The best smart garage door openers can quickly upgrade your older automatic garage door without breaking the bank. These are some of the best smart home devices you can buy to make your life easier and come stacked with features. For one, you can use Geofencing to create a home boundary within your garage opener's app to automatically open the door or close as you arrive or leave. All the while you'll receive notifications whenever your door opens or closes.
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. This helps make sure you didn't forget to close it. You can even 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 even set your smart locks to lock up your house when the door closes.
The smart garage door openers we've tested and recommend below attach to existing non-smart garage door openers for 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.
Keep scrolling for the rest of our favorite smart garage door openers.
A security researcher found a dangerous flaw in Nexx smart garage door openers. We've removed it from our list, and advise anyone who purchased a Nexx garage door opener to disconnect their device immediately.
The best smart garage door openers you can buy today
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Best overall
The updated Chamberlain myQ-G0401 smart garage door opener is a more refined version of its predecessor. It now has additional buttons that let you manually control your garage door, and a crisp white (rather than black) exterior. 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 fair number of smart home systems — IFTTT, Vivint Smart Home, XFINITY Home, Alpine Audio Connect, Eve for Tesla, Resideo Total Connect and Key by Amazon — but does not work with Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit or SmartThings, the four biggest smart home platforms around. That's a real pain. 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.
Best Alexa-compatible
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.
SmartThings-compatible
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 must precisely align the laser.
Garagdet's app gives you real-time alerts if your door is opened or 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 got plenty 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 don't already have one, you can purchase a garage door opener with built-in smart home compatibility. However, if you have an older garage door opener, you can make it "smart" by purchasing a kit that will connect it to the Internet, 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. You can usually 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 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 allow you to monitor your garage door remotely; Bluetooth models 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) comes with MyQ baked in, so you don't need to purchase a third-party accessory.
Frequently asked questions
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 that retrofit atop of your existing setup: 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."
What features should I look for in a smart garage door opener?
While all smart garage openers can be controlled from your smartphone, a model that supports geofencing can automatically open or close your door as you leave or approach your home. Another nice to have is smart home integration. This lets you control your garage remotely using your voice as well as relays real-time announcement when your door opens.
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.
While most smart garage door openers are fairly similar in price, we also factor in their cost in determining their final rating.
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