Smart Displays / Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) vs Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)
Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) vs Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)
Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)
The one to buy — if you can live without the camera shutter Amazon just deleted.
Wins overall by 0.1 points
Quick Verdict
Too close to call on score alone: 0.1 points separate them. The one to buy — if you can live without the camera shutter Amazon just deleted. The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) answers with a different set of strengths, so let the categories below decide it.
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) and Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) are both closely matched smart Display models, and the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) is $220 cheaper than the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) ($179.99 vs $399.99). On Privacy Hardware, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) leads (6.5 vs 4.5/10) — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default. On Value, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads (7.5 vs 5.5/10) — hardware and features relative to price, including accessories that are not in the box. On Sound, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads (7.5 vs 6.5/10) — whether it is honestly a music speaker or just a voice speaker with a screen. Overall, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 6.4/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 6.3/10 for the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024), though the gap is close enough that your specific use case should decide it. Below, we break down the full spec sheet, category-by-category scores, and exactly who should buy which one.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Spec | Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) | Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $399.99 | $179.99 |
| Release Year | 2024 | 2025 |
| Voice Assistant | Alexa+ — Amazon's own FAQ states there is no free Alexa+ tier on Echo hardware: it needs Prime or a $19.99/mo Standard plan | Alexa+ — Amazon's own FAQ states there is no free Alexa+ tier on Echo hardware: it needs Prime or a $19.99/mo Standard plan |
| Screen Size (in) | 21✓ | 8.7 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | Sources conflict: PCMag's spec sheet lists 1,340 x 800, while Amazon publishes only 'over a million pixels' |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 13 MP centred camera with auto-framing and 3.3x zoom | 13 MP with auto-framing, 3.3x zoom and ambient noise reduction |
| Physical Camera Shutter | Yes — physical shutter, plus a mic/camera off button | NO physical shutter — the 2025 redesign removed it; only an on-device button that electronically disables camera and mics |
| Speakers | Two 2-inch woofers plus two 0.6-inch tweeters — identical to the 15.6-inch model | Two front-firing full-range drivers plus one custom woofer, tuned for spatial audio |
| Smart Home Hub Radios | Zigbee hub + Matter controller + Thread border router (Amazon's own tech specs; one third-party FAQ claims Matter over Wi-Fi only, which contradicts Amazon and the launch press release) | Zigbee hub + Matter controller + Thread — Amazon's press material confirms all three radios on this generation |
| Subscriptions Required | Alexa+ requires Prime or $19.99/mo; every Fire TV streaming service is billed separately | Alexa+ requires Prime or $19.99/mo; Ring event summaries shown in Amazon's marketing require a Ring subscription; Oura integration requires an Oura account and its subscription |
| Home-Screen Ads | Sponsored cards appear on the home screen; Amazon's own help page says these ads cannot be turned off, only swiped away | Sponsored cards appear on the home screen; Amazon's own help page says these ads cannot be turned off, only swiped away |
| Video Calling | Alexa calling and Drop In only | Alexa calling and Drop In within the Alexa ecosystem; no Meet, no FaceTime, and Skype ended in May 2025 |
| Wall Mountable | Yes | No |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
| Colors | Black | Graphite, Glacier White |
Category Scores
Display Quality
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 7.0 — a 0.5-point margin on size, resolution and pixel density for the money. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Sound
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 6.5 — a 1.0-point margin on whether it is honestly a music speaker or just a voice speaker with a screen. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Assistant
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 8.0 against 7.5 — a 0.5-point margin on how capable and responsive the built-in assistant actually is on this hardware. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Smart Home Hub
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) leads clearly here, 9.0 against 8.5 — a 0.5-point margin on zigbee, Matter and Thread border-router support — often the real reason to buy the bigger model. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ecosystem Freedom
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) and Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) are level here, at 4.5/10 each. how much of a rival ecosystem's gear, apps and calling networks it will still talk to is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
Privacy Hardware
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) leads clearly here, 6.5 against 4.5 — a 2.0-point margin on physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ad Freedom
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) and Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) are level here, at 3.5/10 each. how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
Value
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 5.5 — a 2.0-point margin on hardware and features relative to price, including accessories that are not in the box. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) if…
- • Privacy Hardware matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) scores 6.5/10 here (physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default).
- • Your main use case is family-organizer.
Choose the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) if…
- • Value matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 7.5/10 here (hardware and features relative to price, including accessories that are not in the box).
- • Sound matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 7.5/10 here (whether it is honestly a music speaker or just a voice speaker with a screen).
- • Display Quality matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 7.5/10 here (size, resolution and pixel density for the money).
- • Assistant matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 8.0/10 here (how capable and responsive the built-in assistant actually is on this hardware).
- • You want to spend less — it's $220 cheaper.
Pros & Cons
Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024)
Pros
- +Nothing else in the category comes close to 21 inches on a kitchen wall
- +Keeps the physical camera shutter, unlike the newer Show 8 and 11
- +Complete hub: Zigbee, Thread border router and Matter
- +Wall mount and Fire TV remote are both in the box
Cons
- −1920 x 1080 stretched across 21 inches is about 105 ppi — pixels are visible up close
- −Same two woofers and two tweeters as the 15.6-inch model, in a much larger cabinet
- −$399.99 buys a 1080p panel; a same-sized 1080p TV plus a Fire TV Stick costs far less
- −Counter stand $99.99 and frame kit $39.99 are both extra
- −Sponsored home-screen content cannot be disabled, on the biggest screen Amazon sells
Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)
Pros
- +Best sound-per-dollar in the category — a real woofer, not a single full-range cone
- +Zigbee, Thread and Matter in a $179.99 tabletop display
- +13 MP auto-framing camera is a serious upgrade over the 2 MP Show 5
- +AZ3 Pro makes it the most responsive Echo Show yet, by a wide margin
Cons
- −Amazon deleted the physical camera shutter in this generation — a software toggle is all you get now
- −Sponsored home-screen content cannot be turned off, per Amazon's own help pages
- −Alexa+, the entire pitch of the device, is gated behind Prime or $19.99/mo
- −Amazon publishes no resolution figure; the only numbers available come from third parties
- −Omnisense presence sensing means the device is always modelling who is in the room
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) or Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) comes out ahead overall. See the full breakdown in the scores section above — the right pick still depends on which categories matter most for your use case.
Which is better for Privacy Hardware, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) scores higher on Privacy Hardware (6.5/10 vs 4.5/10) — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default.
Which is better for Value, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores higher on Value (7.5/10 vs 5.5/10) — hardware and features relative to price, including accessories that are not in the box.
Which is better for Sound, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores higher on Sound (7.5/10 vs 6.5/10) — whether it is honestly a music speaker or just a voice speaker with a screen.
Which is better for Display Quality, the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores higher on Display Quality (7.5/10 vs 7.0/10) — size, resolution and pixel density for the money.
Is the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) worth the price difference over the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) is the cheaper option at $179.99 versus $399.99. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Privacy Hardware.
Which is better suited to my use case?+
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) is the better fit if you mainly care about family-organizer. The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) is the better fit for kitchen or smart-home-control.
What's the warranty on the Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) vs the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 21 (2024) ships with a 12-month warranty; the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) ships with a 12-month warranty. Always confirm current terms on the manufacturer's site before buying.
Should I wait for the next model instead of buying either of these?+
If either model is more than two years old, a successor may be close — check the "Latest Model" link on each product page. Otherwise, both are current, well-supported options and there's no strong reason to wait.
Cheaper Option
Amazon Echo Show 15 (2nd Gen, 2024) — $299.99
Premium Option
Amazon Echo Show 11 (2025) — $219.99
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.