The 7 Best Alexa Speakers - Fall 2024

The JBL Authentics 500 is the best Alexa-enabled speaker we've tested. This premium device packs lots of high-end features into a retro design, making it a great addition to your home decor. Alexa capabilities are built right into the speaker, and you can even speak to Google Assistant simultaneously to make the most of each assistant's unique features. The speaker can hear your commands clearly, even when you're far away or in a noisier room. You can even mute its microphone for more private moments.

Like most premium speakers, this device has a room correction tool designed to optimize the sound based on your room's unique acoustics. It's called Self-Tuning, and with it on, you get a clear and detailed sound suitable for all sorts of different audio content, making it the best Alexa speaker for music we've tested. Bass and treble knobs on the speaker and a graphic EQ in the companion app give you a lot of control over its sound. It gets impressively loud, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity make it easy to stream audio right from your devices to the speaker. It may be a little much if you want a simpler speaker, but for those who want the best of the best, this one's worth a look.

The Sonos Era 300 is another premium Alexa speaker available for a little less than our top pick. This smart home speaker is another of the best models on the market, and its built-in Alexa capabilities make it easy to control the device using only your voice. It boasts a sleek design that is available in either black or white, so you can choose the color scheme that best suits your style. With great sound quality and many premium enhancement features, this speaker is a stand-out choice for listening to everything from music to videos to audiobooks.

Plus, this speaker's designed to communicate with other smart devices in your Sonos home ecosystem, which is cool. Spread audio throughout your house or a larger room for an improved sound. You can pair it with a compatible Sonos soundbar for enhanced surround sound. It doesn't get quite as loud as the JBL Authentics 500, but it's still more than enough to fill an average living room with sound. For fans of Sonos especially, this unique speaker is worth checking out.

As its name implies, the Sonos Era 100 is a smaller and more affordable cousin to the Sonos Era 300, making it a great alternative for more wallet-conscious shoppers. This smart speaker has built-in Alexa support, so you can control it with your voice. Its sleek and simple design is easy to integrate into any living room, and you can even pair it up with other devices in your existing Sonos ecosystem to bring the party to other rooms of your home.

This speaker boasts great sound quality, too. It's suitable for listening to lots of different music genres thanks to its clean and clear sound right out of the box. Its room correction tool is designed to optimize the sound based on your room's unique acoustics. You can even manually adjust its sound with its bass and treble adjustments. It doesn't support Dolby Atmos like the Era 300, but you may find it's a better value overall if you don't need this feature. With a great overall performance, this speaker's sure to please any Alexa fan.

If you're on a tighter budget, consider the Amazon Echo Studio. This stylish home speaker has built-in Alexa support, too, and it offers even more smart home features than some of our top picks. Since it's a Zigbee hub, it connects to other smart home devices like light bulbs and thermostats and integrates them into Alexa so you can control them with your voice. You don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to turn on the lights, adjust the temperature, and more. It's a really handy feature.

If you're more interested in the speaker's sound, you're in luck. It reproduces voices and other instruments clearly right out of the box. The Amazon Alexa app also lets you adjust its bass and treble. Plus, you can pair it with other Amazon Echo Studios to spread audio throughout different rooms of your home, which is a cool touch. One key difference is that it doesn't have a low-frequency extension as impressive as top picks like the Sonos Era 100. That means that you notice a touch less rumble in the low bass. If you don't listen to much bass-heavy music like EDM and hip-hop, it's not a huge deal, and the other smart features may make it a better value for you.

The Amazon Echo Gen 4 is the best Alexa speaker for music if you're on a budget. This unique device boasts a spherical design that stands out among your home decor. It comes in several colors, each with built-in RGB lights to show when you're in touch with the integrated voice assistant features. As with the top picks on our list, its voice assistant capabilities through Alexa are impressive, and it picks up on your commands even when you're far away. Its sound quality is good for the price, though its small size keeps it from reaching the same volume levels as larger models like the Amazon Echo Studio.

Still, this speaker gets loud enough to fill an average living room with sound, and its additional smart features allow you to amplify your audio if needed. Like the Echo Studio, you can pair this speaker with other compatible devices to bring audio to different rooms in your home or amplify it in one larger space like a basement. It even boasts the same Zigbee hub capabilities, so you can ask Alexa to control other smart devices in your home. Overall, you get a really impressive performance for the wallet-friendly price.

The Amazon Echo Pop is a great, affordable choice for those entering the smart speaker space. It's a smaller and cheaper alternative to the Amazon Echo Gen 4 with an Alexa performance that rivals the top picks on our list. Despite its pricing, this speaker easily understands your commands, even if you're far away or in a noisier environment like a party. The microphone mute button lets you enjoy more private moments without Alexa's interference.

Of course, given its smaller size, there's some trade-off regarding the sound. This speaker can't reproduce as much low bass as larger models like the Echo Gen 4, so you don't get much thump and rumble in bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop. It doesn't get very loud, so it's not ideal for filling larger rooms with sound. Still, if you're looking for a simple Alexa speaker, it's a great option that won't stress your wallet.

Want to take your speaker with you on the go? Take a look at the Sonos Move 2. This next-generation model offers an improved sound over the original Sonos Move since it can play stereo sound without downmixing to mono. It has many premium features, including built-in Alexa support and Trueplay room correction. Since it's battery-powered, you can take it outside or move it more easily from room to room. It's even rated IP56 for dust and water resistance.

This speaker is still on the larger side, though. Check out the Sonos Roam 2 if you want something even smaller. It's another portable Alexa speaker that offers a stand-out voice assistant performance. Since it's smaller than the Move 2, it doesn't get as loud or reproduce as much low bass. However, you may find it's worth the trade-off to get a speaker that's easier to bring with you on the go.