50 Google Nest Mini a solid alternative to the Amazon Echo Dot if Google Assistant is your thing. Plus, according to our tests, Google Assistant is a little smarter than Alexa.
It responds more flexibly to voice commands if you can’t remember the exact name of your smart home devices, and Google’s bulk commands, called actions, work with more types of smart devices than comparable Amazon actions.
Google Assistant can recognize multiple voices, so it’ll give you and your spouse different answers if each of you asks about your calendars, though Alexa can now do that, too.
Overall, Google still has the smarts edge, and the Google Nest Mini is a great, low-cost way to take advantage of these smart features.
Read our Google Nest Mini review.
Apple’s Siri-enabled mini smart speaker bridges an odd gap between its $100 competitors like Google’s Nest Audio and Amazon Echo, and other cheaper speakers that come in small packages like the Nest Mini and Echo Dot.
Features such as intercom, audio transmission, and stereo pairing make this smart little speaker extremely practical. It looks good and looks great too
When it comes to the smart home, Siri and the HomePod Mini are limited to devices that work with Apple’s smart home system, HomeKit.
There are fewer such HomeKit-compatible devices than there are devices that work with Alexa or the Google Assistant, but that may soon change once the global smart home standard Matter arrives later this year.
If you love Apple — and if Siri is your favorite smart assistant, or if HomeKit is your favorite smart home platform — you’ll love the Apple smart speaker.
For those already using an original iPhone, Apple TV, or HomePod, adding this smart speaker to the lineup makes sense.
Read our Apple HomePod Mini review.
The Sonos One allows you to pair two units for stereo or multi-room audio playback, but even a single speaker sounds great when playing a wide variety of music genres.
Even better, the Sonos One has both Alexa and Google Assistant built-in—you just have to choose which one you’d like to use for your voice commands during setup.
What’s more, Sonos has Apple’s AirPlay 2 so you can control it with any Siri-enabled device, including your iPhone.
Add it all up and the Sonos One is a great-sounding, affordable smart speaker that can fit into household smart hubs centered around Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri. This stadium is hard to beat.
Read our Sonos One review.
Other smart speaker options
These smart speakers are our favorite, but you still have plenty of other options if you’re looking for something specific in audio performance.
Read our analysis of Alexa vs. Google Assistant vs. Siri If you want to know the advantages and disadvantages of each person, and decide on a smart home device by platform.
Note that it is neither the original Amazon Echo nor a file Nest Audio Featured above because you can get the same capabilities for a lower price with the smaller versions (Dot and Mini). However, if you want a smart speaker that splits the difference between affordability and premium sound, both are still solid options.
If you like the idea of always listening for help but want something more visual, check out List The best smart displays. Smart displays essentially combine a smart speaker and a touch screen so you can watch YouTube videos, make video calls, scroll through photos, and control smart home Touch tools. Amazon and Google both have several options worth considering in this category.
Read more: The best smart displays of 2023
Figure out which platform or features you want, and you should be able to quickly narrow down your options and find the best smart speaker for you and your family.
Top frequently asked questions about smart speakers
Are there any smart stereo speakers?
Yes!
Almost every Amazon Echo smart speaker can pair with another Echo speaker. The list is quite long, so take a look at Amazon’s stereo compatibility page. You will find a list of speakers that can pair with each other for stereo sound.
All Google smart speakers can be paired, as long as they are identical models. Google’s Nest Audio speaker is your best bet for a stereo pairing, and two sets of these speakers often offer a discount of $99 per speaker MSRP.
You will be able to set up the speakers in your Google Home app and tell Google which are the left and right speakers. Bass and treble settings can also be adjusted from the Home app.
Apple’s HomePod Mini (currently the only smart speaker Apple makes) can be paired with another HomePod Mini for left and right channel listening. You can also pair HomePod Minis with your Apple TV for a surround sound theater experience. The smaller speakers won’t blow you away, but it’s a nice plus.
If theatrical surround sound for your TV is your top smart speaker priority, Sonos offers the best sound quality in our opinion. Two Sonos speakers (of the same model) can be paired in stereo.
If you are interested in connecting speakers to a larger system, the following smart speakers come with an auxiliary jack:
Who is the smartest voice assistant?
Today, the race is very close between the Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. Apple’s Siri is on the board but in third place when it comes to reliability, knowledge, and understanding of human requests.
Overall, we award Google Assistant for its superior pacing, natural language, and ability to understand (and answer) questions and follow up on queries consistently.
However, it’s close enough that you can safely invest in either Google Assistant or Alexa based on other preferences like speaker style, hardware, and compatibility with other popular smart home products.
Alexa is almost as good as the Google Assistant, so you can’t go wrong no matter which assistant you choose. You’ll learn their quirks and how to interact with your assistant to coax the best responses and helpful information.
For fun, here’s a deep dive into each assistant’s “personality.”
Which smart speaker is the loudest?
In our testing of smart speakers from Apple, Amazon, and Google, we think the Amazon Echo (4th generation) delivers the most when it comes to sheer size. Nest Audio comes in behind with powerful bass as well.
Still, the Sonos One (2nd generation) is our current pick for best sound quality, especially if you’re thinking of using your soundbar in a stereo pair or as a theater system for watching TV.
Read our Amazon Echo (4th generation) and Nest Audio reviews to learn more about the sound quality of these two flagship models.
What is the best smart speaker for free music?
Amazon’s smart speakers can play music from free or paid subscription levels on Pandora, Spotify, and other popular music streaming platforms. In addition, if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can play music from the vast Prime Music catalog.
Google’s smart speakers have similar music streaming options, but while Amazon requires a paid Prime subscription to listen ad-free through Prime Music, Google includes YouTube Music Premium for free — a $10 per month value that also offers a variety of ad-free music options.
