I first started testing smart-home devices more than 20 years ago, back when the only smart-home devices were X10. Since 2016, I’ve been covering smart-home gear for Wirecutter, and I’ve had my hands on everything from in-wall light switches, smart bulbs, and water-leak sensors to smart video doorbells, indoor security cameras, and security systems. I’ve also written tech articles for The New York Times, Wired, and Men’s Health, among others.

If you want to remotely control fans, lamps, air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and even kids toys, a smart plug is the easiest, most inexpensive way to go. But it’s also the ugliest, since smart plugs stick out from the wall and sometimes even block a second receptacle. If you want to have remote control or automate an electrical appliance but also don’t want to clutter up your wall, consider installing an in-wall smart outlet.

In-wall smart outlets make smart-plug features permanent. They allow you to automate anything that’s plugged in, so you can have your window air conditioners turn on as you arrive home from work, schedule table lamps so you never enter a dark room, or make sure that your space heater is off whenever you go out. Many smart outlets also include USB ports to charge or power devices. Some models monitor the electricity use of the devices plugged into them, too, so you can learn which ones are energy hogs and adjust your usage accordingly.

In-wall smart outlets are relatively easy to install, but they do require you to turn off the power and handle some wiring—some may want to hire a handyman or professional.

All in-wall smart outlets allow you to create a schedule that turns electrical devices on and off at specific times of the day or week. Smart outlets are intended to be controlled through a smartphone app and/or by integrating them with third-party smart-home services, such as Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. That way you can, for instance, tell the outlet to turn on or off using voice commands to an Echo speaker, or automate them by directing a device like a motion sensor to trigger them. As a backup, they also have physical buttons you can use to turn outlets on or off.

Curiously, about half of the devices we tested give you the ability to control both outlets— the others provide only one controllable outlet. One manufacturer claimed that the always-on receptacle (not connected to the internet) was specified in the National Electrical Code. We spoke with three licensed electricians and one other manufacturer, however, and all of them agreed that while having an always-on receptacle is nice, it’s not a code requirement. And they all suggested it may be more about preference—for instance, you may want an always-on receptacle for a device like a clock or a smart speaker, or more critically, a medical device.

All of the products we tested are UL- or ETL-certified. This means each device has been thoroughly tested by Underwriters Laboratory or Electrical Testing Laboratories (a division of Intertek Testing Laboratories) to ensure they are safe and won’t be a fire or shock hazard.

While testing, my husband, a licensed electrician, installed each smart outlet, and he found they are bulky in the same way that in-wall smart light switches and dimmers tend to be. If you have older electrical boxes installed, check the dimensions of the outlet before making a purchase. There’s a chance it won’t fit, especially if you have older metal boxes or more than one set of wires.

To run tests, we plugged in fans, table lamps, and USB-powered security cameras. We used an iPhone 12, a Google Pixel 7 Pro, and an iPad to review apps, and several Echo speakers, a Google Mini, and an Apple TV to check out how each outlet reacted to voice commands and smart-home integration.

Once we narrowed down our pick candidates, we reviewed their respective privacy policies and sent a security and privacy questionnaire to each of the manufacturers. We also connected those devices to Firewalla Blue, a firewall device that monitors the communications of all devices on a network and reports which devices are sending out data and to which countries.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

The Geeni Current+Charge is one of the least expensive outlets on our list, yet it includes more remote-controllable receptacles than the others we tested: two standard electrical plugs that can be controlled individually, and two USB-A ports that can be controlled simultaneously.

It’s especially easy to manage. The iOS and Android Geeni apps are similar and make it simple to automate the outlet. For instance, you can schedule individual receptacles to go on or off for specific days or the entire week, or based on local sunrise/sunset times, the weather, and your location (or at least the location of your smartphone). It also includes a Tap-to-Run feature (in the Smart Scenes section), which lets you group together the two receptacles and/or one receptacle and the USB ports for one-touch control.

It alerts you to downtime. Both of our picks can be configured to send a smartphone notification if an outlet loses power. To keep notifications to a minimum, the app will alert you only if the power has been off for 30 minutes (though in our testing, when power was cut, the outlet would appear offline in the app within 2 minutes). Once power is restored, the entire receptacle will reconnect to Wi-Fi automatically; however, all of the receptacles will remain turned off. If you have lights or fans running, you’ll need to turn them back on. If they are on a schedule, it will work just fine.

It has added security. The Geeni is the only one of our picks that offers two-factor authentication (2FA), a system that does a solid job of confirming your identity when you’re trying to log in to a device’s app by requiring you to input a code that the system sends to you on another registered device. Although 2FA isn’t an essential security requirement for all smart devices, we always opt for it when it’s available.

