The best Google Home compatible devices work with Google Assistant to create a hassle-free smart home system for your house, apartment or other living space.
If you use the Google Nest Mini, Google Nest Hub Max, Google Nest Audio or any of the best Google Home speakers, you can communicate with any of the devices on this list with your voice and pair them to your smart home. And as the name of Google’s smart home products suggest, the best Google Home compatible devices are also the best Nest compatible products.
And if you know how to use Google Assistant, then you know you can say things like “Hey Google, unlock the front door for me,” and the best Google Home compatible devices will carry out your command.
You can also set up routines so that an action from one device triggers a response from a different one. For example, activating the August Smart Lock Pro on your front door can turn on your entryway’s Philips Hue lights so you’re not fumbling around in the dark when you get home.
We developed a guide on how to set up a Google Home routine for more ways you can make the best Google Home compatible devices work with each other. Check out the best Google Assistant commands and best Google Home commands for using your smart home’s powers to your advantage, too. And if you have an Android 12 device, check out the many ways to launch Google Assistant on Android 12.
See all of the best Google Home compatible devices below.
The best Google Home compatible devices
The $99 Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) is a speaker for music, screen for your Google Assistant needs and a communication center. And it tracks your sleep, too. When positioned on your nightstand, the upgraded Google Nest Hub uses the Soli radar sensing chip to see how well (or not) you’re sleeping at night. It’s a little creepy, but the contactless tracking abilities will let you forget it’s there.
Soli’s superpowers also enable air gestures, letting you pause and play YouTube videos or snooze an alarm. These gestures don’t work all the time, but are useful when they do. As for sound, Google did boost the bass by 50% this time around, which is an improvement over the total absence of bass in the first-generation model.
Read our full Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) review.
Ever lie awake at night trying to remember if you locked the front door? Google Home can bring you peace of mind with its support for the August Smart Wi-Fi Smart Lock. Just ask Google if your door is locked, and it’ll tell you — and you can lock or unlock it using your voice. The August Smart Wi-Fi Smart Lock also helps you keep track of guests coming to your home, letting you open the door remotely for a dog walker or delivery when you’re not home.
The August Smart Wi-Fi Smart Locks sits atop our list of best smart locks and is one of the best Google Home compatible devices. It’s also a nice upgrade to its predecessor the August Smart Lock Pro. Everything we liked about the August Pro is available in the new model : A simple installation process, features such as DoorSense (which lets you know if your door has been left ajar), and interoperability with a huge range of other smart home systems, from Alexa to Google Assistant to Xfinity. And, the August Wi-Fi lets you keep the keys from your existing deadbolt.
Read our full August Wi-Fi Smart Lock review.
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The Ecobee (5th Gen) might have an Alexa speaker built in, but it’s also one of the best Google Home compatible devices and is our favorite smart thermostat. You can use your voice assistant to keep each room in your house at the right temperature and benefit from Ecobee’s improved remote sensors. The sensors are able to detect both temperature and occupancy, meaning your thermostat can to make sure the coldest parts of your house get warm, but only if there are people currently in that area.
The latest Ecobee also has a much better speaker than its predecessor and also offers Spotify support. Yes, this thermostat is able to play your tunes if you’re looking for some background music. It’s not a true smart speaker replacement, but its sound is powerful enough for smaller spaces.
Read our full Ecobee (5th Gen) review.
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The Wemo WiFi Smart Plug is our top choice among the best smart plugs. It’s more compact than competing options out there, even its predecessor the Wemo Mini. And while it doesn’t have energy monitoring like some other smart plugs, the Wemo WiFi Smart Plug does work with all the major smart assistants. Yes, even Siri.
This smart plug has a physical switch, so if you don’t want to use your voice or an app to turn your appliance on or off, you can click the switch on the Wemo. It also has a clever Away mode. which can make it seem like you’re home even when you’re not by turning a lamp on intermittently.
Read our full Wemo WiFi Smart Plug review.
Following up the Nest Hello (now Nest Doorbell wired), the Nest Doorbell battery is the best video doorbell you can buy. As with its predecessor, the Nest Doorbell earns high marks because of its video quality and features — and now, some of those features, such as person, package, and vehicle detection are available without a subscription. And, it comes with three hours of rolling video recording free, making it an even better deal than before.
Also, because this three hours of video is stored on the camera itself, it also means that if your power or internet connection goes down, you will still be able to view any footage of someone who might come to your door. Simply put, the Nest Doorbell is about as complete a video doorbell as you could want, making it one of the best Google Home compatible devices on this list.
Read our full Nest Doorbell (battery) review.
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Philips Hue White starter kit, the best smart light bulbs for most people, includes two bulbs and a hub to connect them to other smart home devices. While you can’t change these bulbs’ colors, you can adjust their brightness (up to 800 lumens), and add up to 50 to a single hub. Philips Hue lights work with a wide range of smart home systems, but they are among the best Google Home compatible devices.
