The research

Why you should trust us

I’m a writer for Wirecutter’s audio, video, and smart-home team. I authored our guides to smart plugs, music streamers, and tabletop radios. I’ve also contributed to our roundup of gear for a home theater, and I currently have about 17 smart-home devices keeping my life on a stringent routine. I’m running the three major smart-home platforms simultaneously, and I still don’t have a favorite (Alexa).

For this guide:

• I tested 10 smart water-leak detectors. Previous authors of this guide, Rachel Cericola and Eric Chiu, tested another 15 models.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
• In accordance with Wirecutter standards, I return or donate all products I’ve tested once my assessment of them is complete, which may involve longer-term testing by my colleagues and me. I never hang on to “freebies” once testing is done, though I do hold on to our official picks (when possible) for future comparison testing.

Who this is for


Smart leak detectors are generally puck shaped. These two models are battery-powered. While the YoLink detector (left) requires the use of a hub, the Kidde model (right) does not. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

The average US household wastes an astonishing amount of water through leaks, day in and out — the EPA says that each home loses upwards of 10,000 gallons annually (that’s a trillion gallons nationwide). If you have ever discovered surprise cabinet damage underneath a dripping sink or have a utility room full of flood-prone sump pumps, appliances, and drains, you may want to invest in one or several smart leak detectors. These devices keep an eye on the places you can’t check daily and help you catch small drips before they become catastrophic water damage.

Water-leak detectors are typically battery-powered, puck-sized devices that variously set off an alarm or send a smartphone alert if water comes into contact with them. You can place them discreetly near leak-prone equipment, such as a water heater or dishwasher, so that you are quickly notified in the event of a problem and can take preventive action. Some models can work with accessory cables that also detect water, making it easier for you to monitor a greater area.

Smart water-leak sensors don’t require much technical know-how to set up and use. Most of our picks simply require you to install the manufacturer’s mobile app, scan a QR code, and put in your network’s Wi-Fi credentials to get them online. You can tie some sensor models to other smart-home devices for more advanced responses: For example, you might have a leak sensor trigger an alert message that transmits to multiple smart speakers, smart lighting, or sirens, or you might have a sump pump or wet vac that cleans up a spill.

Some detectors require the use of an additional device, called a hub, that connects the detector to your home network and the internet. Although hubs increase the up-front cost for a leak sensor, they typically add features such as better notification systems, a wider wireless range, smart-home integrations, or battery-life indicators. You can also purchase other door, temperature, and motion smart-home sensors from these companies for additional coverage.

One thing that leak detectors can’t do is actually prevent water damage — like smoke detectors, they function only as alarms. A more comprehensive option may be to get a smart water-shutoff valve, which detects plumbing leaks or freezing pipes and then can physically shut off your home’s water-supply line. Such controllers are much pricier and more difficult to install than the detectors in this guide.

Home-security system manufacturers also have their own water-leak detectors, but they have mixed smart-home support, require you to purchase additional security hardware, and generally keep notifications within their own app ecosystem. This guide focuses on standalone sensors; check out our best home security system guide to learn more about those competitors.

How we picked and tested


A look at a few of the smart leak sensors we’ve tested. Rachel Cericola/NYT Wirecutter

For the latest round of testing, I compared our top picks against newer models. We prioritized the following criteria during our initial research process:

• Alerts: I prioritized sensors that provided more than one method for sending alerts. That included compatibility with smart-home platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home as well as critical alerts and support for email, phone, and push notifications.
• Offline notifications: It’s important that a smart leak detector notify you when it goes offline (typically due to dead batteries or wireless signal loss); otherwise, leaks could go on undetected.
• Audible alarm: An alarm integrated into the sensor or hub should be loud enough for you to hear it behind a closed door or even from rooms away.
• Response time: Time is of the essence with preventing costly water damage, so we favored models that responded to water droplets as quickly as possible.

For this update, I evaluated 10 sensors and tested seven models in a one-story, 700-square-foot home. During my testing, I compared sensors on factors including price, smart-home support, ease of setup, product-support guarantees, and the durability of the hardware.

