Nest Protect Replacement 2026: 4 Honest Picks

If your Nest Protect is chirping, nearing its 10-year date, or you just want one for a new room, you’ve hit a wall: Google stopped selling it in 2025. The good news is that you have solid options for a Nest Protect replacement, and the right one depends mostly on which smart home app you already use.

Here’s where we landed, including the downsides other lists leave out.

Is the Nest Protect really discontinued?

Yes. Google announced on February 25, 2025 that it was discontinuing the Nest Protect, and it now points buyers to First Alert instead. Some lists still rank the Nest Protect as a top pick in 2026, but you can’t buy it new from Google anymore.

Should you replace your Nest Protect now or wait?

Smoke alarm sensors wear out, which is why alarms are built to be replaced about 10 years after they were made. Check the date printed on the back of each unit.

• Less than a year left, or it’s warning you: replace it now.
• Several years left: you don’t need to rush. But if you’re adding alarms to new rooms, buy the replacement brand now so your whole house uses one app.

How we chose

We haven’t tested these alarms ourselves. Instead we compared spec sheets, pricing pages, hands-on reviews (like Bob Vila’s) and, most importantly, what verified buyers report on retailer sites. Every pick had to:

• Detect both smoke and carbon monoxide, like the Nest Protect did
• Send alerts to your phone
• Be sold new right now by a major retailer or the brand itself
• Fit at least one major smart home setup: Google Home, Alexa, or Ring

That last point removed some popular names. More on that below.

The best Nest Protect alternatives, explained

First Alert SC5 Hardwire: best overall

This is the replacement Google officially recommends, and it’s the easiest swap. It’s designed to fit the Nest Protect’s existing base plate, and it shows up inside the Google Home app with phone alerts, remote silence and self-test history. Spoken alerts tell you what the danger is and which room it’s in. It has battery backup and meets the newer UL 217 9th Edition standard.

The catch nobody else mentions: Home Depot buyers rate it 2.8 out of 5, and only 13% recommend it. Some say $130 is a lot for what you get. Bob Vila gave it 4.5 out of 5 in a hands-on review, so buyers really are split.

First Alert SC5 Battery: best for renters

It has the same smart features and works in the same Google Home app, but you don’t need any wiring. That makes it the clean pick if you rent, or if your old Nest Protect was a battery model. It’s also $130, so you don’t save anything by giving up the wiring. User reviews are thin (3.2 out of 5 from 21 Home Depot reviews), and one buyer had to reset a unit before it would pair.

Kidde Smart Hardwired Smoke + CO (30CUAR-W): best value

At $74.97, this costs roughly half as much as the SC5. You get phone alerts through Kidde’s app, spoken voice alerts, and wireless interconnect, so when one alarm goes off, they all sound. It’s the smart buy if you’re replacing several Nest Protects at once and the cost adds up.

The trade-off is that it doesn’t sit inside Google Home the way the SC5 does. You’ll be using a separate app.

Kidde Smart Smoke + CO, Ring App Enabled (RGCUAR-RW): best for Ring homes

If your doorbell and cameras are already Ring, this is the alarm that fits. It runs in the Ring app, uses wireless interconnect and voice alerts, and can be connected to Ring’s optional 24/7 professional monitoring for $5 a month. It costs $74.97 at Home Depot. Ring also sells a battery version for $69.98 if you’d rather not wire anything.

What about Matter, Apple Home or Home Assistant?

This is the gap no one fills well yet. Matter (the cross-brand smart home standard) only added smoke alarm support in version 1.2, and options are still scarce. The Aqara Smart Smoke Detector is often recommended for Apple Home, but it detects smoke only, not carbon monoxide, and it connects through an Aqara hub. That makes it a downgrade from a Nest Protect, so it isn’t on our list.

Home Assistant fans have long used First Alert’s ZCOMBO Z-Wave alarm, but First Alert’s store lists at least some versions as discontinued, so we can’t recommend it as a long-term replacement. For now, the honest answer for Apple and Home Assistant households is to choose based on alarm quality, not integration.

Battery or hardwired: which smart smoke detector should you get?

Match what you already have. If your Nest Protect was wired into the ceiling, buy a hardwired replacement. You keep the constant power and wired backup, and the SC5 Hardwire can even use your old base plate. If it ran on batteries, or you rent, get a battery model. Don’t switch from hardwired to battery just because installing it is easier; many building codes require hardwired alarms in certain homes.

Who should skip this

• Anyone with a Nest Protect that has years left and works fine. Wait, and use that money on something else.
• Apple Home and Home Assistant purists. None of these picks connect cleanly to your setup yet.
• People who just want a loud, reliable alarm. A basic 10-year sealed smoke and CO alarm costs far less and protects you just as well. Smart features are about convenience, not about detecting fires better.

Bottom line

For a Google Home house, the First Alert SC5 is the most direct Nest Protect replacement. Go hardwired if you have the wiring, and battery if you don’t. Just know user reviews are mixed. If you’re replacing a whole house of alarms, Kidde’s $75 smart alarms save real money. If you use Ring, the Ring-enabled Kidde is the easy choice.