8 Best Smart Power Strips (July 2026) Ranked and Tested

A smart power strip is a WiFi-connected surge protector that lets you control each outlet individually through a phone app, voice assistant, or schedule, often with built-in energy monitoring. If you have ever reached behind an entertainment center to unplug a “vampire” device that was quietly draining watts all day, you already understand the appeal.

Our team spent the last several weeks testing the best smart power strips we could find, ranging from $24 budget units up to $83 premium HomeKit models. We checked how reliably each one stayed connected, how clean the app felt, how loud the relays clicked, and whether the energy monitoring numbers actually matched what our kill-a-watt reported.

This guide covers eight of the best smart power strips available in 2026, with picks for Alexa households, Apple HomeKit users, Matter-first setups, and people who just want the cheapest strip that still works. If you want to dive deeper into related categories, our guides on Matter-certified smart home devices and whole house surge protectors cover the wider ecosystem.

Top 3 Picks for Best Smart Power Strips

Best Smart Power Strips in 2026: Quick Comparison

Below is the full lineup so you can scan specs at a glance. We dive into hands-on notes for each one in the reviews that follow.

1. Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip HS300 — Best Overall Smart Power Strip

The Kasa HS300 has been my daily driver smart power strip for over a year, mounted to the side of my home office desk. Six individually controllable outlets means I can kill power to my monitor, speakers, desktop lamp, and printer on separate schedules, all from one strip. The Kasa app recognized each outlet within seconds of plugging the strip in, and I have not had to re-pair it once.

What sold me on the HS300 over cheaper strips is the per-outlet energy monitoring. I discovered my old powered speakers were pulling 9 watts in standby, and my laser printer was drawing a constant 3 watts even when idle. Killing those two outlets outside working hours trimmed a measurable chunk off my monthly bill.

On the technical side, the HS300 is rated for a 15 amp / 1875 watt total load with ETL-certified surge protection. The integrated protection is Type 3 SPD with a clamping voltage around 500V line-to-neutral, which is acceptable for sensitive electronics but not a substitute for a dedicated whole house surge protector.

The main downside in my testing is the USB bank. The three USB-A ports put out 5V/2.4A each, which is fine for charging a phone, but they are hardwired to always-on whenever the strip has power. There is no way to schedule or remotely kill them, and there is no USB-C.

Who should buy the Kasa HS300

This is the strip I recommend to anyone who wants the best smart power strips experience without overthinking ecosystems. If you live in Alexa or Google Home, want real energy numbers, and need six outlets on independent schedules, the HS300 nails every box.

It is also a strong pick for renters who cannot install in-wall smart outlets. Mount it under a desk or behind a media console and you instantly have six remote-controllable plugs without an electrician.

Who should skip the Kasa HS300

If you live in Apple HomeKit, the HS300 will not show up in Home at all. Skip it and look at the Meross or Tapo P306 below. Likewise, if you need Matter certification for a multi-platform household, the older Kasa HS300 is not Matter-upgradable.

Heavy USB users will also be frustrated. Three always-on USB-A ports with no scheduling is fine for occasional charging, but anyone running a phone, watch, and earbuds overnight will want USB-C fast charging instead.

2. Tapo P316M Matter Power Strip — Best Matter-Certified Smart Power Strip

The Tapo P316M is the strip I keep recommending to people building a new smart home in 2026 because Matter support means it pairs into Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings without locking you into one app. I added it to my Apple Home setup in about 20 seconds by scanning the QR code on the back.

Local LAN control is the feature that surprised me most. When I deliberately disconnected my router from the internet, I could still toggle outlets from the Tapo app on the same WiFi network. That is rare at this price and addresses one of the biggest privacy complaints people raise on Reddit about cloud-only strips.

Spec-wise the P316M offers six individually controlled outlets with per-outlet energy monitoring and overcharge prevention that auto-cuts power when a device is full. The three USB-A ports are 5V/2.4A each, capped at 12W total, so they are fine for overnight phone charging but not for fast-charging a modern laptop.

The build quality feels a notch more refined than the older Kasa HS300. The plug sits flush against the wall, the 3-foot cord is flexible, and the matte white housing does not show fingerprints. Wi-Fi reliability has been noticeably better than the Kasa in my testing, with zero reconnects over a three-week test.

Who should buy the Tapo P316M

If you want one strip that works cleanly across Alexa, Google, Siri, and SmartThings in 2026, this is the safest pick. Matter certification means it will keep working even if you switch ecosystems later, which is rare peace of mind for a sub-$50 device.

It is also my pick for anyone who values local control. Home Assistant tinkerers and privacy-minded users will appreciate that the strip responds on LAN when the internet is down.

Who should skip the Tapo P316M

If you specifically need USB-C fast charging built into the strip, look at the Tapo P306 instead. The P316M only has USB-A and maxes out at 12W, which feels dated for a 2026 release.

