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Wish You Could Schedule Your Living Room Lamp? These Smart Plugs Can Help

Wish You Could Schedule Your Living Room Lamp? These Smart Plugs Can Help
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David Anders Former Senior Writer

David covered broadband providers, smart home devices and security products.

Expertise Broadband providers | Home internet | Security cameras

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You don’t need to spend a ton of money to get started with smart devices. Nowadays, you can get quality smart devices at affordable prices. The idea behind a smart home is adding convenience to your living space with the help of technology, and the best way to do that is to add a smart plug. The best smart plugs let you control wired devices in your home with your phone. So you can give your regular home electronics that smart home touch by turning on a fan or some other home appliance with just a tap on the screen.

Read more: Best Smart Home Gifts for 2025

Though smart plugs appear to be simple devices, they can do incredible things when connected to other gadgets. You can use them to set timers and schedules for devices that don’t have any smart capability built in, like box fans, your bedroom TV or even the Christmas lights you keep forgetting to take down. (I use them to automatically turn off the TV when I should go to bed.)

By adding smart plugs into your home, you can modernize your current devices instead of replacing them, whether it’s your TV, speakers, light bulbs or coffee maker, letting you add modern smart home technology to them. Given that manufacturers often offer affordable multipack options, there’s no reason why you can’t deploy a full fleet of smart plugs around your home, either.

Read more: Want to Buy a Smart Plug? Read This First

What is the best smart plug overall?

The best smart plugs do operate a little differently from each other, particularly when it comes to compatibility with Alexa, Google, HomeKit, Matter and other smart home standards, and you’ll want to make sure a smart plug can play nice with your broader smart home ecosystem. Some smart plugs come with added features, such as energy monitoring or IFTTT capabilities too.

CNET has tested countless smart plugs over the years, and we brought in over 10 new models in order to determine the best smart plugs currently on the market. The result is this guide to our top five smart plugs — starting with the Leviton D215P-2RW, which topped our list thanks to its easy setup and broad compatibility with the most common smart home standards and voice assistants.

Read more: These Smart Plugs Are the Secret to a Seamless Smart Home

Best smart plugs of 2025

There are dozens of smart plugs out there from companies large and small, and while we haven’t tested every single one, we’ve tried out many of the ones you’d come across online or at your local big box store. Here’s a quick look at other notable options. All are compatible with Alexa and Google (excluding the Amazon Smart Plug), but not HomeKit unless specifically noted. Again, Matter could change that compatibility in the future.

  • Amazon Smart Plug: A flagship for the brand, the Amazon smart plug costs $25 and only works with Amazon Alexa. While the set-up is easy, it isn’t as feature-rich as other models, which may be a deal-breaker when you’re looking for a smart outlet.
  • ConnectSense Smart Outlet 2: This smart plug does it all — energy monitoring, individually controlled outlets, a USB port and LED status lighting. The unattractive, oversized design is enough to keep us from recommending it. Everyone loves a smart outlet, but no one likes an ugly one.
  • Enbrighten Dual Smart Plug: Like with the HBN smart plug, I appreciated the extra outlet. The Enbrighten version is significantly wider and doesn’t allow for individual control of each outlet, at least not in any way that I could easily figure out. It’s also priced a bit higher than the HBN dual outlet at $22.
  • Govee Smart Wi-Fi Plug: The round design is nice and blends in with my wall plate perfectly while leaving plenty of room for another plug. Nothing else really stands out about the plug, unfortunately, but if you want a simple, cheap (currently $13) plug that doesn’t scream “I’m a smart plug,” this is a good choice.
  • Philips Hue Smart Plug: The Philips Hue app reminded me of GE’s Cync app in that the setup was simple and there’s the potential to connect multiple devices under whole-home automation. For a single smart plug, this one is fairly expensive at $35 (currently $28), and it doesn’t sport any unique features to justify the cost. 
  • Wyze: We like the Wyze Smart Plug primarily for its low pricing. The Wyze does all the basic functions of a smart plug and will only set you back $20 for a two-pack. The bargain price is nice, but if you only need one plug, there are cheaper options.
  • Vont Smart Plug [Out of Stock]: Your standard smart plug. Nothing special, but nothing that would turn me away from using it, either. If you can catch it on sale, or perhaps in a value-priced two-pack, this smart plug can be a decent, budget-friendly addition to your smart home.
  • WeMo [Out of Stock]: We previously featured this smart plug as “Best for HomeKit” in spite of other shortcomings like a less-than-impressive app. Yes, the smart plug works well with a HomeKit setup along with Alexa and Google, but so does the more user-friendly Leviton plug.

Watch this: 3 reasons you need a smart plug

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Why use a smart plug?

Smart plugs are one of the cheapest and simplest ways to add smart technology to non-smart devices such as lamps, nightlights and fans. 

A smart plug will give you control over the flow of power to plugged-in devices via an app on your phone or using your voice when paired with a compatible home assistant like Alexa or HomeKit. 

Smart plugs also enable you to create schedules to automatically turn the device on or off at specified times. Some plugs come with other features such as energy use monitoring, but conveniently turning your devices “on” or “off” is the main purpose of a smart plug.

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Which smart plug should I buy?

When choosing the best smart plug for your needs, start by identifying which voice assistant you’ll be using, if any. Most plugs are compatible with Alexa and Google, but finding one that is compatible with HomeKit may be more of a challenge. Most smart plugs will display online and/or on the box which voice assistants are compatible with the device.

Next, compare the size and style of each smart plug. Most smart plugs are compact, but some can be rather bulky and may block access to other outlets. Some are rectangular, others may have rounded edges or a circular shape, which tends to blend in better with the wall plate. Pick the one that best fits your home’s style and space.

Extra features like energy monitoring and USB charging can add even more control and convenience, but consider how often you may use these added features before paying a higher price for a smart plug that does more than you need it to.

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Do smart plugs save energy?

Smart plugs themselves do not lower energy consumption, but the use of a smart plug is a great way to control and potentially lower your energy use. Setting a schedule for a light to turn off at a certain time, for example, will keep it from staying on continuously. 

Some smart plugs, such as the Emporia Smart Plug, feature energy-use monitoring along with automatic settings to turn devices on or off depending on your energy consumption. Again, the smart plug itself does not save energy, but using a smart plug and taking advantage of its features can help keep your energy use in check.

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