Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

The Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) wins the overall comparison because it is far cheaper, better rated by owners, works as a Matter bridge, supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and includes temperature and motion sensors. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the better speaker by a wide margin, so it wins for anyone buying for sound quality rather than smart home features.

Scale and purpose. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a 651 mm soundbar built to sit under a TV and process Dolby Atmos, while the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) is a 100 mm sphere designed for voice control and background music. The Beam also mounts on a wall and takes Ethernet; the Dot fits on a nightstand.

Only the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen), and partially: it works as a Matter bridge but has no Zigbee coordinator or Thread border router, so it cannot adopt Zigbee devices directly. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has no hub features at all, though it does work with Google Home, Apple HomeKit and Home Assistant as a controllable speaker.

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which lets you pick between Alexa, Google Assistant and Sonos Voice Control. The Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) runs Alexa only, with no Google Assistant or Siri, so its usefulness depends entirely on being comfortable inside Amazon's ecosystem.

Buy the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) if you want the cheapest way to put Alexa, a Matter bridge and a temperature sensor in a bedroom, kitchen or office. It sounds better than older Dots, pairs in stereo with a second unit, supports multi-room audio and has a physical mic-off switch, though it has no 3.5 mm output and only a 90-day warranty.

Buy the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) if you want dramatically better TV audio in a small or mid-sized room, with clear dialogue, a wide soundstage and the option to expand into surround sound with other Sonos speakers and a Sub. It supports three voice assistants, AirPlay 2 and Home Assistant, but has no Bluetooth and no smart home hub.