Comparison
Do you need a smart speaker to cook by voice?
Alexa and Google Assistant were many people's first taste of cooking by voice. They are good at timers and conversions. For following an actual recipe step by step, the picture is more mixed, and in Google's case the feature has largely gone. Here is how they compare with Lemme Cook, which runs in your browser.
Works with TikTok, Instagram and any recipe site.
Where things stand
Google Nest Hub and Assistant
In early 2024 Google removed step-by-step recipes, the cookbook and recipe videos from Assistant on its smart displays. You can still ask it to search for a recipe, but it no longer walks you through one.
Amazon Echo Show
Echo Show devices can walk through recipes from Amazon's partner sources with commands like “next step”. Availability depends on your region and which partner features are enabled, and it reads from those sources rather than from the page you found.
Lemme Cook
Works with any recipe link, social video or pasted text, shows each step on the screen of the device you already own, and takes voice commands for steps, timers and reading aloud. No extra hardware.
The differences that matter in the kitchen
Your recipe vs. their catalogue
A speaker reads from the sources it has deals with. Lemme Cook reads the recipe you chose, whether it came from a blog, a TikTok, or a note from your mum.
Seeing the step
On an audio-only speaker you cannot glance at the step; you have to ask again. Lemme Cook shows the step in large type and reads it only when you ask.
Where you cook
A speaker lives in one room. Your phone goes to the barbecue, the holiday rental and your friend's kitchen.
Privacy
Smart speakers listen for a wake word all day. Lemme Cook's microphone is on only while you are cooking a recipe, and recognition runs on your device once its voice model has loaded.
Where speakers still win
If you only want to shout “ten minute timer” from across the room without opening anything, a speaker is hard to beat. Both can live happily in the same kitchen.
Side by side
- Works with any recipe linkLemme Cook: yes · Speakers: partner sources
- Shows each step on screenLemme Cook: yes · Echo Show: yes · Audio-only speakers: no
- Needs extra hardwareLemme Cook: no · Speakers: yes
- Timers by voiceBoth
- Scales servings and converts unitsLemme Cook: yes · Speakers: unit conversion on request
- Microphone always listeningLemme Cook: only while cooking · Speakers: always
- PriceLemme Cook: free for 5 new recipes a month · Speakers: the device
Try it now
Cook one of these by voice
Open a recipe, tap Start cooking and say “next”.
FAQ
Questions
Can Google Nest Hub still read recipes step by step?
Not as it used to. Google removed step-by-step recipes and the cookbook from Assistant on smart displays in early 2024. It can still search for recipes.
Can Alexa read a recipe from any website?
Alexa walks through recipes from Amazon's partner sources on Echo Show devices. For a recipe from an arbitrary blog or a TikTok video, you need something like Lemme Cook that reads the page or caption itself.
Can I use Lemme Cook and a smart speaker together?
Yes. Many people keep the speaker for music and quick timers and use Lemme Cook on their phone or tablet for the recipe itself.
Does Lemme Cook need any device beyond my phone?
No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or laptop and uses that device's microphone and speaker.
Keep reading
More about cooking by voice
Details about other products come from their public announcements and help pages as of October 2026 and may have changed since.