Smart plugs are a convenient addition to your Smart Home. You place the smart plug between the power outlet and the regular cord of your device, making it remotely controllable. This allows you to easily make your lamp (with cord), Christmas tree, or television smart. You can use it to save energy, but also to include a lamp that is currently not remotely controllable in your automations. This way, you don’t have to manually turn off that one light while all the other lights are already remotely controllable. We have compiled an overview of seven well-known smart plugs, so you can choose which ones to use in your Smart Home.
- Phillips Hue Smart Plug
- Eve Energy
- Aqara Smart Plug
- Wiz Smart Plug
- Fibaro Wall Plug
- Innr Smart Plug
- Shelly Plug S
Phillips Hue Smart Plug
The Phillips Hue Smart Plug is the ideal smart plug if you already have Hue lighting in your home. In that case, you probably already have a Hue Bridge, allowing you to add the plug directly in the Phillips Hue app. Additionally, the bridge also provides support for Google Home and Apple HomeKit. The smart plug is also compatible with Matter through the bridge, supporting all major Smart Home platforms. Without the bridge, the Phillips Hue Smart Plug is also controllable via Bluetooth.
Eve Energy
The Eve Energy is the smart plug from the Eve brand. Previously, this brand was mainly popular among Apple HomeKit users due to its good support. Since this smart plug supports Matter over Thread, it can now be used on all major platforms. However, Eve only has its own app in the Apple App Store. If you use Android, you need to add the smart plug via a compatible hub, such as the Google Nest Hub 2. You can then control the smart plug via the Google Home app. The smart plug can also monitor your energy consumption if you use Apple HomeKit or Samsung SmartThings. Additionally, there is also a button on the device itself to turn the plug on or off.
Aqara Smart Plug
The Aqara Smart Plug operates based on Zigbee, requiring a hub to control the smart plug. Aqara offers various hubs, including the announced Aqara Hub M3, which includes support for Matter and Thread, among other things. This hub also includes Zigbee support, allowing you to add Aqara’s smart plug. In the Aqara app, you can also monitor the energy consumption of your devices. The Aqara Smart Plug supports Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa.
Wiz Smart Plug
The Wiz Smart Plug is an affordable smart plug based on WiFi. Therefore, no hub is needed to add this smart plug to the Wiz app or Google Home. Unfortunately, there is no support for Apple HomeKit, although you can control the plug via Siri Shortcuts with your voice or via your iPhone. You then do not have the ability to include the plug in your automations within Apple’s Home app. Of course, the Wiz Smart Plug works well with other Wiz products, such as their smart lighting. It’s worth noting that Wiz is a sister brand of Phillips Hue, with the main difference being that Wiz works entirely without a hub. Additionally, Wiz products are priced a bit more affordably.
Fibaro Wall Plug
The Fibaro Wall Plug is a Smart Plug with a nice extra feature due to the added LED ring. This smart plug can measure power consumption, which is displayed through colors on the LED ring. This makes it easy to see whether your device is currently consuming a lot or little power. The Fibaro Wall Plug is controllable via the Fibaro app and is based on the Z-Wave protocol. Therefore, you need a Z-Wave hub to remotely control the smart plug, such as the Fibaro Home Center 3 or the Fibaro Home Centre 3 Lite. The Homey Hub 2023 is also suitable as a bridge. Without a hub, this plug is mainly an indicator of power consumption through the LED ring.
Innr Smart Plug
The Innr Smart Plug, like the Phillips Hue and Aqara plugs, operates using the Zigbee protocol. You need a Zigbee hub for this. Innr has released its own bridge, but it is also possible to connect the Smart Plug to the Phillips Hue Bridge. Unfortunately, the HomeKit connection and energy consumption function do not work via the Hue Bridge, but you can still control the smart plug remotely.
Shelly Plug S
The Shelly Plug S, like the Fibaro Wall Plug, has LED lighting on board. This allows you to use this smart plug as a night light. The Shelly Plug S is based on WiFi and also has Bluetooth. The Shelly supports Google Home and Amazon Alexa and can also be controlled via iOS and Android. Apple HomeKit is not supported.
Other options
In addition to the options above, there are countless other smart plugs available. These come in different price ranges, starting from around $7 to about $50 to $60. You can find competitively priced smart plugs at many stores for less than €$10. These can be connected via WiFi and are based on the Tuya brand. Therefore, these brands all work together in the Smart Life app. Google Home is supported, but Apple HomeKit is not. Ikea also has an extensive own Smart Home range, including a smart plug. A smart plug usually works best with the rest of your Smart Home if you can add them to the same platform, such as Google Home or Apple HomeKit, or if you already control multiple devices from the same brand via the manufacturer’s app.
