Smart Displays / Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) vs Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)
Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) 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 1.0 points
Quick Verdict
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) takes this by a clear 1.0 points. The one to buy — if you can live without the camera shutter Amazon just deleted. The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) only makes sense if it wins on a category you care about more than the total.
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) and Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) are both closely matched smart Display models, and the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) is $80 cheaper than the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) ($99.99 vs $179.99). On Smart Home Hub, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads (8.5 vs 3.0/10) — zigbee, Matter and Thread border-router support — often the real reason to buy the bigger model. On Privacy Hardware, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) leads (8.0 vs 4.5/10) — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default. On Display Quality, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads (7.5 vs 4.5/10) — size, resolution and pixel density for the money. Overall, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 6.4/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 5.4/10 for the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (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 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) | Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99.99 | $179.99 |
| Release Year | 2023 | 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) | 5.5 | 8.7✓ |
| Resolution | 960 x 480 | Sources conflict: PCMag's spec sheet lists 1,340 x 800, while Amazon publishes only 'over a million pixels' |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 2 MP fixed front camera | 13 MP with auto-framing, 3.3x zoom and ambient noise reduction |
| Physical Camera Shutter | Yes — physical sliding 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 | One 1.75-inch full-range driver (mono) | Two front-firing full-range drivers plus one custom woofer, tuned for spatial audio |
| Smart Home Hub Radios | Matter over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE Mesh only — no Zigbee radio and NOT a Thread border router | Zigbee hub + Matter controller + Thread — Amazon's press material confirms all three radios on this generation |
| Subscriptions Required | Amazon Kids+ is free for 1 year then auto-renews monthly (Amazon and retailers quote $4.99/mo for Prime members and $7.99/mo otherwise); Alexa+ still needs Prime or $19.99/mo on top | 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 | Ads are suppressed inside the Amazon Kids profile, but the adult profile behaves like any other Echo Show | 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, restricted to parent-approved contacts | Alexa calling and Drop In within the Alexa ecosystem; no Meet, no FaceTime, and Skype ended in May 2025 |
| Wall Mountable | No | No |
| Warranty | 24 months | 12 months |
| Colors | Galaxy | Graphite, Glacier White |
Category Scores
Display Quality
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 4.5 — a 3.0-point margin on size, resolution and pixel density for the money. If that is what you are buying for, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Sound
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 5.0 — a 2.5-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 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Assistant
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 8.0 against 6.5 — a 1.5-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 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Smart Home Hub
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 8.5 against 3.0 — a 5.5-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 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ecosystem Freedom
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 4.5 against 3.5 — a 1.0-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 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Privacy Hardware
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) leads clearly here, 8.0 against 4.5 — a 3.5-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 Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ad Freedom
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) leads clearly here, 6.5 against 3.5 — a 3.0-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 8 (4th Gen, 2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 6.5 — a 1.0-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 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) if…
- • Privacy Hardware matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) scores 8.0/10 here (physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default).
- • Ad Freedom matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) scores 6.5/10 here (how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off).
- • You want to spend less — it's $80 cheaper.
- • Your main use case is bedside or family-organizer.
Choose the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) if…
- • Smart Home Hub matters most to you — the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores 8.5/10 here (zigbee, Matter and Thread border-router support — often the real reason to buy the bigger model).
- • 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).
- • 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).
- • Your main use case is kitchen or smart-home-control.
Pros & Cons
Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023)
Pros
- +2-year worry-free guarantee is double the standard Echo Show warranty
- +Kids profile is genuinely ad-free, which the adult Echo Show experience is not
- +Same shutter, same screen, same speaker as the regular Show 5 for $10 more
- +Parent Dashboard controls are the most complete in the category
Cons
- −The included Amazon Kids+ year auto-renews — cancel it or it becomes a recurring bill
- −Only $10 of the premium is hardware; the rest is a subscription you may not want
- −Same weak hub as the standard Show 5 — no Zigbee, no Thread
- −Sold in a single loud 'Galaxy' print that will not suit every room
- −Drops out of the Kids experience into normal ad-supported Alexa on the adult profile
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 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) 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 Smart Home Hub, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) scores higher on Smart Home Hub (8.5/10 vs 3.0/10) — zigbee, Matter and Thread border-router support — often the real reason to buy the bigger model.
Which is better for Privacy Hardware, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) scores higher on Privacy Hardware (8.0/10 vs 4.5/10) — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default.
Which is better for Display Quality, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) 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 4.5/10) — size, resolution and pixel density for the money.
Which is better for Ad Freedom, the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) or the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) scores higher on Ad Freedom (6.5/10 vs 3.5/10) — how much of the screen you paid for the vendor sells back to you, and whether you can turn it off.
Is the Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) worth the price difference over the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) is the cheaper option at $99.99 versus $179.99. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Smart Home Hub.
Which is better suited to my use case?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) is the better fit if you mainly care about bedside or 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 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) vs the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025)?+
The Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids (3rd Gen, 2023) ships with a 24-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 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) — $89.99
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.