The best smart bulbs for Google Home

"Works with Google" on a box covers two quite different arrangements, and it is worth knowing which one you are buying.

• Account linking. The bulb is set up in its maker's own app, and that account is then linked to Google Home. Google sends the command to the maker, and the maker's service passes it on. It works, but it depends on that app and account continuing to exist.
• Matter. A shared standard that Google Home, Alexa and Apple Home all support. A Matter bulb is added in the Google Home app directly, so it does not depend on one maker's account - and it will still work if you change assistant. The detail is in Matter smart bulbs explained.

Neither route needs a hub for the picks below. The difference is lock-in, not convenience on day one.

Wyze Bulb Color - the pick for most rooms. 1,100 published lumens, tunable white plus color, no bridge, and support for Google and Alexa without extra hardware. At 1,100 lumens it is bright enough to be a room's real light rather than an accent, and multipacks are priced for doing a whole apartment at once.
Cons: CRI is not published; it is tied to Wyze's app and account; and every Wi-Fi bulb takes a place on your router.

Sengled Matter A19 - the pick if you might switch assistant. A Matter bulb with no hub, so it answers to Google Home, Alexa and Apple Home on equal terms. If there is any chance the household ends up on a different assistant, this is the one that follows you.
Cons: lumens and CRI are not published per SKU; tunable white only, no color; and Matter setup can be fiddly on older routers.

LIFX SuperColor BR30 - for recessed cans. 1,100 lumens from a reflector bulb, no hub, and published support for Google, Alexa, Apple Home and Matter. It turns a ceiling of fixed cans into a dimmable, tunable layer you control by voice. The can-light comparison is in best smart BR30 bulbs.
Cons: CRI not published; expensive once you have six cans; and it goes offline when the wall switch is flipped.

Feit Electric BR30 smart - for one or two cans from a hardware shelf. 650 lumens over Wi-Fi with no hub, working with Google Assistant or Alexa, and widely stocked so it is easy to match later.
Cons: 650 lumens is modest for a high ceiling; 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only; CRI not published.

Kasa EP25 smart plug - for a lamp with a bulb you already like. Not a bulb at all: a Matter plug that puts any lamp under Google Home control, so the high-CRI bulb you chose stays in the lamp. The trade-offs are in smart bulb vs smart plug.
Cons: switches only - it does not dim; and it occupies the outlet.

Name bulbs by room, not by brand. Google Home groups lights into rooms, and "turn off the bedroom" only works if the bulbs are assigned to the bedroom. Do it at setup, not later.

Keep the wall switch on. A smart bulb with no power cannot hear anything. If people in the house reach for the switch out of habit, a smart switch on that circuit is the fix - compared in smart bulbs vs smart switches.

Mind the router. Every Wi-Fi bulb is another device on the network. A handful is fine; a ceiling of cans on a basic router is where drop-outs start. The radio options are compared in Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth vs Thread.

Use routines for the boring part. Lights on at sunset and off at bedtime is where smart bulbs earn their price - see schedules worth setting up.