It’s hard to imagine life without your handy-dandy smart home assistant. Unlike your ex, she’s nice, helpful, and somehow you’re not annoyed that she goes everywhere with you.

Voice assistants are everywhere, from your smartphone and home speaker, to your laptop and even fridges (seriously). Want to call someone? Need to set an alarm? Just want to hear another voice to break the deafening sound of silence? You name it, your voice assistant can do it.

From Siri to Alexa and Google Assistant, there are a couple of options to choose from. But which smart home assistant reigns supreme? We’re going to weigh up their pros and cons so you don’t have to do the thinking, just the shopping. You’re welcome.

Siri

Apple’s Siri started out as a standalone app in 2010, and has since evolved into a feature that’s built into every Apple device. She can do whatever you need, and she’ll even entertain you. She’s been programmed to be witty and respond to certain questions with humorous answers. See for yourself – just ask her which cellphone is the best. 

She beats out the other smart assistants when it comes to keeping you in touch with all your favourite people. She can make phone calls, send emails and texts, and she’ll even read texts and calls out loud for you so you don’t need to pick up your phone. Because, really, who has the energy to do that. 

Siri is ideal for organisational tasks and integrating your Apple devices. Whether you need to schedule an appointment or manage your calendar, Siri is your right-hand woman. On the downside, she only pairs with other Apple devices. So if you have HomeKit devices, then this is perfect for you. If not, tough luck. 

You can get Siri on the Apple HomePod Mini for R230 per month. 

Alexa

Inspired by the computer’s voice on the USS Enterprise on Star Trek, Amazon’s Alexa features on all Amazon Echo devices. She’s also the only smart home assistant with a human name, immediately making her seem a bit more personable.

With just a simple “Alexa”, she’ll awaken and help you do everything from ordering groceries, to playing your favourite jams. Speaking of music, Alexa pairs with the most music platforms out of the three smart assistants. She supports Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SiriusXM, and Tidal – giving you greater access to all the music you love. 

Alexa is ideal if you want to control all your smart home devices. Out of the three smart assistants, she connects to the most devices. She easily integrates with your automated lights, door locks, cameras, thermostats, and Fire devices. She’s even compatible with your FitBit. And cars. 

You can get Alexa on the Amazon Echo Dot for R160 per month.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant was created by Google to be used across a variety of devices and platforms.

If you like to know things, Google Assistant is for you. She’s smart. Like, really, really smart. Her strengths lie in information retrieval and productivity.

Out of the three assistants, Google Assistant wins for the best responses. Because she’s powered by our overlord Google, she has a wealth of knowledge at her disposal, all processed through Google’s search engine. Go ahead, ask her anything and she’ll give you an answer faster than you can say ‘Yay for AI’. All the information you receive will be up to date. 

Like Siri and Alexa, Google Assistant also seamlessly integrates with a variety of smart devices and third-party apps, both within Google Nest and across non-Google devices.

What sets her apart is her natural language processing. She’s trained to understand context, so you can even ask complex questions or follow-up questions and she’ll fully understand and treat it as part of a conversation. 

You can get Google Assistant on the Google Home Smart Speaker for R160 per month.

So which smart home assistant is best? There isn’t a definitive answer – it's all about your preferences and needs. All three are designed to make your life better. It just depends on how you like to live your life. From an organisational point, Siri wins hands down. If you need an assistant that connects to all your devices and makes your life easier, Alexa is your best bet. But if you want one to tell you everything in an instant, Google Assistant is top choice. 

Not sure which one would fit your lifestyle best? Why not try them all out? Subscribe to one of our smart home products today so you can test drive these assistants for yourself. With Rentoza, you’re able to upgrade, downgrade, or change your subscription with no penalty, which makes it even easier to find the right fit for you. Go ahead, play the field. You know you want to. 

Commitment is messy. Rentoza it.