Smart home tech lets us add the convenience of automation and the features we see in futuristic sci-fi movies into our houses. While robots haven’t quite taken over the world yet, we do have access to a plethora of gadgets and devices that make our lives much more manageable.

Best Budget-Friendly Smart Home Gadget Overall: Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)

Amazon Echo Dot not listen mode
Hannah Stryker / MakeUseOf

You need a smart hub to give you control over all your smart home devices. With the Amazon Echo Dot, you have a smart speaker with Alexa serving as your personal assistant to control just about every smart gadget you have at home. You can also make calls, entertain yourself with podcasts or music, and access any information you require on the web.

The 5th Gen features a new LED clock display that provides information such as the weather and the song currently playing (as well as the time). However, you can also purchase an Echo Dot (5th Gen) without the display for more savings or a kids’ version with advanced parental controls.

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)
Best Overall
$50 $60 Save $10

The Amazon Echo Dot can be your central smart home hub. With Alexa as your assistant, it gives you control over your smart home devices, can play your favorite tunes, and answer any question that pops into your head. The Echo Dot (5th Gen) has an LED panel that shows information like the time, the weather, or your recently played tracks.
 

Pros
  • 1,000 square feet of additional Eero Wi-Fi coverage
  • Improved audio
  • Temperature and motion sensors
  • Easy setup
  • Simple tap gestures
Cons
  • No headphone jack

Best Budget-Friendly Smart Home Lighting: Kasa Smart Light Bulbs 4-Pack

Blue and purple Kasa Smart Light Bulbs connected to a Wi-Fi router
Kasa

Smart light bulbs that change their brightness and emit millions of different colors are a fantastic way to achieve the best lighting setup at home. Having the right hue and color temperature in your bedroom can go a long way toward creating the right ambiance.

With Kasa Smart Light Bulbs, you can schedule everything so that you have a daily routine of natural colors from sunrise to sunset. They also provide extra security; you can set the lights to turn on and off at intervals, creating the illusion that someone is at home.

These bulbs have a maximum 800-lumen output, but if you need brighter, there’s a 1,000-lumen 4-pack available, too.

Kasa Smart Light Bulbs 4-Pack
Kasa Smart Light Bulbs 4-Pack
Best Lighting
$28 $40 Save $12

Smart light bulbs are an excellent idea for complete control over your home's lighting. You can schedule the Kasa Smart Light Bulbs to get you and your family into a routine or select colors to match the time of day or the energy you want. You can control them from the accompanying app or voice control with Alexa, which can override any programmed schedule. 

Pros
  • Alexa or Google Assistant compatible
  • No hub required
  • In-app energy monitoring
  • Smartphone control from anywhere
  • 2,500 - 6,500K color temperature range
Cons
  • Cumbersome Wi-Fi setup

Best Budget-Friendly Smart Home Gadget for Cleaning: eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES

A eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES sliding under some furniture to clean.
Anker

The eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES may not be the cheapest robovac you can find. But it still falls in the budget range and offers an excellent value to performance balance. It’s compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant and features Dynamic Navigation for advanced mapping.

Not only is it a 2-in-1 vacuum and mop, but it also comes with a self-empty station with triple dust filtration. This station features a 3.2L dust bag that you shouldn’t need to empty for around eight weeks.

With its strong 2,000Pa suction power, the G30 Hybrid can get on with tackling all rooms in the house, leaving you free to do whatever you like.

eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES
eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES
Best Gadget for Cleaning

The eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G30 Hybrid SES is a 2-in-1 robot cleaner with vacuum and mop. It is also self-emptying and comes with its very own emptying station for convenience. It has powerful suction and advanced navigation, leaving you to get on with anything else you need to do.

Pros
  • BoostIQ for transitioning from hard floor to carpet
  • Quiet cleaning
  • The slim 2.8-inch body fits under most low-clearance furniture
  • Auto-return when the battery is low
  • Anti-collision and anti-drop sensors
Cons
  • No 5GHz frequency support

Best Budget-Friendly Smart Home Gadget for Home Security: SimpliSafe 9-Piece Wireless Home Security System

SimpliSafe 9-Piece Wireless Home Security System
SimpliSafe

With the SimpliSafe 9-Piece Wireless Home Security System, you have a network that covers a condo or single-family home and leaves the door open for adding more safeguarding gadgets.

