Purchased by me
Same Alexa, same buttons, same setup. The difference is size and sound. One is small and sounds great for its size, the other is bigger and just sounds better. So here’s how I’d pick.
Which to buy
Pick the Amazon Echo Dot if
you want a small speaker that still sounds really good and won’t take up much space.
Pick the Amazon Echo if
you want the best sound short of the Studio, with real bass and fullness for music or home theater.
Amazon Echo Dot
The compact pick
- The best-sounding small Echo speaker.
- Takes up almost no space and weighs next to nothing.
- The one to get if you want good sound without a big speaker on the shelf.
My pick
Amazon Echo
My pick for sound
- Just destroys the Dot on sound. Real bass, fuller music, clearer voices.
- Better for audiobooks and voice calls, not only music.
- Has a 3.5mm jack so you can plug it into other audio gear.
- Pair it with a Fire TV or Fire Stick and use it as home theater speakers.
What they share
Both are proper Alexa speakers that do pretty much anything. They have the same volume up and down buttons, the mic mute button, and an action button, and they light up blue on the bottom when Alexa is listening. Each one comes with its own power supply and connects with a single barrel plug on the back. So the Alexa side is identical.
Where the Echo pulls ahead
This one’s simple: the Echo sounds a lot better. It just destroys the Dot on sound quality, bass output, and the fullness of both music and the human voice. Anything you listen to, from music to audiobooks to voice calls, sounds better on the Echo. It’s also got a 3.5mm jack so you can wire it into other audio gear, and you can set it up with a Fire TV or Fire Stick as home theater speakers.
The trade-off is size. The Echo is significantly larger and heavier. The Dot still sounds good, it’s the best small Echo, but side by side with the full Echo it doesn’t come close.
Head to head
| What | Amazon Echo Dot | Amazon Echo |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | Great for its size | Much fuller, real bass |
| Size | Small and light | Significantly bigger and heavier |
| Aux jack | No | 3.5mm jack included |
| Home theater | Not really | Works with Fire TV / Fire Stick |
| Alexa features | Full Alexa | Full Alexa |
| Space needed | Barely any | Takes up a shelf spot |
The verdict
If sound is what you care about and you don’t want to jump all the way to the Studio, the Echo is the one. The bass and fullness are a real step up, and the aux jack and home theater option are nice bonuses.
That said, the Dot is still a great buy. If you want good sound in a small package that barely takes up space, it’s the best-sounding little Echo you can get. Can you get by with it? For a lot of rooms, easily.
