These Best Smart Garage Door Controllers connect to your current garage door opener and allow you to open or close your garage door or simply know if it’s open from anywhere, using an app or even a voice assistant like Amazon Alexa.
Ever forget to close your garage door when you leave the house? Or maybe you’ve had your packages stolen because it was delivered at your porch since the delivery person had nowhere else to drop them. You should consider getting a smart garage door opener controller.
Most garage door opening controllers, including the Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage, you can open or close the garage door and check the door’s status remotely. You can also set daily schedules and even share access to your garage to up to five users.
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What are the Best Smart Garage Door Controllers for your smart home setup?
1. The best opener overall: Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub
Of all the smart controllers we review, the Chamberlain MyQ is impressively the simplest to set up and use, the most practical, and the least expensive you could buy —by a broad margin. And due to its vast popularity, it’s compatible with garage doors by Chamberlain, Craftsman, and LiftMaster.
With MyQ installed, you can open or close the garage door and check the door’s status remotely from the MyQ intuitive app on your iOS or Android devices. You can also set daily schedules and even share access to your garage to up to five users.
You can control it with Google Assistant, IFTTT, HomeKit, and other smart platforms, but there’s no Alexa support. If you intend to use Apple HomeKit, you’ll have to buy a $90 MyQ Home Bridge. However, it is the only opener in the market that works with Amazon Key, allowing Amazon Prime members to get packages dropped safely inside certain cities’ garages.
Overall, if you’re looking for an effective smart garage door opener that’s affordable and easy to use, then look no further than the MyQ Smart Garage Hub.
Pros:
- User-friendly app
- Can manage several devices
- Does an excellent job even with a weak signal
- Works with Google Assistant and HomeKit
- Completely wireless plus simple physical setup requirements
Cons:
- Compatible with fewer brands of openers
- It does not support Alexa or even the integration of cameras.
2. Best on a budget: Refoss Smart WiFi Garage Door Opener
Are you in the market for a simple, reliable, and affordable smart garage door opener? Try the Refoss Smart WiFi Garage Opener. It’s equipped to function with over 200 brands and models, including LiftMaster, Craftman, Genie, Chamberlain. In case you are not sure about your garage door compatibility with the device, contact Refuss via support@refoss.net; their customer service support is highly responsive.
Refoss Smart WiFi garage door opener supports a lot of modes of notification. You can quickly check your door status and receive notifications with the eHomeLife app. The reports will remind you to close the garage door and update you with any changes. You can also control the door remotely and have it close and open using your smartphone.
Since it’s a stand-alone opener, there’s no need to connect to a hub. Instead, it connects via WiFi to both iOS and Android systems. The sensor is impressive sensitivity, and the connection is also reliable to ensure there is no interference even with a weak signal. Like the Nexx, the Refoss is also compatible with either Google or Alexa.
Overall, the price is the big selling point, at $27, it’s the lowest price we’ve ever seen for a smart garage opener, and it’s the best buy.
Pros:
- Very easy to install and use
- Features has high stability
- It comes with reliable safety alerts.
- Records history
- It can be controlled remotely.
Cons:
- Poor quality
- The instructions were quite terrible.
- Garage door activation fails at some point.
3. Best for automatic opening: Nexx Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Controller NXG-100b
The NEXX smart garage controller offers reliable, useful features with loads of functionality to help monitor your garage door from wherever you are. Not merely can the door be opened remotely, it can also be open by other people you designate — it could be a friend looking after your house. It can also set to open and close the door at a specific time of the day.
The Nexx Garage is ideal if you have only one door and do not need HomeKit. It works with many garage doors that come with an opener motor. (Check compatibility) checklist to find out if it works with your garage door.
It provides useful features with loads of functionality, including well-detailed scheduling options, good sharing options, speech notifications through the app, and temperature and carbon monoxide sensors, which alert you to risk. Additionally, it works with Alexa and Google Assistant by voice command without needing IFTTT. A feature Chamberlain MyQ charges a monthly fee for
The Nexx Garage app is available on iOS and Android, but we find that the app didn’t work consistently and sometimes failing to sense whether it was open or closed. However, if you’re always on the go, Nexx smart controller will allow you to close or open the garage entry from anywhere.
