Smart Displays / Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) vs Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)
Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) vs Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)
Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)
The sharpest screen and the freest software — but the dock that makes it a display costs $129.
Wins overall by 1.5 points
Quick Verdict
A 1.5-point gap makes the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) the straightforward choice here. The sharpest screen and the freest software — but the dock that makes it a display costs $129.
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) and Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) are both current-generation smart Display models, and the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) is $309 cheaper than the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) ($89.99 vs $399). On Display Quality, the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads (9.5 vs 4.5/10) — size, resolution and pixel density for the money. On Ad Freedom, the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads (9.0 vs 4.0/10) — how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off. On Ecosystem Freedom, the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads (8.5 vs 4.0/10) — how much of a rival ecosystem's gear, apps and calling networks it will still talk to. Overall, the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores 6.9/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 5.4/10 for the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023). 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 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) | Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $89.99 | $399.00 |
| Release Year | 2023 | 2023 |
| 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 | Gemini for Home in Hub Mode, plus the full Gemini Android app; no subscription for basic voice control |
| Screen Size (in) | 5.5 | 10.95✓ |
| Resolution | 960 x 480 | 2560 x 1600 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 2 MP fixed front camera | 8 MP front camera (and an 8 MP rear camera) |
| Physical Camera Shutter | Yes — physical sliding shutter, plus a combined mic/camera off button | No shutter and no hardware kill switch — Android's software privacy indicators and toggles only |
| Speakers | One 1.75-inch full-range driver (mono) | Four tablet speakers; the Charging Speaker Dock adds a larger driver but is NOT included at this price |
| Smart Home Hub Radios | Matter over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE Mesh only — no Zigbee radio and NOT a Thread border router | Google Home hub / Matter controller over Wi-Fi only — no Zigbee and NOT a Thread border router; Google names only Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max and Nest Wifi Pro as border routers |
| Subscriptions Required | Alexa+ requires Prime or $19.99/mo; Amazon Music Unlimited / Spotify etc. billed separately | No subscription for voice control; Google Home Premium ($10/mo or $20/mo) for camera history, and Google AI Pro for the higher Gemini tiers |
| 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 | No sponsored cards in Hub Mode |
| Video Calling | Alexa-to-Alexa calling and Drop In only; Skype support died with Skype itself in May 2025 | Google Meet, plus any Android video-calling app from the Play Store — the only device here that is not locked to one caller network |
| Wall Mountable | No | No |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
| Colors | Charcoal, Glacier White, Cloud Blue | Porcelain |
Category Scores
Display Quality
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads clearly here, 9.5 against 4.5 — a 5.0-point margin on size, resolution and pixel density for the money. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Sound
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads clearly here, 5.5 against 5.0 — a 0.5-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 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Assistant
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) and Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) are level here, at 7.0/10 each. how capable and responsive the built-in assistant actually is on this hardware is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
Smart Home Hub
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads clearly here, 5.0 against 3.0 — a 2.0-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 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ecosystem Freedom
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads clearly here, 8.5 against 4.0 — a 4.5-point margin on how much of a rival ecosystem's gear, apps and calling networks it will still talk to. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Privacy Hardware
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) leads clearly here, 8.0 against 5.5 — a 2.5-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 Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ad Freedom
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) leads clearly here, 9.0 against 4.0 — a 5.0-point margin on how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 5.0 — a 2.5-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 Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) if…
- • Privacy Hardware matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) scores 8.0/10 here (physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default).
- • Value matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) scores 7.5/10 here (hardware and features relative to price, including accessories that are not in the box).
- • You want to spend less — it's $309 cheaper.
- • Your main use case is bedside or smart-home-control.
Choose the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) if…
- • Display Quality matters most to you — the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores 9.5/10 here (size, resolution and pixel density for the money).
- • Ad Freedom matters most to you — the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores 9.0/10 here (how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off).
- • Ecosystem Freedom matters most to you — the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores 8.5/10 here (how much of a rival ecosystem's gear, apps and calling networks it will still talk to).
- • Your main use case is video-calling or family-organizer.
Pros & Cons
Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023)
Pros
- +Keeps the physical camera shutter that the 2025 Echo Show 8 and 11 dropped
- +$89.99 buys a real touchscreen, a camera and a clock radio
- +Small enough for a nightstand, unlike every Echo Show above it
- +Genuinely better bass than the 2nd-gen Show 5 it replaced
Cons
- −No Zigbee and no Thread border router — the cheap Shows are not smart-home hubs
- −960 x 480 across 5.5 inches looks soft next to the 2025 models
- −Three-year-old hardware still sold at near-launch price outside sale events
- −2 MP fixed camera has no auto-framing; video calls are Alexa-ecosystem-only
- −Sponsored home-screen content cannot be switched off
Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)
Pros
- +2560 x 1600 makes every dedicated smart display in this list look coarse
- +Runs any Android app, so it is the only device here that can do Zoom, FaceTime-adjacent apps or Home Assistant
- +No ads in Hub Mode and no vendor lock on video calling
- +Undocks and becomes a genuinely good tablet — nothing else here leaves the counter
Cons
- −The Charging Speaker Dock that makes it a smart display is now a $129 accessory — it used to be included
- −Not a Thread border router and no Zigbee, so it hubs less than a $99.99 Nest Hub
- −$399 before the dock; $528 to match what a $229 Nest Hub Max does out of the box
- −No hardware camera or mic kill switch of any kind
- −2023 Tensor G2 hardware, and Google has not announced a successor
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) or Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) 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 Display Quality, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores higher on Display Quality (9.5/10 vs 4.5/10) — size, resolution and pixel density for the money.
Which is better for Ad Freedom, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores higher on Ad Freedom (9.0/10 vs 4.0/10) — how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off.
Which is better for Ecosystem Freedom, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) scores higher on Ecosystem Freedom (8.5/10 vs 4.0/10) — how much of a rival ecosystem's gear, apps and calling networks it will still talk to.
Which is better for Privacy Hardware, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) scores higher on Privacy Hardware (8.0/10 vs 5.5/10) — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default.
Is the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) worth the price difference over the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) is the cheaper option at $89.99 versus $399. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Display Quality.
Which is better suited to my use case?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) is the better fit if you mainly care about bedside or smart-home-control. The Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) is the better fit for video-calling or family-organizer.
What's the warranty on the Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) vs the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) ships with a 12-month warranty; the Google Pixel Tablet (128 GB, dock sold separately) 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 Spot (2024 release) — $79.99
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.