Sconce & Socket earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we pick. Full disclosure.
| # | Product | Best for | Lumens | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | TP-Link Kasa Matter Smart Plug EP25 Making a lamp smart without changing its bulb | Plugs in. No wiring, no switch change, nothing fixed. | n/a - controls a lamp, does not light | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn |
| 02 | LIFX LIFX A19 Smart Bulb Color range and brightness without a bridge | A bulb swap on your own Wi-Fi. No hub and no wiring. | 1,100 lm | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn |
| 03 | TP-Link Tapo P115 Smart Plug The same job on the newer app | Plugs in. No wiring, nothing fixed, comes with you. | n/a - controls a lamp, does not light | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn |
| 04 | WiZ WiZ Connected Color A19 Smart Bulb The cheapest way into hub-free smart lighting | A bulb swap on your own Wi-Fi. No hub, no wiring, no switch change. | Not published | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn |
| 05 | Philips Ultra Definition A19 LED, 60W equivalent, 2700K The default bulb for almost every lamp in a home | It is a bulb. Swap it, keep the old one, put it back when you leave. | 800 lm | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn |
Specifications are the manufacturer or retailer published figures, compiled by hand. We have not measured them, and where a figure is not published we write "Not published" rather than guess.
01
The decision, in one table
| Smart bulb | Smart plug | |
|---|---|---|
| Light quality | Whatever the bulb is - CRI often not published | Any bulb you choose, e.g. CRI 95 |
| Dimming | Yes, in the app or by voice | No - on and off only |
| Color and warmth | Tunable, often full color | Fixed by the bulb you fit |
| Lamp with 3 sockets | Three smart bulbs | One plug |
| Energy monitoring | No | Yes, on the EP25 and P115 |
| Lamp switch turned off | Bulb goes offline | Plug cannot turn the lamp on |
| Renter-safe | Yes | Yes |
Plug if you care about the light; bulb if you care about control. A smart plug leaves the light quality to whatever bulb you put in the lamp. A smart bulb gives you dimming and color, and takes whatever light quality its maker built in.
02
Where each one wins
Light quality: the plug. Most color smart bulbs do not publish a CRI figure at all. A Kasa EP25 or Tapo P115 smart plug lets you keep a Philips Ultra Definition at a published CRI 95 in the lamp and still put it on a schedule. The plug picks are in best smart plugs for lamps.
Dimming and color: the bulb. The smart plugs here switch only. A LIFX A19 dims and tunes from warm to cool in the app, and it is one of the few color bulbs that publishes both its output (1,100 lumens) and a CRI of 90+. The WiZ color A19 does the same job for far less, without published output figures.
Lamps with several sockets: the plug. An arc lamp with three heads or a floor lamp with a reading arm needs one smart bulb per socket, and they all need pairing. One plug controls the whole lamp.
Knowing what a lamp costs to run: the plug. Both the EP25 and the P115 monitor energy, which is how you check a running-cost figure yourself - the arithmetic is in what it costs to run your lights.
03
Who each one is for
Choose a smart plug if the lamp already has a bulb you like, you only need it on at sunset and off at bedtime, or the lamp has more than one socket.
Choose a smart bulb if you want to dim from bed, shift the light warmer in the evening, or use color. Those are things a plug cannot do.
Choose a plug-in dimmer if what you actually want is dimming, not scheduling. It dims any dimmable bulb with no app - see plug-in dimmers.
For hardwired ceiling lights the question changes, because a plug cannot reach them - that comparison is in smart plug vs smart switch.
The picks
The products behind this page
01
Making a lamp smart without changing its bulb
TP-Link Kasa Matter Smart Plug EP25
#ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn
Matter native with no hub and built-in energy monitoring, at roughly the price of one smart bulb - and it works with whatever high-CRI bulb you already chose.
| Lumens | n/a - controls a lamp, does not light |
|---|---|
| Color temperature | n/a |
| CRI | n/a |
| Power source | Plugs in between the lamp and the outlet |
| Dimmable | No - switches only. Dimming stays with the bulb. |
| Renter-safe method | Plugs in. No wiring, no switch change, nothing fixed. |
What it gets right
- Matter native, so it answers to Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home and SmartThings with no hub
- Energy monitoring built in, which is how you check a running-cost figure yourself
- Works with any bulb, so light quality stays your decision
What it costs you
- Switches rather than dims - a dimmable lamp still needs a dimmable bulb
- Occupies the outlet, which matters on a crowded power strip
- Energy monitoring on budget plugs is approximate, not metering-grade
Spec source: Engadget best smart plugs (attributed) - retrieved September 3, 2026.
