Designed to power things like decorative lighting, pool and fountain pumps, and other outdoor devices, the Monoprice Stitch Outdoor Plug ($17.99) is a dual-outlet smart plug that you can control with your phone and voice. It supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and works with other Monoprice Stitch smart home devices, and it offers timer and scheduling options. You can make it work with some third-party smart home devices using Alexa routines, but it doesn't support Apple HomeKit, IFTTT applets, or Matter, and it lacks energy usage reports. The Wyze Plug Outdoor ($17.99) adds energy monitoring and IFTTT support into the mix, remaining our Editors' Choice winner for outdoor smart plugs.
The Stitch Outdoor is a two-outlet plug with a 15-amp/125-volt power rating and an IP65 weatherproof rating that protects it from rain and dust. It has a black finish and measures 4.9 by 4.1 by 1.6 inches (HWD). Universal WiFi Power Strip
The top holds a six-inch, three-prong wall plug and a pair of three-prong outlets reside on the bottom, protected by rubber covers. The plug uses an embedded 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home network.
The front of the plug holds a power button with two LED indicators: one is green when the plug is powered on, and the other is blue when the plug is connected. The button turns both outlets on and off, and there’s no way to physically control them individually. However, you can control them separately using the app.
The plug works with the Stitch by Monoprice mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices) and gets its own panel on the app’s home screen. Tapping into the panel opens a screen with icons for both outlets, then you can tap either one to turn it on or off. Here you can also edit the outlet names, set a timer, and create on/off schedules for each outlet. Tap the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the screen to share the plug with other users, add it to a group, link it to your Alexa or Google accounts, and update the firmware. Missing are the power usage reports that you get with the Wyze Plug Outdoor and the Roku Outdoor Smart Plug ($14.99).
As mentioned, you can link the Stitch Outdoor to your Alexa and/or Google accounts to control it by voice and make it work with other devices as part of a routine, but it doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit platform or IFTTT applets like the TP-Link Kasa EP40A Outdoor Plug. Support for the smart home interoperability standard Matter is also absent. If Matter support matters, consider the more expensive Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug-In Switch D2150 ($54.99).
To install the plug, simply download the Stitch by Monoprice app, create an account, and tap Add Device on the Home screen. Select Smart Outlet from the list, plug in the device, and confirm that the blue LED is blinking rapidly. Enter your Wi-Fi SSID and password and wait around one minute for the device to connect to the cloud, then give it a name to complete the installation.
The Stitch Outdoor plug worked well in testing. It instantly responded to app and voice commands to turn each outlet on and off, and always followed the schedules I created using the mobile app. My Alexa routine to have motion from a TP-Link Tapo C120 camera trigger the plug worked like a charm.
The Monoprice Stitch Outdoor 2-Outlet Smart Plug offers an easy and affordable way to control outdoor lighting, pool pumps, and other outside appliances using your phone and your voice. Its two outlets can be controlled independently of one another using the mobile app, and can be programmed to work with other smart devices using Alexa or Google Assistant but it lacks support for HomeKit, IFTTT, and Matter, and it doesn’t tell you how much power it is drawing. If you want an outdoor plug that offers more third-party integrations as well as energy reporting, the $17.99 Wyze Plug Outdoor is a better option and our Editors’ Choice for outdoor smart plugs.
I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor.
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