Top 5 compared
The best Alexa devices
Timers, alarms, music and the weather, asked for out loud from across the room while your hands are full.
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The top 5 at a glance
An Echo is Amazon’s own smart speaker or display with Alexa built in. Ask out loud and it answers questions, sets timers and alarms, plays Amazon Music, Spotify or Apple Music, and switches lights and plugs that work with Alexa. Amazon brought the first one to the UK in 2016. Plain speakers suit a shelf or a bedside table; others add a screen for the clock, photos or video calls.
Every Echo here runs from the mains and works with Alexa+, which comes at no extra cost to Prime members. Each has a microphone off button, and the Show 15, the only one with a camera, has a built-in cover for it.
What matters
- A built-in Zigbee hub, if you already have Zigbee bulbs or sensors.
- A woofer and tweeter for music; a small speaker suits radio.
- A kids’ version, for filtered songs and time limits set by parents.
#1Amazon Echo Dot (5th generation)
£75–£100
A palm-sized fabric ball for the bedside or a kitchen shelf, with a front-firing speaker clear enough for the radio or a podcast. It streams Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music and Audible over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and on an eero mesh network it doubles as a Wi-Fi extender.
What owners say: Owners are delighted with it, finding the sound good and setup easy, and like its looks and its value. Connection is the weak spot: some lose it again and again, and others have had it stop and restart on its own.
A closer look: Away from the kettle and the TV it hears you best, and the wake word can be changed in the Alexa app. The temperature sensor can start a routine, such as a fan switching on when the room warms up, and paired with a compatible Fire TV it can play the sound from the screen.
- Built-in temperature sensor
- Wake word can be changed
- Wi-Fi extender on eero networks
- Plays sound from Fire TV
Best for: Radio and podcasts on a shelf
- Screen
- None
- Speaker
- 1.73in front-firing
- Smart home hub
- No hub; Matter
- Camera
- No
- Plays video
- No
#2Amazon Echo Spot (2024)
£100–£150
Made for the bedside: a 2.83-inch touch screen shows the time, the weather and the song playing, in the colour and clock face you choose, and a routine can wake you with music and gradual light. It has the Echo Dot’s speaker and no camera, so nothing points at the bed.
What owners say: Owners rate the sound and the clear display, call setup easy and like it as an alarm clock; some like how the screen dims at night, though others find the night mode too bright. Some have had it stop responding, and others think it overpriced.
A closer look: Keep it within arm’s reach of the pillow: a touch on the screen dims the lights or turns the music down without saying a word, and a tap on the top silences the alarm, which matters when someone else is asleep. It comes in black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue, so it can match the bedside table.
- Six display colours
- Custom clock faces
- Tap to silence the alarm
- Black, white or blue
Best for: Bedside tables and desks
- Screen
- 2.83in touch
- Speaker
- 1.73in front-firing
- Smart home hub
- No hub; Matter
- Camera
- No
- Plays video
- No
#3Amazon Echo Dot Kids (5th generation)
£75–£100
The Echo Dot’s speaker in a child-friendly design, with a year of Amazon Kids+: Audible children’s books, games, educational skills and ad-free Fun Kids radio. Songs with explicit lyrics are filtered out on Amazon Music, Apple Music and Spotify, and parents set time limits and see what’s been played in the Parent Dashboard.
What owners say: Owners say it suits children well and sounds good, and for some it was simple to get going and fairly priced. Others weren’t so lucky: some units never worked at all and felt poor value, and some found setup hard going.
Heads up: Kids+ is free for the first year, then Amazon says it renews as a paid monthly subscription unless it is cancelled in the Parent Dashboard, so put a reminder in the calendar.
A closer look: A child profile set up in the Alexa app before the first night means a bedtime story, a morning alarm and a daily time limit are ready from the start. Calls go only to parent-approved contacts, and Kids+ is written for ages three to twelve; the speaker comes in Owl and Rainbow designs as well as Stardust.
- A year of Amazon Kids+
- Explicit lyrics filtered
- Parent-set time limits
- Calls go to approved contacts
- Owl, Rainbow or Stardust designs
Best for: Bedtime stories and children’s radio
- Screen
- None
- Speaker
- 1.73in front-firing
- Smart home hub
- No hub; Matter
- Camera
- No
- Plays video
- No
#4Amazon Echo Dot Max
£100–£150
Fills a bigger room with music: a 2.5-inch woofer and a separate tweeter give about three times the Echo Dot’s bass, with sound that adapts to the space it’s in. It is also a smart home hub, so Zigbee, Matter and Thread devices connect straight to it.
A closer look: A living room or kitchen diner suits it better than a box room. Pairing a second Dot Max gives fuller sound still, and any Echo in another room can join the same song through a speaker group. It can also tell when someone walks in and set a routine going, such as the lights coming on.
- Sound adapts to the room
- Pair two for fuller sound
- Senses when someone walks in
- Built-in temperature sensor
Best for: Living rooms and music
- Screen
- None
- Speaker
- 2.5in woofer, 0.8in tweeter
- Smart home hub
- Zigbee, Matter, Thread
- Camera
- No
- Plays video
- No
#5Amazon Echo Show 15 (2nd generation)
Over £300
A family noticeboard for the kitchen wall: calendars, lists and smart home controls on a 15.6-inch Full HD screen, with Fire TV built in for Prime Video or Netflix and two woofers and two tweeters for the sound. The 13MP camera follows you round the room on video calls and has a cover.
What owners say: Owners find the screen crisp and big enough to be useful on a worktop or island, rate the sound and found it easy to put up on the wall, where it passes for a framed picture. Some find it unreliable, slow to answer or poor value.
Heads up: It arrives with a wall mount, wall plugs, screws and a template, so fitting it means a drill and a socket nearby; a stand for the worktop is sold separately.
A closer look: Put the widgets the household looks at most, the calendar and the shopping list, at the top, and let it run a slideshow of family photos between uses; relatives can be invited to add their own. The Fire TV remote in the box runs the programmes from across the kitchen, so the screen doesn’t need touching with floury hands.
- Fire TV remote included
- Camera follows you on calls
- Wall mount and screws included
- Family photo slideshow
Best for: Busy family kitchens
- Screen
- 15.6in Full HD
- Speaker
- 2 x 2in woofers, 2 x 0.6in tweeters
- Smart home hub
- Zigbee, Matter, Thread
- Camera
- 13MP, with cover
- Plays video
- Fire TV built in
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1Echo Dot | #2Echo Spot | #3Echo Dot Kids | #4Echo Dot Max | #5Echo Show 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best alarm clock | Best for kids | Best speaker for music | Best premium | |
| Picked Rating | 9.2 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.5 |
| Price | £75–£100 | £100–£150 | £75–£100 | £100–£150 | Over £300 |
| Screen | None | 2.83in touch | None | None | 15.6in Full HD |
| Speaker | 1.73in front-firing | 1.73in front-firing | 1.73in front-firing | 2.5in woofer, 0.8in tweeter | 2 x 2in woofers, 2 x 0.6in tweeters |
| Smart home hub | No hub; Matter | No hub; Matter | No hub; Matter | Zigbee, Matter, Thread | Zigbee, Matter, Thread |
| Camera | No | No | No | No | 13MP, with cover |
| Plays video | No | No | No | No | Fire TV built in |
| Best for | Radio and podcasts on a shelf | Bedside tables and desks | Bedtime stories and children’s radio | Living rooms and music | Busy family kitchens |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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