Smart home tech can be expensive.
After all, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry.
But making your home smarter doesn’t mean breaking the bank.
In this video, I’m highlighting the best smart home tech under $200.
Hey friends!
I’m Tasia Custode and welcome back to my YouTube Channel where I share tech tips and
app reviews.
If you’re on a budget, listen up!
I’m going to walk you through some of my favorite smart home tech, all under $200.
This is all the smart home tech on a budget, under $200 are things I use every single day
in my own home.
So, are you ready?
Then let’s go!
As we go through this list, I’ve got all kinds of affiliate links below organized per
category for you.
And, keep in mind some of these products will see Labor day discounts and Black Friday discounts.
Let’s kick off this list with smart plugs.
Specifically, my favorite that we use in our home is the Belkin WeMo Mini Smart Plug.
I’ve had this guy for years and I just love it.
The Belkin WeMo Mini Smart Plug is designed so you can still use the other outlet, which
is important.
You can control whatever you plug into it by using your device or your favorite voice
assistant and it’s really easy to use and set up.
Plus, it’s a great everyday price.
My second choice for a smart plug would be Amazon’s.
This is a good everyday price of $25.
So, this is another great option for ya.
I’m telling you, smart plugs are so handy to have and I use mine all the time with my
voice assistant.
Speaking of which, let’s move on to my next pick for top smart home tech under $200: smart
speakers.
I know, there are a ton of these to choose from as well, but here’s what I use.
And disclaimer: I use both an Amazon Echo device as well as a Google Home, so I’m
not going to get into which is better here, they both have their pros depending on your
use and the ecosystem you live and work in.
So this one here is the 4th generation echo dot and it’s actually already on sale now.
The echo dot wins in my books for certain categories like the music options that come
with a Prime membership.
I also use mine as an alarm with a wake-up routine in the mornings and I listen to the
news with it as well.
But, Google has a great lineup of smart speakers as well, but you can’t really find them
on Amazon.
The Google Nest Mini is comparable in price to the Echo Dot.
I’ve got the now-discontinued full-size original Google Home, and I use this device
to know my schedule at a glance with its integration with my gcal, I search the web for answers
to questions, and I use it for real-time traffic alerts when I’m on my way somewhere.
Obviously, I’m a use case where I have both an echo dot and an original Google Home.
So it really depends on how you’re going to use them, besides smart home control which
they both excel at.
So a Google Nest Mini would do the exact same thing as my old school Google Home.
Now let’s move on to the next category.
If you’re going to have a smart home, you’re going to need connectivity.
And for us, to ensure all our devices are connected no matter where they are in the
house, we use a WiFi extender.
Specifically, we use a TP-Link wifi extender - and there’s a specific reason for the
specific model.
The exact model we use is the TP-Link AC1750 WiFi extender.
This unit has 3 antennas that provide fast dual-band wifi access across our home.
So this model would work great if you’re streaming video or gaming in 4K.
Now the reason we went with this specific extender is quite important.
It comes with a gigabit ethernet port and many wifi extenders do not.
This is crucial to know depending on how you plan to use your extender.
For example, for us, we needed an extender to work with our Arlo security cameras.
And wouldn’t you know, in order for our cameras to work with an extender, the base
station for the camera has to be hard-wired in via the ethernet port to the extender.
The model of cameras we have won’t work wirelessly with an extender.
So, needless to say, this little TP-Link extender has been a life-saver.
It was also really easy to set up and use and it’s on sale now for just $60 for this
model.
You can also bump up to the next model for only $5 more and that would cover even more
square footage in your home.
Now let’s move on to the best smart lights.
I’m slightly obsessed with the Philips Hue bulbs.
These are so fun.
I’m linking to this guy below.
This is a 2 pack, available on Amazon that could see discounts for labor day and or Black
Friday.
The Philips Hue bulbs provide you with literally millions of color choices, that you can control
from your device or with your voice.
Being able to change the colors is really fun, so when we have our Halloween parties…
well pre-covid...
remember parties?
Anyway, it’s easy to just change the color of the light, rather than having to replace
the bulb itself.
Now if you don’t care about changing colors, they also offer White Ambiance smart bulbs.
These have all the same smart features, they just don’t change colors.
Plus, Philips is actually running a sale right now through labor day.
I believe until Sept 12, 2021.
So, if you’re watching this in time, I’ve included a direct link to the Philips hue
site for ya to snag that deal.
