The Best Smart Light Bulbs to Brighten Up Your Home (2024)

One key selling point of a smart bulb is being able to use hands-free voice prompts to turn it on/off or adjust the brightness or color. To do this, you need to sync the bulb to a voice assistant, and have a nearby smart speaker, smartphone, or other device that can hear your commands. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are the more commonly compatible systems, with Apple's Siri supported by fewer bulbs. In general, though, compatibility with other smart ecosystems is important to look for if you want to coordinate with other smart gadgets around your home.

"Having smart bulbs compatible with the smart home platform from your phone manufacturer can add helpful integrations to a device you probably use a lot," says Eric Welander. For example, he says. if you have an iPhone, your bulbs should work with Apple Home. For Samsung, you should buy Samsung SmartThings. Matter, a new universal standard, makes it easier since those bulbs work with most smart home platforms.

Smart LED bulbs are much more energy efficient than their traditional incandescent counterparts and run on significantly lower wattage—often in the range of 9 to 12 watts of electrical power. Still, many products will list an equivalent incandescent wattage to provide a general idea of their brightness. What you'll really want to look for as a modern standard measure is the lumen count, which tells you how much light the bulb produces. Most smart bulb options offer at least a 60-watt equivalent, producing about 800 lumens at the maximum brightness level. Many options are capable of output of 1,000 lumens or more.

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Keeping in line with the rest of the brand's smart home offerings, the Wyze Bulb Color represents a stellar value that can serve as the smart lighting starting point for many homes. Its 1,100-lumen maximum brightness (equivalent to a 75-watt incandescent) stands out compared to the 800 or 1,000 lumens of most other smart bulbs. Its 90+ color rendering index (CRI) rating is also on the top end, indicating its ability to bring out accurate hues in the objects it shines on.

Installation is as easy as twisting the bulb into a lamp or fixture. It has a typical light bulb shape of A19 and fits the standard E26 medium-sized base. You can then connect it to your Wi-Fi network and control it through the Wyze mobile app, where you can adjust the brightness and colors, set schedules, and group it with other Wyze smart lights and gadgets. The app and its available multicolor effects aren't quite as robust as hub-powered ecosystems like Philips Hue, but you can still fine-tune and save scenes from a full palette of 16 million colors (and sync it to music if you happen to be using a Wyze Light Strip controller with a microphone). The white light also features tunable color temperature, which you can set to gradually adjust throughout the day to match the sun.

An important limitation to note is Apple HomeKit isn't supported—you'll need a different (likely pricier) HomeKit- or Matter-compatible bulb to integrate with Apple devices. Like the bulk of smart bulbs, the Wyze Bulb Color works with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice commands and additional automations.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 12 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

If all you're looking for is a simple white light bulb you can control with your phone or voice commands, Sengled offers very affordable options that do just that. The A19 models start at 60-watt equivalent bulbs that reach a solid 800 lumens, dimmable down to 5 percent of that. You can't change the color temperature of the white-only light, but you can choose between soft white or daylight versions (2,700K or 5,000K, respectively).

Buying the bulbs in greater quantities gives you even better value, and it takes advantage of this particular model's connectivity method. Rather than hop onto your home Wi-Fi signal, these smart bulbs use low-energy Bluetooth Mesh technology to communicate from one unit to the next, essentially extending the range to each bulb you place around your house. The local network it creates doesn't need to connect out to the cloud to function. You do, however, need to have an Alexa device like an Echo smart speaker, which the bulb will pair with automatically within seconds after screwing it in. All settings and controls go through the Alexa app and Alexa devices; other platforms like Google Home and Apple HomeKit aren't supported.

_{Color: Soft white | Wattage: 8.7 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

Philips Hue lights, including the standard A19/E26 smart bulbs, continue to set the standard for reliable, high-quality automated home lighting. The White bulb we tested is an excellent single-color option, but the White and Color Ambiance version offers extra flexibility and capabilities that are also worthwhile. In addition to colors that tend to shine more vividly than competitors, you get 50,000 shades of white light to choose from, for when you want warm tones, cool, clear light, or anything in between. The 75-watt equivalent can deliver a strong 1,055 lumens at the 4,000K temperature, but there's also a 60-watt equivalent if you don't need as much brightness, or a 100-watt version if you need even more.

