If you have an older automatic garage door, one of the best smart garage door openers is an inexpensive way to let you control it from your smartphone and let you know when it's being opened and closed.
A smart garage door opener connects to your existing garage door, and then links to your Wi-Fi network so you can monitor it from anywhere. Plus, you can link it to other smart home devices, so if you open it at night, you can set your smart lights to turn on. Or, you can set your smart locks to lock when the door closes.
The best smart garage door openers we recommend here are designed to attach to existing non-smart garage door openers, and cost less than $100. If you're shopping for a new garage door opener, Chamberlain, Genie, Skylink, and Ryobi all make Wi-Fi-connected models ranging in price from $169 to $300, so you don't need to purchase additional accessories to control them from your smartphone.
Read on for the rest of our favorite smart garage door openers.
The best smart garage door openers you can buy today
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The updated Chamberlain myQ-G0401 smart garage door opener is a more refined version of its predecessor, with a white, rather than black exterior, and a few buttons that let you manually control your garage door. As before, the myQ was extremely easy to set up, and its mobile app (for Android and iOS) was equally intuitive.
The myQ works with a bevy of smart home systems — Google Assistant, IFTTT, Vivint Smart Home, XFINITY Home, Alpine Audio Connect, Eve for Tesla, Resideo Total Connect and Key by Amazon — but, as before, does not work with Alexa, a curious oversight. If you can overlook that issue, this is the best smart garage door opener around. Even better — it's often on sale for less than $30.
Read our full Chamberlain myQ GO401 review.
The Tailwind iQ3 smart garage door opener has a unique feature: If you have an Android phone, it can use your car's Bluetooth connection to trigger your garage door to open and close automatically when you arrive or leave home. (iPhone owners have to use a separate dongle). It's clever and works well, but you can't adjust the range at which it activates.
Like many other smart garage door openers, installing the iQ3 wasn't as intuitive as we'd like, but once it was set up, it worked nearly flawlessly. We liked its simple app, notifications, and compatibility with Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT. You can also buy versions that work with one, two, or three garage doors.
Read our full Tailwind iQ3 smart garage door opener review.
The Chamberlain MyQ G0301 is the company's older smart garage door opener, but it's still just as effective as the newer model. It includes a sensor for your garage door as well as a hub that connects to your Wi-Fi network. When you send a command using your smartphone, it is relayed to the hub, which then goes to the sensor that activates your garage door. The MyQ app, available for Android and iOS devices, lets you check to see if your door is open, and then close — or open — it remotely. MyQ is also one of the best Google Home compatible devices, meaning you can pair it to Google Assistant and control it with your voice.
MyQ will work with most brands of garage door openers made after 1993 that have standard safety sensors, according to Chamberlain. Currently, MyQ works with Nest, SmartThings and Xfinity Home smart home systems. If you want it to be one of the best HomeKit devices, you need to purchase a $49 adapter (opens in new tab). This will let you control your garage doors using Siri, and create scenes so that the lights come on when the door goes up. The one thing it doesn't do, though, is work with Alexa.
Read our full Chamberlain MyQG0301 review.
The Nexx Garage is the best smart garage door opener for Alexa users, but it works with Google Home, too, so you can open or close the door using voice commands. However, setup is a little trickier, as you have to run a wire from your garage door to the garage door opener.
Similar to with GoGogate, Nexx owners can give permission to multiple users, and a calendar in the app lets you see when the door was opened, and by whom. In addition to asking Alexa or Google Assistant to open your door, a feature called Just Drive uses geofencing to detect when you're arriving home, and will automatically open the garage door of you so choose.
Nexx has a list on its site of garage door openers that won't work with its system (opens in new tab), though it acknowledges that the list is incomplete. Nexx has a newer model, the NXG-200 (opens in new tab), which is currently available for $79.99, which we're in the process of reviewing.
Read our full Nexx review.
Whereas many smart garage door openers will use a sensor that detects movement to tell if your garage door is open or closed, the Garadget smart garage door opener uses a laser that shines on a reflective tab that you mount to your door. That means there's one less piece of equipment with a battery that can run out, but it also makes setup a bit tricker than other smart garage door openers, as you have to align the laser precisely.
Garagdet's app gives you alerts in real time if your door is opened, or if the door stays open for too long. We did get the occasional false alert, though. Still, we also liked the fact that Garadget works with Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT, so you've no lack of options if you want to connect it with other smart home assistants and devices.
Read our full Garadget review.
How to choose the best smart garage door opener for you
If you're don't have one already, you can purchase a garage door opener that already has smart home compatibility built in. However, if you have an older garage door opener, you can make it "smart" by purchasing a kit that will let you connect it to the Internet, thereby allowing you to control it remotely using your smartphone.
Will it work with my garage door opener?
Before you buy a smart garage door opener, you should make sure it will work with your existing garage door. Usually, you can find out which doors an opener is compatible with on the manufacturer's site. However, the vast majority of smart garage door openers will work with most garage door openers made after 1993.
How many garage doors do you want to control?
Some smart garage door openers can only control one garage door, while others are able to control two or three garage doors. Be sure to check the product to make sure it will control what you need it to.
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?
The best smart garage door openers have Wi-Fi, while others use Bluetooth to connect to your phone. We recommend sticking with Wi-Fi models, as they'll allow you to remotely monitor your garage door; Bluetooth models will work only when you're within about 20 feet of the garage.
Smart home compatibility
You also want to find out how many smart home systems each garage door opener is compatible with — the more, the better, because you'll have more options when building out your smart home. For example, our favorite model, the Chamberlain MyQ, does not work with Alexa.
Maybe just buy a new garage door opener
If you're buying a completely new garage door opener, there are many models from Chamberlain and Genie with this technology built in. For example, the Chamberlain B550 ($193) (opens in new tab) comes with MyQ baked in, so you don't need to purchase a third-party accessory.
Can I make my old garage door smart?
Yes! In fact, all of the options on this page let you do just that. Most of these smart garage door openers have two pieces: One that goes on your garage door, and one that connects to the garage door opener. When you send a command to the device from your smartphone, it relays that to the module connected to your garage door opener. That module also talks to the sensor mounted to your garage door, to know whether it's open or closed.
The vast majority of these add-on smart garage door openers should work on any garage door opener made after 1993. If your garage door opener predates that, we're impressed, but it also means you'll need a new unit if you want to make it "smart."
How we test smart garage door openers
To determine what's the best smart garage door opener, we install them in a garage on an existing non-smart garage door opener. We look to see how easy it is to physically install the components, and how easily it connects to our home Wi-Fi network.
As with any smart home product, the best smart garage door opener should have an intuitive app that makes it easy to operate, receive notifications, and troubleshoot issues. A good smart garage door opener should also be compatible with the leading virtual assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit), and be easy to link to them.
And, while most smart garage door openers are pretty close in price, we also factor in how much they cost in determining their final rating.
To determine what's the best smart garage door opener, we install them in a garage on an existing non-smart garage door opener. We look to see how easy it is to physically install the components, and how easily it connects to our home Wi-Fi network.
As with any smart home product, the best smart garage door opener should have an intuitive app that makes it easy to operate, receive notifications, and troubleshoot issues. A good smart garage door opener should also be compatible with the leading virtual assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit), and be easy to link to them.
And, while most smart garage door openers are pretty close in price, we also factor in how much they cost in determining their final rating.