02
Color range and brightness without a bridge
LIFX LIFX A19 Smart Bulb
#ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn
1,100 lumens and CRI 90+ with no bridge required - the one hub-free bulb bright enough to be a room's actual light source rather than an accent.
| Lumens | 1,100 lm |
|---|---|
| Color temperature | Tunable white plus color |
| CRI | 90+ |
| Power source | Screws into a standard E26 socket |
| Dimmable | Yes - in app |
| Renter-safe method | A bulb swap on your own Wi-Fi. No hub and no wiring. |
What it gets right
- 1,100 lumens - genuinely enough to light a small room from one socket
- CRI 90+ published, unusual for a color smart bulb
- No bridge to buy, power or find shelf space for
What it costs you
- Two to three times the price of a WiZ bulb
- Wi-Fi only, so it depends on router coverage
- Still offline if someone kills the wall switch
Spec source: Smart Home Explorer guide (attributed) - retrieved September 3, 2026.
03
The same job on the newer app
TP-Link Tapo P115 Smart Plug
#ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn
The EP25's sibling from the same manufacturer with the same energy monitoring and Matter support, on TP-Link's newer app with cleaner energy dashboards.
| Lumens | n/a - controls a lamp, does not light |
|---|---|
| Color temperature | n/a |
| CRI | n/a |
| Power source | Plugs in between the lamp and the outlet |
| Dimmable | No - switches only |
| Renter-safe method | Plugs in. No wiring, nothing fixed, comes with you. |
What it gets right
- Energy monitoring with a clearer dashboard than the older app
- Matter support, so it is not tied to one ecosystem
- Compact enough not to block the second socket on most outlets
What it costs you
- Another vendor app and account if you already use a different one
- Switching only - no dimming
- Consumption figures on budget plugs are within a few percent, not exact
Spec source: Smart Home Explorer smart plugs guide (attributed) - retrieved September 3, 2026.
04
The cheapest way into hub-free smart lighting
WiZ WiZ Connected Color A19 Smart Bulb
#ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn
Wi-Fi and Matter with no bridge to buy, at roughly the price of two ordinary bulbs - the sensible default when you are lighting a rental you may leave next year.
| Lumens | Not published |
|---|---|
| Color temperature | Tunable white plus color |
| CRI | Not published |
| Power source | Screws into a standard E26 socket |
| Dimmable | Yes - in app |
| Renter-safe method | A bulb swap on your own Wi-Fi. No hub, no wiring, no switch change. |
What it gets right
- No bridge, no hub, nothing extra plugged into the router
- Matter support, so it is not locked to one ecosystem
- Cheap enough to do a whole apartment rather than one room
What it costs you
- Wi-Fi bulbs each take an address on your network
- CRI and lumen figures are not published per SKU
- Anyone flipping the wall switch takes the bulb offline
Spec source: PCWorld smart bulb guide (attributed) - retrieved September 3, 2026.
05
The default bulb for almost every lamp in a home
Philips Ultra Definition A19 LED, 60W equivalent, 2700K
#ad No live price right now, so we show none. How we earn
800 lumens at 2700K with a published CRI 95 for the price of an ordinary bulb - the single easiest upgrade in this entire category.
| Lumens | 800 lm |
|---|---|
| Color temperature | 2700K |
| CRI | 95 |
| Power source | Screws into a standard E26 socket (8W) |
| Dimmable | Yes |
| Renter-safe method | It is a bulb. Swap it, keep the old one, put it back when you leave. |
What it gets right
- CRI 95 at a mainstream price, which almost nothing else manages
- 2700K matches the warm light most rooms were designed around
- Dimmable and rated flicker-free
What it costs you
- 800 lumens is one bulb's worth - a dark room needs several
- 2700K is too warm for detailed kitchen task work
- R9 is not published, so deep reds are an unknown
Spec source: Home Depot listing - retrieved September 3, 2026.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
+Is a smart plug or a smart bulb better for a lamp?
A smart plug if you want to keep a high-quality bulb and only need on, off and schedules. A smart bulb if you want dimming or color temperature control from your phone or voice.
+Can a smart plug dim a lamp?
The smart plugs here cannot - they switch only. To dim a lamp without a smart bulb, use a plug-in dimmer instead.
+Which is cheaper, a smart bulb or a smart plug?
Per lamp they are similar - a good smart plug costs roughly what one smart bulb does. The plug wins for lamps with several sockets, because one plug controls every bulb in the lamp.
+Do smart bulbs have good light quality?
Some do, but most color smart bulbs do not publish a CRI figure. The LIFX A19 publishes CRI 90+; many others publish nothing, so a plain high-CRI bulb behind a smart plug is the safer route to good color.
+What happens if someone uses the lamp's own switch?
With either option, the lamp stops responding. A smart bulb loses power; a smart plug can switch its outlet but the lamp's switch is still off. Leave lamp switches on and control everything from the app or voice.
Sources
Where the numbers came from
- Engadget - best smart plugs (Kasa EP25)
- Smart Home Explorer - best smart plugs and outlets (Tapo P115)
- Smart Home Explorer - best smart bulbs (LIFX A19, 1,100 lm, 90+ CRI)
- PCWorld - best smart bulbs (WiZ color A19)
- Home Depot listing - Philips Ultra Definition A19, 800 lm, 2700K, 95 CRI
All sources retrieved September 3, 2026.
Next
Read these next
About the author
Sawyer V. An enthusiast who reads the spec sheets and does the arithmetic. No lab, no test bench.