The Best Smart Plugs to Make Your Dumb Appliances Clever

Who It’s For: We reckon this plug will be the right fit for most people – it’s compact and good value for the connectivity options that you get. Beat opportunist burglars with the genuinely useful “away mode” that turns it on and off at random times – that’s less predictable and more realistic than a mere schedule. The only issue is it doesn’t link up with Apple’s HomeKit, but we’ve got a recommendation below that does.

How It Connects: You don’t need to worry about a separate hub as this connects straight to your router. You’ll be able to control the socket via Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as the Kasa app, which can show you how much energy it’s using.

Who It’s For: Stats boffins and penny pinchers will appreciate how this one gives you a detailed breakdown of how much energy you’re using. The full details are available in Eve’s app, along with all the smarts to control your gear.

How It Connects: Eve has designed this just for Apple users. It doesn’t even offer an Android app and requires using a HomePod mini or Apple TV as your home hub. It’ll also only work with Siri for voice control.

Who It’s For: Depending on your outdoor wiring, you might be after a plug that can control an outdoor lamp or vintage string lights. This one is built to work outside, withstanding rain and wet conditions, although it’s not waterproof enough to survive flooding or a heavy downpour.

How It Connects: It can connect straight to your wifi without a separate hub, and you can control it through the main Meross app – which can set timers and schedules – or through Alexa, Google Home or Apple HomeKit (to work through HomeKit, though, it does require a HomePod Mini or Apple TV to function as a hub).

Who It’s For: The TP-Link strip above doesn’t have HomeKit connectivity, so if you want an extension block that’ll talk to Siri, you’ll need to pick the Meross option. You get a fair bit for the slightly higher price too – including a longer 1.83-metre cord (almost twice as long as the TP-Link), four individually controlled outlets and four USB slots (controlled as a group) for charging phones or headphones.

How It Connects: This works in the same way as the other Meross plug in our roundup, so you don’t need a separate hub to get it connected to your wifi router (unless you’re hooking it up to HomeKit), and you can control devices through the app. As with the plug, it also works with Alexa and Google.

Who It’s For: If you’ve already got a Fire TV device or an Alexa speaker like the Echo or Echo Studio, you’ll be used to barking commands at Amazon’s voice assistant. This basic plug connects to all your other Alexa gadgets and is especially easy to set up if you already have the app.

How It Connects: There’s no hub required, you just plug in and fire up the Alexa app to get it connected to your wifi. Then you can create some routines – for example, to turn on the lamp at 6pm on weekdays – and control the device with your voice from any Amazon-compatible speaker. Unsurprisingly, this one won’t work with other assistants.

Who It’s For: This one’s the best pick for iPhone users. There’s usually a bit of an “Apple tax” to get something that’ll fit seamlessly into Apple’s ecosystem, but the Meross plug comes at a sensible price and will connect to HomeKit and Siri with ease, as long as you have a HomePod mini or Apple TV acting as your hub. It also leaves you with options if you want to use a different assistant, as it works with Alexa and Google Home too.

How It Connects: If you’re not using it with HomeKit, you won’t need a hub – it can connect to your wifi and you’ll be able to control it through its app and, as mentioned above, all the main voice assistants.

Who It’s For: Noticed that the appliances you want to make smarter are all clustered nearby each other? An extension cord with smart functionality will be more straightforward than individual plugs, and you’ll make a saving too. This one has three individually controlled AC outlets and two always-on USB slots, and its cable is a metre long.

How It Connects: It works in the same way as the two TP-Link plugs above so you don’t need a separate hub and it’ll connect straight to your wifi router. It’ll work with Alexa or Google Assistant, but doesn’t support Apple HomeKit, and also lacks the energy monitoring feature of our top pick.

Who It’s For: If you want a smart plug to monitor your energy usage but don’t want to spend over £20, this is the one to pick. Coming in at an affordable £15.99, this Humax option is a basic plug that’s compact and reliable. We found it easy to set up, and like how it gives you graphs of your electricity use in its app and can set schedules, countdowns and sunset/sunrise automations – ideal for lighting.

How It Connects: It can talk straight to your wifi router without needing an additional hub and works with Google Assistant and Alexa.

Who It’s For: We’d recommend you pick this one if you’ve already started to build a system of Philips Hue smart lights at home. It’ll be ideal for adding that stubborn old-fashioned floor lamp that won’t take a smart bulb into your connected setup.

How It Connects: This is one of the few plugs that require a hub. If you’ve already got Hue bulbs, you’ll already have the Hue bridge in the starter kit. If the plug is your first piece of tech from the system, you’ll need to pick it up separately. Once it’s all linked up, your plug can be controlled in the Hue app and via Alexa, Google and Siri.