We love decking our home with the best smart home devices. They enable us to control our appliances with our voice, have the lights and the heating just so when we get home from work, and help us monitor our homes, even from afar. Not only that, but they help us save energy and change the way our rooms look without requiring a single splash of paint. 

As smart home technology has become increasingly popular, it has also become more and more accessible. There are a number of devices out there that can help with smart home upgrades, including devices that enable automation around the house, provide energy efficiency, and offer more convenient forms of entertainment. You don’t have to break the bank in order to add these smart home amenities to your living quarters. Budget-friendly smart home tech is out there, offering impressive functionality at a fraction of the price many people associate with creating a home of the future. 

With a focus on the needs of beginners and enthusiasts whose budget is a high priority, we’ve gathered some ways to turn your house into a smart home. Each selection delivers practical benefits as well as the potential for some fun, as a smart home should be just as much fun as it is convenient. So, whether you live in a house or an apartment, whether you’re upgrading essential smart home gadgets or shopping for your first, here are some affordable, entertaining, and simple-to-set-up smart home options. 

Smart speaker 

A smart speaker serves as a central control hub for your smart home. It offers more smart home integration than a standard Bluetooth speaker and more affordability than a device like a smart display. A smart speaker will allow you to tap into other devices using voice commands instead of having to pull out your phone to fiddle through an app. You can have it set timers, check the weather, control lights and smart plugs, and provide you with some music. A smart speaker is also a great device to look into, even if you don’t have any existing smart home devices, as it has a lot of built-in functionality all on its own. 

Google Nest Mini 

A cheap but incredibly capable option is the Google Nest Mini. It retails for $60, but it’s also a regular on the sale rack, as it frequently sees discounts at Amazon. Audio quality was a strong focus when Google designed this smart speaker. It has double the bass of the original Nest Mini, and it allows you to stream anything from music to sports, and from news to podcasts. While it offers a range of integrations with other Google smart home products, the Nest Mini can control smart lights, smart plugs, and other compatible devices throughout your home. You can even pair multiple Nest Minis together for synchronized multi-room audio. 

Smart Bulb 

They connect to your smartphone or hub over Wi-Fi and are able to change color temperature based on how you like your home to feel. Several smart bulbs even have color-changing options, which makes them a fun way to add different moods and atmospheres to the rooms in your house. Smart lighting is often used to accent things like home theater setups, but all it takes to start implementing a new vibe around the house is a single smart bulb. 

You can find individual smart bulbs for as little as $8 at Amazon, though there’s more value to purchasing them in packs. Govee Smart Light Bulbs are available in a 4-pack for $40, and they have the capacity to change among 16 million different colors. The Tapo TP-Link Smart Light Bulbs are a similar product, and they go for $43 per 4-pack. No matter which brand you go with, smart bulbs will fit right into your home with no need for hardware beyond a device that gives you access to their accompanying mobile app. 

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lightbulbs, and for good reason. They’re a breeze to control, work with all the major smart home platforms, and color reproduction is excellent. You need a Wi-Fi hub to use them, and they aren’t cheap, but for us they’re the best around. 

Smart party lights 

Govee’s curtain lights really make an impact, and although we particularly enjoyed using them during holidays, they can add a touch of fun to your home all year round too. You can set them to different colors, make animations, and even use them like a giant screen to display images on your walls and in your windows. 

Smart plugs 

Smart plugs turn regular electronics into smart devices by controlling their power supply. They’re incredibly convenient, as they don’t replace your wall outlet, but plug directly into it. Once plugged in, all you have to do is plug devices like lamps, fans, coffee makers, and even devices that need charging into the smart plug. These plugs function over your home’s Wi-Fi connection, and from its companion app, you’ll have complete control over the flow of electricity going through it. You can also set smart plugs up for automation, ensuring lights and other small electronics turn off when you aren’t using them. 

Smart plugs offer one of the most affordable entry points to smart home technology. Brands such as Kasa, TP-Link, and Govee top our picks for the best smart plugs. Even if you prefer to shop for these top brands, you’re likely to find them friendly to your wallet. The Kasa Smart Plug Mini is available in a 4-pack for $37, and the Govee Smart Plug 15A is available in a 4-pack for $30. If you hope to get going with your smart home at even lower prices, budget brands can offer some savings, or you can simply accrue an inventory of smart plugs by purchasing them individually over time. 

Video Doorbells 

With one of the best video doorbells, you’ll be able to see who’s calling whether you’re at home or away and never miss another package delivery thanks to wide-angle footage that allows you to see boxes left on your porch. Make sure you check whether you already have suitable wiring, or if you’ll need a battery-operated fully wireless doorbell instead.  

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell proved a fantastic all-rounder, offering crisp footage, clear audio, and built-in storage so you can save video without a subscription (something you don’t get with rivals like Ring). It can be used with existing doorbell wiring, or wirelessly. 

Smart Displays 

A smart display gives you a visual way to control and monitor your smart home that’s larger and easier to read than your phone’s screen. It serves as a smart speaker too, letting you give voice commands to control your other devices, and some allow you to stream video too. 

The latest 15-inch Amazon Echo sits somewhere between a smart TV and a smart display, letting you stream TV shows and movies when you want, and serving as the heart of your smart home the rest of the time. It’s not hugely different to the previous model, but the improved camera, mic, and speakers are particularly welcome for making video calls. 

Smart Locks 

With a smart lock, you can keep your home secure without keys, give guests and tradespeople temporary access, and lock your door with a single touch. The Nest x Yale is well designed and has a smart, modern look. It’s unlocked using a PIN, and since we first reviewed it, Google has added improved remote operability through Nest Connect. We only wish there was some more haptic feedback when you tap in your number, so you know each button press has registered. 

Smart Thermostats 

The best smart thermostats make it easier to control the temperature of your home using physical controls or voice commands, allow you to schedule heating and cooling, and even learn your preferences over time so your home is always at the optimal temperature and energy use is optimized. 

Google’s latest smart thermostat uses AI to suggest ways to optimize your energy use and thoroughly impressed us with its sleek looks and smart scheduling that made it easy to keep each room at the optimum temperature. It’s only available in the US for now but will hopefully roll out more widely in the future. 

Final Thoughts  

Building your smart home from scratch is a big process, and there are a few things to consider before diving in. Smart home setups can be as complicated and as expensive as one wants, with devices like smart TVs, smart thermostats, and smart refrigerators all capable of integrating under one roof. The cheapest, yet still useful entry points, however, are where we kept our attention here. We focused on affordable devices that offer an easy setup and compatibility across ecosystems like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.  

The notion of putting together a smart home can be a little intimidating, so the gadgets we’ve presented here are also intended to fill a smart home need all on their own while remaining part of any smart home expansion you may have in mind. 

Finally, check whether you need to invest in a smart home hub to make the devices work together or whether any smart speakers or smart displays you already have in your home can do this job for you. 

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