There are two voice assistants locked in a tug-of-war over who controls the smart speakers in your house: Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. We prefer Google. Its Assistant answers questions more accurately, it has a simpler setup process, and it connects to a growing number of smart home devices. All the devices below have Google Assistant built-in, so you can ask it anything you’d search for on Google or ask it to control smart home products like robot vacuums, smart plugs, lights, and TVs.
Be sure to check out our handy guide on how to maintain your privacy as much as possible while still enjoying the luxuries of smart assistants. We also have many other buying guides, including the Best Smart Displays, Best Smart Speakers and Best Alexa Speakers.
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Updated December 2020: We’ve added Lenovo’s Smart Clock Essential and the Google Nest Audio. We’ve also removed the discontinued JBL Link View and fixed prices throughout.
