There's a huge wealth of user-friendly smart home devices that work with one or more of the popular voice assistant ecosystems. And while it might seem intimidating at first, putting a smart home together isn't all that difficult and doesn't require you to go out and buy a ton of new smart electronics. For simple stuff like lights and some coffee makers, you can just pop in a smart plug and program away.

While that's a bit of a simplification, the actual process for most of these plugs is pretty easy. Some need you to set up a separate account to access all the features, but we avoid recommending any that are frustratingly difficult to set up. There's also a contingent of multi-outlet options in the form of power strips and normal plugs — some even sport built-in surge protection to keep your devices safe from electrical storms and power grid issues. With so many to choose from, we've weeded out the bad ones and found the top smart plugs, one of which is sure to be right for your situation.

Plug it in!

Three TP-Link Kasa products are at the top of our list, and for good reason. The Kasa control app is widely regarded as the best, with countless satisfied owners able to program their previously dumb appliances to their heart's content. The HS300 sports six outlets and three non-smart USB ports, the EP25 is a standard, one-outlet plug, and the Tapo P125M is the first of its kind to support all major ecosystems. If you want to save money, the Govee four-pack is notably cheaper per unit, and it's basically just as functional, with only some very minor user interface differences.

On outdoor smart plugs

When looking for an outdoor smart plug, always get one with at least an IP44 rating to ensure it's well-built enough to withstand the dust and moisture that comes with living outside. Also, pay attention to what kind of current each plug can handle; most won't be able to accommodate high-draw devices like water feature pumps. Also, take good care of your outdoor smart plug, and position it out of the way of heavy rain and drainage routes.

What about Matter?

Under development for years and just recently officially released, the Matter standard aims to combine control of all the fragmented smart ecosystems into one easily managed group. As of publication, the TP-Link Tapo P125M is the only Matter-enabled smart plug to support Alexa, Google Assistant, and Android devices. It's still a touch difficult to set up on multiple platforms at this point, but that's understandable since the protocol is still in its early stages. Nevertheless, if you want to be on the cutting edge of smart technology, the Tapo T125M offers great single-ecosystem performance and prepares your home to welcome an onslaught of newly unlocked smart devices from other electronics families.

What is Thread?

While it's slightly different in execution, Thread is similar to Zigbee and Z-Wave in that it's a non-Wi-Fi, non-Bluetooth wireless protocol meant to minimize network congestion on the 2.4GHz band and ensure consistent, reliable control. Unlike those two still-popular protocols, it's intended to serve as a critical piece of the Matter standard and help unify smart devices under a single, low-lag, low-overhead communication method. However, no Thread-enabled devices currently support Android, Alexa, or Google Assistant devices. It's limited to a few nice Apple-only smart plugs for now but will almost certainly see widespread rollout throughout 2023.