The Best Smart Home Products for Renters We’ve Tested in 2026

TP-Link Tapo P110M (Credit: John R. Delaney)

With a smart plug, you can transform anything that plugs into the wall—be it a lamp, space heater, humidifier, or even a Christmas tree—into a connected device that you control from your phone. Smart plugs go directly into a wall outlet or a power strip and have their own outlet that you then plug into with the device you want to automate. You’re not gaining or losing any outlets by plugging one in—you’re simply making an existing outlet smart by connecting it to your home Wi-Fi network.

The TP-Link Tapo P110M and the Leviton Decora Smart Mini Plug-In Dimmer are two of our favorites in this category, and they each have some very helpful features. The TP-Link can track how much power anything plugged into it is using, and the Leviton is specifically designed to work with dimmable, but not smart, light bulbs, when most smart outlets can only toggle them on or off. The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip is a smart surge protector with six outlets you can independently control via your phone or voice. If you have fewer devices you want to make smart, the AiDot Linkind Matter Smart Plug is our favorite affordable option. 

Looking to automate string lights on your patio or a decorative water feature? An outdoor-friendly smart plug can help. The weatherproof TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug is responsive and versatile. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and even has HomeKit and SmartThings integrations, which many competing models lack, as well as IFTTT support.

Amazon Echo Dot Max (Credit: Will Greenwald)

Whether you live in a rental or not, a smart speaker (or a smart display) is a must-have connected home gadget. Beyond playing music, our favorite models serve as a central command center, letting you control other compatible smart home devices by voice. The first step in the buying process is to decide which voice assistance platform is the right fit for your home: Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, or Google Assistant. All three support most major smart home device brands.

The Amazon Echo Dot Max is the best smart speaker for most Alexa users; it’s well-priced and just the right size to fill a room with sound. If you prefer Google, I recommend waiting a few months to see how the upcoming Google Home Speaker fares. With Apple’s HomePod mini, you can use Siri to control your smart home as long as your other connected devices are compatible with Apple’s HomeKit protocol. If you want to save money and don’t mind less impressive sound, the Amazon Echo Dot is another top pick.

Smart displays offer the same hands-free voice assistant features as smart speakers but with screens on which you can follow recipes, check your calendar, make video calls, and control your connected gadgets with a few taps. A smart display can also double as a digital showcase for your photos or curated art. The Alexa-powered Echo Show 8 and the Google Nest Hub are our favorites for the living room, with the best balance of price, screen size, and sound quality.

The AiDot app offers lots of presets and color choices (Credit: AiDot/PCMag)

One of the easiest and most affordable ways to upgrade your rental is to swap out your standard incandescent lighting for LED smart bulbs, which use less energy, last longer, and support app and voice controls. 

The TP-Link Tapo L535E and the AiDot Linkind Matter Smart Light Bulb are our favorites. Both use a common E26 base, which means you can install them into standard light sockets, like a ceiling fixture or a lamp. Built-in Wi-Fi enables them to connect to your mobile device directly without a separate home automation hub. You can pair them with Alexa, Google, HomeKit, and SmartThings, and Matter. The TP-Link adds power usage reporting and emits brighter light to earn our top spot, but both are versatile and affordable options.

If you have a yard, smart outdoor lights can help set a festive mood for outdoor parties and BBQs. The weatherproof Govee Lynx Dream String Lights feature multicolor LEDs that you can control with your phone or voice. They offer a generous selection of preset lighting scenes and a fun Music Sync mode that’s great for gatherings. 

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (Credit: August)

Worried about porch pirates, bike thieves, or an unhinged ex? A home security system lets you monitor your place and feel more secure. 

While some security systems require professional installation and multi-year monitoring contracts (with hefty early termination fees), DIY options are more renter-friendly. For instance, they typically involve wireless components you can install with double-sided tape. Plus, with most DIY systems, such as SimpliSafe and Ring Alarm Pro, you can purchase the hardware outright and monitor it yourself. Professional monitoring costs extra: SimpliSafe offers no-contract monitoring, and its highest tier includes the ability for agents to check on your camera feeds and intervene if they spot an intruder. Ring’s top-tier Protect plan includes professional monitoring of alarm activations for emergency dispatches, and it also enables a slew of AI-enhanced features and cloud storage for your cameras. The Ring system also doubles as an Eero Wi-Fi 6 mesh network.

