Best smart speakers of 2024

At SafeWise, we tend to focus more on smart speakers' home security advantages and home automation benefits. But guess what else we’re suckers for? Audio quality. That’s why we chose the Sonos Roam, which produces rich audio—at both high and low frequencies—that most folks will enjoy.

Sonos Roam also has a superpower: it uses both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls (sadly not at the same time). This means you can choose your preferred voice assistant to manage your smart home. Read our full comparison to see how other smart speaker brands stack up and which tasks suit them best.

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Sonos Roam can also link wirelessly to other Sonos speakers for a whole-home audio system. Now your music doesn't need to stick to a specific room. In our experience, Sonos does multi-room audio better than Echo and Google. We also like that this speaker works with Apple AirPlay 2, allowing you to play tunes from your favourite Apple devices.

We absolutely love its two major voice assistant platform options: Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This is the kind of flexibility that defines a standout smart home device.

Although the two voice platforms live in the same house on the Sonos Roam, they don't speak to each other, so you need to toggle between them in the mobile app if you plan to use both. We recommend trying out both when you first buy the speaker and choosing one that makes sense for your needs.

This Amazon Alexa smart speaker boasts a seriously cute spherical shape. Its front-firing speaker projects sound out into a room rather than at the ceiling like older puck-shaped Echo Dots. The audio quality doesn't match larger speakers, but it's more than enough for most folks, especially at this price.

Alexa's smart device compatibility is still the best in the business, with more brands supporting Alexa than Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit (Siri). But if you read our Google vs. Alexa article, you probably know we're not fans of the Alexa app's clunky smart home controls.

Alexa doesn't really have a portable Alexa speaker you can take on the go (we miss you, Amazon Tap). But Amazon sells a vast selection of smart speakers. And, overall, we think that Echo smart speakers are the best choices for most folks since they balance price and quality—even if they don't quite match pricier audiophile brands like Sonos and Bose.

Check out our Ultimate Guide to Alexa and Amazon Echo to learn more about Amazon's smart home offerings.

The Google Nest Mini is a great Echo Dot alternative for folks that prefer Google Assistant. We especially like the wall-mounting notch on the back—you don't need a third-party mounting bracket, unlike the Echo Dot.

What this speaker lacks in bass, it makes up for in ease of control.

We love that its app controls for smart home devices are a little easier to use than Alexa's. But Google Assistant fails to match the smart home selection and compatibility of Amazon Echo, which had a two-year head start into the category.

Google also supports fewer music streaming services than Alexa (more so since discontinuing Google Play Music). While it supports popular services like Spotify, Apple Music, TuneIn, and Pandora, it's missing Amazon Music. In any case, we think that Nest Mini is the best smart speaker for voice controls and Google purists.

Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Google Assistant and Google Nest Products.

We like that the Bose Soundlink Revolve II is water and dust resistant. If the rain starts falling, just pack up your picnic to some tunes and grab the speaker before you head out. It also has a clean, compact design that looks great on the picnic table and indoors on a charging dock.

At 660 grams, it's one of the heavier portable smart speakers we looked at,  especially compared to the 345 gram Apple Homepod mini and 340 gram Amazon Echo Dot. Fortunately, that heaviness translates into a higher battery life (around thirteen playback hours). Typically, most larger smart speakers can last as long as 12 hours.

We were quite surprised with how loud it really is, and how such a compact speaker can deliver 360 consistent, uniform audio. No matter where you are in the room, everybody gets the same experience. 

We think the Bose Soundlink Revolve II is perfectly suited to a range of environments. Rain, hail, or shine, its durable enough to take on hikes, to the beach, or on a picnic out in the back yard. Conversely, it also works well if you'd like to use it as an indoor speaker, too. 

In the end, the Bose Soundlink Revolve II is a worthwhile purchase when you want a smart speaker on the go.

The Apple HomePod is a bit of a black sheep among smart speakers; not only is it the only speaker with Siri voice controls, but it's also exclusive to Apple users. You can't even go through setup unless you have an iPhone or iPad. This isn't a problem for iPhone users, but the HomePod misses a huge swath of the market because Apple is the paragon of incompatibility.

We think that the Sonos Roam is the best smart speaker for most folks since it gives you excellent audio quality and your choice of voice assistant. If it's too expensive for your tastes, there's no shame in choosing the Amazon Echo Dot or Google Nest Mini, which are just as worthwhile.

When it comes to building your smart home, smart speakers are the tip of the iceberg.