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- No Hub Required
- built-in geofencing
- Can manage multiple users
- Tons of customizable functionality
- Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings
Cons:
- Frustrating setup
- App didn’t work consistently
4. Best for multiple garage: Genie Aladdin Connect Smart Garage Door Opener
The Genie Aladdin Connect does everything the other garage openers do, including the Chamberlain MyQ, though it’s the extra advantage of control up to three doors. It allows you to add two doors, with an extender for up to three doors all in one system. Extremely useful if you have a larger house or maybe a workshop/garage.
It worked reliably with most openers made after 1993 (see opener compatibility list). You can receive notifications if the door is left open for a certain period and then help you close it. You can also tell if one of the other users opened it, and you can also add as many as 20 users with customizable schedules.
Its smart home integration works with Alexa and Google to both open and close doors, though it doesn’t support any other home-automation, and the app is clunky. Besides, it does not work with any Chamberlain brands older than 2011.
Pros:
- Offers control over garage door from anywhere
- Multiple options for granting access to others
- Easy setup and installation with an instruction video
- Works with Alexa and Google
Cons:
- Requires about an hour to install
- More expensive than some similar options, including MyQ
5. Best garage opener with a camera: Alcidae Garager 2
Alcidae Garager 2 is one of the more capable openers we reviewed. At $100, you get a two-in-1 controller, a garage door opener/security camera. It merely works by plugging into the opener while the device magnetically connects to it.
The camera can be angled to a point in which you want it. It includes two-way audio, so you can speak to somebody inside the garage from the Alcidae app. But the app continuously crashed, and it takes a $5 per month subscription to view, save or share recorded clips. In addition to communicating, you can record color video with 960p HD resolution or snap photos of what is happening in the garage.
If you forget to close your garage? Select an on-screen function in the Alcidae app and lower your garage door remotely with a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. The Garager 2 smart garage opener integrated both top-notch security and smart-home automation, make it the ultimate device for any garage.
The Alcidae Garager 2 doesn’t check every feature for us as a brilliant garage system. Things as scheduling, geofencing are missing and constant false motion alerts. We cannot recommend it over something like Chamberlain’s MyQ Smart Garage Hub, but it’s the best buy if you want to see what is going on in your garage.
Pros:
- Easy installation
- It can detect motion, sound (barking alarms)
- Good 960p HD resolution
- The ability to see the garage is excellent.
- Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
Cons:
- The app sends false alerts on occasion.
- Not compatible with any MyQ openers older than 2021
What to consider when buying a smart garage door opener controller
If you do not have a Best Smart Garage Door Controllers by now, you can get one of our recommended ones, which has smart home compatibility built in. But, if you’ve one already, you can make it “smart” by purchasing a kit that allows you to connect the garage door opener controller to the Internet, thereby allowing you to control it remotely using an app.
Before buying a smart garage door opener controller, ensure it will work with your existing garage door beforehand to prevent sensor communication issues. Typically, you can find out what garage door opener is compatible with your garage on the manufacturer’s website.
Some smart garage door openers connect via Wi-Fi to both iOS and Android systems, while others connect via Bluetooth. The capability to hook up to a Wi-Fi signal is crucial to ensuring your new smart garage door and remote-control work the way you want them to. While Bluetooth models will only work when you’re within about 20 feet of the garage.
Additionally, consider how many smart home automations each garage door opener is compatible with (such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Apple HomeKit). — the more, the better, since you will have far more options when building out your smart home.
How we tested and picked the best smart garage door opener controller
To determine what Best Smart Garage Door Controllers are the best, we read through a vast selection of customer reviews on Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Amazon, and even the wirecutter. We narrowed down our checklist to 5 models that are currently available on Amazon. All of the recommended, especially Chamberlain MyQ performed well whenever the app is utilized remotely to open or close the doors.
The main difference between these products is their features. Some have much more helpful alerts and the capability to automatically close and open doors, and they suffered from false alerts: a frequent issue with consumer reviews. A wireless sensor is a significantly more straightforward setup since you do not need wiring through the garage. Still, there are susceptible to false alerts for various purposes, including malfunctions or old batteries.
We focused our review on just how easy each garage opener controller was working with, both in setup and installation and daily use, and tried out integrations with smart home systems such as Amazon Alexa, Google.
