Your smart home doesn’t have to be expensive. It just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper to automate your lights or lock your front door from your phone. Plus there is always a new plethora of smart gadgets being released. Most, pretty stupid and gimmicky. But some really do help – even your basic smart plugs. So I reviewed some Smart Home Devices to give you this list of devices worth snagging (especially for the price!)

Wyze Cam v4 ($35)

This camera is super good for the price. For around $35 USD each you could get a few of these and rig up a whole home security system. Or just use them as a simple baby monitor. You can connect a microSD card to save all recordings locally without some required subscription ahem, Ring. It also has night vision, a (pretty tiny) “flood” light and a siren if you want to mount these outside for security.

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/WYZE-Security-Activated-Spotlight-Compatible/dp/B0CJ9Z22L5

Kasa Smart Plugs (2-pack, $18)

They’re simple smart plugs, what can I say. But these are the ONLY smart plugs I pick up whenever I need to hook up a new lamp or device. No hub required, cheap, and made by a big brand. Last time I got cheap smart plugs, they worked great until the company went out of business and shut down their app rendering the plugs useless. I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I just hook these up to Google Home or Apple Homekit (separate version) and can control them with basically anything.

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Kasa-Smart-Required-Certified-EP10P2/dp/B091FXQQMQ

Echo Pop ($40)

I was kind of steering away from the whole smart assistant device “trend”. I just don’t really use them and I feel like I get better answers on my phone. But as a smart speaker or simple timer? That’s what got me back. This thing is so tiny and comes in different colors to match any room. It’s real easy to just ask it to play a song, set a kitchen timer, or answer the occasional question. Side Note: It might be worthwile to get back into these things with the new revamped Alexa program that integrates AI. Maybe it will finally answer my niche questions.

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Echo-Alexa-fits-anywhere/dp/B09ZXLRRHY

Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights ($22)

Yeah, I’ve never heard of RGBIC so here some info while I’m at it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Govee/comments/svwj0l/whats_the_difference_between_the_basic_rgb_and/. You’re able to control any segment of these lights, so you can assign different colors to each part. You can have colors flow through the strip and do the wave. They’re especially cool once you sync them to your music. I’ve had a really good experience with Govee in the past, and I have absolutely no issue recommending any of their LED lighting products. (You are going to pay a bit more compared to a generic Amazon LED strip, though).

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Control-Segmented-Bluetooth-Changing/dp/B099S9DXT7

SwitchBot ($39)

Included this one as a little bonus because I thought it was pretty cool. I just don’t really see any use for it, unless you want to turn your dumb coffee machine into a smart one. But if you’re getting this to automate your light switches, I would recommend looking into smart light switches. They’re around the same cost and don’t look as tacky. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the adhesive wearing down. Still, a pretty cool device and I could see it being used for some niche automation ideas.

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/SwitchBot-Hub-Mini-Smart-Remote/dp/B07TTH5TMW

Everything should be linked under the product! Please let me know if any of the links become dead – I try to monitor everything as best as I can.