Best Smart Home Starter Kit in 2026: What to Buy First
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices are as of the time shown and may change; the price on Amazon at checkout applies. Details
Start a smart home with a Kasa plug and a WiZ bulb for about $32, no hub needed. Add sensors or an Echo later, once you have about 10 devices. Nov 2026 prices.
By Zoltan Lukacsi · Updated
The best smart home starter kit is one smart plug and one smart bulb, with no hub. On November 4 and 5, 2026, the TP-Link Kasa HS103 smart plug cost $17.99 and the WiZ Connected A19 smart bulb $13.77 on Amazon, about $32 for both. Add sensors or a hub later, once you know what you want to automate.
Updated November 5, 2026 with current prices, a smart bulb pick, sensor hubs and a corrected starter order.
What should you buy first for a smart home?
Start with a smart plug, because it makes any lamp, fan or coffee maker controllable for under $20. The Kasa HS103 connects over 2.4GHz WiFi, works with Alexa and Google Home, and has more than 150,000 Amazon ratings at 4.6 stars. Scheduling a lamp to come on at sunset is useful from day one and shows you whether home automation is worth expanding.
If you already know you want several, the Kasa HS103P4 four-pack cost $25.99 on November 4, about $6.50 per plug. The HS103 handles on, off, timers and schedules only. It has no energy monitoring and no Matter support.
Smart bulb or second smart plug?
Make your second device a smart bulb, because it does a job a plug can't: dimming and changing colour. A plug only cuts the power on and off, so a plugged-in lamp is either full brightness or off. The WiZ A19 gives you colour and warm-to-cool white, and wakes you up with a slow sunrise, with no hub.
WiZ is owned by Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, and the A19 has nearly 5,600 Amazon ratings at 4.3 stars. It supports Matter, so it also works in Apple Home. Its price moves a lot: it was $13.77 on November 4 and as low as $6.37 in the last 90 days, so check its page before buying. One catch: leave the wall switch on, or the bulb loses power and stops responding.
WiFi or Zigbee: which should beginners choose?
Choose WiFi to start, because WiFi devices connect straight to your router and need nothing else. Zigbee devices, such as Philips Hue bulbs and most Aqara sensors, need a hub to work at all. Zigbee pays off once you have 10 or more devices or run Home Assistant: it works locally without the cloud, and Zigbee sensors run for a year or more on a coin battery.
What does Matter mean for a starter kit?
Matter is the shared standard that lets one device work with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings at once. Not every cheap device has it. The WiZ bulb does, the Kasa HS103 doesn't. If you use an iPhone and Apple Home, pick a Matter plug instead, such as the Linkind Matter smart plug two-pack, which was $14.99 on November 4.
When does a smart home hub make sense?
A hub is worth buying once you have about 10 devices, or as soon as you want battery sensors. There are two kinds, and they suit different homes.
A cheap sensor hub runs one brand's sensors. The TP-Link Tapo H100 ($22.99 on November 4) connects Tapo motion, door, window and leak sensors over a sub-1GHz radio that gets through walls well, and has a built-in chime and siren. The YoLink Hub($23.59) uses LoRa radio, which YoLink says reaches up to a quarter mile line of sight, so it suits a detached garage, shed or barn. Both rate 4.5 stars on Amazon. Both only work with their own brand's sensors, so pick the brand before buying sensors.
A whole-home hub ties brands together. The Amazon Echo (4th Gen) ($99.99 on November 4) is a speaker with a built-in Zigbee hub and a Matter controller, so it can run Philips Hue bulbs and Zigbee sensors with no extra bridge, plus Alexa routines across everything. It has more than 152,000 ratings at 4.7 stars. For Apple homes, the Apple HomePod (2nd Gen), $319 on November 4, acts as the Apple Home hub and a Thread border router.
Recommended starter order
| Step | Device | Price (Nov 4-5) | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TP-Link Kasa HS103 plug | $17.99 (four-pack $25.99) | Schedules and remote on/off for a lamp, fan or coffee maker |
| 2 | WiZ Connected A19 bulb | $13.77 | Dimming, colour and wake-up light; Matter, so it works with Apple Home too |
| 3 (optional) | Tapo H100 or YoLink Hub | $22.99 / $23.59 | Only if you want motion, door or leak sensors; locked to one brand |
| 4 (at about 10 devices) | Amazon Echo (4th Gen) | $99.99 | Zigbee hub, Matter controller and Alexa routines across brands |
Prices are from our daily Amazon tracking, and each product page shows today's price and its 90-day low.
What would I buy?
I'd buy the Kasa HS103 for the lamp you switch on every evening and the WiZ A19 for the lamp you'd like to dim, then live with them for a month. If you find yourself wanting more, buy the next device for a specific job, and only add the Echo once your devices need one place to run them all.
Compare smart home hubs →
Smart hubs, plugs, and automation devices ranked by compatibility and value.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I buy first for a smart home?
A smart plug. The TP-Link Kasa HS103 cost $17.99 on Amazon on November 5, 2026, needs no hub and puts a lamp or fan on a schedule in a few minutes. A WiFi smart bulb such as the WiZ A19 is a good second buy.
Do I need a hub for a smart home?
Not to start. WiFi plugs and bulbs connect straight to your router. A hub becomes worth it at around 10 devices, or when you want battery sensors such as motion, door or leak sensors, which need a hub to talk to.
Is a smart plug or a smart bulb better?
They do different jobs. A smart plug switches any lamp or appliance on and off, while a smart bulb can also dim and change colour. Use a plug for a coffee maker or fan and a bulb for a lamp you want to dim.
What does Matter mean on a smart home device?
Matter is a shared standard, so a Matter device works with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings. The WiZ A19 bulb and the Linkind smart plug support it; the Kasa HS103 doesn't, so it won't appear in Apple Home.
