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Let there be light: The best smart bulbs of 2022

Nicole Lee
·Senior Editor
Updated ·9-min read

We may receive commission from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Three pink bulbs in front of packaging, on a pink flash background
These smart light bulbs will brighten and add color to your home! (Photo: Amazon)

Imagine you’re all tucked under the covers and ready for slumber. But you suddenly remember that you left the lights on in the living room! The last thing you want to do is go downstairs, but you also don't want to waste electricity. But if you have smart lights installed, you only need to say “Alexa, turn off the lights” to shut them off without leaving your bed.

Smart light bulbs are an easy and affordable way to add some internet-connected intelligence to your home. Many smart lights allow you to schedule them to come on or off at certain hours and certain days. That means you can use them as a gentle alarm clock or as a way to scare off any would-be intruders when you’re out of town. That’s some smart thinking.

Here are some of the best smart bulbs on the market.

These LED Smart Bulbs are also Bluetooth/Zigbee compatible, which means you can connect them to the internet with the companion app. And, yes, they sync with either Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant.

Plenty of shoppers have successfully integrated the Philips Hue Smart Light bulbs into their homes – like this reviewer: “I love these lights…I have six bulbs spread between two bedrooms and a bathroom. I never bothered to look at the instructions the bulbs come with. If you have connected any smart devices to apps before, there isn’t much to it… I use the base wattage bulbs and they have been perfect for me. At 100 percent it’s more than bright enough."

Philips Hue White Ambiance LED Smart Bulb, 2-Pack

Two white smart bulbs in front of a packaging box.
Light up your home in either warm or cool light with these white bulbs! (Photo: Amazon)

If you’re not into lighting your rooms in rainbow hues, then this simple Philips Hue White Ambiance LED Smart Bulb 2-pack is an affordable way to try out the Philips Hue ecosystem. Although these lack color, you can still adjust the white ambiance range up to 50,000 shades of warm white or cool light.

One five-star review said: "I am very picky about light, as is my husband. During the day, I like a brighter, cooler temperature light. In the evenings, I prefer dimmer warm lighting. These bulbs solved all of my problems. Installation was a breeze. I downloaded the app and it located the bulbs immediately. This process literally took two minutes. Once in the app, you can change the color temperature of the bulbs and the brightness! Even better, you can have the lights connected so they both change to the same settings, or you can change them individually."

Forgot to turn off your lights before you left the house? No problem! Simply use the Cync mobile app to take care of everything from your phone. A nice perk: These smart LED light bulbs use 84 percent less energy and last 15 times longer than a regular bulb.

GE Cync LED smart bulbs have plenty of fans. Said one of them: "I love these lights. They're such a great way to change the atmosphere of a room. Great for the bedroom, activity room, music room, smoke room, you name it. They sync up perfectly with Google and Alexa as well! I haven't had any issues. I must say, the color is amazing as well. So deep and beautiful. I definitely recommend these!"

Sengled Smart Bulb, 4-pack

A smart light bulb in front of packaging
This affordable four-pack of smart bulbs makes the cost-per-bulb less than $7. (Photo: Amazon)

The Sengled 4-pack of bulbs is affordable, easy to use, and works with both Alexa and Google Assistant. Use the companion app to control them remotely wherever you are in the world — set timers, schedules, wake-up and sleep modes and more. There’s no hub required as well; you can just connect them directly to your home WiFi network with the Sengled app.

A shopper said: "The smart bulbs come in handy greatly because it connects to your Alexa or Google assistant. The best part about them is that it changes colors just by giving instructions to your speaker. Another important thing to consider is that it turns off and on the lights in the room just by giving instructions."

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Wyze Bulb

Two rainbow-colored light bulbs.
Wise up your home with these Wyze lights! (Photo: Amazon)

The Wyze Bulb is another fantastic budget option. It doesn’t have all the special effects that some of the pricier options offer, but it has pretty much everything else. “Paint” your room in up to 16 million colors and with multiple white light temperature modes. You can also create time-based color events or automate the syncing of several Wyze devices. It also offers sleep routines, so you can wake up or fall asleep to your own custom sunrise or sunset.

"This bulb was so easy to set up with the app and with my Google home, and I feel like it's high quality for a low price," said one review. "I had some off-brand bulb in the past and it worked fine but it was soo dim even at 100% brightness. With this Wyze bulb that is not an issue; it has a MUCH brighter capacity."

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The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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