Wi-Fi-connected indoor security cameras let you monitor what’s happening inside the house and ensure that all of your belongings are safe when you’re not there. They’re surprisingly inexpensive and are often marked down during sales events like Prime Day. Our favorite is the $49.99 Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor, a 2K camera that delivers a sweeping view of any room and uses AI for precise insights into what’s happening inside your home.

If you’re renting a whole house, an outdoor home security camera can also offer protection and peace of mind. Battery-powered Wi-Fi cameras, such as the Arlo Essential XL and the TP-Link Tapo Wire-Free MagCam, are the easiest to install because you can put them just about anywhere (as long as they can connect to Wi-Fi) without having to worry about staying close to an outlet or snaking a power cord into your home.

Another easy way to safeguard your rental against property theft and home invasion is to install a video doorbell. These devices let you not only see and speak with the person outside but also record footage of visitors who approach your door while you’re away or unable to answer. If you rent, make sure you get a wireless doorbell that runs on batteries and doesn’t need to be wired in, like the Arlo Video Doorbell. The batteries last for roughly four months, so you’ll have to keep an eye on them, but you won’t get in trouble for rewiring the doorbell or drilling new holes. 

A smart lock lets you easily unlock and lock your door with your phone and monitor who enters and leaves the place when you’re away. The most advanced options also work with voice commands.

Before installing one in a rental, it’s wise to check your lease to see if it is allowed. The laws on whether tenants can change the locks in a rental vary from state to state. In Florida, for instance, you must obtain your landlord’s consent unless your lease specifically states that you’re allowed to change the lock. If you do so without permission (which we absolutely do not condone), be sure to hold onto all the original parts because you might need to reinstall them at the end of your lease.  

The good news is that most smart locks work with standard predrilled holes, so you often don’t need to worry about creating new ones. Additionally, some smart locks simply attach to the inside of your door and use your existing keyed cylinder and deadbolt hardware; with these models, you have to remove the interior escutcheon only.

Our favorite renter-friendly model is the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. It requires minimal assembly and is operable with your existing keys, so you won’t need to provide your landlord with a new one.

Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor (Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

In many cases, installing a smart thermostat in a rental isn’t worth the hassle. As an alternative, a smart air conditioner can offer similar convenience and potential energy bill savings in the warmer months. 

A smart air conditioner is an excellent option for rentals that lack central cooling. These models may be more expensive than traditional units, but they feature Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can turn them on or off and adjust the target temperature from your phone (or with your voice in some cases). Most also support scheduling, which means you can easily program them to automatically turn off when you leave for work and not waste money on cooling an empty house. 

The GE Profile Clearview PHNT10 is one of the quietest window units we’ve tested and lets you get an almost full view through your window. It’s easy to install and did a good job of cooling in our tests. You can control it with a remote, mobile app, and Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands. The GE 11,000 BTU Smart Heat/Cool Air Conditioner (AWGP12) is more expensive, but adds extra versatility during the colder months with its heat output.

If you’re concerned about secondhand smoke, mold, or other airborne pollutants, consider a smart air purifier. These devices also typically keep a record of your air quality in a companion app. One of our favorite models, the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, is both a capable HEPA air purifier and an oscillating fan with a small footprint; it even features Wi-Fi connectivity for phone and voice control. If you don’t want to shell out for a Dyson device, the Smartmi Air Purifier P1 is relatively affordable and small enough to be portable while still packing enough power to ace our air cleaning tests. The Blueair Blue Signature is a bigger purifier, but it’s attractive and can double as a side table.

The affordable Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor doesn’t purify the air but alerts you to pollutants and other gaseous impurities inside your home and graphs its findings. 

Tovala Smart Oven (Credit: Will Greenwald)

From full-size ovens you can preheat using your phone to voice-controlled refrigerators that open on command, there’s a smart version of just about every kitchen appliance. These smart appliances are a luxurious option for homeowners looking to upgrade, but impractical for rentals (unless your lease excludes major appliances). 

