Thanks to a smart bulb, you can control a light in your home from anywhere in the world with your phone but there are different models of both Philips Hue and different alternatives: Innr, Moes, Sonoff, Linkind and more.
Discover a comparison of different outstanding features to choose the best smart bulb for your home.
Smart light bulb comparison
| Brand | LINKIND | PHILIPS HUE | PHILIPS HUE | NOUS | NOUS | MOES | NOUS | SONOFF | AEOTEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference | LS0101911261 | 929002471601 | 929002469202 | NOUS-P3 | NOUS-P3Z | ZB-TD5-RCW-GU10-MS | NOUS-P8 | B05-BL-A60 | ZWA001 |
| Price | 9.20€ | 79.99€ | 21.99€ | 8.99€ | 9.99€ | 12.99€ | 8.99€ | 8.99€ | 37.90€ |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | |
| Bulb type | LED | LED | LED | LED | LED | LED | LED | LED | LED |
| Format | E27 | E27 | E27 | E27 | E27 | GU10 | GU10 | E27 | E27 |
| Power consumption | 9W | 13.5W | 9.5W | 9W | 9W | 5W | 4.5W | 9W | 9W |
| Technology | Matter (WIFI) | Bluetooth, Zigbee | Bluetooth, Zigbee | Matter (WIFI) | Zigbee | Zigbee | Matter (WIFI) | WIFI | Z-Wave |
| Compatibilities | Apple Home, Amazon, Alexa, Google Home, Home Assistant, Smarthings, Aidot | Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit | Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit | Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Lidl – Tuya – Smart Life, Home Assistant | Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Home Assistant, Jeedom, Zigbee2MQTT | Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Home Assistant, Jeedom, Zigbee2MQTT | Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Lidl – Tuya – Smart Life, Home Assistant | Amazon Alexa, Google Home, EWeLink (SonOff) | Eedomus Jeedom Homey Home Assistant |
| Direct use (no hub required) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Colors | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Luminous flux (lumens) | 600 | 1600 | 1100 | 810 | 810 | 345 | 350 | 806 | 800 |
| Light temperature (K) | 1800 ~ 6500 | 2000 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 | 2200 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 | 2700 ~ 6500 |
| Color rendering index (CRI) | ≥85 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥80 |
Which smart bulb to choose?
In my opinion, there is no such thing as “the best smart bulb” for everyone, simply that each smart bulb has details that can be better adapted to each user’s needs.
Smart bulb format
One of the key points in choosing your best smart bulb is the format. Generally, there are 3 common formats:
- E27
- GU10
- E14
It is important to check which format you should choose for your home.
Compatibility of the smart bulb with voice assistants
Many times, we are interested in using our smart bulb by voice. If we want a simple solution, a WIFI bulb or Matter bulb (WIFI) is sufficient and the popular brands on the market are often compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
If you want bulbs with other technologies such as Zigbee or Z-Wave, you must additionally purchase a home automation hub that is compatible with your bulb and that this hub can be linked to voice assistants.
The communication technology of your light bulb
WIFI, Matter over WIFI or Thread, Z-Wave, Zigbee are currently the most widely used technologies in smart bulbs and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages and disadvantages of a WIFI bulb
Advantages
- No need for a home automationhub : You avoid cost overruns by not having to buy a home automation hub with a WIFI bulb.
- Ease of use: By not needing a hub, the process of using a WIFI bulb is usually simple, you connect it to your WIFI network and use it from your phone.
- Wide variety of WIFI bulbs: The WIFI smart bulb market is the most complete as it is the most accessible.
Disadvantages
- Possible dependence on the internet: Except for brands like Shelly that work locally, many other brands depend exclusively on the internet. This means that without the internet, you have no control over your bulb.
- Incompatibilities between brands: If you buy a device from brand A, a device from brand B, a device from brand C, you will probably have to use 3 applications, i.e. one for each bulb, and these 3 bulbs will not communicate with each other.
- You don’t have a mesh network: You can’t improve the communication range because WIFI bulbs of different brands don’t communicate with each other. You need to buy WIFI repeaters in this case.
Advantages and disadvantages of a Matter bulb (WIFI)
Advantages
- No need for a home automationhub : You do not have to buy a home automation hub for a Matter Wifi bulb.
- Ease of use: As no hub is needed, the process of using a Matter Wifi bulb is usually simple.
- Unification of ecosystems: The Matter standard is adopted by major ecosystems such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Smarthings, Home Assistant and more so you could use your Matter Wifi bulb with all Matter compatible ecosystems.
Disadvantages
- You don’t have a mesh network: You can’t improve the communication range as Matter Wifi bulbs of different brands don’t communicate with each other. You need to buy WIFI repeaters in this case.
- Don’t confuse Matter Thread: Before buying a Matter device, check if it doesn’t use Thread technology, because if it does, you need to buy a Thread Border Router (equivalent to a home automation hub).
Advantages and disadvantages of a Zigbee bulb
Advantages
- No WIFI network saturation: The Zigbee network is an independent network from your WIFI network, which is very interesting for not slowing down your internet connection.
- Local use: Even if you have internet outages, your Zigbee devices still work, of course, if you use a Zigbee hub that does not need internet to work as a Home Assistant.
- Direct associations: You can use a Zigbee controller with a Zigbee bulb in ON/OFF, dimmer or with colours thanks to the Binding or Touchlink mode.
- Meshed network: By being able to join with the same Zigbee hub, all Zigbee devices (sensors, sockets, bulbs, modules and more) can communicate together on the same network and therefore, you have optimised and more reliable communications even if your hub is far away from your bulb if you have several Zigbee devices thanks to signal repetition.
Disadvantages
- You need a Zigbee hub: If you want to use a Zigbee bulb, you have to buy an additional compatible Zigbee hub.
- You need to check compatibilities: A Zigbee bulb is not necessarily compatible with any Zigbee hub. On the contrary, you should make sure of the compatibilities before any purchase of a Zigbee device.
Advantages and disadvantages of a Z-Wave bulb
Advantages
- You do not saturate the WIFI network: The Z-Wave network is an independent network from your WIFI network, which is very interesting for not slowing down your internet connection.
- Local use: Even if you have internet outages, your Z-Wave devices still work, of course, if you use a Z-Wave hub that does not need internet to work as a Home Assistant.
- Direct associations: You can use a Z-Wave controller with a Zigbee bulb in ON/OFF, dimmer or with colours thanks to direct associations.
- Meshed network: By being able to join with the same Z-Wave hub, all Z-Wave devices (sensors, sockets, bulbs, modules and more) can communicate together on the same network and therefore, you have optimised and more reliable communications even if your hub is far away from your bulb if you have several Z-Wave devices thanks to signal repeating.
Disadvantages
- You need a Z-Wave hub: If you want to use a Z-Wave bulb, you need to buy an additional Z-Wave compatible hub.
- You need to check compatibilities: A Z-Wave bulb is not necessarily compatible with any Z-Wave hub so you need to make sure of the compatibilities before any purchase of a Z-Wave device.
Other technical details
It is worth noting that a smart bulb always needs to be electrically connected to the mains if you want to remain in control from your phone.
In other words, if you want a smart bulb, you can’t turn off the light from a switch because you are going to cut off the power at this point, so you can’t turn on the bulb from your phone.
In short, if you want to control the smart bulb from your phone, you should always switch it on and off with your phone.
You should also check whether the smart bulb manages only whites or whites and colours, the luminous flux (lumen), its power consumption (W), the light temperature (K) and of course the price, which is another decisive factor before you buy the best smart bulb for your home.