We also ran each sensor through a variety of stress tests, including:

• measuring sensor response time using a plate filled with an eighth of an inch of water
• timing the sensor response at close range to a hub or Wi-Fi router and at 30 feet away
• measuring the alarm’s peak volume, using a decibel meter, from 6 feet away at ear level for sensors with integrated alarms
• noting the sensor’s ability to detect leaks on uneven surfaces such as an unfinished basement floor and drain cover
• testing ease of use in creating Routines for alarms with compatible smart-home platforms, as well as response time

Top pick: YoLink Water Leak Sensor 4


Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, IFTTT

The YoLink Water Leak Sensor 4 has a straightforward setup process, as well as the best range of any sensor we tested, and it provides greater support for smart-home features than most other models do — yet it’s comparatively cheap. It requires a YoLink hub, which you have to buy separately or as part of a bundle with multiple sensors. But this sensor performed well in all of our tests.


The YoLink sensor has probes on the bottom to detect pooling water, but it also has a pair in a concave cup on top for detecting drips from plumbing fixtures. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

It detects both dripping and pooling water. YoLink’s sensors include top- and bottom-mounted leak probes for maximum coverage. The top-mounted probes on this sensor are nestled in a cup that’s designed to catch dripping water; meanwhile, four bottom-mounted probes detect pooling water. The sensor performed well, and we didn’t encounter any issues with wireless range.

The Water Leak Sensor 4 can also track room temperatures to alert you to potential freezing conditions, and its housing has an IP66-waterproof rating, so it can tolerate heavy water flow without being damaged.

It has a loud alarm for reliable notifications without a smartphone. Each Water Leak Sensor 4 has its own built-in alarm that shrieks at a terrifying 105 decibels. In our tests, from 6 feet away the speaker’s alarm still hit a solid 87 decibels, and we could easily hear it from more than 30 feet away on the same floor — through a closed door.

It offers solid smart-home support. Thanks to YoLink’s Amazon Alexa and IFTTT support, integrating the sensor into a new or existing smart-home setup is easy. Although you have to pair the sensor to YoLink’s hub via the YoLink app, the installation process is pain-free and only requires you to scan a QR code.

We then linked our setup with Alexa; the Alexa app quickly discovered our sensor, and we could easily create a Routine that sent an Alexa alert if a leak was detected. For example, we created a Routine that would turn on and off a lamp that was plugged into a Tapo smart plug. Both YoLink and Alexa were able to execute this Routine without a hitch.

The YoLink sensor requires a YoLink hub, which you can purchase at the same time in a bundle or separately. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

The sensors have exceptional wireless range. YoLink’s sensors support the LoRa wireless standard, which gives them an advertised range of up to a quarter-mile from the hub. Though we didn’t fully test that claim, we had no connectivity concerns when the sensor was placed in a detached garage that was 125 feet away from the hub in a previous round of testing. This exceptional range makes the YoLink sensor an attractive option for anyone needing to monitor remote areas such as a barn or a detached garage.

Response times are mostly great. It took just two seconds for water to trigger the alarm and prompt a notification. And the YoLink app sent us a notification that the hub was offline within three minutes after we turned off the internet. But when we removed the sensor’s battery, it took a full 12 hours for the YoLink app to send an offline notification, which puzzled us. You can track the sensor’s battery life through the YoLink app, and you do get advance warning of a low battery when it’s time to swap out the sensor’s two AAAs.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You need to buy a hub. As with many smart sensors, YoLink’s system requires you to purchase a hub in order to connect the Water Leak Sensor 4 to your Wi-Fi network. Thankfully, YoLink’s hub models are relatively budget-friendly and frequently sold in a bundle with the sensors.

The YoLink Hub and SpeakerHub both retail for around $30 and are similar in size to a TV streaming box. The basic YoLink Hub doesn’t have any extra features, while the SpeakerHub includes the basic hub features and adds a speaker that plays sounds and gives custom text-to-speech alerts.

The SpeakerHub isn’t as loud as the sensor alarm, and silencing it isn’t intuitive. We measured the SpeakerHub’s maximum volume from 6 feet at around 66 decibels, so it’s certainly audible from one or two rooms away. But at the same time, having more hardware can be a hassle if you prefer to streamline your smart home’s peripherals. Plus, you can turn off the blaring alarm only by setting a timer in the app beforehand or by pressing the Set button on the underside of the puck sensor itself.

Privacy and security snapshot

• A username and password are required to use the YoLink app. Two-factor authentication is not currently offered.
• User data is encrypted and not shared with outside parties.
• Users can revoke data sharing at any time.

Review YoLink’s privacy policy for more information.

