Amazon’s range of Echo smart speakers are a convenient and easy-to-use way to smarten up your home.
While the entire range is pretty vast, with more expensive devices such as the Echo Show 21 costing around £399.99/$399.99, at the lower end of the spectrum sits the Echo Pop and Echo Dot.
As both the Echo Pop and Echo Dot have the voice assistant Alexa built-in, you can use either to control compatible smart home devices, set timers, receive notifications and much more.
With that in mind, which Echo device should you get? Is one better suited for your household than the other?
To help you decide between the two, we explain the key differences alongside any noteworthy similarities between the Echo Pop and Echo Dot below.
If you’re still not convinced on either, make sure you visit our list of the best Amazon Echo devices, plus see our recent reviews of the latest additions to the range, including the Echo Dot Max and the Echo Studio.
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Price
The Echo Pop is the cheaper of the two, with an RRP of £44.99/$39.99, while the Echo Dot (5th Gen) is slightly more expensive with an RRP of £54.99/$49.99.
Even so, as both are somewhat older devices, especially when compared to the likes of the Echo Dot Max, it is possible to nab either smart speaker up with a solid price cut. We’d also advise holding out for big sales events, such as Amazon Big Deal Days or Black Friday, where you’re more likely to see a generous deal.
Design
- Echo Pop is available in more colours
- Echo Dot includes an action button, which allows it to listen to voice commands without users needing to say the Alexa wake word
- The Echo Pop appears smaller, but it takes up the same amount of space as the Dot
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We described the Echo Pop as “like a Dot with the front sliced off” in our review, and in a nutshell, that’s basically what it is. While both the Pop and Dot are similar in size, the Echo Dot is a sphere, whereas the Echo Pop is a flat-edged semi-circle.
Regardless, either option will undoubtedly blend in with its respective surroundings, whether it’s placed on a bedside table, bookshelf, or kitchen counter. While both are available in Charcoal or Glacier White shades, the Pop comes in Lavender Bloom or Midnight Teal, whereas the Dot has a Deep Sea Blue option.
Otherwise, the Pop and Dot are both equipped with mute and volume control buttons, although the Dot also includes an action button that enables the speaker to listen to voice commands without needing to say the Alexa wake word. You’ll know when Alexa is listening, as the ring light on the Echo Dot or the top section of the Echo Pop will illuminate blue.
The ring light also illuminates different colours to reflect different notifications. For example, a yellow indicator shows that your Amazon account has a notification, while a red ring light means the microphone has been switched off and isn’t listening for the “Alexa” wake word.
Otherwise, neither smart speaker sports a 3.5mm audio output, and instead, both have just one port for power output.
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Winner: Echo Dot
Echo Pop and Echo Dot
Features
- Both have Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa, built-in for hands-free control
- Echo Dot has tap controls for manually controlling the device
- Echo Dot has motion and temperature sensors built-in
As part of Amazon’s Echo range, both the Echo Dot and Echo Pop have Alexa built-in.
In a nutshell, Alexa is Amazon’s voice assistant that can answer your questions, control compatible smart home devices and more. For a more in-depth look, our guide to Amazon Alexa provides a deeper understanding of the AI’s capabilities.
Alexa aside, both smart speakers are equipped with three far-field microphones that constantly listen for that all-important “Alexa” wake word. While we had no real issues with either smart speaker when testing Alexa, we did note the Dot boasted a slightly better ability to pick up requests for Alexa over the Pop.
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Unfortunately, that’s more or less where the features end with the Pop. However, the Dot is equipped with heaps of other tools that help make it stand out compared to its cheaper counterpart. Firstly, there are tap controls which allow you to control the Dot when it’s inconvenient to use a voice command.
The Echo Dot also includes a temperature sensor, which can be used to create Alexa Routines that automatically run according to the room temperature, plus a similar Ultrasound Motion Detection sensor too.
Winner: Echo Dot
Sound quality
- Echo Pop has a slightly larger front-firing speaker
- Echo Dot delivers an overall better audio experience, with a better range
- Echo Pop is better for voice responses than audio
At 1.95 inches, the Echo Pop actually has a larger front-firing speaker compared to the 1.73-inch speaker of the Echo Dot. However, you shouldn’t assume this means the Pop is a better speaker.
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In fact, we found the Echo Pop lacked the warmth and bass of the Echo Dot and struggled through many tracks. Having said that, it’s still loud enough to fill a regular-sized room and should suffice for more casual listening. We also noted that the Pop coped better with Alexa’s responses, as the voice could be understood clearly across even large rooms.
While the Echo Dot tends to struggle with very bass-heavy tracks, the smart speaker delivers a “surprisingly good audio experience” with an overall better range than its predecessor too.
Winner: Echo Dot
Verdict
Considering the Echo Dot (5th Gen) has come out on top for each section in this versus, and also earned a solid 4.5-star rating, it’s likely unsurprising that we’d easily recommend it over the Echo Pop. Not only does the Echo Dot boast a wider variety of features, but it also offers a much better overall audio quality too.
Of course, we shouldn’t ignore that there’s a considerable price difference between the two. However, the Echo Dot does see multiple price drops throughout the year, and it is possible to pick up the smart speaker for even less than the Echo Pop.
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On the other hand, if you just want a cheap way to interact with Alexa, then the Echo Pop is still a valid option – especially if you can pick it up with a price cut during Black Friday.
