If you’re buying your first Google Home device, the two options are Nest Mini ($49) and Nest Hub ($99). They’re both voice-controlled, both run Google Assistant, both control all your smart devices. But they’re built for very different jobs. Here’s how to pick.
The 30-second answer
- Buy Nest Mini for any room where you want voice control but don’t need a screen: bedroom, bathroom, garage, second/third speaker in a home that already has a display. $49.
- Buy Nest Hub for the kitchen or any room where you’ll glance at recipes, watch security camera feeds, or use it as a digital photo frame and bedside clock. $99.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Nest Mini | Nest Hub (2nd gen) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 | $99 |
| Screen | None | 7″ touchscreen |
| Speaker quality | Decent, mono | Better, mono |
| Microphones | 3 | 2 |
| Voice control | Excellent | Excellent |
| Show security camera feed | No | Yes |
| Sleep sensing (Soli radar) | No | Yes |
| Watch videos / YouTube | No (audio only) | Yes |
| Recipe walk-through | Voice only | Step-by-step on screen |
| Best room | Bedroom, bathroom, garage | Kitchen, living room, nightstand |
Where each one wins
Nest Mini wins for “background speaker”
If you want a voice-controlled speaker in your bathroom, garage, hallway, or as a second speaker in a room that already has a Hub somewhere, the Mini is exactly enough. 90% of what people use Google Home for (timer, music, weather, “turn off the kitchen”) is voice-only and the Mini does it equally well.
It’s also the right choice for whole-home audio multi-room setups — three Minis in three rooms is $147 and gives you broadcast announcements throughout the whole house. Three Hubs would be $300 and feel overkill.
Nest Hub wins for the kitchen
The kitchen is where the screen actually pays off. Recipe step-by-step display (you say “next step” and the screen scrolls), a timer that you can SEE not just hear, YouTube how-to videos pinned next to the stovetop, recipe images so you know if your sauce should be that color. The Hub also doubles as a digital photo frame when not in use — feed it your Google Photos and it shows family photos.
The 7″ screen is too small to actually watch a TV show from the couch, but perfect for kitchen counter viewing.
Nest Hub also wins for “nightstand”
The Hub’s Sleep Sensing feature (using Soli radar) tracks your sleep without anything on your body. Combined with the bedside clock display, sleep sound playback, and a sunrise alarm that brightens the room before your alarm goes off, it’s the best smart-home product for “make my mornings better.” The Mini can do alarms but lacks the screen and sleep tracking.
What both can do equally well
- Voice-control all your smart devices (lights, plugs, thermostats, cameras)
- Set timers and alarms
- Play music from Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora
- Trigger Google Home Routines
- Make announcements to other Google speakers in your home
- Get weather, news brief, sports scores
- Call other Google contacts
What both kind of suck at
- Audio quality is fine for background music but not “real” music listening. For that, look at the Nest Audio ($99) or pair the Mini/Hub with a real Bluetooth speaker.
- Neither has a built-in battery (they need to be plugged in).
- Neither has Zigbee/Thread radios, so they can’t act as a hub for low-power smart home devices. The Nest Hub Max ($229) does have one, but it’s overkill for most.
What we’d actually buy
For a typical 3-bedroom home setting up Google Home from scratch:
- 1× Nest Hub in the kitchen ($99) — for recipe + camera viewing
- 2× Nest Mini in bedrooms ($98) — for voice control + alarms
- Total: $197 for whole-home voice control with one display
If you have a bigger house and want voice control in more rooms (bathroom, garage, basement), add more Minis at $49 each. We wouldn’t put a Hub anywhere except kitchen + nightstand unless you specifically want to watch things on it.
What about the Nest Hub Max?
The Hub Max ($229) is a 10″ version of the Hub with: a camera (lets you make face-to-face calls and use as a security cam), better speaker (real stereo), and Soli radar with face recognition. It also acts as a Thread border router. If you’re outfitting a living room and want a quasi-TV plus voice assistant plus indoor camera plus smart hub, the Hub Max replaces multiple devices and the price works out. For just “smart speaker with screen”, the regular Hub is plenty.
FAQ
Can I link multiple Google speakers together for stereo?
Yes — Google Home → tap speaker → Settings → Speaker pair. Works between two Minis or two Hubs. Doesn’t work between mixed models.
Do they work as a baby monitor?
The Nest Hub Max (10″) has a camera and the Google Home app can stream from it. The regular Nest Hub does NOT have a camera. The Mini has no camera. For a dedicated baby monitor, look at a Wyze Cam Pan v3 instead — see our Wyze cameras guide.
How loud do they get?
Loud enough for a kitchen at normal listening volume. Not loud enough for a noisy garage or to fill a 20×30 living room. For louder rooms, the Nest Audio ($99) is the right speaker.
Do they need Wi-Fi?
Yes — both need home Wi-Fi. They can’t run off cellular or work offline.
Is Google still supporting these or about to discontinue?
Both are still actively sold and supported. Google has had products like the old Pixel Slate that got abandoned, so people are wary. But Nest Mini and Nest Hub get regular firmware updates and Google has been adding features (Sleep Sensing on Hub was added years after launch).
Bottom line
Nest Mini for any room that just needs voice. Nest Hub for the kitchen and the nightstand. Three Minis + one Hub is the sweet-spot setup for a typical home and costs ~$245 total.
Whichever you pick, once you have it, the next thing to set up is your first smart plug and a few smart bulbs so Google has things to control. See our complete starter setup guide for the order that works best.
— Written by The Grid editorial team. Prices verified at the time of writing.