Top Rated Smart Lighting Solutions

Read update

• We’ve reviewed our recommendations and these are still the best smart lights you can buy.

Smart lights are not just a way to add extra convenience to illuminating interior and exterior spaces. They’re an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and create a personalized ambiance.

UPDATE: 07/15/2024

We’ve reviewed our recommendations and these are still the best smart lights you can buy.

GE CYNC Smart LED Bulbs

Best Smart Lights Overall
$24 at Amazon

• 
  
  Philips

Philips Hue Starter Kit

Best Smart Light System
$175 at Amazon

Kasa Smart Light Bulbs

Best Smart Light Bulb
$14 at Amazon

Govee RGBIC Bluetooth LED Strip Lights (65.6ft)

Best Smart Light Strip
$70 at Amazon

• 
  
  Govee

Govee Outdoor Ground Lights

Best Outdoor Smart Light
$60 at Amazon

What To Look For in a Smart Light in 2024

The hunt for the best smart light can be complicated. Not only are there different smart lights for different uses, but there’s also an abundance of brands and varieties lining the shelves. So, how do you know what to look for to ensure you’re choosing the best light for your home lighting? There are a few things to look at, but most importantly, you need to know what kind of smart light solution you need .

Are you illuminating a pathway, or do you need to start replacing your interior bulbs? Once you determine the purpose, you can navigate to different categories, which include whole-home smart light systems, individual smart bulbs, smart light strips, outdoor and weather-resistant smart lights, and Christmas smart lights.

No matter what you’re shopping for, you want to pay attention to three key elements. First, does the light need a hub, or is it Bluetooth-compatible? You may want a full system that runs entirely off your Wi-Fi, which may require a separate pricey hub or a smart home system installed, or you can opt for Bluetooth-only lights.

The latter may be cheaper, but you can only control the bulb when you’re near it. A hub or Wi-Fi-enabled bulb can also connect with other branded smart home devices for full-home automation.

Second, look at the lumens , or the number that measures the quantity of visible light. A base figure to remember is 800 lumens, the brightness of a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Smart lights are typically dimmable, but you want the base lumens to be high enough to produce a bright enough light for your space.

Finally, you need to consider whether you want a standard white bulb or a multi-colored one. This isn’t as important a requirement because colored bulbs almost always have a warm and cool white option. Still, a price disparity between all-white and multicolored bulbs may sway your decision-making if you’re not interested in colorful displays or customizable scenes.

Keeping all of this in mind, here are our top picks for the best smart lights.

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Best Smart Light Overall: GE CYNC Smart LED Bulbs

GE

In a market dominated by Phillips Hue, Govee, and TP-Link, the choice of the GE CYNC Smart Bulb as our top pick might seem odd. But there are several good reasons why we think these bulbs stand out, not the least being their excellent build quality and reasonable price.

The GE bulbs don’t require a hub, which can be a major plus for many users. Smart bulbs are often one of the first ways people dip their toes into the world of smart home tech, at a time when a hub is perhaps not required. If you decide more control is needed in your smart home setup at a later date, the newer GE bulbs are fully compatible with Matter hubs.

Controlling the GE smart bulbs can be done through their redesigned and much-improved app, or you can use voice commands by connecting to Alexa or Google Assistant. Unlike older GE smart bulbs, you can connect to those voice assistants straight out of the box rather than through a separate smart plug, which is a definite improvement.

You also have some extra control methods available in the optional motion sensor , dimmer switch , or GE remote, making these some of the most adaptable smart bulbs on the market. Another significant plus point of the GE smart bulbs is that you can control them via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This isn’t unique to these bulbs, but the alternative control option is a handy backup if your Wi-Fi service goes down.

There are a couple of different versions of the GE bulb available, including full multicolor, soft white, and tunable white. All are available in a variety of form factors as well, like recessed spotlight bulbs. There is also a Dynamic Color version , which can be set to change color based on the music played in the room.

If you don’t require a smart home hub from the get-go, the GE CYNC Smart Bulbs are a high-quality and reliable way to add smart lighting to your home.

