Given the vast selection of smart speakers on the market today, comparing their many features and benefits can be an arduous task. If you’ve settled on either the Amazon Echo or Apple HomePod mini, then you’re probably searching for reasons to buy one or the other.

We’ll show you why the Amazon Echo should be your top choice.

1. Amazon Frequently Offers Discounts on the Echo

Apple is infamous for rarely offering discounts on its devices. The company believes that premium pricing reflects a premium product. But if you look past this marketing tactic, you’ll find that many of competitors perform just as well or even better—like the Amazon Echo.

While the HomePod mini and the Amazon Echo are both normally priced at $99, we found that the Echo was discounted on Amazon’s website as many as 14 times in the past year. On two occasions, Black Friday and Prime Day specifically, Amazon slashed prices to $59.99. They also regularly gave discounts of $20-$30.

Meanwhile, you’d struggle to ever find Apple discounting the HomePod mini by 20 percent, let alone 40 percent.

2. The Echo Has Physical Controls

While some might enjoy the HomePod mini’s touch interface, many of us prefer the physical feedback buttons give us. The controls on the top of the Amazon Echo are self-explanatory: volume up or down, mute the mic, and the action button.

Meanwhile, the HomePod mini requires multiple taps and long presses for certain functions, which can be incredibly frustrating if you’re trying to control your smart speaker at night.

3. You Can Control Spotify With Your Voice

You might need to rethink your chosen streaming service if you’re looking to buy a HomePod mini, as Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming platform, is largely incompatible. Instead, Apple prefers you use Apple Music.

You can play Spotify through AirPlay, but this means you can’t use voice controls or Spotify Connect when listening to your favorite songs. The Echo offers both of these features.

4. The Echo is Compatible With More Services

The overall number of services the HomePod mini integrates with is a far cry from the Echo’s compatibility. The HomePod can currently natively play:

• Apple Music
• Apple Podcasts
• Pandora
• Deezer
• TuneIn Radio
• iHeart Radio

The Echo can link with every service listed above, plus:

• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Tidal
• Sirius XM

And more, depending on your location. The Echo also links with TV services, like Fire TV, Philips Smart TV, and Roku, among many others. Alexa can even add items to list apps like Todoist, Anylist, and Bring! Shopping list.

5. No Apple Device Is Required

To set up the HomePod mini, you will need to use an iPhone or iPad—there’s no way to get through setup without one. You can technically use a HomePod mini without an Apple device, but it severely limits how much you can use the HomePod. If your Android device supports AirPlay, you can use it as a smart speaker. But any feature that requires an iOS-based device will be out of bounds.

With the Echo, you only need an internet connection and an Amazon account to use Alexa. Even if you don’t own a smartphone, you can use the Alexa web app to customize your settings.

6. The Alexa App Has More Features Than the Home App

But if you do have a smartphone, you’ll probably be using the Alexa app (available for iOS and Android). Apple has its central Home app, available for iOS, for controlling every device in its ecosystem. Bbut overall, its features pale in comparison with the Alexa app.

For example, within the Alexa app, you can browse third-party skills, set up a Flash Briefing, see your conversation history with Alexa, send announcements to your Echo, and more. The Home app offers none of this functionality.

7. The Echo Has an AUX Input/Output and Bluetooth Connectivity

The Amazon Echo features both Bluetooth connectivity and AUX in/out support. With Bluetooth, you can quickly connect a smart device or even another Bluetooth speaker to enjoy music.

Thanks to AUX in/out support, you can plug in another wired device to use the Echo as a speaker. You can also feed the Echo audio to a larger, wired speaker.

However, the HomePod Mini only supports AirPlay and has no functional Bluetooth connectivity.

8. You Can Shop With Your Voice Using Alexa

Being an Amazon product, the Echo links directly with your Amazon account to enable Alexa Voice Shopping. This means that you can add items to your Amazon shopping cart and checkout by using just your voice. Once your order is dispatched, you can even track your orders and receive delivery notifications through Alexa.

Unfortunately, the HomePod is unable to do any form of voice shopping.

9. Alexa Supports Third-Party Skills

Part of what led Apple to become the tech titan it is today was the creation of the App Store, launched just a year after the first iPhone. It seems strange then that there’s no platform for developers to release functionality-expanding third-party apps on the HomePod mini.

It’s even stranger when considering that Amazon gave developers that exact ability, leading to the creation of over 100,000 Alexa Skills. These Skills range from offering a simple birthday countdown and trivia quiz to complex interactive stories and AI-based translations, while the HomePod only has Apple-designed features.

To learn more about some of these amazing third-party skills, take a look at the 25 best Alexa skills of all time.

10. The Echo Is Better for Families

Amazon Kids is a free-to-use service that is available on all Amazon devices, not just smart speakers. Parents create profiles for their children through Amazon Kids and can set time limits for when and how long they interact with Alexa. There’s even the ability to pause interaction altogether and to block explicit lyrics when listening to music.

In contrast, the HomePod mini can block explicit lyrics and prevent personalized Siri requests, but that’s about it. There’s no easy way to set up a kid’s profile or control access, unlike with Alexa.

11. Alexa Together and Alexa Guard Can Save Lives

Amazon has stormed ahead of Apple in introducing new features that can be critical to our wellbeing. Alexa Together is a premium subscription service designed to be used by seniors and their families/caregivers to provide support from a distance. It has features like fall detection, 24/7 urgent response, and alerts if your loved one hasn’t used Alexa by a certain time.

Alexa Guard is free and enables Alexa to send notifications if it detects smoke alarms or glass breaking, and allows you to replay the sound or Drop In to hear what’s happening in real-time. The premium subscription version, Guard Plus, lets you call the 24/7 Emergency Helpline hands-free and will notify you of activity around your Echo when you’re out of the house.

Both of these features can be potentially lifesaving and are a worthwhile investment to make for your and your family's wellbeing. The HomePod mini offers nothing close to these capabilities.

12. You Can Change Your Wake Word

Finally, a slight but frustrating issue with the HomePod mini is that you can’t change the wake word from "Hey Siri." However, you can with an Amazon Echo. In fact, you can change the “Alexa” wake word to Amazon, Computer, Echo, or Ziggy. While it’s not a dealbreaker for many people, don’t underestimate how annoying it can be to use a wake word you don’t like.

Amazon Echo Outshines the HomePod mini

Despite Apple’s leadership in the smartphone market, the company is clearly underperforming in its smart speaker range. Some reviews say that the HomePod mini has better sound than the Echo. While this might be true, the Echo is a standout winner when it comes to features, integrations, and accessibility.

We’d recommend waiting for one of Amazon’s many sales (especially if Black Friday or Prime Day is just around the corner) to pick up the Amazon Echo at a discount. You won’t be disappointed.