Philips Hue dominates the smart light industry. For years, the choice has been to buy its pricey products or get a cheap, low-quality knockoff. That is, until Govee entered the market with affordable, high-quality alternatives. Is it too good to be true? We compared Philips Hue vs Govee to see which has the better smart lights.
Comparing Philips Hue vs Govee
Let’s start by comparing pricing, pairing capabilities, smart light quality and product range size to establish a baseline.
Pricing: Govee
Pitting Philips Hue vs Govee against each other here is almost unfair. Govee is the clear winner. Its prices range from $19.99 for a smart bulb two-pack to $859.99 for a 200-foot permanent outdoor prism light system. The cheapest Philips Hue bulb costs $17.99. It charges $759.99 for a bundle containing two light bars, a light strip and a Hue Sync box.
Philips Hue products are consistently more expensive, and we have examples to prove it. If you want to light up a path, you’ll need multiple lights. Govee offers eight RGBW smart lights with four-in-one LEDs for $169.99. Philips Hue sells a single Calla outdoor pathway light for $142.99. To make it work, you’ll need to spend an extra $65.99 on a Hue Bridge.
Pairing: Philips Hue
Philips Hue works with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Alexa, Apple Home and Matter. Although many are technically Matter-compatible, they are slow to respond and often disconnect. Matter is now the default setup option when you connect to the Hue Bridge via the Hue app, which can make for a frustrating out-of-the-box experience.
Govee products are compatible with Google Home, Matter and Alexa, so they support voice commands and whole-home control. However, they don’t directly connect to Apple Home or Samsung SmartThings. While many technically support it via Matter, setup is complicated.
Quality: Philips Hue
Philips Hue products may be more expensive, but you can’t deny their premium quality. The light strips have more LEDs per foot and diffuse more evenly. Also, according to customers, its smart lights tend to last longer. I’ve seen more than a few Reddit threads where people are complaining that their lights died right after their warranty expired.
Govee’s RGB-to-white blending technology, LuminBlend, offers a 1,000K to 10,000K color temperature range across 16 million colors. As impressive as that is, Philips Hue’s ColorCast projection technology blends 16 million colors seamlessly, while its ChromaSync feature ensures color consistency across multiple LED fixtures.
Product Range: Govee
Govee has a massive selection, ranging from recessed ceiling lights to projector lights. In total, it sells roughly 100 smart lighting products. Philips Hue has a similarly large selection, with over 150 separate product listings.
At first glance, it seems Philips Hue has far more options than Govee. However, it counts every variation as a new product. For example, the Flux Strip Light has three separate listings for the 10-foot model, 16-foot model and 16-foot extension. Also, Philips Hue mainly sells strips, bulbs and bars, while Govee offers light curtains, wall sconces and pixel light panels.
Technical Features at a Glance
Both Govee and Philips Hue offer automations, sync and color correction technology. To decide which is better, compare their color ranges, temperature ranges, sensor capabilities, product ranges and dimming effects.
| Feature | Philips Hue | Govee |
| Color temperature | 2,200K ot 6,500K | 1,000K to 10,000K |
| Color range | 16 million colors | 16 million colors |
| Sensors | Sound and motion | Sound |
| Product listings | Over 150 | Nearly 100 |
| Dimming | Down to 0.2% of brightness | Down to 1% of brightness |
Pros and Cons of Philips Hue
We’re not done yet. Govee and Philips Hue are well-matched, so we need to compare them further to decide which is best.
Pros of Philips Hue Smart Lights
Philips Hue uses the Hue Bridge, a device that acts as the brain of your whole-home smart device ecosystem. It connects to your router to establish a low-power mesh networking protocol called Zigbee. Since it doesn’t use standard wifi, it doesn’t congest your network. Also, if your internet goes down, you can still control your lights.
The company also has proprietary Chromasync and ColorCast technology. The former ensures consistent color matching across all smart lights, while the latter uses precisely overlapping LEDs to wash large areas with seamlessly blended colors.
Cons of Philips Hue Smart Lights
While the lights are great, the app is not. It’s so bad that dozens of third-party alternatives exist. You can only adjust colors, set routines and turn lights on and off. Even the color selection screen is pretty basic, only offering a simple gradient color wheel.
We’re also pretty frustrated with the price of everything. Many products require a Hue Bridge or Hue Outdoor Power Supply, which are sold separately — and aren’t cheap. The cost of everything is kind of surprising, given the company mainly only sells basic products like light strips, bars and bulbs.
Pros and Cons of Govee
Let’s move on to Govee. Because of how Govee’s lights work, they’re reliable and affordable. However, while they’re better than cheap entry-level options, they’re not the high-end products you can get from Philips Hue.