Best Smart Lights Overall

GE CYNC Smart LED Bulbs

There is a lot to love about the latest GE CYNC smart bulbs, including vivid and true colors, an easy-to-use app, and excellent build quality. These are some of the most adaptable smart bulbs around, with motion sensors and dimmer switches available and compatibility with Matter should you need it.

$24 at Amazon

Best Smart Light Platform: Philips Hue Starter Kit

Philips

If you plan on making your home smart rather than just adding a few smart light bulbs, a smart home hub system is the way to go. Using a hub has significant benefits, ranging from less strain on your Wi-Fi network to the relative ease with which additional smart home devices can be added and controlled.

While a hubless system is cheaper and perfectly fine if you only plan to add lighting in a few rooms, you’ll miss out on powerful integrations. And this is why the Philips Hue Starter Kit earns the vote for the best smart light platform.

Though it’s a little inconvenient having to hardwire the Hue Hub to your modem or Wi-Fi router (meaning any Internet outage will leave you without access to your light’s features), the smart light starter kit opens the door for a bounty of options should you decide to expand into other lights and automation.

For example, an entire scene can be set with this starter kit, a Philips Hue light strip , and Spotify for lights that move to the music. That scene can also be controlled via Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, which is surprisingly absent in many smart lights. While the hub does simplify the connection process, the reliance on Wi-Fi can lead to infrequently unstable connections.

The lights offer a vibrant 1,100 lumens, which some may find a little too bright. Thankfully, each bulb can be individually dimmed and changed to one of over 16 million colors. Some colors stand out better than others, but the spectrum is rich and deep.

Best Smart Light System

Philips Hue Starter Kit

$175 $200 Save $25

This convenient and user-friendly kit promotes whole-home automation while delivering brilliant lighting and a broad spectrum of colors. Enjoy a host of 3rd-party integrations to customize your experience.

See at Best Buy $175 at Amazon

Best Smart Light Bulb: Kasa Smart Light Bulb

TP-Link

If you don’t want the extra setup complication and cost of using a smart home hub, such as the one required for Phillips Hue lights, your options for smart bulbs significantly increase. Several brands have really upped their game and made it much easier to use smart bulbs without a hub if, for example, you only need a smart bulb in one room. Our favorite of these is the Kasa Smart Bulb from TP-Link.

As smart bulbs have become more popular, their features have homogenized to the point that it can be hard to pick between them. Choosing often comes down to the details, such as build quality and lifespan, and in these regards, the Kasa smart bulbs are up there with the best.

Capable of producing 16 million colors, as well as tunable whites from warm to cool, these bulbs are suitable for almost any room. They are available in 800 or 1000-lumen brightness, approximately equal to 60W and 80W, respectively. If that sounds too high, the bulbs can be dimmed down to 1% brightness.

The Kasa Smart app for iOS and Android is easy to use and easily controls multiple bulbs in different rooms. Of course, you can also use voice commands with Alexa or Google Assistant. There’s no Apple HomeKit support, but you can add the Kasa bulbs to Samsung SmartThings if you already use that to control other smart home gadgets.

The app also allows you to monitor the energy used by the bulbs and create timers and schedules to ensure you aren’t wasting any. The final thing to consider is TP-Link’s two-year warranty, which is better than most and should give you peace of mind that you won’t need to buy new bulbs every six months.

Best Smart Light Bulb

Kasa Smart Light Bulbs

$14 $25 Save $11

The Kasa Smart Light Bulbs are a great option if you don’t need the complication of a hub but still want a high degree of controllability, excellent colors, and tunable whites.

$14 at Amazon

Best Smart Light Strip: Govee 65.6 ft RGBIC LED Light Strip

Govee

Govee has been steadily building a name for itself in the smart lighting space, producing products that are thoughtfully designed, well made, and that work brilliantly. The Govee RGBIC LED Light Strip is yet another example of this, offering up some very cool features at a very reasonable price.

The first thing to mention is RGBIC, which is a system that uses an independent controller chip for each section of the light strip. That means that the strip can display multiple colors along its length at the same time in an almost inexhaustible range of combinations. This allows you to easily segment the lighting in the room without having to join several light strips together.

RGBIC light strips don’t allow cutting and joining with pin connectors, so you’ll need to be pretty accurate in your measurements to ensure enough length to cover the lighting run. Because of this limitation, Govee has produced a wide range of lengths, from 16ft to an impressive 100ft.

