Echo Hub vs Eufy E10 vs Tapo H500: which smart home hub is best for you?

You’ve probably noticed a new product category has emerged in the smart home space in 2025, in the form of a centralised control hub.

Strictly speaking, smart home hubs have been around for years. But these have usually catered to home automation fanatics wanting to go way beyond what the likes of Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomeKit are capable of. Until 2025, a hub that connects to all devices, controls them – and doubles as local security camera storage – was considered a specialist bit of kit with complex software to match.

Now though, smart home hubs have gone mainstream. Eufy, TP-Link Tapo and Amazon’s Echo brand all offer a hub, while there are rumours that Apple is considering a next-gen HomePod with a touchscreen display.

Eufy E10 Smart Display

The Eufy E10 is a security-centric smart display. Resembling a small touchscreen tablet, the E10 comes with a dock but also has an integrated kickstand and battery for wireless portability. The user interface can show live video streams from several Eufy security cameras at once, as well as serving up recordings, and a live feed the moment a visitor presses your doorbell.

The E10 can also be used to check on the status of other Eufy security products, like door sensors and motion detectors, and arm or disarm your alarm system. It’s a neat package, especially given how the screen can be docked, carried around or even wall-mounted, and acting as a doorbell intercom is particularly handy.

However, the E10 falls short when it comes to broader smart home compatibility. Unlike similar products from rivals Tapo and Amazon, the E10 does not work with smart lighting, media, or any devices from other smart home companies. It also can’t be used to control Eufy’s own robotic vacuums, which is a little disappointing.

T3 gave the Eufy E10 four stars out of five and praised its configurability, long battery life, ease-of-use, and how it adds useful functionality to any existing Eufy security system.

Tapo H500 Smart HomeBase

Next up is the Tapo H500. This hub doesn’t have a screen of its own, but instead has a USB port and fold-out shelf to accommodate an iPad or Android tablet. When running Tapo’s tablet app, the touchscreen can be used to interact with your smart home devices and view live video streams from compatible security cameras.

More than just a control hub, the H500 also acts as a central storage centre for your security cameras. The device comes with 16GB of integrated storage, but can be expanded with an SSD or HDD by up to a massive 16 TB. It also has a speaker to function as a doorbell chime and alarm siren, and gives compatible cameras extra intelligence, including AI-powered facial recognition. There’s even an HDMI port, so you can stream surveillance footage to a TV screen or monitor, like a more traditional CCTV system, if you prefer.

Arguably even more interesting is how the H500 has support for Matter, the smart home standard that aims to help devices from different manufacturers talk to each other. This should hopefully pave the way for Tapo’s tablet app being capable of controlling light bulbs, switches, plugs, thermostats and all manner of smart home devices, regardless of who makes them – just so long as they also work with Matter.

T3 awarded the Tapo H500 with four stars out of five and praised its expandable storage, Matter integration, and how it can give a new role to any old iPad or tablet you might have languishing in a drawer. However, the H500 feels like less good value than the Eufy E10, since you have to provide your own tablet to unlock full functionality, and the Tapo’s microphone can’t be used to interact with your doorbell, which feels like an oversight.

Amazon Echo Hub

Lastly, we have the Amazon Echo Hub. While the previous two products are primarily for adding a touchscreen and monitor to your security system, the Echo Hub adds a smart control panel to your entire smart home – providing you’re a card-carrying member of the Alexa ecosystem.

The wall-mountable Echo Hub has an 8.0-inch screen and functions much like Amazon’s larger Echo Show smart displays, but with a greater emphasis on its compact, portable design. It has Alexa for voice commands, of course, and lets you control a huge range of Alexa-compatible smart home devices, such as lights, plugs, robotic vacuum cleaners, door locks, alarm systems and HVAC products like thermostats, fans and air conditioning.

It also shows the local weather forecast and your personal calendar, and groups your smart home devices by room, making it easy to control the entire home from one place. There’s a lot to like here, and Alexa’s broad compatibility with other smart home products will likely put the Echo Hub ahead of the Tapo H500 and Eufy E10, especially if you want a screen that does more than just security. However, while it can stream from your cameras and video doorbell, the Echo Hub doesn’t act as a central storage centre for recordings, since Amazon-owned Ring doesn’t do local storage.

T3 gave the Echo Hub a five-star rating, praising its lightweight, sleek and compact design, and highlighting how Alexa’s conversational skills have recently been improved.

Echo Hub vs Eufy E10 vs Tapo H500: Which is best?

This all depends on what smart home system you already have, and how you want your system to look in the future. If you already own several TP-Link Tapo or Eufy products, then their respective hubs will be best for you. The H500’s expandable storage is especially useful, although Eufy has its own HomeBase product line that caters for masses of local storage too.

But if you’re already invested in Amazon’s Echo and Alexa systems – or have Alexa-compatible devices from a range of other companies – the Echo Hub makes most sense. It provides a phone-free way of interacting with all of your devices, while also packing the intelligent Alexa voice assistant. It’s a one-stop shop for all things smart home.