We’d all like our homes to be a little smarter, but kitting yourself out with all the latest smart home gadgets can cost an arm and a leg. There is a huge range of smart home devices that you can control with your voice using Alexa, but a lot of these products come with premium price tags.

Thankfully, this isn’t the case for all smart home kit. There are some truly excellent smart home devices out there that can do a brilliant job and won’t break the bank. If you’re ready to start building a smart home on a shoestring, then here are some of the best budget Alexa gadgets.

Our picks for the best budget Alexa gadgets in 2023

If you’re buying Alexa gadgets, you’ll need to be able to control them. Amazon Echo devices can work as smart home hubs that allow you to control all of your Alexa-compatible devices with your voice. If you’re looking for a budget Echo device, then you can’t go far wrong with Amazon’s cheapest smart speaker, the Echo Pop.

You get all the smarts of the more expensive Echo speakers in a low-cost device. It means that you can put Alexa in every room in your home without a huge outlay, meaning you can control your Alexa devices no matter which room you’re in. The sound quality isn’t as good as the larger Echo devices, but it’s good enough for listening to the radio or podcasts. There’s no Zigbee support, however, which is found on other Echo devices such as the Echo Show 10. If you’re planning to add video devices to your smart home, such as security cameras or video doorbells, then a smart display is something you’ll want to consider. An Echo smart display can display the feed from your connected security cameras or can be set up to show the stream from your video doorbell whenever someone rings the bell.

The Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s lowest-priced smart display. The 5-inch screen is still plenty big enough to see who’s at the door or to watch the latest episode of your favourite Amazon Prime show while you cook dinner. The sound quality is pretty decent, too, with even deeper bass on the newest 3rd-gen Echo Show 5. When it’s not in use, you can use the screen to display your favorite photos or works of art.

A smart plug may not sound like the most exciting smart home product, but it could just be the most useful. That’s because a smart plug can make almost any electrical device smart. If you love your bread maker but wish you could turn it on when you’re out so that you return home to the smell of freshly baked bread, then all you need to do is add a smart plug.

The Wyze Plug is an excellent Alexa-compatible smart plug that’s also incredible value. Amazon sells its own smart plugs, but even they can’t match the Wyze Plug for price. You can control your smart plug with your voice using Alexa or create a schedule for your plug to turn on and off. The design also ensures that the Wyze Plug won’t block the other outlets above or below.

One of the simplest ways to start your journey into the world of smart home tech is with smart light bulbs. All you need to do is replace your existing bulb with a smart bulb, and you can turn your lights on and off with your voice or from your phone. With colour bulbs, you can even change the colour of your light to anything you want.

The TP-Link Kasa Smart WiFi Light Bulb is an excellent value smart colour smart bulb, especially when purchasing multiple bulbs. The bulbs connect over WiFi, so there’s no need for an additional hub; you can plug them in and add them directly to Alexa. Using Alexa Routines, you can then turn off all your lights at once at a specific time of night or when you say ‘good night’ to Alexa.

Smart home devices don’t just make things more convenient; they can also help to keep your home more secure, too. Smart security cameras allow you to monitor your home inside and out, deterring intruders or allowing you to keep an eye on your sleeping infant from the sanctuary of your living room.

The Wyze Cam v3 Pro is the perfect option if you’re on a budget. That’s because it’s not only priced very competitively but can also be used both Indoors and outdoors. It has a decent 2K resolution, and you can stream the live feed to your Echo Show. If you install a microSD card, you can also record continuously, or you can upload footage to the cloud with a subscription.

Some smart home tech makes life more convenient but doesn’t really add anything new. This isn’t the case with smart video doorbells, however. A smart video doorbell is a doorbell, security camera, and intercom all in one. You can see who is at the door, speak to them from wherever you are, even if you’re on the other side of the world, and even get alerts when a package is delivered to your doorstep.

