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Major considerations<\/h2>\n
Price point<\/strong> To control the Echo when you\u2019re out of range, you can purchase a $30 remote. The Google Home equivalent is around $130.<\/p>\n Speakers<\/strong> Voice Control<\/strong> Additionally, you can order millions of things via Amazon with only a voice command. One-click billing: a blessing and a curse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Smarthome controls<\/strong> Skills<\/strong> Bonus<\/strong> [clickToTweet tweet=”Hello, pizza every night for as long as I have a voice.” quote=”Hello, pizza every night for as long as I have a voice.”]<\/p>\n Overall, Alexa has been praised as a much better home assistant than Google Home in terms of secretary capabilities. Third-party app support and streamlined voice shopping make Amazon Echo a great choice for those of us that want the futuristic luxury of a robot running your life.<\/p>\n
\nThe Echo\u00a0costs $180, but cheaper versions in the Amazon family are available if you don\u2019t need all of the fancy-pants features. \u00a0Google Home doesn\u2019t currently have any less expensive options.<\/p>\n
\nIf you don\u2019t like the Amazon speakers, you can use third-party speakers. Right now Google doesn\u2019t have any official options for non-Home speakers. Google Home also can\u2019t pair with Bluetooth speakers (not that you need to, but it would be a nice option).<\/p>\n
\nWith the Echo, you can change the wake word (what tells the device to listen) to either \u201cAmazon\u201d or \u201cEcho\u201d if \u201cAlexa\u201d isn\u2019t suiting you. Google Home requires you say \u201cOK Google\u201d or \u201cHey Google,\u201d so Amazon offers a bit more variety.<\/p>\nWhere Alexa really shines<\/h2>\n
\nAlexa has more smarthome partnerships than Google Home, making it a better home assistant if your main focus is on running your house via immobile robot. While Google is sure to add to its pairings, right now Amazon is the smarthome winner. Amazon offers control of dozens of products whereas Google only works with, like, three things right now.<\/p>\n
\nAlexa has the skills to pay the bills. For real. You can make payments on your credit card or mortgage. Alexa has \u201cskills,\u201d allowing the Alexa Voice Service to control devices that don\u2019t have native Alexa support. \u00a0Skills are akin to apps on your phone, and Alexa is constantly acquiring more.\u00a0 Amazon definitely has the advantage when it comes to third-party integrations.<\/p>\n
\nUber and Domino\u2019s are Echo compatible.<\/p>\n