When you're building a smart home, it's essential to get a hub for it once you've added a couple of smart accessories. That's because you typically wouldn't be lugging your phone around with you all the time in your house.

By having a smart hub, you can control your smart devices even if you left your smartphone in your room. However, there are four options available if you're using Google Home.

So which Google smart hub should you get?

Google Nest Mini

If you're on a budget and don't need anything fancy, the Google Nest Mini is the best Google smart hub you can choose. It delivers powerful audio through its single 40mm driver with excellent quality for most users (but not for audiophiles).

After you've set up the Google Nest Mini with your Google Home account, you can also use it as your Google Assistant. You can do a lot of things with just the Google Nest Mini. Aside from controlling your smart devices, you can also use it to play music, listen to the news, record notes, add schedules, and ask general questions. You can even make Google Duo and Zoom calls straight from it if you've previously set it up.

And if you can afford two of these smart speakers, you can set them up as a stereo pair. This makes it perfect if you want to play music in a big room using the Google Nest Mini. You can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker, allowing you to enjoy louder and higher-quality audio while watching a movie on your tablet or smartphone.

Google Nest Audio

Those who are particular about their audio and are willing to spend more for it should opt for the Google Nest Audio. While this device still can't beat audiophile-quality speakers, its 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter let it deliver richer bass and crisper highs than the Nest Mini.

Aside from that, Nest Audio is just a larger version of the Nest Mini. But despite its greater volume, it still has a smaller footprint than its more affordable brother because of its shape. However, unlike the latter, you can't hang the Nest Audio from the wall because it lacks a cutout on its back for hanging.

Google Nest Hub

The Google Nest Hub delivers the full smart hub experience by letting you control your smart home on its 7-inch touchscreen display. Aside from just letting you control your smart home vocally, you can see the actual status of your house on its screen and more.

It has a home page showing contextual information, depending on the time of day. And aside from playing Spotify, you can also watch YouTube and Netflix on it, play games, leave family notes, and even track your sleep without requiring a wearable device or camera.

If you want a central command center for your smart home in your bedroom, the Google Nest Hub is the best option. It's also great for small families, especially as you can use the smart display to leave notes for everyone and even make audio calls to family members directly from it via Google Duo.

You can also pair it with your Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell to see who's at the door and to check your home's surroundings. This makes it an excellent deal if you want to build a visual control hub for your smart home you can safely place anywhere.

Google Nest Hub Max

If you're looking for a smart display that can also double as a small TV, then you should go for the Google Nest Hub Max. Because of its 10-inch display, dual 18mm 10-watt tweeters, and 75mm 30-watt woofer, it would work well as an instructional and entertainment device. And since it sports a 127-degree 6.5-megapixel wide camera, you can also use this smart display for video calls.

So, whether you like following a recipe while cooking, talking to your mom while washing the dishes, or watching YouTube while eating a snack, the Google Nest Hub Max will satisfy your needs. You can also use the Nest Hub Max's built-in camera for indoor security, helping deliver peace of mind.

It also uses Face Match technology to give personalized content to the user. So no matter who sets up the device, all registered family members will get information that's relevant to them.

All these features make the Google Nest Hub Max perfect for the kitchen or dining room. As almost every family member visits these spaces frequently, this smart display hub will serve everyone's needs best in those rooms.

Which Google Nest Should You Get?

The Google Nest Mini will be more than enough for your needs if you live in a small studio or single-bedroom flat. It will control your smart devices, serve as a Bluetooth speaker, and answer your questions. At $49, this is the most affordable of the bunch and is the perfect entry to smart hubs.

But if you can spare $6 more, you should go for the $54.99 Google Nest Hub. The 7-inch display exponentially increases the smart hub's usability, allowing you to do more things on it. Its slightly larger speaker also allows you to have a better listening experience. And with its sleep tracking feature without a camera, you can safely place it beside your bed to monitor your sleep quality without worrying about your privacy.

The Google Nest Audio, priced at $99.99, is the last smart hub we could recommend for you. It costs more than double the price of the Nest Mini, but the only thing it delivers is better sound quality. If you prefer higher-quality audio, you should go for this—but still, don't expect audiophile sound quality from this device. But if you're getting the Nest Audio just because you have a large room, get two Nest Minis instead and use it in stereo mode.

Although the Nest Hub Max is the most expensive Google Nest smart hub at $174, it makes perfect sense if you are a family of four or more. That's because its larger screen and the built-in camera can also serve as your family's central messaging and communication board. It's also a great device if you're planning to use it as a central video phone that anyone in your home can use.

A Google Nest for Each Room in Your Home

With that, you can now choose the best Google Nest for your home. And while many would start with just one smart speaker, if you want to control your smart devices from wherever you are in your house, it just makes sense to have a Google Nest smart hub in each room. That way, you can control your entire house even if you don't have your phone on you.

If you plan to do that, here's the best Google Nest device for each room. The Google Nest Hub is suitable for bedrooms, while the Google Nest Hub Max goes well for the kitchen or dining room. Since the living room probably has a TV already, you can place a Google Nest Audio there (or two). And for the rest of the house, you can place one Google Nest Mini in each room.