If you want to get your Hue bulbs up and running quickly, you can simply connect to them through Bluetooth and enjoy basic remote access of up to 10 lights within range, including Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls. With this method, though, you miss out on the extensive advanced features that come with the platform's Hue Bridge. The Zigbee-powered hub supports 50 Hue lights inside and outside your house, complete with room groupings, location-based activation, and more detailed color effects and scenes. The bridge also opens up compatibility with other ecosystems like Apple HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings, and a recent software update adds Matter support for more universal integration.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 10.5 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

Color-changing LED bulbs are great for entertainment and mood-setting, and the Dynamic Effects Full Color A19 Smart Bulb from GE Lighting's Cync line takes the concept to a new level. Each bulb includes four separate quadrants that you can set to different colors at the same time, allowing for unique, nuanced blends of colored light. You can even dim or brighten each section independently to emphasize certain hues over others. Like most multicolor bulbs, you can additionally adjust the color temperature of its white light, with a nice range of 2,000K to 7,000K in this case.

The Dynamic Effects bulbs give you the option to connect either with Bluetooth or 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, supporting hands-free control through Alexa or Google Assistant, or using the full control panel in the Cync mobile app. There, you can fine-tune the colors and deploy preset or customized patterns and light shows. The multiple colors within a bulb allow for more interesting animated effects like simulated flames or rainbows. The lights can also sync up with whatever you're listening to in the room to enhance your music, movies, or games. The extra capabilities may take some toll, though, with a somewhat shorter listed lifespan of 15,000 hours compared to the 25,000 hours more common of other smart bulbs.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 9.5 watts | Lifetime Hours: 15,000 hours}

The Nanoleaf Essentials line includes some of the first smart lights to support Matter, a new standard that fosters universal compatibility between smart home ecosystems. With buy-in from leading companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, and Samsung, Matter allows any product that supports it to interact together seamlessly, regardless of brand. The Nanoleaf bulbs, specifically, use Matter over Thread, which is a wireless mesh network designed for reliable, efficient smart gadget communication. So you'll first need a device that can serve as a Matter controller, as well as a Thread border router (certain Amazon Echo, Google Nest Hub, and Apple HomePod models function as both). Lacking these, you can connect over Bluetooth and use it solely with the Nanoleaf app.

With the Matter prerequisites met, you simply scan the Matter QR code to pair the bulb, and you can control it with the app from a compatible platform of your choice. As a light, it reaches an impressive 1,100 lumens and supports 16 millions colors for setting the vibe in any room. In addition to automatic scheduling to turn it on at night and off during the day, you can opt to use its circadian lighting function and have the white light's tone naturally shift based on the sun's position in your timezone.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 9 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

If you're ready to begin building up a full smart lighting setup for your home, it's hard to go wrong with a Philips Hue starter kit as your jumping-off point. The bulbs have the option for basic Bluetooth control, but the Hue Bridge included in the bundle is pretty much mandatory to benefit from all the platform's strengths. The hub establishes its own Zigbee mesh network that stays stable and secure even if your Wi-Fi internet goes down. You'll then have powerful control of up to 50 Philips Hue products should you decide to keep expanding your collection, with room groupings, detailed schedules, geofencing, and more. The Hue Bridge is also compatible with many smart platforms for voice commands and further automation, for Alexa to HomeKit and even Matter for cross-brand interaction.

The two 75-watt-equivalent white-only bulbs in this kit, each delivering 1,100 lumens of brightness at a 2,700K soft white color temperature, offer plenty of versatility to start lighting a portion of your space. If you want the ability to adjust to a cooler daylight hue and everything in between, look for kits with White Ambiance bulbs, or with White and Color Ambiance bulbs for a multicolor mood-matching upgrade. You can also get bundles with more bulbs, or with control accessories like wall-mounted buttons or dimmer switches, which aren't always available with mainstream smart bulbs.