Budget pick: Kidde Water Leak + Freeze Detector


Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

Budget pick

Compatibility: Amazon Alexa (Skill only), Google Home

The Kidde Water Leak + Freeze Detector doesn’t do much beyond the basics, but it covers those basics exceptionally well. If you want an affordable water-leak detector that performs effectively and doesn’t require a hub, it’s a great option.

It’s reassuringly loud. The Kidde sensor’s most notable strength is its eardrum-piercing alarm. In our testing the alarm surpassed Kidde’s advertised 85 decibels, as it hit a whopping 96-decibel peak. That means members of your household don’t have to rely on a smartphone app to receive a notification of a leak, and the alarm will be audible whether it’s in a second-floor bathroom or basement equipment room.

It has a straightforward design. Kidde is best known for its smoke alarms, and the Water Leak + Freeze Detector borrows more than a few design cues from the company’s main product line. At 3.25 by 1.25 inches, the puck-like Kidde leak sensor looks like a mini smoke alarm. With its plain white exterior, it easily blends into laundry rooms or bathrooms.


We measured the Kidde sensor’s siren at 85 dB, which is very loud — it’s readily audible from a distance. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

It’s smart about notifications. Kidde’s mobile app is the primary way to manage this sensor (and setup was extremely easy). It relies on Wi-Fi to send leak alerts, but we didn’t notice a meaningful lag — it was only seconds slower than competitors during our testing. Within the app, you can tie the detector to a home address, add family members to your notification group, and set notifications by push, text, or email. The app will also send you alerts when the battery life gets low, when the device goes offline for more than 12 hours, and when temperatures drop below 37 degrees Fahrenheit, which is when pipes are at risk of freezing and bursting.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s larger than other models. This model is slightly taller than other leak detectors we tested, which generally measured no more than an inch tall. So fitting this sensor in tight areas, such as underneath an appliance, could be tougher. For particularly tight spots, our top pick’s leak-sensing cable is a much better option.

The coverage it provides is pretty basic. Whereas our top-rated smart leak detector features detection probes on the top and bottom, this model has just two bottom-mounted probes. Around the size of ball bearings, the probes cover more ground than pins, but they’re also widely spaced out, with a gap of 1.9 inches between them. Since water must contact both probes simultaneously to trigger an alarm, this sensor is bound to be less sensitive to some leaks than competing models, which have pins just a fraction of an inch apart.

For instance, in an area such as a utility room with an unfinished floor, water may not pool evenly, so careful detector placement is essential. If you’re using this sensor under a water heater or sink, you might want to consider placing it in a plastic pan under piping to ensure that a sufficient amount of water collects to trigger it.

Its smart-home support isn’t as good as the standalone app. Kidde’s smart-home support doesn’t measure up to the app’s functionality. Although this sensor is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, its Alexa support is limited to a poorly reviewed Alexa Skill. And as with other leak detectors with Google Home support, you can get leak-status updates, but you can’t create Google Automations using the Kidde system. You can get leak voice notifications with the Kidde sensor through a Google speaker, but in our tests it was slower in this regard than other leak detectors — although the push notification from Kidde’s app came within seconds, around 13 seconds passed before the leak alert reached our Google speaker.

Privacy and security snapshot

• A username and password are required to use the Kidde app. Two-factor authentication is required during account setup.
• User data is encrypted in the cloud; however, Kidde collects personal information and usage data, which it uses internally. While it doesn’t sell personal information, it does share and sell usage data with affiliated companies and subsidiaries.
• Before you use a Kidde device, we strongly recommend that you opt out of sharing your personal information and having any of your personal data shared. You can do so by sending an email request to KGS_Privacy@Carrier.com stating that you don’t want your usage and personal information and device data shared with or sold to third parties.

Review Kidde’s privacy statement for more information.

Other water-leak detectors worth considering

If you don’t need smart-home voice assistants: The X-Sense Wi-Fi Water Leak Detector Kit SWS0A41 was surprisingly smart despite its lack of compatibility with third-party smart-home apps. The SWS0A41 kit includes a hub to connect its four puck-like sensors to your home’s Wi-Fi. In our tests, the sensor was able to detect water with its top- and bottom-mounted sensor probes within two seconds, and it sent an alert to the base station.

These sensors provide multiple avenues of alerts: The base station has flashing LEDs, emits an alarm at 86 decibels, sends critical push notifications, and can send an alert via email. Plus, it alerted me after it had been offline for about an hour. However, you can’t integrate it with third-party platforms like Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri, and its base station isn’t sold separately.