The light strip can be controlled from the Govee app for iOS or Android , which is easy to use once you grow accustomed to the plethora of options, or with voice commands through Alexa or Google Assistant. With Dynamic mode, you can match colors to music or other audio in the room, while Scenes provides preset color combinations for different moods. If you can’t find a preset you like, the DIY mode lets you completely customize the lighting and save the theme for future use.

There are cheaper light strips available, particularly for shorter lengths, but if you want the fine control over lighting that RGBIC offers, combined with excellent features, voice control, and a well-designed app, this one is hard to beat.

Best Smart Light Strip

Govee RGBIC Bluetooth LED Strip Lights (65.6ft)

The Govee RGBIC LED Light Strip gives you a great range of colors, lots of preset themes, and Music Mode and can be bought in a variety of different lengths. But perhaps the best feature is the RGBIC capability, which allows you to display multiple colors along a single strip.

$70 at Amazon

Best Outdoor Smart Light: Govee Outdoor Ground Lights

Govee

Spruce up your outdoor space with these glowing multipurpose outdoor lights. Govee’s Outdoor Ground Lights are a unique way to bring illumination and color to your front or back yard. Individual lights can be staked into the ground along sidewalks, patios, and driveways to create a safer walking path. Each light is separated by 1.6 feet of cord and covers approximately 24 feet of ground.

The total length of the strand is 36 feet, but there’s a 12.5-foot space between the first light and the adapter. While that sounds like a lot of wasted space, the gap serves two purposes. First, it accommodates outdoor spaces where outlets are farther from the intended path. Second, though the lights are weatherproof, the adapter is not and should not be placed anywhere that may get wet, including dewy grass.

Though each bulb is only 80 lumens, that’s more than enough considering the purpose of these multicolor ground lights. They aren’t bright enough to annoy neighbors while remaining visible in the dead of night. And even if they are too bright, there’s a dimmer built into Govee’s dedicated app.

The app is both a strong and weak point with all Govee products. While there’s a lot to tinker with to create scenes and set individual colors for each ground light, it can be a bit much at first. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll have access to a music sync mode for dancing lights, a timer, and more colors than you’ll ever need. If you have other Govee lights, the app is where you’ll link everything together for visual spectacles.

If you’re using the Govee Outdoor Ground Lights as pathway lights, the time function in the Govee app will be invaluable as you can set a weekly schedule to offset the lack of a motion sensor.

Best Outdoor Smart Light

Govee Outdoor Ground Lights

More than simple pathway lights, Govee’s outdoor ground lights can create an outdoor escape unlike any other. With weekly scheduling and DIY light mapping, you can automate a brilliant display every day at dusk.

$60 at Amazon

FAQ

Are smart lights energy efficient?

Smart lights are typically LEDs, which use less energy than traditional light bulbs. Additionally, smart lights can be programmed to turn on and off at specific times during the day. This cuts down on wasted energy and ensures each bulb is used only when needed. Wi-Fi-enabled lights can also be turned off via smartphone should one be accidentally left on. For maximum energy efficiency, look for the ENERGY STAR logo.

Do smart lights use electricity when turned off?

Like most electronics, smart lights use less energy when turned off. The amount used is so minuscule that it is likely not going to reflect on an energy bill. To prevent continued use of electricity, the smart light would need to be unplugged or removed from the fixture entirely.

Do smart lights burn out?

Smart lights burn out over time, but how long they last will depend on the quality of the light and how often they’re used. Unlike traditional bulbs, which burn out instantly when the filament becomes overstressed after prolonged use, smart lights slowly fade and become dimmer.

About how long do smart lights last?

The average lifespan of a third-generation Philips Hue bulb is up to 25,000 hours, or over 1,041 days if left on for 24 hours straight. When everyday use is factored in, a smart light could last anywhere from 15 to 25 years.

Can you use smart light bulbs in ceiling fans?

Smart light bulbs can be used in ceiling fans, but the type of fan and size of the bulb may make them incompatible. Additionally, if the ceiling fan doubles as a dimmer, the bulb may not work properly due to a limited power supply.

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