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Control4
Control4: Multi-room audio system for whole-home listening with similar wireless architecture and room grouping capabilities.
Sonos
Premium multi-room audio system
As of 30 August 2026, Sonos starts at $179/one-time. Sonos is a premium wireless home sound system that allows you to stream music, podcasts, and more throughout your home. Softwr lists it under Smart Home. Sonos is made by Sonos Inc., launched in 2002, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Sonos does
Sonos is a premium wireless home sound system that allows you to stream music, podcasts, and more throughout your home. Known for exceptional audio quality and seamless multi-room audio.
What people use it for
- Multi-room audio
- Home theater
- Music streaming
- Whole-home audio
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Sonos.
- S2 app has not received significant updates beyond bug fixes since launch, making it difficult to search within music services
- Stereo pairing and bonding speakers into zones has technical limits on the number of devices
- Only receives stereo audio from AirPlay 2, not supporting Dolby Atmos for spatial audio
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Sonos
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- SonosvsSavant
Savant: Professional home automation platform with audio distribution and multi-room speaker control features.
Pricing
What Sonos costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Roam 2 Speaker
$179 /one-time
Era 100 SL Speaker
$189 /one-time
Sonos Play Speaker
$299 /one-time
Move 2 Speaker
$489.99 /one-time
Capabilities
Features
Multi-Room Audio
Trueplay Tuning
Voice Control
Streaming Services
Alexa
Integration with Alexa
Google Assistant
Integration with Google Assistant
AirPlay 2
Integration with AirPlay 2
100+ streaming services
Integration with 100+ streaming services
IOS support
Available on iOS
Android support
Available on Android
MacOS support
Available on macOS
Windows support
Available on Windows
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Does Sonos support offline listening?
Sonos requires WiFi connectivity for setup, streaming services, and multi-room playback. Local playback via Bluetooth is available on some models like Roam 2 and Move 2, but streamed content cannot be played without internet.
SourceWhat are the starting prices for new Sonos speakers in 2026?
The new Sonos Play costs $299 with 24-hour battery and portability, while the Era 100 SL costs $189 without microphone for basic streaming. Existing models range from Roam 2 at $179 to Move 2 at $489.99.
SourceCan I use Sonos with voice assistants?
Sonos speakers support Alexa for voice control and can play Spotify, Apple Music, and other services via voice. Latest models have Alexa built-in, while older models can use the Sonos Alexa skill.
SourceWhat music services does Sonos support?
Sonos works with Spotify (with Spotify Connect), Apple Music, and over 100 streaming services through the Sonos app, with direct voice control for popular services.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Sonos
- Company
- Sonos Inc.
- Based in
- Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Founders
- John MacFarlane, Tom Cullen, Trung Mai, Christopher McKall
Timeline
Sonos over time
- Acquisition2022-04-11$100m
Acquisition of Mayht Holding BV for approximately $100 million to develop smaller speakers using revolutionary transducer technology
Source - Launch2018-08-02
Sonos IPO on Nasdaq, ticker SONO, valued at approximately $1.5 billion
Source - Funding2005-01-01$2.3m
Series A funding of $2.25 million
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from Sonos
- Sonos alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Sonos pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Sonos badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Smart Home softwareThe full category
- Best Smart Home softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Smart Home software for
Compare Sonos with
- Control4
- Savant
- Lutron Caseta
- Philips Hue
- Wyze
- Amazon Alexa
- Apple HomeKit
- Home Assistant
- Arlo
- ESPHome
- Blynk
- Ecobee
- OpenHAB
- Particle
- Ring
- Roomba
- Shelly
- Philips Hue
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Sonos, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Sonos
Sonos alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Sonos pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Sonos
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Sonos badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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