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Title: The best smart LED light bulbs for 2025

Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2025 09:00:36 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best...

Smart LED light bulbs are one of the easiest ways to upgrade your home with
smart lighting solutions that are both practical and fun. These color-
changing bulbs let you customize your space with vibrant RGB color options,
cozy warm white or any light color you can imagine. TheyΓÇÖre compatible with
popular systems like Google Home and can work seamlessly with smart switches
and other light switches, making them a key part of your home automation
setup.

With app control, you can adjust the brightness (no need for a separate
dimmer), set schedules and even program the lights to turn on or off under
certain conditions, like when you connect to your home network. Whether
youΓÇÖre setting lights for movie night, creating a relaxing atmosphere or
adding a pop of color to your room, these smart lighting solutions are easy
to install and surprisingly affordable.

Table of contents

Best smart lights for 2025

Other smart bulbs we tested

What to look for in smart light bulbs

Smart light bulb FAQs

Best smart lights for 2025

Other smart bulbs weΓÇÖve tested Nanoleaf Smarter Kit

While weΓÇÖve recommended NanoleafΓÇÖs Smarter Kits in guides in the past,
theyΓÇÖre a bit more niche than other smart lights on this list. TheyΓÇÖre
best for adding flare to your living room or game-streaming setup as they
come in different shapes like hexagons and triangles and can sync with music.
In addition to different colors, light animations and schedules, NanoleafΓÇÖs
Smart Kits also support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

What to look for in smart light bulbs Connectivity (To hub or not to hub)

One of the biggest appeals of smart lighting solutions is being able to
control them from your phone. Most of them are able to do so by connecting to
it via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or via an external hub, which handles the
connection for them. Bluetooth connectivity limits the range in which
youΓÇÖll be able to control the light, so itΓÇÖs only best for a limited
number of bulbs and ones you donΓÇÖt expect to control when youΓÇÖre away.

Wi-Fi color-changing bulbs are easy to set up and can be cheaper overall
since they donΓÇÖt require a hub to connect them. However, having something
like a central Zigbee hub can make your whole system more reliable since its
connection is separate from your homeΓÇÖs network. For that reason, hub-based
bulbs tend to be more expandable, so we mainly recommend those if you want to
eventually have dozens of smart lights around your home.

White or color?

Most color-changing bulbs youΓÇÖll find today are ΓÇ£white and colorΓÇ¥
bulbs, meaning they can glow in vibrant RGB color-options like blues, pinks,
greens and everything in between, as well as shine with different
temperatures of white. But there are some white-only bulbs out there, and
they are often a bit more affordable than their color counterparts. While we
recommend springing for the white-and-color devices, if youΓÇÖd prefer white
only, make sure youΓÇÖre getting a bulb that can span the color temperature
spectrum (typically from about 2000 to 5000 Kelvin), offering you various
levels of cool and warm white light.

App features

One of the perks of smart lighting solutions is the amount of control you
have over them thanks to their various app-control capabilities. Most
companion apps let you do things like set lighting schedules and timers,
group individual lights into room designations and create your own custom
light ΓÇ£scenesΓÇ¥ with different RGB options. But we have seen other
features that arenΓÇÖt as ubiquitous like vacation mode for automatically
turning lights on and off to enhance your home security, and sync with media,
which changes the colors of lights depending on the music youΓÇÖre listening
to or the game youΓÇÖre currently live-streaming.

Smart home compatibility

If you use a smart assistant like AmazonΓÇÖs Alexa or the Google Assistant
regularly, make sure the smart lights or smart switches work with your
favorite. All of the bulbs we tested supported both AmazonΓÇÖs and GoogleΓÇÖs
virtual assistants, allowing you to use voice commands to turn lights on and
off, dim them with a virtual dimmer and more. The wildcard here is Siri and
AppleΓÇÖs HomeKit; while numerous smart bulbs have added HomeKit support, not
all lights are compatible with AppleΓÇÖs smart home system.

Expandability

We alluded to this above, but youΓÇÖll want to consider how many smart lights
you eventually want in your home. Some brands and lighting systems are easier
to expand than others, and we generally recommend going for hub-based bulbs
if you plan on putting smart lights in every room in your home. If youΓÇÖre
only looking to deck out your home office or living room with some fancy
color-changing bulbs, Wi-Fi options should serve you well. Thankfully, these
are some of the most affordable smart home devices you can get, so even if
you donΓÇÖt have a clear answer to this question now, you can reconsider your
options down the line if you do decide to outfit your home with multiple
smart bulbs.

Smart light bulb FAQs WhatΓÇÖs the best smart light bulb for Alexa?

There is no best smart light bulb for Alexa. Amazon doesnΓÇÖt make its own
smart bulbs (like it does for smart plugs and thermostats), but rather there
are dozens of smart lights made by third-parties that work with Alexa ΓÇö
including all of the ones we tested. Before picking the best smart light bulb
for you, make sure to check the voice assistants that the contenders support.
YouΓÇÖll find that most smart light bulbs available today work with
AmazonΓÇÖs Alexa and the Google Assistant, and plenty of them also have
support for AppleΓÇÖs Siri and HomeKit.

Can you put a smart bulb in any lamp?

Smart light bulbs can go into most modern light fixtures ΓÇö but just like
regular bulbs, they need to be the right shape/size for the fixture. A
standard A19 smart light bulb should work properly in most table, floor and
other lamps. If you have a fixture that takes a specific type of bulb, look
for smart bulbs that will fit properly.

Do smart light bulbs use electricity when off?

Smart light bulbs do use a negligible amount of electricity when their
fixtures are turned off. This is due to the fact that the smart bulb needs to
stay in constant contact with your homeΓÇÖs internet connection or Bluetooth
in order to work properly. However, their energy-saving benefits usually
outweigh the small amount of power they consume even while turned off.

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