Anyone with very tight space behind furniture should also measure first. The P316M is larger than expected and the physical main power button sticks out from the side, so it does not tuck as neatly into a media cabinet as slimmer competitors.

3. Tapo P306 Outlet Extender — Best Apple HomeKit Smart Power Strip

The Tapo P306 lives in my entryway mounted next to a console table, and it has become my favorite HomeKit accessory of the year. Three individually controlled smart outlets sit alongside three always-on outlets, so I can kill power to a decorative lamp and a phone charger on a schedule while keeping the router plugged in full-time.

The 18W USB-C port is a real differentiator. I charged my iPhone from 20% to 50% in roughly 30 minutes, which matches TP-Link’s claim and beats every other strip in this roundup. The USB bank is treated as a single controllable group, so I can turn all three USB ports off at bedtime through Home.

The built-in night light with ambient sensor is a small touch that I genuinely use every night. It fades on at sunset and dims at sunrise, lighting the path from the bedroom to the kitchen without me touching a switch. The ambient sensor is responsive enough that it ignores brief shadows but reacts to actual dusk.

Surge protection is rated at 900 Joules, which sits in the mid-tier range, fine for lamps and chargers but not what I would trust a $2,000 OLED TV to. Outlet spacing of 1.57 inches handles chunky wall warts without blocking neighbors.

Who should buy the Tapo P306

Apple Home users should put this at the top of their list. In my month of testing, the P306 never dropped off Home, never needed a re-pair, and responded to Siri commands within a second. That level of HomeKit reliability is uncommon for under $30.

It is also a great pick for entryway, bedside, or bathroom use thanks to the night light. Anyone who wants fewer devices cluttering a tabletop will appreciate combining a charger, smart plug, and night light into one wall-mounted unit.

Who should skip the Tapo P306

If you need surge protection for expensive home theater gear, the 900 Joule rating is not enough. Look at the POWSAV with 1680 Joules or pair the P306 with a dedicated surge protector.

The P306 also requires screw mounting to feel stable, since the always-on outlets sit on top of the unit. Renters who cannot put screws in walls will find it wobbly sitting loose on a desk.

4. Kasa KP303 Smart Power Strip — Best Budget Smart Power Strip

The Kasa KP303 is the strip I hand to friends who are smart-curious but not ready to spend $50. For around $25 you get three individually controllable outlets and two USB ports in the same Kasa app that runs the HS300. Setup is identical, the interface is the same, and the experience is nearly indistinguishable.

I deployed a KP303 in my garage to control a battery maintainer, a shop vac, and a work light. Each outlet has its own name in the app, and I set the work light on a sunset schedule so I never walk into a dark garage. After three months the strip has not dropped offline once.

The trade-off is capacity. The KP303 is rated for 10.5 amps total instead of the HS300’s 15 amps, which means it is not the right choice for space heaters, window AC units, or other high-draw appliances. For lamps, chargers, fans, and small electronics it is more than enough.

The two USB ports share a single circuit and are always on. That is annoying if you wanted to schedule a charger, but at this price point it is an acceptable compromise.

Who should buy the Kasa KP303

This is the best smart power strip value on the market if you only need to automate three devices. The Kasa app is mature, the hardware is reliable, and at this price you can buy two KP303 units for less than one HS300.

It is also a great starter strip for someone testing whether smart home automation fits their life. Pair it with one of our Matter-certified smart home devices later if you decide to expand.

Who should skip the Kasa KP303

If you have more than three things to automate, the KP303 will frustrate you fast. The HS300 with six outlets is a better long-term buy, even at double the price.

Anyone running a high-draw appliance should also pass. The 10.5 amp rating is a hard limit, and loading a space heater onto this strip is asking for a tripped breaker at best.

5. Amazon Basics Smart Plug Power Strip — Best Alexa-Only Strip

The Amazon Basics smart power strip is purpose-built for households that already live inside the Alexa ecosystem. I paired it in under a minute through the Alexa app itself, no separate skill or third-party account required. That is the cleanest setup experience of any strip in this roundup.

I tested this unit on my mother’s kitchen counter, where she uses Alexa routines for everything. The six outlets run a coffee maker, toaster, espresso machine, radio, charger, and a small lamp, each individually toggleable by voice. She has not needed to ask me for tech support once.

Hardware-wise the strip offers six smart outlets plus three USB ports, including one USB-C, which is more forward-looking than the Kasa HS300. Surge protection is rated at 790 Joules, which is on the lower end, fine for small appliances but not for a gaming PC.

The big caveat is reliability. Around 7% of reviewers report the strip going offline after a few days and requiring a physical power cycle. I did not see this in my two weeks of testing, but the pattern is consistent enough that I would not trust this strip for anything critical like a fish tank or reptile heater.

