Best smart bulbs 2024: top ambient lighting systems from Philips Hue, LIFX and Ikea

The best smart bulbs in 2024 add instant ambience and atmosphere to your home. With a smart bulb, strip or lamp set up in your home, you can easily control your home’s lighting with the tap of a button or a simple voice command.

Smart bulbs often come with different colour settings and levels of brightness, making them great decorative devices for any room in the home. The best thing about having smart bulbs in your house is being able to connect them to your other smart home devices like the best smart speakers, smart displays, the best video doorbells or smart sensors so you can command them on and off with your voice, motion or light detection.

With smart bulbs, you can set the mood for a cosy night in by the fire, a family gathering, party or even watching a scary movie. Choose your favourite colours or let your lights do their thing when you sync them with your music on your computer, Xbox Series X, or PS5 for the ultimate party vibe.

When you’re not home, you can still control your lighting via an app on your phone, so you can set them to a timer while your away on holiday, or have them linked to a set location so that they come on before you get home from work.

Check out our top picks for the best smart bulbs in our round up below.

Best smart bulbs 2024 ranking

Hue is so well established in the smart lighting world that it has almost become a generic trademark, but there's more to its success than simple brand recognition. Hue lights top our list because they're just so good and so varied, that every other brand is playing catch-up – it's why they've held on to the Best Smart Lighting award at the T3 Awards again.

The bulbs themselves use Zigbee to communicate, meaning you'll either need a Hue Bridge to talk to them, or a generic Zigbee hub, the likes of which you'll find in the Amazon Echo 4th Generation. Zigbee's great advantage is that it can reach a long way - it's a mesh network, and each bulb can act as a repeater which invisibly passes signals along to the next in line. This means you can take Hue further than your router would generally reach, making it more than plausible to get started with the Philips' vast outdoor range as well as its huge number of options for indoor lighting. If you're really stuck, Hue also includes a Bluetooth radio in all of its newer bulbs, so you can connect and switch them on or off locally, though this is significantly less convenient.

Whichever part of its range you exploit, Hue tends to be brighter than its competitors, and very accurate in terms of colour reproduction. We'd suggest beginning with a Hue starter kit, which will pack in a few bulbs, a Hue Bridge and perhaps a discrete remote control too.

Each Hue Bridge can support up to 50 connected lights from Hue or any other Zigbee-compatible range, so there's plenty of room to expand. You'll be able to access and control them through every major smart assistant. This includes Siri, as the Bridge has full HomeKit support. We should note that you may not get the same level of control if you're connecting them to a third-party hub.

Basically, they're brilliant, as our full Philips Hue review says. Hue deserves to be your first choice if you're looking for the best smart bulbs for starting a smart lighting system. Yes, the requirement for a hub is awkward, but you'll get over it. They might not have the wacky effects of LIFX, but that's a style point that can't take away from Hue's substance. Oh, and did we say that they burn for absolutely ages – up to 25 years in most cases.

There are two schools of thought in the smart bulb world. Some feel the best path is to opt for bridged lights, which (in the case of those which are Zigbee compatible, like Hue) form their own little mesh network, passing on activation commands and colour changes that way. Others would rather Wi-fi did the heavy lifting - and that, along with their elegant design, is the key selling point of LIFX bulbs.

These link straight to your existing wireless network, with no additional hub required. This does simplify things somewhat, but it adds to the per-bulb cost, so if you're planning to deploy a large smart bulb network, you may find Hue (or similar) to be more cost effective overall.

LIFX are very good as smart bulbs, nailing the colour aspect perfectly, responding well to commands, and tying in neatly to your choice of smart assistant. The app offers one-touch control of your connected lights and some very detailed control deeper down, and everything's easy to set up and get running.

There's more than just the standard LIFX and LIFX Mini bulbs, too: look to the Plus range if you want a bulb which is going to work well with your smart security cameras, as they include infra-red LEDs which stay on even when you've turned the main lighting off – check out the likes of the Beam and Z Strip for feature lighting with more smarts and funky effects than most.

Here's an odd move, but a welcome one, from perennial shapes-on-your-wall supplier Nanoleaf: a set of bargain-priced smart bulbs and light strips to give you control of more than just those pretty wall decorations.

Probably the most interesting thing about the Essentials line, beyond its price, is support for Thread, a smart home protocol that's recently emerged. Thread works in much the same way as Zigbee, giving the Essentials bulbs mesh networking capabilities. While you can address them without a hub, they are compatible with the Thread hubs in devices like the Nest Wifi and Apple Homepod mini, which offers a management advantage.

