There are 6 different Amazon Echo devices — here’s which one is right for you (AMZN)

Amazon Echo

These days, it's hard to keep all the Amazon Echo devices straight.

There's the Spot and the Dot, and the Show and the Look. There's the second-generation Echo, which is different from the original Echo, which is also different from the Echo Plus.

In short, it can get confusing.

Amazon offers six Echo devices total, and they're available from $50 all the way up to $230. With so many different options and price points, it's hard to tell which device might be right for you.

So whether you're looking to buy your first Echo, upgrade to a new device, or add to your smart speaker collection, here are the major similarities and differences between all six devices to help you device which one is right for you:

If you just want to dip a toe in the smart-speaker game: Echo Dot.

The Echo Dot is Amazon's gateway smart speaker. It's tiny, easy to use, and only costs $50 (and it's often on sale for even less than that).

The Dot can do many standard smart speaker tasks, like play music, make calls, order products from Amazon, and control your smart home devices.

But the Dot doesn't have a very powerful speaker, so it's not a great solution if you're just looking for a solid Bluetooth speaker.

And while it can easily be a standalone device, it also works great when combined with a full-size Amazon Echo — you can have your Echo live in one room, and place Echo Dots in other rooms throughout your house.

If you want the device that does it all: Amazon Echo.

The Echo is the first mainstream — and arguably most successful — smart speaker you can buy. The device launched in 2014, and has since helped Amazon dominate the smart-speaker game — as of September 2017, analysts estimated that Amazon owned 76% of the smart-home market.

Three years after launch, the Echo was due for an upgrade. So in September, Amazon revamped the original Echo, introducing a second-generation version with new finishes and a reduced price tag of $100.

The new Echo has dual speakers, so it's a good option for playing music. With the new device, Amazon introduced multi-room audio, so you can play music from several Echo devices at once across rooms. The new Echo also has a powerful built-in Alexa, so it can also make calls, check the weather and traffic, request an Uber, or turn down the heat.

The original Echo does it all, and it's likely the best option for most people.

If you're ready to start a smart home: Amazon Echo Plus

With more and more smart-home products coming online, it can be overwhelming to try to control them all. Enter the Amazon Echo Plus, which acts as a smart-home hub.

The Echo Plus, as its name denotes, is taller than the standard Echo, and costs $50 more at $150. But it can do many of the same things, like play music, send messages, and give you a daily news briefing.

What sets the Plus apart is its ability to control other "smart" devices. You can say, "Alexa, discover my devices," and it will find anything else online, like smart light bulbs or locks, and set them up for you. Plus, you'll be able to give the device a single voice command to control multiple actions from multiple devices at once.

Other Echo devices control your smart home, too, but the Echo Plus lets you integrate everything into one place with no need to download any of the "skills" you'd need to operate those features on the standard Echo.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider