The Best Amazon Echo Smart Speakers of 2023

The 5th-generation Amazon Echo Dot received a significant boost when it comes to sound. It produces more bass, and displays more proficiency in reproducing tracks that lean heavily into those lower frequencies than the previous generation. To be clear, the Dot won’t rattle windows or shake picture frames off their hooks. But for a speaker that weighs less than 11 ounces, the Dot does a surprisingly good job of bringing the bass.

The new Echo Dot now doubles as a Wi-Fi extender for eero Mesh Wi-Fi systems, and is now reportedly capable of adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your network and handling speeds of up to 100 Mbps. For eero owners, the Dot represents a useful, 2-for-1 gadget that can set timers and tell you the right way to pronounce “biopic” while providing a handy boost to your network.

Aside from the extender skills, the Dot’s new accelerometer offers up new tap gesture controls. Simply tap the top of the speaker to pause or play music, snooze alarms, or even end communications through the Dot.

Unfortunately, not all of the Dot’s new features hit the mark. The speaker’s new ambient temperature sensor, while intriguing, measured about 9°F to 10°F colder than the real temperature of the space. Still, that’s a rather minor issue compared to the rest of the lineup of solid, noteworthy features packed into Amazon’s latest Alexa-enabled smart speaker. Add in the bump in bass and audio quality overall, and the fifth generation Echo Dot has plenty of perks to once again be one of the most valuable smart speakers around.

The fifth-gen Echo Dot also comes in additional models like the Echo Dot with Clock and the Echo Dot Kids Edition.

Read our full review of the Echo Dot (5th gen)

If you’re looking for the best sound quality in the Echo lineup, the Echo Studio is absolutely the best pick. It's also a great choice for smart homes because, like the 4th-gen Echo, it has a built-in Zigbee hub.

This speaker is considerably larger than other Echo speakers, but the additional size allows for deeper bass, better clarity, and immersive sound. The Studio is also unique in this space as it is designed to deliver 3D sound, thanks to its Dolby Atmos compatibility. It even features an upward-firing driver that bounces sound off your ceiling to better immerse you in the audio.

Usually, we think of surround sound in reference to movies. But there is a burgeoning movement in music to use 3D-audio technology like that in the Echo Studio to deliver sound that seems to come from everywhere–even above you. At present it's limited to a small list of artists and streaming services, such as Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal, but it’s becoming more widespread.

Regardless of whether or not you use this speaker to play 3D music, the sound it delivers will be satisfying, and impressively full for a speaker of its size.

The Amazon Echo Pop is the smallest and most affordable Echo smart speaker yet. It supports Matter-enabled devices and works as an eero Wi-Fi extender. The Echo Pop delivers decent sound quality for a speaker that isn't much larger than my morning cup of espresso. The audio is crisp, clear, and just fine for listening to in the background.

However, when the volume is all the way up, the Echo Pop struggles a bit with that clear crisp audio, and it sounds a bit tinny, especially on heavy rock songs, but for small spaces like dorm rooms, this is a great pick.

It does not have an audio jack on the back like the Echo Dot does—it only has one port for power meant for use with the included 15W power cord. It comes in fun colors like Lavender and Midnight, as well as standard Echo device colors Charcoal and Glacier White.

The Echo Pop isn't the smart home powerhouse that the Echo Dot is. The Pop's lack of motion and temperature sensors is one of the biggest differences between the two features.

For less than $40, the bright and cheerful Echo Pop offers quick and easy access to Alexa in one compact size, making it a great smart speaker for small spaces.

Read our full review of the Amazon Echo Pop

The Echo Dot Kids (5th gen) sounds just like the Echo Dot (5th gen) in terms of quality. While the two smart speakers also share other similarities, like temperature sensors and acting as an eero Wi-Fi extender, the kids version has some noticeable differences that make it a great choice for little ones. First, the design is kid-forward, with adorable options for a Dragon or Owl.

It also comes with one year of Amazon Kids+, which is a digital subscription service by Amazon intended for children ages three to 12. This grants access to Audible books, games, and educational Alexa skills.

With this smart speaker, Alexa gives kid-appropriate responses and also filters explicit song lyrics. Parents can manage the Kids Echo Dot smart speaker in the dashboard of the Alexa app for iOS and Android. It is also possible to pause the speaker, set daily time limits, and manage contacts. Parents can also add content purchased on Amazon directly to the Echo Dot Kids (5th gen) speaker like books.

One downside to the speaker is that we could not set volume limitations on the speaker. Despite its small size, the speaker does get fairly loud, so this would be a nice feature to have.

Like other Echo speakers, there is a mic mute button on the top of the speaker to protect your child's privacy. The base of the speaker also illuminates in red when the mic mute button is enabled, offering a visual clue that the speaker is not listening.

Of note, this Echo speaker comes with a two-year warranty that includes a free replacement if it breaks.