And I think Best Buy is matching that sale too.
This is a really good way to dip your toe into the Philips hue ecosystem because another
thing I love about these lights is that they work either with the Philips Hue Bridge or
without one via Bluetooth and a handy app on your phone.
And speaking of the hue bridge - you can usually find a great price at Costco on a little starter
kit that comes with the bridge.
Plus, I’ve linked to this one below as well.
This is a great starter kit with three bulbs, a smart button, and a hue bridge all for $180
plus Amazon is running a 15% off coupon for a limited time.
And if you’re digging these deals and gadgets I’m sharing with ya, remember to like this
video and subscribe to my Channel for more content like this.
It really does mean a lot to me!
In fact, I have it on good authority that Kael always watches my videos.
Thanks Kael, you’re the best!
So, be more like Kael and watch, like and subscribe!
And now back to the best smart home tech under $200.
If you’re like me and constantly forget if you’ve put the garage door down, worry
no more.
Enter the MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener.
A handy smart home addition.
This is the MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener.
When you have this installed, you’ll get alerts when the door is opened or closed,
so you’ll always know the status of your door.
Plus, you can control your door from anywhere too.
So, if you need to open it for someone or if you realized your partner forgot to close
the door, you can do that from wherever you are using the app.
It’s pretty remarkable how cheap this is, just under $30 and it is slightly discounted
already.
Alright, I’ve saved maybe two of my favorite smart home gadgets for last.
I actually can’t believe these are under $200.
The item that probably has changed our lives the most is the Petsafe Smart Feed automatic
pet feeder.
Game changer.
We use the PetSafe feeder for our cat Dora and it allows us to set a customized feeding
schedule for her.
So, we have our set to go off four times a day for her, with small portions dispensed
every time.
You can use the app to customize the times, frequency, and portions.
And the PetSafe is great if you have a cat like ours who otherwise scarfs her food down
because you can either do what we do and feed through the day or you can feed a larger portion
but have it dispense slowly from the feeder so your pet can’t inhale her food at once.
Plus, you’ll get push notifications to tell you your pet has been fed, so if you’re
out of town, you’ll be assured your furbaby has gotten dinner.
You’ll also get notifications if there is any type of error with the feeder, like if
you’re running low on food.
And, this PetSafe model that I’m linking below for you is even compatible with your
Amazon assistant.
So, you could ask your echo device to give your pet a treat for ya.
The bowl, bowl holder and lid are also top rack dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.
I’m telling you, it does not get better than this automatic feeder.
Dora used to wake us up at all hours meowing for food and pounding on our bedroom door.
This feeder and the schedule we’ve set has changed all of that.
We’ve got our sleep back and couldn’t be happier.
Truly the best smart home purchase I’ve ever made.
Now you may be wondering why I didn’t leave the best smart home purchase I’ve ever made
for last.
Well, that’s because our last item on the list hits me right in the feels.
And that’s the Aura digital picture frame.
Aura makes an array for digital picture frames, but the one I have is the Carver and it is
my favorite in their line.
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to Aura frames, but here are the coles notes:
giving one as a gift is super easy.
You can preload a frame with photos to give your family or friends a nice surprise when
they turn on their frame.
You don’t even have to open the box to do so.
You just scan a bar code on the box and your Aura app walks you through adding whatever
photos you want.
You can even add a little personal message that will be displayed too.
How neat is that?
You can also add family and friends to your frame so they can add photos directly to your
frame from anywhere in the world so you can stay connected from afar.
I.
Know.
Plus, Aura frames allow you to view live photos too.
So as soon as the live photo appears on your screen, it’ll play and then pause at the
frame you selected from your live photo.
And of course, they work with your Amazon assistant.
I could go on and on about Aura frames, but I’ve actually linked below to a full video
I did on the frames.
I had the pleasure of working with them last year and I’ve since bought frames for my
family too, I just love them so much.
The best part?
The frames are regularly $199 but are on sale right now for about $170.
I’m telling you, you will not regret snagging one of their frames.
Truly, what did we do before smart home technology?
What a time to be alive.
Remember all the affiliate links to everything I mentioned are organized per category in
the description below.
So those are my picks for the best smart home tech under $200!
What do you think of my choices for top smart home tech?
What are some of your fave smart home gadgets?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
As always, if you liked this video, I want to know so give it a like, a share, or leave
that comment below.
You can click right about here to subscribe to my channel and right about here and here
for even more tech videos.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.