How to Start a Smart Home on a Budget: Best Gadgets Under $50
Starting a smart home is might feel overwhelming or expensive, but it doesn't have to be. You don't need to buy a car that you can start from inside the house or a refrigerator that keeps track of everything inside of it just yet. You can start small. After all, only a few smart home products are needed to make your life easier. We've found a few of our favorites from Walmart and Amazon so that you can start your smart home on a budget.
Top smart home items:
- Sierra Modern smart Wi-Fi essential oil ultrasonic diffuser and humidifier, $40 (down from $50)
- Roku Smart Home 2-pack indoor camera SE, $38 (down from $50)
- Daybetter color-changing smart light bulbs, $27 after $10 off coupon (originally $44)
The one product most people buy first for their new smart home is a smart home personal assistant. Popular choices include the Google Nest, Amazon Echo and Apple Home. You can connect most other smart home devices to it, but it's best to double-check and make sure that each smart home device is compatible with it.
You don't necessarily need a smart home personal assistant, as many smart home devices can be controlled via apps on your phone, but it makes it a lot easier. Control smart devices with your voice alone, feel safer with security options, get the best in smart home entertainment, enjoy color-changing lights and so much more.
And while you're at it, you can also learn how to organize your home for less than $25 and how to turn your living room wall into a home theater projection screen.
Smart home personal assistants
The 2022 model of the Echo Dot is less than $50 and brings you all the convenience of the Amazon Echo in a small, portable system. Ask Alexa what today's weather is, set up home routines that pair with other smart devices in your home (especially ones from Amazon) and play your favorite music. If you attach your Amazon account to the Echo Dot, you can even ask it to order you something.
Echo Dot smart home device, $50
$50 at AmazonOther smart home personal assistant products under $50:
prevnextSmart home security
Home monitoring can be even easier if you install these indoor cameras from the Roku Smart Home collection around your house. Watch live on your Roku Smart Home mobile app while you're out of the house. And yes, they'll even work at night. The indoor cameras come with motion detectors that blast a siren at 80 decibels to deter intruders, but you can set up customized motion detection zones to reduce false alerts. Oh, and the cameras detect smoke and carbon monoxide as well, so you have even more increased peace of mind.
Roku Smart Home 2-pack indoor camera SE, $38 (down from $50)
$38 at WalmartOther smart home security products under $50:
- Mobi Connect smart monitoring system caregiver alert button, $40
- Menggood indoor security camera and baby monitor, $29
- Mubview indoor security camera with phone app and two-way talking, $21 with 10% coupon (down from $34)
Smart home entertainment
When you buy this Chromecast with Google TV, you'll get six months of Peacock Premium for free. The Google Assistant can be reached with the tap of a button, and you can get your favorite entertainment programs in 4K HDR. Chromecast is compatible with any TV that has an HDMI port.
Chromecast with Google TV, $50
$50 at WalmartOther smart home entertainment products under $50:
prevnextSmart home lighting
Sick of having to get up to turn on and off the light switch? One of the easiest and most affordable smart home hacks you can do yourself is by a smart Wi-Fi powered light switch. It can be controlled with your phone or via your new voice-powered smart home personal assistant, like Google Assistant or Alexa. You can set countdown timers to turn off lights at certain times or make sure you turned the lights off after you left the house.
Kasa smart Wi-Fi light switch, $15 after coupon (down from $20)
$15 at AmazonOther smart home lighting products under $50:
- Feit Electric smart Wi-Fi LED strip light, $35
- Daybetter color-changing smart light bulbs, $27 after $10 off coupon (originally $44)
Smart home products for outdoors
Get passcode entry to your home with a smart deadbolt lock. It's easy to install and offers up to 20 different access codes for family use, as well as a temporary security code for single-use guest entry. The temporary code will automatically delete after being used one time. Oh, and you can set the door to lock automatically. You'll be alerted when the battery is running low, too.
Teeho smart deadbolt lock, $38 after 5% coupon (reduced from $50)
$38 at AmazonOther smart home products for outdoors under $50:
prevnextSmart home products around the house
If you're on a fitness journey, get the most from your weight loss, weight gain or weight management with a smart scale. Download a user-friendly app from BWell so you can stay motivated, track progress, keep a diet journal and measure other personal fitness markers while you're at it. With a smart scale like this, you can stay on track for a healthier lifestyle.
BWell Bluetooth smart scale with app, $30
$30 at WalmartSmart home products around the house under $50:
- Sierra Modern smart Wi-Fi essential oil ultrasonic diffuser and humidifier, $40 (down from $50)
- iHome Wi-Fi indoor smart plug, $11