We Tested a Bunch of Smart Bulbs — And These Are Our Favorites for Efficiency and Customization

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Smart technology like Alexa speakers, smart plugs, and smart thermostats have streamlined how we interact with the everyday components of our homes, giving the basic functionality of something as simple as turning on a light bulb some major upgrades. Smart bulbs, which are equipped with wireless connectivity, have introduced a slew of new features that are sure to change your day-to-day life around the home from the moment you install them, and being able to control them remotely has given convenience a whole new meaning.

Hate forgetting if you turned all of the lights off before you headed out? Opting for smart bulbs guarantees you’ll never have to worry about that again. Instead, you’ll be able to turn them on or off by simply tapping the screen of your smartphone or via a voice command remotely, whether you’re on your way home or vacationing halfway around the world. Being able to control your lights remotely can also help reduce anxiety when you’re away from home, as your house or apartment won’t look empty and potentially vulnerable (we’re looking at you, Kevin McCallister).

Today, smart bulbs are mainstream products and a must-have for any household with internet access. Our guide is designed to help you find which smart bulbs are best for your home, in an overwhelming marketplace that’s packed with high-quality options in a variety of form factors from well-known brands.

The Best Smart Bulbs

• Best Overall: Nanoleaf Matter A19 | E26 Smart Bulb

• Best Budget: TP-Link Tapo L535E Smart Light Bulb

• Best Product Ecosystem: Philips Hue Smart Lights

• Best Smart Lightstrip: Nanoleaf Matter Lightstrip

• Best for Exposed Fixtures: GE CYNC Edison Style Smart Light Bulb
  

What to Consider

Controls and Smart Home Connectivity

Deciding how you and your household control the smart bulbs is essential before you hit “add to cart.” The controls can include a standalone mobile app or full integration into an Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Apple Home setup. Compatibility with leading connected home platforms is especially convenient because the light bulb won’t require additional apps. It also make it controllable with your go-to virtual assistant. Most smart bulbs are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, giving consumers plenty of choice. If you’re already using one, keep an eye out for it in the spec sheet of the product you are considering.

Whether you are a first-time buyer or a seasoned gearhead, I highly recommend ordering a smart bulb that supports Matter — the most advanced connected home standard. Developed in collaboration between Apple, Amazon, Google, and other industry giants, Matter makes products that support it, including light bulbs, universally compatible with all leading connected home platforms and virtual assistants.

Luminance and Brightness

When it comes to luminance, you can browse smart light bulbs with an adjustable white or multi-color glow. I suggest opting for a multi-color bulb, as the price difference with white-only offerings is negligible. Shifting colors can quickly transform the ambiance for a special occasion or make a movie night or gaming session more immersive, to name a few scenarios.

Unless you're shopping for a decorative bulb for an open lamp or light fixture, you should look for products with four-digit peak brightness. It’s unlikely that you’ll use it consistently at home, though having a bright light can help on many occasions, especially if those involve looking for a tiny gadget or piece of jewelry that you or a family member dropped.

Additional Features

The design and form factor of a smart light bulb is important, especially if you plan to show it off in a lamp or another type of light fixture. Consider a light strip if you are looking for a lower-key setup. Light strips are great for placing in smaller spaces where light fixtures won’t fit and behind TVs or monitors to sync them with onscreen content, among other spots. Their adjustable length makes them incredibly versatile, if a bit more tedious to install.

Speaking of installation, only the Philips Hue light bulbs require an additional hub to perform best. Getting started with other bulbs is as easy as placing them in your preferred fixture and following on-screen instructions on your smartphone.

How We Tested

For this guide, I handpicked smart light bulbs and strips in various form factors and price points from leading makers like Nanoleaf, Philips, and TP-Link. For each recommendation, I carefully scrutinized the specs of each product, including luminance type, peak brightness, and connected home compatibility. I focused primarily on smart bulbs that support Matter to ensure you can continue using them if your smart home setup changes.

I tested each smart bulb in my small New York City apartment. I used the smart light bulbs on wall and ceiling lights, as well as floor and table lamps. I put also put light strips to the test in my tiny kitchen and behind my living room TV. I spent months with every product on this list, giving me plenty of time to observe its everyday performance, usability, and, if available, quirks.

Find the best smart light bulbs for your home among these extensively tested products. Our product picks start below $20, so giving your space a serious makeover is cheaper than ever.

Looking for more great ways to illuminate your home? Check out our top picks for anywhere lamps, desk lights, and work lights.

Matter A19 | E26 Smart Bulb

The Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart light bulb is our top pick in this crowded product category, ticking every box such a device should. The connected gadget is elegant, capable of producing a bright light in millions of colors, easy to set up, and futureproof. Best of all, the light bulb is reasonably priced, considering its design and onboard features.

My favorite bits about the Nanoleaf Essentials A19 bulb are its incredible design and ecosystem versatility. Unlike most rivals, its distinctive rhombicosidodecahedron shape allowed me to show it off in an open light fixture.