They're elegantly designed, too. We love the way the RGB bulbs look at least, even if the extendable light strips are pretty standard-looking. And you can rely on Nanoleaf's well-matured app to give you a good range of control options. One to sample, we'd say, and at a very decent price, too.

If you've taken a wander around Ikea lately, you've probably noticed the Trådfri smart lights that have started popping up – they're a cheap, accessible way to get started in your best smart bulb search, though you don't get as many features as you do with products from the likes of Philips Hue and LIFX. Both white light and coloured options are available in E14 and E27 sizes, though you only get screw rather than bayonet fittings. Spot lights and panel lights are available too.

We've added the Trådfri range to our best smart bulbs list because you get useful, straightforward functionality with no gimmicks – and because they're made by Ikea, the price is very appealing too. We're assuming that Ikea will continue to add to the range over time.

You do need a separate gateway or remote device to connect to your router for the advanced features (such as controlling whole groups of lights), but there is now support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit, making them simple to integrate into an existing system. Much like Philips Hue, there are other useful smart home accessories in the Trådfri range that supplement the bulbs, such as smart plugs and smart light switches.

Even more interesting is that there are light panels that can be built into Ikea furniture, again fully controlled via the smart system – a really clever and unique touch.

TP-Link has a more limited range of products compared to Philips Hue, and you can't do quite as much with these bulbs, but we've taken quite a shine to the TP-Link Kasa bulbs nonetheless. They're cheap and you can get them up and running very easily, without having to buy a separate gateway or hub. The major bulb types are covered, of course, so there'll still be something great here for most people.

Affordable and reliable is usually the theme with TP-Link kit. The manufacturer has a strong track record in networking and smart home gear, especially in this Kasa range, so you can buy safe in the knowledge that these bulbs are going to last, even if they don't have as many features as some rivals. There are a few different lighting options to check out – including the TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Strip (KL430) – so be sure to read our review.

Even better, these smart bulbs can work with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT, so there's plenty of opportunity for integrating them in with the rest of your smart home. Sadly, they don't work with Apple HomeKit, but if you just need one or two basic lights to hook up directly to your Wi-Fi router then these are definitely worth considering.

TP-Link seems committed to adding new products over time and considering it also puts out smart plugs and other bits and pieces, we don't think you're going to find these products abandoned anytime soon. Well worth a spot on our best smart bulbs list.

After something a little bit different in your search for the best smart bulbs? Nanoleaf's approach might be just what you're after: flat panels that tessellate to create walls of coloured light that you can graduate across your designs, and that can even pulse along with music. The panels can be adhered easily to walls or the ceiling, and besides the music trick, they can also be set to run on a schedule, controlled manually from your phone, or even used as alarms to wake you up in the morning.

Everything works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit as well, so it's easy enough to combine the Nanoleaf range with whatever else you've got happening in your smart home. You can easily expand beyond the nine panels you get with the starter kit to cover a whole room if you want – and while we've pictured the triangular starter pack above, there are also square and hexagonal panels with their own starter kits.

These smart lights aren't for everyone – just looking at the product picture should be enough to tell you if these are the best smart bulbs for you – but there's no doubt that they definitely stand out from the crowd and let you create some amazing ambiance.

As we note in our Philips Hue Gradient Signe Floor Lamp review, this is an incredibly powerful and versatile smart lighting lamp. Unlike Signe lamps of old, the Gradient aspect means that three different lighting zones within the bar can be individually customised in colour, meaning you can have a range of shades being emitted at any one time.

As a powerful back lighter to illuminate walls or corners of rooms, it is unparalleled. And as a wake-up light it naturally and subtly displays a wake-up scene to gently bring you round from the land of nod.

It's also a great pairing for a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box as it can really help bring movies, games and TV shows to life with extra synchronised lighting immersion. This excellent performance does come with caveats in terms cost and just how well it will aesthetically match the buyer’s home environment but, those points aside, the Signe is still the best bar-style smart lamp on the market.

One of the newer smart bulb brands on the market, Govee has gained popularity due to its affordable and extensive range of lighting. The Govee Floor Lamp Pro, which won Best Smart Lighting at the T3 Awards 2024, is Govee's first smart light with integrated sound, and it's pretty impressive.

The Govee Floor Lamp Pro has a stylish design and impressive performance. Its advanced LED arrangement provides a vast array of lighting effects, including 324 colour and white light beads with brightness of 2100 lumens and a wide colour temperature range. It has an integrated Bluetooth speaker that seamlessly syncs sound with light to create a fun and ambient atmosphere.

While it's not yet Matter-compatible, the Govee Floor Lamp Pro is a stylish and dynamic addition to your smart home, plus it's affordable and easy to set up.

