Best smart plugs 2023: Google, Alexa and Apple HomeKit control of your home

Our guide to the best smart plugs money can buy. The best plugs to control your devices from your phone, with scheduling, remote control and more.

We love smart plugs, they enable you to take almost any old piece of home electronics and make it smart. From lamps to heaters and everything in between, a simple smart plug lets you turn them on and off over the Wi-Fi. What's more, you can set up automation so that lamps turn on at sunset, for example, making them really handy bits of kit.

Many smart plugs are also compatible with smart home devices and ecosystems like Amazon Echo and Google Home or Apple HomeKit so you can control them with your voice or have them in a central app alongside your other devices in your home.

Here's our choice of the best smart plugs on the market, at the moment.

A great plug that works with Alexa like a dream.

The Amazon Smart Plug is designed to work with Alexa, so you only need the Alexa app to get it up and running. You'll then be able to remotely control the electronics plugged into the Amazon Smart Plugs, use voice control from Alexa devices, as well as set schedules for routine operations, such as turning the living room lamp on at 7 pm.

If you decide to move on from the Alexa platform to Google Home, for example, the Amazon Smart Plug won't be compatible with Google Home voice control. You'll still be able to remotely control the plug through the Alexa app on your smartphone, though.

A well priced and versatile option from the furniture giant.

The Ikea Smart Plug is part of the furniture giant's Home Smart range of devices (previously Trådfri), which includes smart lighting. You'll need the gateway to connect the Ikea Smart Plug to your home network, as well as either the Control Outlet or a separate bridging device, but you can connect multiple plugs to the gateway and the controlling device.

Once connected, the Ikea Smart Plug can be controlled remotely from your smartphone through the Ikea Home Smart app and you can schedule electronics plugged into the Smart Plug to turn on or off at set times. The Ikea Smart Plug also works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.

Smart features like an Away mode and the Eve energy integration make TP-Link's plugs worthy contenders.

The TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug will allow you to turn your electronics on or off from your smartphone, anywhere you have an internet connection, but it will also allow you to monitor the energy usage of anything plugged into it from your smartphone like the Eve Energy.

There is also an Away-Mode on this smart plug, allowing you to turn devices on and off at different times to imply someone is home even if they aren't.

The HS110 Smart Plug works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and it is compatible with devices running Android 4.1 or higher and iOS 8 or higher. Like all smart plugs, you just need to plug the HS110 into a normal plug socket, followed by the device you want to control into the smart plug.

If you're in the Hive ecosystem, its plugs are a natural addition, with scheduling and good control options.

The Hive Active Plug requires the Hive Hub if you don't have Hive Active Heating in order to connect it to any other Hive devices you have and allow you to control it with your smart device, be that a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Once connected, you'll be able to turn any electronics plugged into it on or off remotely, as well as schedule up to six time slots a day to mimic someone being home.

Like some other smart plugs on this list, the Hive Active Plug is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant meaning you'll be able to control your electronics with your voice through an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, like the Amazon Echo or a Google Assistant-enabled device like Google Home.

Hive also has bulbs and sensors within its smart home portfolio if you want to expand beyond plugs.

Size does matter when it comes to plugs, and being able to fit two plugs into one double-socket is something that Bosch have managed superbly.

The Bosch Smart Plug will connect any electrical device you plug into it to the Bosch Smart Home System. Through the Bosch Smart Home app, you'll be given an insight into the power consumption of the individual devices and you'll also be able to individually control them and program them day-by-day with a time switch.

Its compact design means it should mean both sockets on a double socket can be used simultaneously still and although it doesn't offer Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant control, there is a manual override function on the plug if your smartphone isn't handy.

Britta is the Deputy Editor of Pocket-lint and has been a part of the team, covering consumer technology since 2012.You'll often see her name on some of our biggest features, including many of the versus articles and the rumour round ups, but she is also responsible for ensuring all the other great features from other members of the team cover off everything you might want to know about.