Cheap and easy ways to build a smart home: three simple steps

With an array of smart home products at your service, you can automate everyday tasks and use voice commands to effortlessly control internet-enabled gadgets.

You don't need to spend big to set up a smart home, either. In fact, our rigorous lab tests have uncovered Best Buy smart speakers, Great Value video doorbells and attentive wireless security cameras under £100. With all of your devices set up on the same wi-fi network, you should find that controlling everything is a breeze.

Below, we take a closer look at the products you'll need if you're just starting out or looking to add to your existing smart home setup.

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Step 1: get a smart speaker

Smart speakers are at the heart of any smart home setup, serving as a central control hub that integrates with your other connected devices.

For example, you can control smart lights in another part of the house with a voice command sent to a smart speaker. These devices can also stream music and allow you to set timers hands-free – great news if you’re cooking and don’t want to cover your speaker in food.

A smart speaker is essentially a Bluetooth speaker that has a voice assistant tucked inside – depending on the model, you'll find support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple's Siri. The Amazon Echo and Google Nest smart speaker ranges are particularly popular and often featured in Black Friday and Christmas sales.

Choose wisely and you'll find that a smart speaker can completely replace your countertop radio, bedside clock or certain reminder apps on your smartphone.

When shopping for a smart speaker, look out for:

• Voice assistant compatibility – make sure your smart speaker will work with your other smart home devices. If you already have an Alexa-powered device in one room, for example, it makes sense to pick a smart speaker that supports Amazon's assistant.
• Size – decide on where you want your smart speaker to live. If it's going in the kitchen, you might prefer a model that's small enough to sit on a shelf. In the living room, a larger speaker that offers room-fillling audio could work well.
• Sound quality – for every smart speaker we test, we use a five-member listening panel who are genuine experts in their field and can discern small differences in sound quality. Make sure you consult our reviews before parting with your money.

How much do they cost?

There are plenty of affordable smart speakers available for between £50 and £100, but sound quality when playing music is sometimes underwhelming. Options in this price bracket are the Google Nest Audio and various Amazon Echo devices, including our pick below.

Audiophiles might prefer to spend more for a larger speaker that providers deeper bass – the JBL Authentics 200 could be an option to consider, but consult our review first for a full list of pros and cons.

Smart speakers are guaranteed to be included in this year's Black Friday and Christmas sales. If you're willing to wait for a discount, you could snag a great deal. For example, the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is £109.99 at the time of writing. However, we saw it drop to a far more tempting £49.99 on Amazon last Christmas – that's a 55% saving.

Our pick: Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)

Amazon’s small Bluetooth and wi-fi smart speaker with Alexa voice control. There are buttons for adjusting the volume, activating voice control or muting the microphone. Using the Alexa app, you can pair it with another Echo Dot for full stereo sound.

Echo devices, including this one, are regularly on sale across Black Friday and Christmas. As a speaker, there are far better (but far more expensive) options out there that offer superior audio quality for music, but if you're just after a voice assistant, the Echo Dot is hard to beat. See our Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) review for more details.

Average price in the past six months: £68.93 | Lowest price in the past six months: £22.99

Most people only scratch the surface of what smart speakers can offer – discover 10 genuinely useful things you can do with a smart speaker.

Alternatively, buy a smart display

Choosing a smart display instead of a smart speaker means you'll benefit from a touchscreen display and visual feedback for your voice commands. You might also find it easier to control other smart home devices using on-screen sliders.

Opting for a smart display also means you can make video calls and stream content – YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video all offer support for smart displays. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, following step-by-step recipes is much easier on a smart display than on a smart speaker.

Our pick: Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen)

This is Amazon’s 8-inch, Alexa-powered smart display. On the top, there’s a mechanical privacy shutter for the camera, plus buttons to mute the microphone, or adjust the volume. See our Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) review.

Average price in the past six months: £119.41 | Lowest price in the past six months: £94.99

• Browse all of our expert wireless, smart and Bluetooth speaker reviews.
• Plus check our guide to genuinely useful things you can do with a smart speaker.

Step 2: add a smart plug

Smart plugs are among the most budget-friendly smart home products available, upgrading ordinary devices into smart alternatives. For example, if you connect a standard floor lamp to a smart plug that’s connected to a wi-fi network, you can turn it on or off from your smartphone screen.

These nifty gadgets are great for convenience, but also security. Set a light to come on using a schedule, for example, and you can trick potential burglars that you are home while actually on holiday.

When shopping for a smart plug, look out for:

• Energy monitoring – most smart plugs monitor energy usage, which you can track from an accompanying mobile app. TP-Link is a major brand in smart plugs, and its products partner with the Tapo app. From the app, you'll see a Runtime menu with figures covering the past 30 days. From the same screen, you can schedule your smart plugs to turn on or off.
• App features – if you're tempted by a specific brand, check the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS) for its smart plug app and see how users rate the experience. Consult our expert reviews as well for further insight.
• Design – make sure your smart plug will fit if you're working with limited space – behind the sofa, for example. All of our reviews include product dimensions.  