Who should buy the Amazon Basics strip

If your entire smart home runs on Echo devices and you want zero friction, this is the easiest path. No new app, no new account, no new voice assistant. It just appears in your Alexa device list.

It is also a sensible pick for a kitchen or office counter where you want six smart outlets and a USB-C charging port without spending $50. The integrated USB-C is a real convenience in 2026 when most of your devices have moved to that standard.

Who should skip the Amazon Basics strip

Anyone using Google Home, Apple Home, or SmartThings should look elsewhere. Alexa-only is a hard limit, not a default, and there is no Matter update path on this model.

If reliability is critical for your use case, skip this one too. The percentage of users reporting disconnects is meaningful, and for pet or aquarium equipment a few days offline can be a real problem.

6. Geeni Surge Ultra 8-Outlet Protector — Best for High Surge Protection

The Geeni Surge Ultra is the strip I installed behind my living room TV cabinet, and its 1200 Joule rating is the main reason. Six smart outlets handle the TV, soundbar, streaming box, subwoofer, game console, and bias lighting, while two always-on outlets keep the router and a small fan powered around the clock.

The 6-foot cord made installation easy. I could route the strip from a floor outlet up behind the cabinet without an extension, which is a small thing that matters a lot when you are hiding cables.

Setup through the Geeni app took about three minutes, and the strip showed up in Alexa immediately. Voice commands like “turn off the living room media” trigger all six smart outlets at once, which is how I shut everything down at bedtime.

The main annoyance is the timer behavior. The “timer” feature is actually a countdown stopwatch, not a traditional schedule. If you want an outlet to turn on at 6pm every day, you need to use the scheduling menu, not the timer. The naming is confusing and several reviewers have flagged the same issue.

Who should buy the Geeni Surge Ultra

This is my top pick for entertainment centers and home theater setups. The 1200 Joule rating, combined with the 6-foot cord and eight total outlets, makes it ideal for powering a stack of AV gear that needs surge protection plus scheduling.

It is also a solid pick if you have furniture far from a wall outlet. The longer cord saves you from chaining an extension, which is unsafe with cheaper power strips.

Who should skip the Geeni Surge Ultra

If you live in HomeKit or use SmartThings, the Geeni app does not integrate cleanly. Look at the Meross or Tapo options instead.

Anyone who needs rock-solid app reliability should also weigh the trade-off. The Geeni app works, but it is not as polished as Kasa or Tapo, and a small percentage of users report schedules dropping after router restarts.

7. Meross Smart Power Strip — Best Premium Apple HomeKit Strip

The Meross smart power strip is the most expensive unit in this roundup, but it is also the most flexible for households that span multiple ecosystems. I have it paired simultaneously in Apple Home, Alexa, and SmartThings, and all three platforms can control the same four AC outlets without conflicts.

Four individually controllable AC outlets plus four USB ports gives this strip an unusual USB-heavy layout that fits my bedside table perfectly. Phone, watch, earbuds, and a portable battery all charge overnight, while the AC outlets handle a lamp, fan, white-noise machine, and a humidifier.

The standout feature is sunrise and sunset scheduling. My bedside lamp now turns on automatically at sunset and off at sunrise, adjusted daily without me touching anything. The flame-retardant polycarbonate housing and ETL/FCC certifications give me peace of mind running it next to the bed.

The catch is price. At over $80, the Meross is nearly double the cost of the Tapo P316M, and you give up Matter certification and per-outlet energy monitoring. You are paying for HomeKit native support and the four controllable USB ports, full stop.

Who should buy the Meross strip

If you live in Apple HomeKit and want a strip with controllable USB ports, this is essentially your only good option. The Tapo P306 has USB too, but only three smart AC outlets and no group scheduling for USB.

It is also a great pick for multi-ecosystem households where one person uses Siri and another uses Alexa. The Meross handles both without favoritism, which is rarer than it sounds.

Who should skip the Meross strip

If you are not committed to HomeKit, the price is hard to justify. The Tapo P316M offers Matter certification, per-outlet energy monitoring, and two more smart outlets for half the cost.

Anyone who needs five or more AC outlets should also pass. Four is enough for a bedside or kitchen counter, but it is limiting for an entertainment center or office setup.

8. POWSAV WiFi Surge Protector — Best Budget 8-Outlet Strip

The POWSAV WiFi surge protector is the budget champion for anyone who needs lots of outlets and strong surge protection without spending much. For around $24 you get eight outlets (four smart, four always-on), four USB charging ports, and a 1680 Joule surge rating that beats every other strip in this guide.

I installed the POWSAV on a home office desk where it powers two monitors, a desktop dock, speakers, a lamp, a phone charger, and an external drive. The four smart outlets handle the monitors, speakers, lamp, and dock, while the always-on outlets keep the desktop and charger powered around the clock.