In the box is the all-important base station and a wireless keypad for arming and disarming. You also get four entry sensors, two pet-friendly motion sensors, a wired indoor security camera, and a panic button. Pressing the latter triggers an alarm that automatically sends a squad car to your address in the event of an emergency.

However, you’ll need to sign up for a monthly subscription to enjoy the full benefits. And, if you want to further fortify your home, you can also choose a 10-, 11-, or 12-piece system.

SimpliSafe 9-Piece Wireless Home Security System
SimpliSafe 9-Piece Wireless Home Security System
Best Home Security

The SimpliSafe Home Security System protects your smart home and gives you peace of mind. It may not be the cheapest security system you can find, but you can’t put a price on safety. However, it is still firmly in the affordable price range, and you can extend the system with more devices to fortify your home even more.

Pros
  • One free month of 24/7 professional monitoring
  • Simple setup
  • Excellent customer service
  • Integrates well with Alexa and Google Assistant (with subscription)
  • Yard sign with 3-foot stake included
Cons
  • Of limited use without a monthly subscription
  • Incompatible with Apple HomeKit

Best Budget-Friendly Smart Home Gadget for Energy Efficiency: Amazon Smart Thermostat

A woman leaving home with Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) on a desk and an Amazon Smart Thermostat on the wall.
Amazon

An Energy Star-certified product will always save you money. However, savings aren’t the only thing the energy-efficient Amazon Smart Thermostat gives you. You also get the convenience of having complete control over your home’s temperature directly from your smartphone. This ensures a warm and cozy house on your return from work.

It features a bright LED display showing the temperature, and it also has manual controls for making adjustments. Installation is a breeze using the step-by-step instructions on the Alexa app, and Amazon’s excellent 24/7 customer support is on hand should you need it.

Additionally, if you have an older heating system without the necessary C-wire, you can buy a thermostat with the C-wire adapter at a slightly higher price.

Amazon Smart Thermostat
Amazon Smart Thermostat
Best Gadget for Energy Efficiency

Another excellent and affordable smart-home product from Amazon is the Amazon Smart Thermostat. Not only is it a budget-friendly device, but its energy efficiency will save you even more money in the long run. You can control it via your Echo Dot speaker or directly from your smartphone, and you'll enjoy coming home to the perfect temperature.

Pros
  • Helpful installation support
  • Automatic temperature adjustments
  • Alexa Hunches for added automation
  • Energy Star-certified
Cons
  • Needs a C-wire or adapter
  • Smart control is limited to the Alexa app or an Echo Dot speaker

FAQ

Q: What are some smart home ecosystems?

Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit are two of the best. Despite the Amazon Alexa ecosystem being the most popular, there are advantages to choosing Apple HomeKit. However, both have their significant pros and cons.

Despite the confusion over whether its smart home ecosystem is called Google Nest, Google Home, or Google Assistant (it’s Google Nest!), the multinational tech behemoth has also made significant strides into the connected home platform world.

Throw in Samsung SmartThings and a host of lesser-known pretenders to the throne, and you can see there are many to choose from.

Q: Can any smart home device work with any other device?

Unfortunately, not all smart home devices integrate with each other. There are compatibility issues due to devices using different communication standards, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee. However, a smart home bridge can link your devices together as long as it is compatible with the devices you use.

Q: Can I turn a "dumb" home product into a smart one? How?

You can make “dumb” devices “smart” with various smart accessories. One handy device is a smart plug or smart strip. Simply plug it into a wall outlet, then connect your device. After connecting, you can control your device using voice control or app.

You could also replace your traditional light switches with smart switches to control your lights from your smartphone if you don’t want to replace the bulbs. You can also upgrade your traditional heating system with a smart thermostat, saving you money in the long run with programmable schedules and remote temperature control.

You could also add a smart garage door opener to your existing garage door and order it open from the comfort of your car.

Q: How can I save money using smart home gadgets?

First, you should replace any incandescent light bulbs you still have with smart LED bulbs. You should then install smart plugs and power strips on your appliances and devices, especially those that burn through the most electricity. From there, you can schedule your smart home gadgets to optimize their power usage.

Q: What are the benefits of smart home gadgets?

You can centralize control of everything in your home to your smartphone. Not only that, but most smart home gadgets will send you notifications to help keep you on top of everything.

Energy efficiency is also essential in these days of rapidly rising costs. Smart home gadgets allow you to schedule your appliances’ power consumption. In the long run, you can save hundreds of dollars or even more.

Convenience and safety are also some vital benefits that come to mind when you use smart home gadgets.