Good lighting changes a room more than people expect, and that is really what smart bulbs are about. The trouble is that almost everyone gets stuck at the same point: Hue or LIFX? Search around and you will find plenty of opinions but very little that actually helps you decide. Both brands are good. Both have things wrong with them. And either one will annoy you if it does not match how your home is set up.
Here is what I tell people when they ask, based on actually living with both.
Start With This
There is one difference that explains everything else, so it is worth getting clear on first. Hue uses a small box called the Bridge that plugs into your router, and your bulbs talk to the Bridge rather than your wifi. LIFX skips all that and connects each bulb straight to your wifi instead.
Almost everything else comes back to this. The price, how reliable they are, what products you can buy, how they fit with the rest of your home. Keep it in mind and the rest falls into place.
How They Compare
| Feature | Philips Hue | LIFX |
|---|---|---|
| Hub required? | Yes (around £50) | No |
| Colour bulb price | £15 to £25 each | £18 to £28 each |
| Brightness | Up to 800 lumens | Up to 1100 lumens |
| Colour accuracy | Excellent | Outstanding |
| Reliability | Excellent | Good (wifi dependent) |
| Alexa and Google | Both | Both |
| Apple HomeKit | Yes | Yes |
| App quality | Outstanding | Good |
| Product range | Huge | Good |
| Best suited to | Whole home setups | One or two rooms |
Where Hue Wins
Hue has been around a long time and it shows. Because the bulbs run on their own wireless system rather than your wifi, they carry on working even when your broadband is having a bad day. Oddly, the more bulbs you add, the steadier the whole thing gets, since each one helps pass the signal along.
The app is the other big draw. Scenes, daily routines, a sunrise alarm that wakes you with the lights, syncing the bulbs to whatever is on your telly. It all does what it claims and keeps doing it months later. And the range of products is huge. Spotlights, outdoor lights, strips to tuck under your kitchen cabinets, lamps. If your plan is to light the whole house, Hue is built for that.
The downside is what it costs to get going. You cannot use a single bulb until you have bought the Bridge, which is about £50 before you spend anything on lighting itself. If you only want one smart bulb in the hallway, that stings. Once you are a few bulbs in though, you stop thinking about it.
You are lighting more than one room, you want something you can forget about for years, or you use Apple HomeKit and want it all tied together. Buy five or more bulbs and the Bridge has more than paid for itself.
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Where LIFX Wins
LIFX bulbs are brighter, and not by a small margin. Put one in a ceiling fitting and it actually lights the room rather than just glowing prettily in the corner. The colours come out richer too, which matters if the whole point of buying smart bulbs was the atmosphere.
Getting started takes about two minutes. Screw the bulb in, open the app, join your wifi, done. No box to buy first, nowhere to hide a Bridge. That makes it the easy pick if you are renting and do not fancy leaving expensive kit behind, or if you only want to sort out one room and see how you get on.
What you give up is steadiness. LIFX leans entirely on your wifi, and wifi has its off days. In a house packed with gadgets or one with thick walls between floors, the odd bulb will occasionally drop off and need a nudge. Hardly the end of the world, but you should know before you buy.
You rent, you only want one or two rooms done, or you want the brightest bulb you can get without buying a Bridge first. It is also a sensible way to test the water before going all in.
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So, Which One?
Doing more than one room and want to set it and forget it for a few years? Hue. Pay for the Bridge once, get on with your life.
Renting, starting small, or just after the brightest bulb going? LIFX. It will do the job without any fuss.
Neither is a wrong answer. They are both good. It really does just come down to your situation, and if you have read this far you probably already know which one you are.
Book a free 15 minute call and I will tell you straight which one I would put in your home. No sales pitch, no obligation.