5 Best Universal Remotes for 2021

Coffee tables are meant for coffee table books (and maybe a place to kick your feet up after a long day), but in too many homes, the family room furnishing has been overrun by remotes. There’s the big one for the TV, the small one for the sound bar, and the funny-looking that you can’t for the life of you remember what it does... Call it clicker overload. The good news is there’s a cure for this all-too common modern condition: A universal remote.

The concept might sound too good to be true (it controls all my remotes? really?) but after putting dozens of these handheld devices through their paces, the tech experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute confirmed that the best universal remotes really do live up to the promise. In our comprehensive evaluations — which collected more than 100 data points on a dozen models, covering such factors as ease of setup, whether or not full functionality was achieved, operating range, ergonomics, and durability — we found that some universal remotes are better than others, often with attributes that make them particularly well-suited to certain households.

The best of the best extend beyond your home entertainment system, controlling things like lights, window shades, and temperature. As with all our reviews of smart home products and other home electronics — including smart garage door openers, smart locks, and smart watches — results are based on extensive categorical testing, road testing newer models, and reviewing updates to past favorites:

• Best Overall Universal Remote: Logitech Harmony Companion
• Best Value Universal Remote: Logitech Harmony 665
• Best Universal Remote for Alexa: Amazon Fire TV Cube
• Best Universal Remote for Smart Homes: Logitech Harmony Elite
• Best Universal Remote for Many Devices: Sevenhugs Smart Remote U