If you need coverage for multiple rooms: Govee’s Water Leak Detector 2 includes a handful of upgrades over the Govee WiFi Water Sensor, such as a revamped design and LoRa long-range wireless support. A solid performer throughout our testing, the Water Leak Detector 2 ran neck-and-neck with the YoLink Water Leak Sensor 4, as both models have top- and bottom-mounted probes, loud alarms, Alexa support, and quick response times.

YoLink’s sensors ultimately won out due to factors such as YoLink’s support for offline notifications and cleaner app layout. But Govee also sells the Water Leak Detector 2 in a convenient four- or six-sensor bundle that includes Govee’s hub device, while YoLink’s package options top out at a four-sensor bundle.

If you need a slim detector to fit into a tight spot: The Moen Smart Leak Detector and Aqara Water Leak Sensor are both solid models. The Moen model, a previous pick, lacks smart-home automation support, while the Aqara sensor has only two sensor probes for water detection and requires use of an Aqara hub.

Both devices are notably thin: The Aqara model is only 0.59 inch tall, while the Moen detector’s remote sensor disc is 0.26 inch thick, easily slim enough to sit under a refrigerator or dishwasher. The Aqara model is one of the few water sensors with Apple Home support, while Moen’s sensor disc (which plugs into the Moen detector via a 3.5 mm cable) is extendable by up to 18 feet if you purchase Moen’s 6-foot leak-sensor extension cables.

If you have a lot of home water equipment and an advanced smart home: The Proteus Aquo isn’t an especially elegant leak detector. Among its quirks, it forces you to use a web browser to manage the sensor, it has to be plugged into a wall outlet, its smart-home integration (Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT) is a clunky multistep process, and it lacks a smartphone app.

The Aquo quickly sent leak and offline notifications in our testing, its alarm sounded at 83 decibels at distance, and it sports a dizzying array of customizable buzzer, email, and phone notification options. (However, voice calls, direct texts, and WhatsApp notifications are billed on a per-notification basis.) You can also customize your Aquo with up to five sensors, and Proteus sells puck, cable-length, and sump-pump sensors for even more coverage options.

The Aquo’s higher-end price and customization options likely make it overpowered for most smart homes, but if you’re an advanced user seeking to integrate your home’s water system into your smart home, the Aquo’s extra horsepower could make it a great fit for you.

The competition

In our previous testing and guide updates, we’ve dismissed the the Centralite 3-Series Water Sensor, HomeSeer Sensor, LeakSmart Sensor, Meross MS400HHK, Resideo Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector, Roost Leak Detector, and Shelly Flood Sensor because of some combination of design flaws, feature deficiencies, and performance gaps.

We also dismissed the Eve Water Guard, Fibaro Flood Sensor, Govee Wi-Fi Water Sensor, SimpleSENCE Capteur, and TP-Link Tapo T300 because they didn’t send a notification that the device had gone offline. The Monoprice Stitch Water Leak and Flood Sensor, the Orbit B-hyve Flood Sensor, and the Phyn Smart Water Sensor all had very low-volume alarms.

Lengthy response times kicked the First Alert L1 WiFi Water Leak and Freeze Detector and the Grohe Sense out of the running. Turning off the IKEA Badring water leak sensor and the Merkury Smart Water & Leak Sensor proved to be counterintuitive, and while the former is cheap on its own, it requires the expensive Dirigera hub to activate its better features.

What to look forward to

We plan to test the following as they become available:

• Replacing our former top pick is the D-Link SW-A11KT. The kit comes with a plug-in sensor with a leak-sensing cable, and a remote water-sensing pod, which uses 2 AA batteries. When the leak-sensing cable or sensor probes come into contact with water, it triggers an alarm (which the company says hits 100 dB) as well as LED lights, and also sends a smart phone alert, or alerts through Google Assistant. Additional SW-A2 sensors are available and the system can accommodate up to 17 sensors.
• The Shelly Flood Sensor Gen4 offers a range of smart-home connectivity options, supporting Matter, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi.
• The SwitchBot WiFi Water Sensor has sensors on the top and bottom, and it’s compatible with all of the major smart home platforms. It boasts a 100 dB alarm, 2 years of battery life, and an optional extendable cable.

We plan to combine this guide with our smart sensor guide in the future.

This article was edited by Jon Chase and Grant Clauser.