Support for the up-to-date Matter smart home protocol ensured I could control the bulb with Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant voice commands and integrate it into my smart home setup simply by placing it in a fixture of my choosing. I also didn't have to install additional apps to set it up.

The Nanoleaf app is packed with helpful features, including the option to select various scenes with changeable colors or circadian lighting. The latter helped me stay focused during countless late fall and winter days with dreary weather.

Nanoleaf also offers a light bulb that’s suitable for recessed fixtures. A robust three-year warranty covers every product.

Review: Nanoleaf Essentials A19 Smart Light Bulb

Tapo L535E Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack)

TP-Link’s Tapo L535E smart bulb is a solid alternative to our top pick at a lower price point. The product has a more generic design and shorter warranty than its Nanoleaf competitor. Still, its impulse-buy price (you can frequently snag a set of two on sale for less than $20) makes up for these insignificant shortcomings. The light bulb’s low power consumption and energy-monitoring app features are also worth ordering a set.

The easy setup, wide virtual assistant support brought by its support for the Matter protocol, and top-notch brightness are the main reasons I’d recommend the Tapo L535E over the many lesser-known rivals in its price category. The bulbs' ease of use and bright multi-color luminance made me feel like I was using a pricier set.

Overall, the TP-Link Tapo L535E is a great option for first-time buyers and smart home upgraders on a tight budget. TP-Link also offers a smart light bulb with an adjustable white glow and no Matter support for even less. A set of 4 — enough for a small apartment makeover — costs around $20.

Smart Light Starter Kit (2-pack)

Philips Hue products have been synonymous with smart lighting for over a decade, so connected light bulbs from the storied maker should unsurprisingly be on your radar. What makes these smart lights different from all competitors is the Philips Hue Bridge — a tiny box that brings an elaborate set of controls and ambiance customization features.

The Zigbee-equipped Hue Bridge can control up to 50 lights. It’s compatible with all virtual assistants, so it’s easy to integrate into an existing smart home setup. And if you don’t use voice commands, you can control your entire Philips Hue system via an intuitive mobile app.

I like that it’s designed to link to an internet network via a cable, ensuring a rock-solid connection at all times. For years, I had mine directly connected to my home internet modem, ensuring I could control my lights from my phone on rare occasions when the Wi-Fi router was acting up. Their luminance, easy-to-change colors, and optional effect were consistently great to use throughout my testing.

The transparent selection of Philips Hue lights is in a league of its own compared to the competition. You can browse many indoor and outdoor bulbs, lamps, flood lights, light strips, and even string lights with color or white glow. The starter set I recommend includes a Hue Bridge and a pair of color bulbs.

Matter Lightstrip (80-inch; 2-meter)

Light strips can drastically transform the vibes in any space while discreetly staying out of sight, and the smart Nanoleaf Matter Lightstrip is the best one worth your attention. Like our favorite light bulb from the same maker, the Matter-compatible strip delivers a perfect balance between easy installation, compatibility with all virtual assistants, and a ton of convenient extra features, all at an agreeable price.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the Nanoleaf Essentials light strip is to install. Its sturdy adhesive surface and easy-to-locate cut marks made this seemingly tedious process a breeze. I don’t consider myself a handyman, yet it took me minutes to set the device up right underneath my kitchen cabinets. You can choose from two ample lengths, as well as available expansion packs, should your needs change after you order one.

The 2,200-lumen maximum brightness of this light strip is also quite incredible. After more than a year of living with this product in a small one-bedroom apartment, I never needed to increase the setting above 20%. I liked how the product’s integrated controller allowed me to turn on and adjust the lights without reaching for my phone or activating a virtual assistant.

As expected from a Nanoleaf product, the Essentials light strip can glow in a practically limitless selection of colors. Circadian lighting and screen mirroring features are also available.

CYNC Edison Style Smart Light Bulbs (2-pack)

This smart offering by GE Cync has a beautiful retro look inspired by light bulbs that Thomas Edison demonstrated in the late 19th century. The product’s visible filament makes it ideal for installation on exposed lamps and lighting fixtures.

Thankfully, the Edison-style GE Cync light bulb doesn’t lack in features despite its vintage design. It’s sufficiently bright, capable of producing millions of colors, energy-efficient, and compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

It’s important to note that the GE Cync bulb isn’t on par with standard offerings when it comes to brightness and lifespan. However, its stunning design makes these shortcomings acceptable. Just looking at it reminded me of simpler times when everyday objects had fewer power buttons, rechargeable batteries, and screens.

I picked this bulb for its design, and it met my expectations over weeks of testing. Installing it on a side table lamp at home earned me many compliments from guests during gatherings.

Consider this version of these light bulbs with an adjustable soft white glow if color lighting is not a must for you. It has the same captivating design and a lower price tag. Larger GE Cync bulbs with a globe shape are also available, as are smaller decorative ones.

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