Best smart bulbs for most homes
Hue's starter kit costs more but gives dependable, whole‑home colour lighting with a Bridge, strong brightness and easy automations.
Shortlistd Editorial
Editor
By Editorial Team | April 2026
Intro: Philips Hue White and Colour Ambiance Starter Kit is our pick because it’s the fastest way to get dependable, whole‑room colour and tunable white lighting without wrestling with flaky Wi‑Fi bulbs.
Our picks at a glance
| Pick | Product | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Hue White and Colour Ambiance Starter Kit | £107.17 | Brightening living rooms and kitchens with reliable colour scenes and automations |
| Best upgrade | LIFX Colour A60 | £59.99 | Single‑room setups that want higher per‑bulb brightness and no hub |
| Best budget | Govee RGBWW Smart Bulb (2‑pack) | £24.99 | Low‑cost colour accents and party lighting where absolute reliability isn’t essential |
Based on hands-on research, expert review consensus (RTings, Wirecutter, relevant subreddits), and current pricing.
Best overall: Hue White and Colour Ambiance Starter Kit
Hue White and Colour Ambiance Starter Kit — £107.17
This kit gets the job done: two 1100‑lumen bulbs plus a Hue Bridge and Smart Button give you room‑filling light, accurate colour and rock‑solid automations from day one. Philips scores 8.8 in our rating for delivering what actually matters — brightness, reliable connectivity and an ecosystem you can grow into.
Why we picked it:
- 1100 lumens per bulb means these are primary room lights, not faint accents — they actually light living rooms and kitchens.
- The included Hue Bridge creates a Zigbee mesh, unlocks remote control and dependable automations that Bluetooth/Wi‑Fi bulbs often fail at.
- Full platform compatibility (Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit) and the Smart Button give simple local control, so you don’t need a phone for daily use.
The trade-off: You pay a clear premium for reliability and ecosystem — skip it if you only want one or two cheap bulbs.
Buy it if you want a dependable, expandable smart‑lighting system: Buy on Amazon.
Best upgrade: LIFX Colour A60
LIFX Colour A60 — £59.99
LIFX bulbs remove the Bridge and still deliver strong single‑bulb brightness and vivid colour. The premium here is per‑bulb light output and very saturated colour options without needing a hub — good if you want fewer, brighter bulbs for high‑impact rooms.
Worth it if: you need the brightest possible single bulbs or you prefer a hubless setup and don’t plan to build a large Zigbee system.
Best budget pick: Govee RGBWW Smart Bulb (2‑pack)
Govee RGBWW Smart Bulb (2‑pack) — £24.99
Govee gives the colour and app features at a fraction of the price. You lose the Hue Bridge’s reliability and some colour accuracy, but you get surprisingly good colour modes, music sync and quick setup — ideal for bedrooms, party lights or testing whether you even want smart bulbs.
Worth it if: you want colour lighting on a tight budget and can tolerate occasional connectivity quirks.
How we chose
We prioritised three things: enough brightness to be a room’s primary light, reliable multi‑bulb control (mesh vs Wi‑Fi), and integration with voice platforms. We checked hands‑on tests and consensus from RTings, Wirecutter and active threads on r/Hue and r/smarthome to surface real user pain points like app stability and mesh range.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the Hue Bridge or will Bluetooth work? You can control Hue bulbs over Bluetooth for basic on/off and colour changes, but the Bridge is what gives reliable multi‑room control, remote access and stable automations — it’s the difference between a toy and a proper smart‑home setup.
Is the Hue starter kit worth £107.17? If you want dependable lighting that actually fills rooms and a platform you can expand, yes — the Bridge and 1100 lm bulbs justify the price. If you just want a couple of decorative bulbs, cheaper Wi‑Fi options will save money.
Will these bulbs fit my fixtures and how long do they last? The A60 bulbs use standard E27/E26 fittings and are dimmable; Philips rates Hue bulbs for typical LED lifespans (many users see several years in normal use). Replace like‑for‑like when they dim or fail — the Bridge and app outlast individual bulbs.
Named verdict: Buy the Hue starter kit if you want smart lighting that works across whole rooms and grows into a robust system; get LIFX if you want more raw brightness without a hub; pick Govee if price is the main decision.
Products in this article
