Quick answer: want one dimmer to run Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home without picking a side? Get the Lutron Caseta Starter Kit. Already on WiFi and don't want another hub? The Kasa HS220 covers Alexa and Google for less, and the Kasa KS220 is the hub-free pick if Siri and HomeKit are what you actually use.
Bottom Line
Lutron Caseta Starter Kit
The starter kit bundles two dimmers, two wall plates, two Pico remotes, and the Smart Bridge that unlocks Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, and Ring support. No neutral wire required, which matters in older houses. The tradeoff is the hub sitting on your network and a mid-tier price for the bundle.
See Lutron Caseta Starter Kit →Kasa Smart Dimmer Switch HS220
Connects directly to 2.4GHz WiFi, no bridge required, and pairs with Alexa or Google Home in the Kasa app. It needs a neutral wire and does not support HomeKit, so confirm your wiring and your ecosystem before buying.
See Kasa HS220 →Kasa HomeKit Dimmer KS220
Same no-hub WiFi design as the HS220, but this is the SKU TP-Link built specifically for Apple Home, adding native Siri control and HomeKit automations that the standard HS220 does not have.
See Kasa KS220 →Three switches, three different tradeoffs: a hub-based system that speaks every smart home language, and two hub-free WiFi dimmers split by which voice assistant they support. Here's how they actually compare.
Smart Dimmer Comparison
The spec that decides this for most people isn't the price, it's whether your switch box has a neutral wire and which smart home platform you already run. Check both before you order.
| Feature | Lutron Caseta Starter Kit | Kasa HS220 | Kasa KS220 (HomeKit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | $$ (2-dimmer kit w/ hub) | $ (single switch) | $ (single switch) |
| Hub required | Yes (Smart Bridge, included in kit) | No | No |
| Neutral wire required | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connection type | Lutron wireless (Clear Connect) | 2.4GHz WiFi | 2.4GHz WiFi |
| Alexa | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Home | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Home / Siri | Yes (via Smart Bridge) | No (separate HomeKit SKU exists) | Yes (native) |
| Ring routine integration | Yes | No | No |
| 3-way circuit support | Yes (with included Pico remote) | Model-dependent; confirm listing | Model-dependent; confirm listing |
| Certification | UL Listed | UL Certified | UL Certified |
Price tiers are approximate. $ = under $50, $$ = $50 to 150, $$$ = $150 to 300, $$$$ = over $300. Tap any link for the current Amazon price.
Lutron's no-neutral-wire design is the deciding factor in a lot of older homes: if your switch box only has two wires plus ground, Kasa's dimmers are a nonstarter without an electrician rewiring the circuit, while Caseta was built for exactly that scenario. If your home already has neutral wires at every switch, that advantage disappears and the choice comes down to whether you want a hub in the mix.
How Owners Rate These Switches
Reliability, not features, is what shows up most in owner feedback on in-wall smart switches, since a flaky dimmer means walking to a wall box instead of tapping a phone.
Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch Starter Kit
Owners consistently point to Clear Connect, Lutron's proprietary wireless protocol, as the reason the switches keep working when a neighbor's WiFi network is congested; connections to the Smart Bridge are described as dropping far less often than WiFi-based competitors. The most common installation note is that the kit's bundled Pico remotes make 3-way wiring painless, avoiding the extra runs a standard 3-way smart switch would require.
Kasa Smart Dimmer Switch HS220
Buyers highlight the app setup as quick and the dimming curve as smooth compared to older mechanical dimmers. The recurring installation complaint is confirming neutral-wire availability before ordering, since a switch box without one leaves the unit unusable until the wiring is upgraded.
Kasa Apple HomeKit Smart Dimmer Switch KS220
HomeKit owners report the Siri integration and Apple Home automations work as expected once paired, with the setup flow being nearly identical to the standard HS220. The same neutral-wire requirement applies here, and a few owners note it is easy to accidentally order the non-HomeKit HS220 by mistake since the two switches look nearly identical in photos.
Jacob’s read on this category
Check your wiring before you check your ecosystem. A missing neutral wire eliminates both Kasa switches outright, no matter how much you like Alexa, and that's a five-minute flashlight check most people skip until the box arrives. Once wiring is confirmed, the decision is really about whether you want one more hub on your network. Caseta earns that hub with rock-solid range and cross-platform reach; if you'd rather not manage another bridge, buy the Kasa SKU that matches your voice assistant and move on.
Installation and Wiring Realities
Smart dimmers are not universal drop-in replacements for a standard toggle switch, and the two wiring questions below eliminate most of the guesswork before you buy.
The Neutral Wire Question
Homes wired before roughly the mid-1980s often ran switch boxes without a neutral conductor, since old mechanical switches didn't need one. Any WiFi-based smart switch, including both Kasa dimmers here, needs that neutral to power its radio. Lutron sidesteps the issue entirely: Caseta dimmers draw a trickle of power differently and work in boxes with no neutral present, which is the main reason to pick it over a cheaper WiFi switch in an older house.
Single-Pole vs. 3-Way
A single-pole switch controls a light from one location. A 3-way circuit controls it from two. Buying the wrong variant is the most common smart-switch return reason. The Lutron Caseta starter kit sidesteps this by including a Pico remote for the second location, so one dimmer plus one remote covers a 3-way circuit without running new wire. Kasa's lineup includes both single-pole and multi-gang listings; match the exact model to your circuit before ordering.
Which Switch Should You Buy?
Frequently Asked Questions
Behind This Comparison
Smart switches get compared on app polish far more often than on the two things that actually determine whether one fits your house: wiring and ecosystem lock-in. We pulled current listing details for the Lutron Caseta starter kit and both Kasa dimmers, cross-checked hub requirements, neutral-wire needs, and voice-assistant support against each product's own listing, and confirmed the HomeKit-only distinction between the Kasa HS220 and KS220 SKUs directly rather than assuming the two switches were interchangeable. If you're weighing a broader lock upgrade alongside your lighting, our Best Smart Locks guide and our Apple HomeKit devices roundup cover the same install-first approach; homeowners setting up a full room from scratch may also want our smart home starter guide. Listings were re-checked on 2026-08-04.
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Prices and availability reflect Amazon listings at time of writing. Confirm on the product page before purchase.