Home Speakers / Amazon
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)
The cheapest way into Alexa — a voice assistant that happens to play music.
Overall score 6.4/10
Pros
- + The cheapest way into a smart speaker at $49.99
- + Built-in temperature sensor and motion detection enable useful automations
- + eero extender genuinely helps Wi-Fi coverage
- + Can be stereo paired with a second Dot
Cons
- − Distorts noticeably at volume — this is a voice assistant that plays music, not a music speaker
- − Not a Thread border router, unlike the Dot Max and Studio
- − The 3.5mm jack was removed at this generation
- − The oldest hardware in Amazon's speaker range and the only one not refreshed in the 2025 cycle
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) review: what the specs say
The cheapest way into Alexa — a voice assistant that happens to play music. At $49.99, Amazon's 2022 model sits among the cheapest we cover — the home Speakers we compare run from $49.99 to $749.95. It scores 6.4/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Voice Assistant at 8.0/10 — which assistants are built in and how well they work. The weakest is Bass at 4.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: distorts noticeably at volume — this is a voice assistant that plays music, not a music speaker; and not a Thread border router, unlike the Dot Max and Studio. Every specification on this page comes from Amazon's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| Voice Assistant | Alexa |
| Drivers | 1x 1.73-inch front-firing full-range driver (mono) |
| Power Output | Not published by the manufacturer W |
| Wi-Fi | Dual-band 2.4/5GHz (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); Amazon publishes band support rather than a numbered standard |
| Bluetooth | Amazon publishes no version; independent testing reports Bluetooth 4.2 with SBC only |
| Streaming Protocols | Alexa Cast and Spotify Connect; no AirPlay 2 and no Chromecast |
| Multiroom System | Alexa Multi-Room Music |
| Stereo Pairing | Yes |
| Smart Home Hub | Partial — a Matter controller over Wi-Fi, but no Zigbee and NOT a Thread border router |
| Spatial Audio | No |
| Line In | No |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, eero built-in Wi-Fi extender |
| Material | Fabric-wrapped sphere |
| Warranty | 12 months |
Compare Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) With
Premium Alternative
Amazon Echo Dot Max — $99.99