Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Sonos Era 300

Short answer: the Sonos Era 300 on measured sound quality, the Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen on price. The Sonos Era 300 ranks #4 of 5 powered desktop speakers at $499. The Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen ranks #6 at $79.99, $419.01 cheaper.

The case for the Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen: What Hi-Fi rated it 5 stars for sound, calling it expansive for its size with great Alexa integration and an understated look, from a single 44mm front-firing driver. The tradeoff: What Hi-Fi’s one real complaint was distortion at higher volumes, and bass force and detail both fall off at the low end, typical for a speaker not much bigger than a hockey ball.

The case for the Sonos Era 300: RTINGS calls it an excellent choice for voice assistants: built-in Alexa has no trouble hearing commands from a distance or in a noisy room, with a mic mute button on the back. The tradeoff: RTINGS’ one listed con is some compression at max volume.

Buy the Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen when the price outweighs sound quality for you, and the Sonos Era 300 when sound quality outweighs the price instead.

Still deciding? The full Powered Home rankings cover every ranked option.

Specifications Side By Side

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More worthwhile head-to-heads for Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen:

• Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Amazon Echo Studio 2nd Gen
• Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Amazon Echo Dot Max
• Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Google Nest Audio
• Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Apple HomePod Mini
• Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Google Home Speaker

Prices on this page were last checked September 22, 2026 at 5:11 AM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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The Two Speakers In Full

Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen: $79.99 each Amazon eBay

Pros: What Hi-Fi rated it 5 stars for sound, calling it expansive for its size with great Alexa integration and an understated look, from a single 44mm front-firing driver. It has a room temperature sensor, works as an eero Wi-Fi extender, and includes a mic mute switch alongside dedicated volume and action buttons.

Cons: What Hi-Fi’s one real complaint was distortion at higher volumes, and bass force and detail both fall off at the low end, typical for a speaker not much bigger than a hockey ball. Engadget’s own head-to-head against the step-up Echo Dot Max found that speaker louder and bassier, from a 2.5-inch woofer and dedicated tweeter versus this speaker’s single small full-range driver. It is mono in a single unit, has no 3.5mm output, no battery, and needs Wi-Fi and an Amazon account for its smart features.

Full Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen review and specifications →

AES Input	No
App	Yes (Alexa)
Aux Input	No
Battery Life	No Battery
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC, AAC
Built-in Microphone	Yes (mic mute switch, temperature sensor)
Coaxial Input	No
Dimensions	3.9" x 3.9" x 3.5" (100 x 100 x 89 mm) (H x W x D)
Discontinued	No
Drivers	44mm front-firing driver
EQ	No
HDMI Input	No
IP Rating	None
Inputs	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical Input	No
Party Mode	Yes (Wi-Fi multi-room, Alexa)
Power Bank	No
Power Input	External AC adapter (DC jack)
RCA Input	No
Stereo	No
Streaming Services	Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, TuneIn
TRS Input	No
TWS	Yes (Wi-Fi stereo pairing via Alexa app)
USB Input	No
Voice Assistants	Amazon Alexa / Alexa+
Weight	0.7 lbs (340 g)
Wi-Fi	Yes (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz/5GHz)
XLR Input	No

• Links
  • Official Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen Product Page
• Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
  • What Hi-Fi: Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation) review
• Head-to-Head Comparisons
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Google Home Speaker
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Apple HomePod Mini
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Google Nest Audio
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Google Nest Mini 2nd Gen
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Amazon Echo Dot Max
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Amazon Echo Pop
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Amazon Echo Studio 2nd Gen
  • Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen vs B&O Beosound 2
  • See all 23 comparisons

Sonos Era 300: $499.00 each Amazon eBay

Pros: RTINGS calls it an excellent choice for voice assistants: built-in Alexa has no trouble hearing commands from a distance or in a noisy room, with a mic mute button on the back. Six drivers, one forward-firing tweeter, two side-firing tweeters, one upward-firing tweeter, and two angled woofers, each with its own Class D amp, give real stereo separation plus Dolby Atmos spatial audio on supported content. Trueplay room correction (now including a quicker Android tuning option) is a genuine strength, and it pairs with Sonos soundbars like the Arc Ultra for a home theater setup.

Cons: RTINGS’ one listed con is some compression at max volume. Out of the box the tuning leans bass-heavy enough that vocals can get shrouded in the mix on some tracks, though Trueplay largely corrects this. There’s no Google Assistant, no battery, and at $499 it’s the most expensive speaker in this ecosystem comparison.

Full Sonos Era 300 review and specifications →

AES Input	No
App	Yes (Sonos S2)
Aux Input	No
Battery Life	No Battery
Bluetooth	Yes, 5.0
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC
Built-in Microphone	Yes (far-field, mic mute button)
Coaxial Input	No
Dimensions	7.3" x 10.2" x 6.3" (185 x 260 x 160 mm)
Discontinued	No
Drivers	4x tweeters (1 forward, 2 side, 1 upward-firing), 2x angled woofers
EQ	Yes (Bass/Treble + Trueplay room correction)
HDMI Input	No
IP Rating	None
Inputs	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C (line-in adapter sold separately)
Optical Input	No
Party Mode	Yes (Sonos multi-room, AirPlay 2)
Power Bank	No
Power Input	External AC adapter
RCA Input	No
Stereo	Yes
Streaming Services	Sonos app streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more), AirPlay 2, Dolby Atmos Music
TRS Input	No
TWS	Yes (stereo pairing via Sonos app)
USB Input	Yes (line-in adapter sold separately)
Voice Assistants	Amazon Alexa
Weight	9.9 lbs (4.47 kg)
Wi-Fi	Yes (Wi-Fi 6)
XLR Input	No

• Links
  • Official Sonos Era 300 Product Page
• Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
  • RTINGS: Sonos Era 300 Review More from Rtings.com →
• Head-to-Head Comparisons
  • Sonos Era 300 vs B&O Beosound 2
  • Sonos Era 300 vs JBL Authentics 500
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Amazon Echo Dot Max
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Amazon Echo Pop
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Amazon Echo Studio 2nd Gen
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Apple HomePod 2nd Gen
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Apple HomePod Mini
  • Sonos Era 300 vs Google Home Max
  • See all 23 comparisons