Many of the big-name video doorbells couldn’t really be described as budget options, but Blink has somehow managed to create a video doorbell that does a great job at a fraction of the price of some competitors. Amazon owns the company, so it’s no real surprise that the Blink Video Doorbell works perfectly with Alexa, allowing you to see who’s at the door on your Echo Show 5 or speak to callers through the doorbell using your Echo Pop or from your phone. However, you’ll need the additional Sync Module to use these features on demand.

A smart thermostat is an excellent investment because it can actually save you money in the long run. Smart thermostats can turn off your heating or cooling when they detect that nobody is home, so you’re never wasting money heating or cooling an empty house. It’s also easy to set cost-effective schedules for your heating or cooling.

The Wyze Programmable Smart WiFi Thermostat is a smart thermostat at an excellent price. It has a manual dial for quick control, but by using the app, you can set up schedules and get actionable insights about reducing your energy use. And you can instantly turn up the heat just by asking Alexa.

A lot of smart tech feels like it’s shoehorned into products that don’t really need it. Some products, however, can make your smart home feel truly smart. One such product is a smart kettle. Sure, turning on a kettle isn’t the most onerous of tasks, but it does require you to be where your kettle is. A smart kettle allows you to turn it on from anywhere, including your warm bed, so that your water has already boiled when you make it to the kitchen.

The Hamilton Beach Smart Kettle isn’t the fanciest device, but it does perfectly what it’s intended to do. Ask Alexa, and your kettle will power on, ensuring the water is boiled by the time you make it to the kitchen in the morning. You can even select from a range of different temperatures if you’re making drinks that are better with water that hasn’t fully boiled, such as green tea.

A smart lock can help to keep your home more secure by ensuring that your door is always locked when you leave home or when you go to bed at night. You don’t need to lie awake at night wondering if you locked the door, only to get up and go down to find that; yes, of course, you did. You can even unlock your door remotely or have your door unlock like magic when you approach.

The Wyze Lock is a WiFi-enabled smart lock that allows you to unlock your door simply by asking Alexa. You can use auto-lock modes to ensure that your door is always locked when no one is home and auto-unlock to unlock your door when you get back magically. The Wyze Lock can even detect when the door has been left open, and it will work with your existing keys if your phone dies or you just want to go old school.

Best budget Alexa gadgets: What you need to know

If you’re buying Alexa-compatible gadgets, then they’re not much use without an Alexa device with which to control them. You can use almost any Echo device as a smart home hub, but you don’t need to go all out on purchasing the new Echo Hub. A low-cost Echo Pop will allow you to control your gadgets with your voice, and it’s cheap enough to get one for every room in your home.

How I chose the best budget Alexa gadgets

I wanted to choose a selection of the most popular (and most useful) smart home gadgets that you can buy. They needed to be reasonably priced but still good quality products that could do the job well. And, of course, they had to be compatible with Alexa.

How to choose the best Alexa gadgets

When you’re looking for an Alexa gadget, there are a few key questions that you should ask.

How does the gadget connect?

Many gadgets are compatible with Alexa but may not be able to talk directly to your Echo device. For example, Hue lights communicating over Zigbee can’t talk directly to an Echo Pop. You’ll either need to use an additional hub that works with Zigbee or opt for an Echo device with Zigbee built in, such as the Echo Show 10 or Echo Hub.

Does the gadget work with any other smart home ecosystems?

Being able to control a gadget with Alexa is great, but you need to be near an Echo device in order to give instructions. You can use the app on your phone, but it’s not as convenient. However, many smart gadgets will work with multiple voice assistants, so you can also ask Siri on your Apple Watch to turn on your lights, for example. Not all gadgets are compatible with all voice assistants, so you’ll need to do your research.

Is the gadget compatible with my home?

You need to make sure you get the right gadget for your home. For example, smart light bulbs can come in screw or bayonet fittings, but only one of those types is going to fit into your lamp. Not all smart door locks will fit every type of lock, either. Ensure you get the right product for your home before you purchase.