We’ve compiled the top smart speakers for Google Assistant users at each price range. Great for requesting your favourite song on all major streaming services.

Find the best Amazon Alexa smart speakers here.

Budget ($50)

Google Nest Mini – $49
  • Better sound, all around – Music sounds bigger and richer on Nest Mini, with more power and bass. Ask your Google Assistant to play your favorite songs from Spotify, YouTube Music, and more. Or stream music from your phone to Nest Mini.
  • A little help with the Google Assistant – Just ask and get the best of Google – weather, news, or almost anything. Set timers and alarms. And with Voice Match, you can hear your personalized schedule, commute times, reminders, and more. So your day gets off to a good start.
  • Control your home with just your voice – Dim the lights, pause the TV, or turn up the heat – all with your voice. Nest Mini works with thousands of compatible smart devices, like lights, thermostats, and TVs, from your favorite brands. Just say “Hey Google.”
  • Thoughtfully designed for every room – Nest Mini blends right into your home. It looks great on a nightstand, shelf, or countertop – even on the wall. Each color complements the entryway, living room, bedroom, or kitchen.

The music this speaker produces won’t blow you away, but if you’re just asking questions, setting alarms, controlling smart devices, etc. it’s a great choice. If you’re primary use is music, perhaps scroll down and get something with better sound. Note, this speaker regularly goes on sale or giveaways bundled with subscription services. Unforunately no headphone jack on this one, but you can still connect to external speakers via Bluetooth.

Have a Spotify Premium account in the UK? Get your hands on a free Nest Mini here.

Good sound (under $100)

We’d love to recommend the Google Home speaker, but they are no longer available on the Google Store in anticipation of the already teased updated mid-range smart speaker. We suggest holding off for the new version but currently no release date is known.

Google Home

Great sound ($200)

Google Home Max – $199 (usually $299)
  • Google Home Max Chalk 1
  • Google Home Max Charcoal 2
  • Made for music – Google Home Max is built with advanced hardware for the ultimate in high-fidelity music with dual 4.5″ woofers, and crystal-clear highs from two tweeters.
  • Smart Sound inside – By applying the power of Google to audio, your music will sound amazing in any room. Google Home Max analyzes, tunes and updates itself – automatically.
  • Your songs, your way – Play music from apps like YouTube Music, Pandora and Spotify by streaming over Wi-Fi. Play, pause, skip, control the volume, and more with just your voice. “Play Discover Weekly on Spotify.” “What song is this?”
  • Rock the house – Play music everywhere by creating a multi-room group using Google Home Max along with Google Home, Google Home Mini, or a speaker with Chromecast Audio plugged in. “Ok Google, play party playlist on all speakers.” “Ok Google, turn the volume up to 8.”
  • A speaker with smarts – Powered by the Google Assistant, you can control compatible smart home devices with your voice and do things like turn up the thermostat and turn lights on or off. Plus you can check traffic, get your daily schedule, the weather forecast, set reminders, or even make phone calls,* all hands-free. “Ok Google, what’s the weather?” “Ok Google, dim the lights.”
  • Fits your style and fits your space – Google Home Max comes in two distinct colors – chalk and charcoal. And you can stand it on either end, so it’s easy to fit in anywhere.

We’re getting into seriously good speaker territory here. This will be sufficient for your house parties (when they’re back on) or even TV speaker replacements. Dual 4.5-inch woofers and custom tweeters. 6 microphones will pick your voice up from across the room, even when music is playing. Again, this speakers adapts to the room it’s placed in.

Sonos One – $199
  • Sonos One Black 1
  • Sonos One White 2
  • Enjoy the music your love in one place – The Sonos app works with 80 streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon Music and YouTube Music to make listening to music as simple as possible.
  • Brilliant clear sound in any room – With Sonos, you can create a wireless multiroom audio system with simple control and wide functionality. Pair two speakers in the same room for stereo separation and more detailed sound.
  • Manage your sound system from any device – The Sonos app is compatible with iOS, Android, Mac, or Windows devices.
  • Smart speaker with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant – Allows you to start and control your music with your voice.
  • Make your life easier with Alexa and Google skills – You can check traffic, find a recipe for dinner, play games, or make announcements for a whole home.
  • Wireless connection – Connects to your home Wi-Fi network with any 802.11b/g, 2.4GHz broadcast-capable router for uninterrupted wireless streaming.
  • Apple AirPlay support – With AirPlay, stream directly from your Apple devices or ask Siri to play your favorites from Apple Music throughout your home.
  • Two Class-D digital amplifiers – Tuned to match the speaker drivers and acoustic architecture.
  • Compact speaker combines woofer and tweeter – Ensures rich sound with high-frequency response, faithful playback of mid-range vocal frequencies and deep bass.
  • Four far-field microphones – Provide advanced beamforming and echo cancellation.
  • Convenient top panel – Use capacitive touch controls for volume up/down, previous/next track, play/pause, microphone mute. The LED indicates the status, mute status, and voice feedback.

If you can’t decide between Google Assistant or Alexa, the Sonos One features both assistants in one, as well as AirPlay 2 for seemless streaming from your iOS device or Mac.