It can be paired with other smart-home devices. We used voice commands to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to trigger each of the outlets and ports with no issues. To ensure voice commands work without a hitch, we do recommend giving each receptacle or port a name based on what you’ve plugged into it, so that you can use commands like “Alexa, turn off the bedroom fan.” We also successfully paired the outlet with other devices so that whenever someone rang a Ring Video Doorbell Wired (our current budget smart doorbell pick), a lamp plugged into the bottom receptacle would turn on. The Geeni doesn’t work with IFTTT or Apple HomeKit, so if you’re looking to integrate with IFTTT, consider the Top Greener (our runner-up pick), and for HomeKit, have a look at other in-wall smart outlets we like.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The Geeni Current+Charge does not include energy monitoring. If you want to track how much energy your devices are using, consider the Top Greener or one of the other in-wall smart outlets we tested.
• The outlet has a power button with a blue LED light that glows when any part of the outlet is turned on. It can’t be dimmed or turned off unless you turn the power off, which may be an issue if you intend to install an outlet in a bedroom.
• The Geeni Current+Charge comes only in white.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT

The Top Greener In-Wall Smart Wi-Fi USB Charging Outlet (TGWF215U2A) is very similar to the Geeni: It has an easy-to-use app and two USB-A ports that you can control simultaneously, and it sends a notification when it goes offline. However, it has only one remote-controllable receptacle—but it does monitor energy use on that receptacle.

One outlet is always on. The Top Greener includes two receptacles and two USB-A charging ports, but only one of the receptacles is remote controllable. The other receptacle is always powered on, which is useful for devices like clocks or smart speakers—or health devices, like a CPAP machine—that you want to ensure never get turned off accidentally.

It can monitor energy use. The Top Greener model includes energy monitoring for its remote-controllable receptacle. This allows you to plug something in and use the app to monitor the current being used (in milliamps, watts, and kilowatts) as well as voltage, and it stores a history of daily and monthly kilowatt hours used.

It’s simple to set up and control. The Top Greener has an easy-to-use app that’s similar to the Geeni, with options for Schedules based on specific days, local sunrise/sunset times, and even temperatures. You can also opt to group the one controllable receptacle and the USB ports for one-tap use. The actual outlet has an on/off button in the middle that lights up when the controllable receptacle is turned on—there’s no option to dim it or turn it off without cutting the power. Unlike the Geeni, the Top Greener doesn’t light up when only the USB ports are on, so you can use the port to charge your smartphone at night without having the LED light on.

There’s a cheaper, non-USB option. If you don’t need USB ports, we recommend Top Greener’s In-Wall Smart Wi-Fi Outlet. It’s nearly identical, comes in a few colors (white, gold, nickel, and silver), and is the least expensive model we tested.

We tested a number of in-wall smart outlets that we didn’t prefer as overall picks but that are perfectly fine choices.

If you want a HomeKit-compatible smart outlet: The ConnectSense In-Wall Smart Outlet has two controllable receptacles, each of which tracks energy use. It’s the only model we tested that includes the option to disable physical controls on the outlet from within the app (this is perfect for anyone with a kid who knows how to push the on/off switch to re-enable electronics after hours). However, this model doesn’t have USB ports, and for $80 (for the 15-amp model; the 20-amp version is $100), we’d expect it to have every feature possible.

If Matter matters: The Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi Outlet (2nd Gen) doesn’t have a second controllable outlet, energy monitoring, or USB ports. However, it’s the only in-wall smart outlet we tested that currently supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, and will be upgradeable to Matter later this year. It’s also available in six color options (via changeable faceplates) and works with the Leviton DAWSC Anywhere Switch Companion, allowing you to control the outlet with a light switch.

Despite being very similar to the ConnectSense, we dismissed the iDevices Wall Outlet because it’s $10 more and doesn’t have the option to disable controls.

Schneider Electric’s Square D x Series Wi-Fi Outlet is very similar to our Runner-up model, but at twice the cost and without USB ports.

We are planning to test the following in-wall smart outlets soon and will update this guide with our findings:

• The Eve Energy Outlet supports Matter-over-Thread, making it compatible with all major smart-home platforms (but it does require a Thread border router). It has two independently-controlled outlets and features energy monitoring.
• The TP-Link KP200 Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power Outlet is a few dollars cheaper than our top pick and has two controllable receptacles. But it doesn’t have USB ports or energy monitoring.
• The Leviton Smart GFCI Outlet doesn’t have remote-controllable receptacles, but will notify you via the My Leviton app or through an audible alarm if it gets tripped.

All of the in-wall smart outlets we tested this time around connect to a home network using Wi-Fi. We may consider adding Z-Wave and Zigbee models to a future update.

This article was edited by Jon Chase and Grant Clauser.