Pros of Govee Smart Lights
Govee lights can sync with each other, react to sound and auto-run. With DreamView syncing, you can sync up to seven devices with a single tap. The LumiBlend feature may not be as powerful as ColorCast, but it ensures precise, rich color matching.
You do not need a hub or a bridge to control these smart lights. Instead, you can connect to them directly via the official Govee Home app. In the app, you can turn devices off and on, create shortcut commands, choose from dozens of color scenes and more. You can even set up a widget to control everything from the convenience of your home screen.
Cons of Govee Smart Lights
These products need wifi or Bluetooth to run. If your internet goes out, you lose a lot of functionality. Many devices have a physical control box with buttons, but they are only for basic commands.
We’ve noticed quality issues with several products. For example, since the TV backlight uses a fisheye lens instead of an HDMI to see what’s on the screen, reflections on the TV screen can give a blue or green tint. For the cheaper light strips, the light is not well diffused, and sound detection is choppy.
Top 5 Govee Smart Lights
If you’re going to get a Govee product, we recommend these smart lights. We’ve tested some personally, so we can vouch for their quality.
- Outdoor Pathway Lights 2 Lite
The Outdoor Pathway Lights 2 Lite have an IP67 rating, protecting them from dust and powerful water jets. The S-shaped light bands create a unique overlapping effect on the ground, illuminating your walkway with flair. The 16-bit chip technology supports LumiBlend, creating soft, seamless gradients.
- Uplighter Floor Lamp
The Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp features RGBWW dual lamp beads with 1,000 lumens. In addition to the full RGB color spectrum, it offers warm-to-cool white light. This five-in-one lighting system has a 215-square-foot wall-washing effect. Thanks to tri-zone illumination, you can have three different lighting effects at once.
- Smart ST19 Edison Bulbs
For a timeless look, try Govee’s Edison Bulbs. The glowing filament looks beautiful in any fixture. The ST19 comes with a standard E26 base. Its color temperature ranges from 2,700K to 6,500K at 500 lumens. It has a high-density COB strip with 25 LEDs per inch.
- TV Backlight 3 Lite
We love the TV Backlight 3 Lite. While its fisheye calibration isn’t as color-accurate as its HDMI counterpart, there are many color-correction features in the app. It fits 40-inch to 85-inch TVs. Whether you’re gaming or watching a movie, it translates what’s on the screen.
- Pendant Light
If strip lights feel tacky to you, consider the pendant light. It has three-layer RGBIC lighting ranging from 2,700K to 6,500K. You can set the visual, transition and functional lighting via the app. It is sound responsive, so you can sync it with music.
Top 5 Philips Hue Smart Lights
If you prefer Philips Hue, we gathered some of its highest-quality offerings here. Many offer better color temperature ranges or durability than their Govee counterparts.
- Calla Outdoor Smart Pathway Light
The Calla Outdoor Smart Pathway Light is a low-volt plug-and-play system. It has an IP44 rating, which isn’t as great as Govee’s IP67 rating. However, it is still protected against small debris and splashing water. You can set timers, routines and automations.
- Twilight LED Lamp
The Hue Twilight LED Lamp is a smart sleep and wake lamp. It has blue light suppression, a swivel head for reading and a backlight. While Govee has an RGBIC table lamp that technically functions as a sunrise alarm clock, it doesn’t have nearly as many features as this product.
- Smart ST19 Edison Bulb
At 550 lumens, the ST19 Edison bulb from Philips Hue is brighter than most alternatives. Its color temperature spectrum ranges from 2,000K to 6,500K. You can get a four-pack, a two-pack or a single bulb.
- Play Gradient Light Strip
The gradient light strip comes with corner mounts, enabling it to fit any TV. This makes setup a breeze and keeps you from damaging your TV with sticky residue. When we set up Govee’s TV backlight, we had a much harder time. This product fits 55-inch and 75-inch TVs.
- Ensis Smart LED Pendant Light
The RGBW Smart LED Pendant Light shines a colored light toward the ceiling and white light downward, providing functional and mood lighting at the press of a button. You can control each one individually. At 5,400 lumens, it can light up an entire room. The color temperature spectrum spans from 2,000K to 6,500K.
Should You Buy Govee or Philips Hue?
Philips Hue smart lights are high-quality. The hues blend seamlessly and can wash an entire wall in color. However, most products are expensive. For reference, you could buy a permanent outdoor prism lighting system from Govee for the same price as a light strip, a Hue Sync box and two light bars. Govee may be a newer brand, but it offers similar quality at a better price.
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