_{Color: White | Wattage: 10.5 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

Homeowners have plenty of outdoor smart lighting possibilities available to them, especially with outdoor-centric bulbs like the Connected Max outdoor flood bulb from Cree Lighting. Along with its PAR38 shape conducive to wide, directional flood lighting, the 120-watt equivalent bulb produces a bright 1,200 lumens that's ideal for illuminating/ a yard or driveway. Its temperature-tunable white light adds the flexibility to function as either stark visibility and deterrence, or a softer, more welcoming hue for guests. There's even a follow-the-sun mode that automatically adjusts the white light throughout the day, and a complete multicolor palette for festive and/or seasonal touches. Just note that the color light doesn't shine quite as bright as the white light in outdoor settings.

The Connected Max smart flood is UL-listed for use in wet locations, so you can install in just about any outdoor fixture—make sure it's solidly within range of your Wi-Fi network, though, in order for its smart features to stay accessible. The Cree Lighting app serves as the main interface for remote control and scheduling, and you can connect to Alexa or Google Home for voice commands and extra integrations. Apple HomeKit isn't technically supported, but setting up a Siri shortcut does give users limited voice control of the bulb.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 14 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

For areas you might want to monitor with a video camera throughout the night, LIFX offers a unique Color BR30 E26 bulb built specifically for enhancing visibility in the dark. When you activate its nightvision mode through the app, the bulb produces invisible infrared light that will look, to the naked eye, like the light is still turned off. When viewing the location with a nightvision video camera, though, the footage will come through brighter and clearer, all without blasting an actual bright light. It's perfect for pairing with a smart security camera or motion sensor, and it works with a wide selection of products in the Alexa, Google Home, and even Apple HomeKit ecosystems.

The bulb itself fits a standard medium base and is weatherproof for use outdoors, in temperatures ranging from -22 to 104 degrees F. Its distinct, flat-topped take on the flood bulb shape shines at a wide angle of 200 degrees, rather than the 120-degree beam angle more typical of BR30 bulbs. The visible light can get as bright as 1,100 lumens and dim all the way down to 1 percent of that. In addition to the multicolor options, the white light is capable of an impressively wide span of color temperatures, from a very amber 1,500K to an extra cool 9,000K.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 11.5 watts | Lifetime Hours: 25,000 hours}

With Feit Electric's Smart Wi-Fi Downlights, you can upgrade your recessed lighting to energy-saving, internet-connected LEDs with relative ease. The light retrofits into most existing can housings with openings measuring 5 to 6 inches across. Depending on your setup, you simply either attach the connector wire or screw in a medium-base bulb adapter, then adjust the torsion spring clips based on the size of your housing before locking them into the housing brackets. With the LED's estimated 45-year lifespan (based on 3 hours of optimal use per day), it should be a while before you need to replace it again.

The light in this model casts white light up to 1,000 lumens, standard brightness for a 75-watt equivalent. (A 720-lumen 50-watt replacement version is available for 4-inch housings as well.) You can adjust the color temperature of the white light and change to different colors, but the multicolored light is on the dimmer side. The connectivity options are about base-level for smart lights; it uses 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, the Feit Electric app for controls and scheduling, and Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant for voice commands.

_{Color: White (tunable), multicolor | Wattage: 11.1 watts | Lifetime Hours: 50,000 hours}

Final Verdict

The Wyze Bulb Color ranks as our best overall smart light bulb due to superb value for what it provides: noticeably bright white light with tunable color temperature, color-changing options with media syncing, and a solid ecosystem and app for automation and scheduling. If you're ready for a bigger investment in a smart lighting system, the Philips Hue 60-Watt-Equivalent White A19 Smart Bulb Starter Kit (our best starter kit) comes with a Hue Bridge that provides support for Matter and many separate platforms, a reliable mesh network, and more advanced smart features that most others on the market.