The good news for renters seeking greater culinary convenience is that there are plenty of smaller smart kitchen gadgets to choose from, and all you need is some counter space.

The Tovala Smart Oven can bake, broil, roast, and steam foods through app control and QR codes. You can sign up for optional meal kits or use the machine’s various cooking modes and app guidance to make something delicious yourself. The Instant Pot Pro Plus pressure cooker lets you make soups and stews in a fraction of the time that a slow cooker requires, and its companion app offers lots of recipe inspiration.

iRobot Roomba j9+ (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

When it’s time to clean up, a good robot vacuum can help you rid your floors of dust, pet hair, and other debris, and a robot mop can scrub away streaks.

Robot floor cleaners are typically equipped with lasers and sensors to navigate around your home without assistance and include Wi-Fi connectivity for app and voice control. Most also support scheduling, so you can program them to automatically start cleaning at a specified time, like when you’re out of the house. With a few exceptions, you barely have to interact with them at all.

With a built-in voice assistant for easy control, a camera for remote home surveillance, and extensive self-maintenance features, the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni is the best 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop you can buy.

The iRobot Roomba j9+ is our top choice if you have accident-prone pets; it uses a built-in camera and machine learning technology to detect and automatically avoid common obstacles like dog poop and phone cords. If space is an issue, you might be interested in the SwitchBot Mini K10+, one of the most compact robot floor cleaners we’ve tested. Budget shoppers should consider the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus, a 2-in-1 with advanced features like home mapping and self-emptying for a reasonable $300. Finally, if you have mostly hard flooring, the iRobot Braava Jet m6 is an excellent mop-only option.

Tempo Move (Credit: Ali Jaber)

Whether you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated workout room or just an empty corner with enough space for a yoga mat, the connected fitness market is full of rental-friendly options.

Many of our favorite smart home gym machines have a screen on which you can stream workouts, while more affordable options let you view classes on your phone or TV. Smart stationary bikes, treadmills, rowers, and strength training machines allow for a whole other level of interactivity than their more affordable, non-connected counterparts. Most offer large libraries of guided classes with knowledgeable instructors and/or customized workouts and programs based on your goals and current fitness level. It’s like having a personal trainer in the comfort, safety, and privacy of your own home.

For cycling, the Peloton Cross Training Bike+ is ideal if you’re motivated by metrics and want to work your way to the top of a leaderboard. If you’d rather run or walk, the Peloton Cross Training Tread is our favorite connected treadmill, with a much more reasonable size and price than the Tread+.

For rowing, the NordicTrack RW900 stands out for its vast library of iFit global workouts, filmed in picturesque locations in more than 40 countries on all seven continents. For strength training, the Tempo Move is an affordable option that works with your own TV and iPhone. It provides weight suggestions and rep targets for each move, tracks your performance, and gives real-time form feedback.

Eero Pro 7 (Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Finally, keep in mind that smart home devices are useless without a strong internet connection. 

Interference is a big issue, especially if you live in a densely populated area, as signals from other wireless networks can impact speeds. If you often encounter lag and there are a lot of Wi-Fi networks in your building, congestion may be the problem. In this case, simply changing the channel on your wireless router or using the 5GHz band may help solve the problem. If that doesn’t help, there are a few other tricks you can try to troubleshoot your network issues and boost your signal. 

If you’re looking to beef up your Wi-Fi network, a range extender is a solid, more affordable alternative to buying a new wireless router. A mesh network system can also help maintain smooth Wi-Fi performance and defeat dead zones (you can learn about the differences between a Wi-Fi extender and a mesh system here). 

As an additional bonus, some mesh Wi-Fi systems double as home automation hubs, unifying your connected gadgets and letting you control them from one app instead of many. For example, the Eero Pro 7 contains a Zigbee radio that allows you to connect to and control numerous smart home devices, such as cameras, lights, and more. Several Amazon Echo devices also double as Eero mesh nodes, including the Echo Dot Max and the Echo Dot (5th Gen). The Ring Alarm Pro doesn’t work as a home automation hub, but it’s both a comprehensive home security system and a Wi-Fi 6 mesh router.

To get even more from your home Wi-Fi network, check out our guides to setting up your router and protecting your Wi-Fi network.