How much do they cost?

Smart plugs are cheap and an effective cost-cutting method if you don't want to buy brand new smart products.

You can expect to spend between £10 and £40 on a single smart plug. TP-Link sells plugs for around £10 and we've seen prices drop to around £7.50 during sales events.

Our pick: TP-Link Tapo P100

A single socket smart plug that turns your appliances on and off remotely. This is the one of the cheapest options from TP-Link and is also available in a pack of two or four. See our TP-Link Tapo P100 review.

Average price in the past six months: £13.62 | Lowest price in the past six months: £7.59

Browse all of our reviews of the best smart plugs.

Step 3: smart lighting

Using an app on your phone, you can turn off, dim or even change the colour of your smart lights to suit your mood. If you don't have access to your phone, you can also control the lights using a paired smart speaker or smart display.

Popular smart lighting brands include Philips Hue, Ikea and TP-Link. Depending on which brand you side with, you'll have your pick of single bulbs, floor lamps and light strips that wrap around the back of your TV to add some ambience on movie night.

The best way to manage your smart lighting network is through an accompanying app. The Philips Hue app, for example, assigns lights to rooms and gives you a full overview of your home. It also has an automations tab for scheduling actions, plus a selection of colour profiles to play around with.

When shopping for smart lighting look out for:

• Compatibility – as with all smart products, this is key. If you want to ask Alexa to turn off your lights, then Amazon voice assistant needs to be able to talk to your lightbulbs. You might also need an additional 'bridge' to enable lighting to connect to your wi-fi. 
• Brightness and colour options – make sure the bulbs or strips you're looking at will be bright enough to light a large space. Consider whether you need lights that dim, and think about how colour could potentially transform the space.
• Scheduling – some smart lighting systems support custom schedules. You could set them up to slowly turn on in the morning, for example, or dim in the evening.

How much does it cost?

Smart lighting solutions come in all shapes and sizes. If you just want bulbs, you can often buy them in multipacks of two, three or even four. The costs can rack up, though – a Philips LED starter kit with three E27 bulbs and a bridge costs around £90. 

If you just want a single smart bulb that doesn't communicate with a bridge, you can find options under £30. The Tapo Smart Bulb works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home and costs around £14.

Our Pick: Philips Hue White Filament A60 Smart Light Bulb

We no longer test smart lightbulbs, but Philips Hue is a well-established brand and this bulb costs around £20, so could be a good way to test out if you really get much benefit from making your lighting smart.

Average price in the past six months: £20.45 | Lowest price in the past six months: £19.99

More tech to make your home even smarter

Wireless security cameras

A security camera acts as a guard dog for your smart home, ready to alert you if it spots someone up to no good. Cameras can be purchased for either inside or outdoors at your home, although some models are dual purpose and can do both.

It's worth investing in a decent resolution video quality and a good microphone/speaker sound array – that way, you'll always see and hear what is going on. Some cameras have a fixed angle, so you'll need to think where you place them. Others have motorised pan and tilt functuonality, so you can scan around to see what has happened.

There is plenty of choice in the sub-£100 market in security cameras, particularly for indoor models. Our expert testing has uncovered several affordable Best Buy options.

• To see which cameras can be trusted to protect your home, consult our wireless security camera reviews. 
• Alternatively, discover 10 genuinely useful things you can do with a wireless security camera.

Video doorbells

Smart doorbells act as a digital receptionist for the front door of your home. They can be used to greet visitors, whether that's a delivery driver or a friend arriving for dinner, as well as keep an eye out for possible intruders.

You don't want to struggle to see who's at your door, so go for a Full HD 1080p resolution camera. It's also useful to get as wide a field of view as possible, so you easily see what is going on outside.

When shopping for a smart doorbell, you can expect to spend around £50 to £100 – but note that popular ranges (including the Ring lineup) are discounted across Black Friday and Christmas.

• We've tested video doorbells from Ring, Nest, Arlo and more to find the best for all budgets and needs. See our guide: Best video doorbells 2024.

Smart washing machines

These appliances connect to your wi-fi network, which means you can set the washing machine remotely using an app on your phone or tablet, or via Alexa or Google Assistant.

Common smart washing machine features include automatic program selection (based on details you give to the app), auto-dosing and a memory feature that remembers your most-used programs and suggests them when you're setting your wash.

While some smart washing machines are available for around £300, typical spend lands within the £500-800 range.

Make sure you browse our smart washing machine reviews to get the perfect model for you. We also have advice on genuinely useful smart washing machine features and genuinely useful smart dishwasher features.