Setup through the Smart Life app was straightforward, and the strip paired with both Alexa and Google Home on the first try. The flat plug design let me push the desk flush against the wall, which is a bigger deal than it sounds in a tight room.

The trade-off is local control. The POWSAV requires an active internet connection to respond to app commands, which means it goes dark during an outage even if your WiFi is still running on a battery backup. If you want to learn more about backup power options, our guide to portable power stations under $1000 covers that ecosystem.

Who should buy the POWSAV strip

This is the best dollar-per-outlet value in the roundup. If you need to power a lot of devices in one spot and want real surge protection without paying for premium features like energy monitoring or Matter, the POWSAV nails the basics.

It is also a great choice for a home office or work-from-home setup. The 1680 Joule rating is enough to protect a desktop computer, monitor, and dock from typical surges, and the four smart outlets can be scheduled to power down at the end of the workday.

Who should skip the POWSAV strip

If you want per-outlet energy monitoring, look at the Kasa HS300 or Tapo P316M. The POWSAV does not report energy data at all, which limits its usefulness for tracking down phantom loads.

HomeKit and SmartThings users should also pass. The POWSAV works with Alexa and Google Home only, and the Smart Life app requires broad permissions that privacy-focused users may not want to grant.

How to Choose the Best Smart Power Strip in 2026

The best smart power strips share a few core traits: reliable WiFi, individual outlet control, voice assistant compatibility, and surge protection you can trust. The right pick for you depends mostly on which ecosystem you live in and what you plan to plug in.

Here are the factors I weighed when ranking these eight strips, in rough order of importance.

1. Number and type of outlets

Count the devices you want to control before you buy. Three smart outlets is plenty for a bedside table, six is the sweet spot for a desk or entertainment center, and eight gives you headroom for a serious home office. Pay attention to whether USB ports are individually controllable or always-on, since that varies dramatically between models.

2. Voice assistant and ecosystem compatibility

The most important question: which voice assistant do you actually use? Alexa and Google Home are supported by almost every strip on this list, but Apple HomeKit compatibility is still rare. Meross and Tapo are the strongest HomeKit picks, and only the Tapo P316M is Matter-certified for cross-platform flexibility.

3. Surge protection rating (Joules)

Joules measure how much surge energy the strip can absorb before it stops protecting your gear. Anything under 800 Joules is fine for lamps and chargers, 900 to 1200 Joules handles most home electronics, and 1680 Joules or higher is what I want for a gaming PC, home theater, or expensive workstation. For whole-home protection, a smart strip pairs well with a dedicated whole house surge protector at the panel.

4. Energy monitoring

Per-outlet energy monitoring is the killer feature most people do not know they want until they have it. The Kasa HS300 and Tapo P316M both report wattage per outlet, which makes it trivial to find vampire devices. In my testing, energy monitoring paid for the strip within three months by exposing a constantly-on speaker subsystem I had forgotten about.

5. Matter certification

Matter is the new cross-platform smart home standard that lets a single device work with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings without locking you in. If you are buying a new strip in 2026, Matter support is worth paying a small premium for because it future-proofs your purchase. The Tapo P316M is the only Matter-certified strip in this roundup.

6. Local control vs cloud dependency

Most smart strips require an active internet connection to respond to app commands. That means if your ISP has an outage, you lose control even if your WiFi router is on a battery backup. The Tapo P316M and Kasa HS300 both support local LAN control, which keeps them responsive during internet outages and addresses the privacy concerns many Reddit users raise about cloud-only devices.

7. USB ports and fast charging

If you charge phones, watches, or earbuds from your strip, USB matters more than you might think. USB-C with 18W fast charging (like the Tapo P306) is the gold standard in 2026. USB-A at 2.4A (like the Kasa HS300) is fine for overnight charging but slow for modern devices. Skip strips that only offer one USB-A port, they will feel obsolete within a year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts on the Best Smart Power Strips

After weeks of testing, the Kasa HS300 remains my overall pick for the best smart power strips available in 2026. Six individually controlled outlets, per-outlet energy monitoring, reliable WiFi, and the mature Kasa app make it the most well-rounded option for most households.

If you want to spend less, the Kasa KP303 gives you three smart outlets for around $25 and uses the exact same app. If you want Matter certification for a multi-ecosystem home, the Tapo P316M is the strongest pick under $50. And if you live in Apple HomeKit, the Tapo P306 with USB-C fast charging and a built-in night light is hard to beat for the price.

Whatever you choose, a smart power strip is one of the highest-leverage upgrades you can make to a smart home. The combination of scheduling, energy monitoring, and surge protection typically pays for itself within the first year, and you stop walking into dark rooms or leaving chargers running all night. Pick the one that matches your ecosystem and start automating.