Premium sound ($300)

Bose Home Speaker 500 – $299 (usually $399)
  • Bose Home Speaker 500 Black 1
  • Bose Home Speaker 500 Silver 2
  • Bose Home Speaker 500 Multi-room compatible Wireless Smart Speaker – Play music in multiple rooms at once. With a soundstage wider than any other smart speaker, you’ll be able to fill any room with astonishing stereo performance.
  • Control your music from the palm of your hand – With the Bose Music app, you can easily browse through all your music in one place and seamlessly jump between stations, playlists, and services.
  • More ways to connect with the music you love – Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capability for pairing wireless devices.
  • Add more sound around the house – Listen to the same music in different rooms at the same time by grouping two or more Bose Home Speakers together – or with Bose SimpleSync™ technology. You can also group a Bose Home Speaker with a Bose SoundLink Bluetooth speaker and play them both in perfect sync. Compatible Bose Smart Home speakers are Home Speaker 500, Home Speaker 300, and Portable Home Speaker. Compatible Bose Soundlink speakers are Soundlink Revolve, Revolve+, Mini, Mini II, Color, Color II, and Micro.
  • Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control built right in – Get access to weather, timers, or use the Home Speaker 500 as a smart home hub to control your existing smart devices with built-in Amazon Alexa and Google Voice Assistants.
  • Two custom drivers point in opposite directions – Wall-to-wall stereo from a single speaker.
  • Six preset buttons for one-touch access to music – Play your favorite music services over a home Wi-Fi network, like Spotify or Amazon Music, at the touch of a button.

Best of the best, for those with $300 to drop on smart speakers, Bose’s Home Speaker 500 features Alexa, Google Assistant and AirPlay 2, with 8 microphones for voice pickup.

With screens

Sometimes you need your smart assistant to provide you with visual clues or video streaming. Be it a recipe, binging a show or showing you who’s at the door, both Google and Alexa have a range of smart screens. Google Nest Hubs have support for all Google services such as YouTube, Google Photos, Google Maps, etc. as well as Netflix. Neither Hub has a 3.5mm audio jack for audio output, so be aware, you may be limited in the speaker department.

Nest Hub – $89.99
  • Google Nest Hub Charcoal 2
  • Google Nest Hub Aqua 3
  • Google Nest Hub Sand 4
  • Help at a glance – Google Nest Hub helps you make the most of moments at home.
  • Command your day – With Voice Match, get your calendar, commute, reminders, and more right on the home screen. You can even watch the news, make a shopping list, and place calls to friends, family, and local businesses.
  • Simplify your smart home – Voice control compatible lights, cameras, TVs, and more from a single dashboard. Works with Nest and 5000+ smart devices from 400+ popular brands.
  • 7-inch touch screen – View more information and content at a glance, clear and crisp.
  • Answers for any moment – Ask questions and get visual, immersive answers from Google on weather, recipes, local business information, and more. You can even watch helpful videos from YouTube.
  • Play your favorite songs – Use your voice to play your favorite songs, albums, artists, and music videos from YouTube Music. You can also listen to Spotify and Pandora. All available free.
  • Relive your memories – Use your voice to show any picture you’ve ever taken in Google Photos. And with Live Albums, always view the latest photos of loved ones.
  • Add a Nest Aware subscription – Starting at $6 a month for all your Nest cameras, speakers, and displays. Nest Aware gives you more video history and alerts that matter.

7-inch screen, this is small tablet territory. Unforunately the smaller Nest Hub does not include a camera, so video calls are off.

Nest Hub Max – $229
  • Google Nest Hub Max Chalk 1
  • Google Nest Hub Max Charcoal 2
  • Hey Google, make it easier – Google Nest Hub Max helps your busy family stay in touch and on track. And with the Google Assistant, you don’t have to lift a finger. Just use your voice.
  • Mobile control from your smartphone or tablet – With the Google Home app, set up, manage, and control your Google Home and Chromecast devices, plus thousands of connected home products, such as lights, cameras, thermostats and more – all from one app.
  • Keep everyone connected – Hey Google, call Mom. Make video calls to friends and family. You can also leave video messages for each other on Nest Hub Max.
  • Stay in touch and in sight – Multitask while you make video calls. With auto-framing, the camera keeps you in view as you move around the room.
  • Ultimate digital picture frame – See your latest great shots from Google Photos automatically. They’ll all look beautiful on a 10″ HD screen.
  • Check in on home when you’re away – Keep an eye on things at home with the built-in Nest Cam. Check in from your phone, and get motion and sound alerts. With a Nest Aware subscription, you’ll also get continuous video recording and familiar face alerts.
  • Make your smart home even smarter – Use your voice to control your Nest thermostat, Nest x Yale lock, lights, TVs, and thousands of other compatible smart home devices. See them all on one screen – no more opening app after app.
  • Watch what you want and when you want – With Chromecast built in, stream movies and TV shows from services, such as Google Play Movies, HBO NOW, Hulu and more.
  • Google Assistant shows you all you need to know – Nest Hub Max automatically shows your calendar, commute, reminders and more.
  • Add a Nest Aware subscription – Starting at $6 a month for all your Nest cameras, speakers, and displays. Nest Aware gives you more video history and alerts that matter.

Same as above, plus a larger screen, larger speakers and a camera, great for video calls and can be manually turned off to keep prying eyes out of your home.