The original Philips Hue Connected Bulb pack is a bit pricier because it can change to more than 16 million colors and includes a third light. The White starter kit will suffice for most people, but those who want to illuminate their home with blue or red hues will find more value in the Connected Bulb pack.
Read our full Philips Hue White starter kit review.
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One of the coolest features of Google Home is the ability to play video and control video on certain devices using your voice. The best way to facilitate this integration with a TV you already own is with the $50 Google Chromecast with Google TV, which is one of the best streaming devices we’ve ever tested.
This device has a few advantages over other streaming sticks. It supports a couple of key content services that competing devices lack. Plus it’s a Chromecast device, which makes it easy to beam pretty much anything you want to your TV. Google Assistant’s superpowers are at your beck and call, too.
Read our full Google Chromecast with Google TV review.
The Nest Cam (battery) is among the best Google Home devices because you can view a live feed from any where surrounding your house through your connected Chromecast or Google TV-enabled devices. Check in on your home at any time from wherever you are, even from a different room in the house.
We think Nest cameras are valuable for their clear and sharp pictures. The Nest Cam (battery) is a bit more expensive than other cams, but we’re impressed with its design, installation, and performance. It’s easily one of the best home security cameras for indoors or out. Better yet, you don’t need a subscription.
Read our full Nest Cam (battery) review.
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The Orbit B-hyve smart faucet ensures your precious plants stay watered with the help of Google Assistant. As one of the best Google Home compatible devices, you can integrate the B-hyve into your smart home routines. For example, when you’re out of town you can time the smart faucet to water your garden at the same time you would tend your plants when you’re home.
In our review, we found the smart features of the Orbit B-hyve helped the growth of tomatoes, zucchini, herbs and other garden produce. We especially liked how you can use Orbit’s app for Android and iOS to customize the faucet’s spray and watering schedule. Set up can be a bit tricky, but the payoff is certainly worth it for busy home growers.
Read our full Orbit B-hyve review.
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Lifx makes some of the best cheap smart home devices that work with Google Assistant. All of its bulbs are Wi-Fi enabled, which means you don’t need a special bridge to enable their smart features. The Lifx Mini smart bulb in particular is excellent for smaller fixtures, like bedside or desk lamps. Its compact design is versatile and you’ll probably be tempted to pick up more than one.
In addition, the Lifx A19 and standout Lifx+ can both produce dazzling color effects, including a candle flicker, a strobe, and syncing with the music you’re playing. The Lifx+ even has infrared technology for camera night vision. Best of all, the Lifx A19 and Lifx+ are both rated for 1100 lumens, making them some the brightest smart bulbs on the market.
Read our full Lifx Mini smart bulb review.
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The $199 Nanoleaf Shapes light panels are modular hexagon tiles that connect together like custom puzzle pieces, pair to Google Assistant and provide a healthy dose of chaos to a boring bedroom or work-from-home setup.
With all their brightness settings, color patterns and pulsing music modes, these mountable panels aren’t like any of the best smart lights around. They’re better. Or more fun, at least. Though they’re pretty pricey, especially for something ornamental, Nanoleaf Shapes will upgrade any smart home space instantly.
Read our full Nanoleaf Shapes review.
The Roborock S4 Max is the best robot vacuum overall for its affordable price, good feature set, and ability to keep your floors clean. It picked up an average of 94 percent of kitty litter on carpet and hardwood floors, and did even better with Cheerios and dog hair. It was in a virtual tie with the Roomba S9+, which costs more than twice the S4 Max.
The S4 Max was fast to map our home, and it was a fairly simple matter to create rooms in the app and then direct the robot vacuum to clean individual areas. You can even set specific times to clean rooms. As an Amazon exclusive, the Roborock S4 Max can run out of stock periodically, but it’s worth picking up when it’s available.
Read our full Roborock S4 Max review.
How to choose the best Google Home compatible devices for you
Choosing the best Google Home compatible devices for you might seem daunting, as there are hundreds of smart home companies and gadgets to pick from. Most people will want to start with a Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker, while smart lights or a smart plug are sensible second purchases.
Take your own living space and budget into account when shopping. If you live in a small apartment with limited counter space, you might want to get the Google Nest Hub instead of the Google Nest Hub Max. Similarly, you might find it more affordable to illuminate a larger home with Sengled’s smart lights rather than Philips Hue’s. And if you need just one smart light for your bedroom, forgo a starter kit and get one of Lifx’s Wi-Fi lights.
How we test the best Google Home compatible devices
When we conduct reviews of the best Google Home compatible devices on our list, we consider how each compare to products within their respective categories. For example, we weighed the Google Nest Hub Max against the Lenovo Smart Display and other Google Assistant smart home speakers. We found it sounded the best and provided the most features among the competition.
In addition, we consider factors like ease of setup, aesthetic appeal, cost value and the performance of smart features. All the devices on this list satisfy most, if not all, of these criteria. We included links to full reviews above so you can get a comprehensive look at what we like and dislike about the devices on this list.
Not a Google fan? Then here are the best Alexa compatible devices, best HomeKit devices, and best smart displays.
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