Amazon Basics Smart Switch: $13, But Alexa Only
No hub, no subscription, thirteen dollars for our porch light. There's one dealbreaker and it has nothing to do with the price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFf9smEL_n0
THE VERDICT
For $13 with no hub and no subscription, this is hard to argue with, if you're an Alexa house. It does not work with Google Home or Siri, and no price makes up for that if you're on the wrong platform.
Our porch light was on a smart switch running the Smart Life app. It died. So this Amazon Basics smart switch review starts from a replacement decision rather than a wishlist.
Rather than buy the same thing again, I went with the Amazon Basics single-pole version, because we're already deep in the Amazon world and I wanted to know whether the own-brand one is any good.
It is. With one enormous caveat that you need to hear before anything else.
The dealbreaker, up front
It does not work with Google Home. It does not work with Siri. It is Alexa only.
Thirteen dollars doesn't help you if it won't talk to the assistant you already own.
That's the whole review for a lot of people. If you're deep in Google's world or Apple's, stop reading and buy something else. I'm on Alexa, so it's a non-issue for me. It might be everything for you, and I'd rather say it in paragraph four than bury it in a con list.
Why single pole is the right call here
This switch does one thing: turn the porch light on and off. No dimming. No second switch at the other end of a hallway.
That's what single pole means, and if that's your situation you shouldn't pay for more. I wanted something more automated than walking to the front door and flipping it. That's the entire brief.
What it costs, and what you don't pay
$13.65 at the time of testing. But the number that actually matters is the one that's absent.
No hub, no subscription
That's what I actually wanted. Something that just works without another box on the shelf and another monthly line item on the card. In 2026 that's rarer than it should be.
A small thing I liked
Because it's Amazon, the order is already tracked. You get the notification when it arrives and it's ready to set up. Minor, but it's the kind of thing that only happens when the shop and the product are the same company.
What's in the box
Twist-on wire connectors, mounting screws, the wall plate, wire labels, and the switch with its wires already attached.
The packaging is Amazon Basics packaging. They're not spending money on a box, and good. The wires being pre-attached is the part that makes this an easy job rather than an annoying one.
What I liked
✦ No hub. Nothing extra to buy, plug in, or find shelf space for.
✦ No subscription. Increasingly the thing I care most about.
✦ $13.65. Cheap enough to try without thinking about it.
✦ Wires pre-attached, wire labels included. Genuinely thoughtful for a budget product.
✦ It does one thing properly. Single pole, porch light, on and off. No feature bloat.
✦ Amazon ecosystem integration is seamless if you're already there.
What I didn't
✦ Alexa only. No Google Home, no Siri. This is the review.
✦ No dimming. Single pole interrupter, that's the design. Know what you're buying.
✦ It's mains wiring. If you're not comfortable in a switch box, get someone who is.
Should you buy it?
Buy it if
You're an Alexa household and you want a dumb light on a schedule. Thirteen dollars, no hub, no subscription, and it does exactly one thing properly.
Skip it if
You're not on Alexa. Not at any price. That's not a criticism of the switch, it's just not for you, and Amazon aren't pretending otherwise.
Which assistant are you on? If enough of you are on Google I'll go and find the equivalent that works. Tell me in the comments.