How to Choose Between Alexa and Google Home
If you’ve yet to dive into the world of the smart home, or you’re simply contemplating the best voice assistant and speaker combination to add to your space, you’re probably looking at the battle between Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Both ecosystems integrate with thousands of smart home devices, from video doorbells to light bulbs, and both smart assistants can perform basic functions such as playing music, scheduling alarms, and reading weather reports.
However, while the two platforms are very similar in every way, there are a few differences that you should consider before purchasing.
Alexa vs Google Home: Devices
Amazon’s Alexa-enabled hub is the Echo, which comes in several models: the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Pop, and Echo Studio are smart speakers, while the Echo Show (5, 8, and 15) and Echo Hub are smart displays. . Google offers a similar lineup of Assistant-enabled devices, including the Nest Mini and Nest Audio (speakers), and the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max (smart displays). Prices for similar products are similar. Note that there are also many third-party devices (such as Sonos speakers) that work with Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant.
Alexa vs Google Home: Compatibility
Smart home control is the primary use case for Alexa and Google Home. Google Assistant works with more than 50,000 smart home devices , and while Amazon isn’t clear on how many are compatible with Alexa, it’s at least double that number. This may seem like a significant advantage for Alexa, but if you’re choosing a hub for your smart home, it doesn’t matter how many tens of thousands of devices you can connect. own or planned to be added are compatible. Note that the Alexa ecosystem includes Blink and Ring products, and Google integrates seamlessly with Nest.
Both Alexa and Google (along with many other smart home players) have also signed up to Matter, an interoperability standard designed to improve device compatibility.
Alexa vs Google Home: Features
At first glance, Alexa and Google Home have many similar features: the hubs can play audio, respond to commands, and control smart home devices. However, there are a few differences that may influence your choice:
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Google Assistant is slightly better at recognizing natural language than Alexa, and you can ask multiple questions without having to repeat the wake word thanks to a feature called Continue Conversation.
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Google Assistant uses Google for search, while Alexa uses Bing by default.
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Google Assistant supports more languages than Alexa, but both offer multilingual support (with some limitations).
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Alexa has more “skills” than Google’s “actions,” but both support major third-party platforms and services like Spotify and Netflix.
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Google is a great choice for YouTube fans, and Alexa offers more reliable voice and video calls.
Alexa vs Google Home: Bottom Line
Alexa and Google Home are comparable in form, function, and compatibility, so the choice comes down to which ecosystem best suits your needs. For example, if you already have Ring devices, Alexa will work seamlessly with Nest products that pair with Google Home. You may also prefer specific features or the appearance of one hub over another, which can help you narrow down your choice. While Alexa has a slight edge for smart home integration thanks to its broad device compatibility and range of skills, Google Home’s voice assistant and search capabilities are a bit more polished (and they’re native to Android devices). Neither is a bad choice.