How we built a hundred-dollar kit
We ranked these four the way a renter has to think, not the way a homeowner does. First rule: every piece has to be reversible. That rules out anything hard-wired and anything that needs a hole. Each of these plugs into an outlet, screws into a socket, or sits on a shelf — the most deposit-safe kind of upgrade there is. Second rule: no forced monthly fee. A gadget that only works if you keep paying is a bad deal for someone on a lease, so we picked hardware that does its core job for free out of the box. Third rule: cheapest in its class that’s still good— we weren’t looking for the absolute floor, we were looking for the best value per dollar.
The build order matters because each piece makes the next one more useful. Start with the plug (instant win, works with anything you already own), add a bulb (light you can’t reach a plug for), add the voice hub (now you run both by voice and on a schedule), and finish with the camera (peace of mind when you’re out). You can stop after any step and still have something that works, which is exactly what you want when you’re spending your own money one payday at a time. If you want the even-simpler, three-device version of this, our easiest setup guide strips it back further.
Start with the smart plug (cheapest automation)
A smart plug is the best first dollar you can spend on a smart home, because it makes something you already own smart. Plug a lamp, a fan, a string of fairy lights, or a coffee maker into it, and suddenly that thing turns on with your voice, on a schedule, or from your phone across town. The Wyze Plug is our budget pick here because it usually ships as a two-pack, which makes it the lowest cost per outlet you can buy, and it needs no hub — it connects straight to your Wi-Fi and answers to both Alexa and Google. Getting two plugs in the box means you can put a lamp on one and, say, a fan or a heater on the other from day one.
The honest catch: the Wyze Plug does notwork with Apple Home (HomeKit), so if you’re an iPhone household that lives in the Apple ecosystem, you’ll want the pricier Kasa plug instead. It’s also 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only, like nearly every budget smart device — not a problem in practice, but worth knowing if your router hides its 2.4GHz band. For most renters on Alexa or Google, none of that stings, and the value is unbeatable. If you want to compare the whole budget field, see our roundup of the cheapest smart plugs.
Add a smart bulb (cheapest smart light)
A plug is perfect for anything that plugs in, but plenty of lights don’t — the ceiling fixture, the closet, the porch socket. That’s where a smart bulb comes in: it screws into a socket you already have, no hub and no wiring, and now that light does full color, tunable white, and a schedule. The Kasa Smart Bulbis our value pick because it does all of that cheaply and works with Alexa and Google. The moment you screw it in you’ve upgraded a light with zero commitment — unscrew it at move-out and put your old bulb back.
The catch with every smart bulb, this one included, is the wall switch: the switch has to stay physically onfor the bulb to hear you, because flipping the switch off cuts its power like any other bulb. In practice you leave the switch on and control the bulb by app or voice, but a housemate who reflexively flips the switch will “break” your smart light until someone flips it back. If that’ll drive you crazy, a smart plug on a lamp sidesteps the problem entirely — which is exactly why we put both a plug and a bulb in the kit. Like the plug, it’s 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.
The voice hub that ties it together (Echo Dot)
Two devices in, you’ve got a plug and a bulb you control from two different phone apps. The Echo Dotis what turns that into one system you run by voice. It’s the Alexa brain that controls your plug, your bulb, and later your camera on a single command — “Alexa, good night” can shut off the lamp, dim the bulb, and arm the camera at once. It’s also a genuinely decent little speaker, it sits on a shelf, and it plugs into an outlet, so nothing about it touches the apartment. It even speaks Matter, the newer cross-brand standard, so it’ll keep working with future gear.
Two honest cons. First, the Dot has no built-in Zigbee or Thread radio, so it controls Wi-Fi and Matter devices (which is everything in this kit) but isn’t a full hub for the cheaper sensor ecosystems — not a concern for a starter build, but worth knowing if you later go deep on door sensors. Second, it’s an always-listening microphone in your home; there’s a physical mic mute button, and you should use it when you want privacy, but if a live mic bothers you, this is the piece to skip. If you’d rather weigh the platforms before you commit, our full write-up on picking a hub lives in the apartment starter kit.
A camera for peace of mind (Wyze Cam v4)
The last piece is the one that helps you sleep: a camera so you can check on the place, a pet, or a package from your phone. The Wyze Cam v4is the best cheap camera for a renter, full stop. It’s a sharp 2.5K sensor, it sits on a magnetic base so it needs no mounting at all, and it records to a microSD card with no monthly fee— you own the footage. It’s under forty dollars, and nothing about it goes into a wall, which is the whole reason it fits a rental so neatly.
The catch: the free recording covers live view and motion clips, but Wyze’s smart AI events — telling a person from a passing car, or flagging a package — want a Cam Plus plan (about a couple of dollars a month). You never need it to record and review footage, so treat it as optional. The other note is placement: it’s happiest indoors or tucked under cover, so use it to watch a living room, an entry hall, or point it out a window rather than bolting it to the building. For the wider budget field, see the cheapest cameras roundup.
How the four pieces work together
Individually these are four cheap gadgets. Added to one Alexa account, they become a small system. A single “good night” routine can turn off the lamp on the plug, drop the bulb to a dim warm glow, and confirm the camera is watching. A “leaving” routine can kill the lights and start recording. You can put the lamp on a sunset schedule so the apartment never looks empty when you’re out, which is a real, cheap deterrent. None of that needs an extra purchase — it’s all in the free apps — and none of it survives a landlord inspection as evidence you were ever there, because there’s nothing to find.
What to add next, as the budget allows
Because the Wyze Plug comes as a two-pack, you already have a spare outlet to automate — a fan, a space heater, the holiday lights. After that, the natural next steps are a no-drill video doorbell so you can see who’s knocking, a retrofit smart lock that keeps your key, and a couple more bulbs to cover the rest of the rooms. Each one is the same kind of reversible, plug-in-or-screw-in device as the four here. When you’re ready to pick the single best device in every category rather than just the cheapest, our flagship guide to the best smart home devices for renters is the next stop.