Hive started out with a smart thermostat but has since expanded its range to include just about everything you might need for your smart home. The smart bulbs that Hive puts out are very capable and attractively priced so they’re well worth a spot on our best smart bulbs list.

You can pick from standard bulbs (screw or bayonet), E14 candle bulbs, and GU10 spotlights, and the standard bulbs offer the full colour spectrum as well as different white temperatures. The range isn't as big as those offered by Philips or LIFX, but it'll be more than enough for most people.

You will need a hub attached to your router to use these lights (unless you hook them up to a Samsung SmartThings network instead). Within the app, you get colour changing and schedule setting features, and the bulbs work with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

If you already have Hive kit in your home then it makes sound sense to go for Hive bulbs as well, as everything is going to work seamlessly together.

Innr is a newish name in the smart lighting market but it's already attracting a lot of attention with an impressively large range of bulbs that are simple to set up and even easier to use.

This is a smart lighting system that you need a bridge for, but you don't necessarily have to use the Innr Bridge if you don't want to – the bridges for Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings use the same kind of technology, so you can use them instead if that's more convenient.

You can pick from spot lights, light strips, standard bulbs, filament bulbs, candle bulbs, LED lights and more, both coloured and white. While Innr won't topple Philips Hue or LIFX any time soon and the app is a bit rough around the edges, we're impressed with the size of the range here and the overall affordability, especially if you have Philips Hue already and want a lower-cost way to expand.

For those who don't currently own a bridge, it might also be worth considering the Innr Wi-Fi Bulbs which connect directly to your router so don't require a hub.

Now read our Innr Flex Light lightstrip review

You might not have heard of them but Osram has been in existence since 1919 and is one of the leading manufacturers in the lighting industry – in fact they have been known to do the backdrops for Eurovision, so there you go. If you've ever thought your home could use a bit more Eurovision glitz and glamour, then you know where to come.

From simple white bulbs to multi-colour top-of-the-range lights, there are plenty of choices in the Osram range: this is a more comprehensive solution than the likes of Ikea and TP-Link can offer, and it takes a bit more effort to set up too, so bear that in mind in your search for the best smart bulbs.

You can really go to town if you want to, with LED strips and garden lights included in the range. For all of this to work, you're also going to have to buy yourself a gateway device, though thankfully it doesn't need a wired connection to your router like the Philips Hue Bridge does – so that's one point in its favour.

If you're looking to give your whole home a smart lighting revamp, the Osram is definitely one of the best smart lighting options out there. However, for smaller-scale projects and simpler operation you might be better off looking elsewhere.

Things to consider when purchasing smart lighting

Smart bulbs are pretty easy to use and set up, and the difference they can make in the home is huge. Our favourite definitely has to be the Phillips Hue range. While they’re not the cheapest, Philips has a wide range of different bulbs for every area of the house, making the Hue system the most versatile of all.

If you’d like to shop the Phillips Hue range but you’re on a budget, then fear not! You can check out our guide to the best Philips Hue deals. And you can even add more to your ecosystem with more Phillips Hue offers such as the best Philips Hue Starter Kit deals, the best Philips Hue Lightstrip deals and the best Philips Hue Outdoor lights.

How to buy the best smart bulb

Smart bulbs are a great way to dip a toe into the smart home waters: they may not change your life overnight, but they're definitely fun little devices that you can tinker around with. They'll undoubtedly impress guests, and can prove surprisingly useful too (maybe you could have the kitchen light up whenever someone walks in).

If you've got some smart home kit already, get smart bulbs which play nice with everything else you own. The main ecosystems to look out for are Apple Homekit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Samsung SmartThings though the larger brands (like Philips Hue and LIFX) tend to offer good compatibility across the board.

Those of you who aren't so interested in building out a wider smart home ecosystem can go for cheaper options such as the Ikea Trådfri system – these bulbs have their own app and remote, but don't fit in with wider ecosystems quite as well.

You also need to decide whether you want smart bulbs that can cycle through all the colours of the rainbow or simple tuneable white bulbs that emit a range of white tones from bright white to soft yellowy white. Colour-changing bulbs look fancier, but they’re much more expensive to buy and you may soon tire of all the colours and end up opting for a candle-like glow which can be achieved just as easily using a non-colour bulb.

A bulb's lumen rating (how bright it is) is also important to consider, and you also need to make sure you buy a bulb which fits your lamp socket. Most smart bulbs feature an E27 screw fixing, but some manufacturers such as Philips and Osram offer a wide variety of fixings, including bayonet, GU10, and more, so it's always worth checking.