Summer is all about getting into the garden for food and drinks with friends and family, set to music from the best quality speakers you can muster. But a great summer garden party can be quickly dampened by a dusty old speaker that's seen better days. Given such a wide choice, choosing the best garden speakers can be a little daunting. But get it right and your garden get-togethers are going to sound amazing.
Modern outdoor speakers are the height of convenience. They can pack a punch when it comes to sound too. Best of all - they're incredibly affordable, so no more breaking the bank for good audio. 2023 continues to be a terrific year for budget speakers of all kinds. We've seen a great range of top-quality affordable bookshelf speakers flood the market, but now low-cost speakers for gardens are all the rage - and we couldn't be happier.
Best garden speakers at a glance
• Best overall garden speaker: JBL CHARGE 5 - View at Amazon
• Best budget garden speaker: Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - View at Amazon
• Best waterproof garden speaker: Hadisala IPX7 Waterproof Speaker with Lights Show - View at Amazon
• Best Bose garden speaker: Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Portable Speaker - View at Amazon
For us, the best garden speakers have a combination of great sound, sturdy build, and solid battery life; Enough quality to keep us blasting out our favourite songs all year round. Some speakers even have Google Assistant or Alexa too. We've looked at the top brands and compiled a list of the best wireless garden speakers, all of which you'll need either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to use.
Every party needs great audio to get into full swing, plus perhaps some comfy garden furniture for lounging outside. So, now you're sitting comfortably, here are our picks for the best garden speakers for your summer party this year. Once you hook these up to your tunes, you won't be disappointed.
Best garden speakers
1.
JBL Charge 5
Best overall garden speaker
JBL has been leading the charge for durable, loud, and affordable speakers for years now, and the JBL Charge 5 is far from the exception. Great sound, great volume, and great bass all in a convenient little speaker seems almost impossible at this price range, yet JBL has undeniably managed to deliver yet again.
Looking to entertain a bigger group of guests than you imagined? No problem - simply use PartyBoost to link your JBL speakers together, giving you a full surround sound that'll really liven up the party. Add some wine, soft drinks or perhaps some craft beers to go with those banging tunes from the JBL Charge 5, and you'll have the makings of a garden party that'll go down in history.
Customer review: "It looks great and has bass speakers on either side, I honestly have to keep the volume down because it's too loud for The neighbours outside. Awesome value."
Pros
- Fantastic bass
- Completely waterproof and dustproof
- Great volume
Cons
- Might be too bassy for some users
Best budget garden speaker
Slick, loud, and tough - all the qualities you want in a great speaker. The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 brings a lot of bass, 360-degree sound, and an incredibly easy interface all in a gorgeous, lightweight speaker. Connect instantly using Bluetooth and listen to music for up to 15 hours straight, which is plenty of time for your party.
Customer review: "Great speaker. Long battery, a good clear sound. Easy to connect to. Waterproof and actually floats, found this out when it fell in a bucket of water as I was cleaning. A really great sound for a small price."
Pros
- Incredibly durable
- 360 degree sound
- Light and convenient
- Great bass
Cons
- Battery life is a little weak
Best Bose garden speaker
From their headphones to their earbuds, and of course, their speakers Bose is constantly at the forefront of music technology. Bose's Soundlink Flex, despite its size, brings powerful, rich and immersive audio wherever you go, indoors or outdoors. It's the perfect companion on a camping trip for great music on the go, and is resistant to most forms of damage, whether that's water, debris, or dust. Bose is known for their premium sound engineering that is unlike any speaker out there, and the SoundLink Flex does not disappoint.
Customer review: "Great speaker with excellent depth and clarity even at high volumes. It’s really well built with a great non-slip rubber coating. The battery life is really good, used it around our private pool on holiday every day for 8-10ths and never dropped below 30% charge. Really easy to connect to via Bluetooth, highly recommend this speaker."
Pros
- Fantastic design
- Impeccable build quality
- Great sound engineering
Cons
- Weaker battery life than expected
Best garden speaker for battery life
W-KING's D9-1 has 60W of punchy volume that's bound to impress your guests. While it doesn't have the portability of some of our other picks, it's a perfect option if you're looking to fully crank your tunes up for an impressive party.
Customer review: "For the price of the speaker it really is worth it, deep punchy bass and really loud! I use it for work in a dusty environment and it's never skipped a beat! It even outperformed stereo which is 4x the cost! All in all great piece of kit would definitely recommend."
Pros
- Incredible battery life
- Massive bass and volume
- Durable
Cons
- Very bulky compared to other picks
Best garden speaker for bass
Anker's Soundcore Motion Boom packs a hefty punch of bass at 80W, making this our most powerful pick of the bunch. This is easily the largest speaker on our list, and with it comes a huge, crisp sound that's perfect for parties and gatherings. More often than not, big bass causes at least a certain amount of distortion, leading to a disappointing sound overall, yet the Soundcore doesn't fail to deliver both great bass and great sound. If you're looking to grab this speaker for a camping trip, you might want to consider the size - as it isn't particularly portable. Luckily, it does have a strap for music on the go.
Customer review: "I own a number of Anker products and this item doesn't disappoint the sound quality is very good plenty of Bass, mid-range and treble also it's very loud overall happy with my purchase."
Pros
- Loudest overall bass from our picks
- Incredible sound mixing for great sound quality
- Fairly lightweight despite size
- Good battery life
Cons
- Fairly large so isn't as portable
Best-designed garden speaker
A truly stunning adaptive speaker from Sonos that is perfect for outdoor listening, the Sonos Move delivers a huge, atmospheric sound that is bass-rich, with wonderful clarity that is unlike any speaker you've heard. Using Trueplay, the Sonos Move adapts automatically to its environment - giving you the perfect sound, indoors or outdoors. It even has voice assistant support, so you can control your smart home, and even try out 10 things you might not know Alexa can do. Beautifully designed for convenience, and for the best sound possible, the Sonos Move is a great option for your garden party.
Customer review: "The Move was purchased to add mobility to my existing Sonos system, it has done that with the usual Sonos quality and simplicity. Pick it up, take it wherever you want, great sound on the Move and it brings Alexa along for the fun. The dynamic equalization is a real plus, go from spoken voice to rock and it gets it right, small space to garden and it does it all over again."
Pros
- Fantastic sound
- Beautifully designed
- The ultra-wide sound stage is great for outdoor sound
Cons
- Considerably more expensive than our other options
- Fairly larger than our other speakers
Best lightweight garden speaker
The Anker Soundcore Mini might just be the most convenient speaker for a garden party or outdoor adventure simply because of its incredibly small size, but don't be fooled, this speaker still packs a mighty punch, even for its price. With 15 hours of playtime and a 66-foot range, rest assured your garden party won't be short of music for the foreseeable future.
Customer review: "Have really been very impressed with this little speaker. Considering its size the sound quality is very good indeed."
Pros
- Solid bass for such a small unit
- Incredibly light and compact
- Great battery life
- Great value
Cons
- Weaker overall sound than pricier options
Best waterproof garden speaker
Yet another solid budget option with a lot to offer for such a small price tag, Hadisala's portable wireless Bluetooth speaker is built to last, with great build quality, and strong waterproofing, so accidental spills aren't going to leave you high and dry with no music this summer. Potentially our favourite aspect of this nifty speaker is the 360° sound, something you don't find in a lot of cheaper speakers, giving you great sound wherever you find yourself in your home or outdoors. And let's not forget the RGB light show that this speaker can put on. Stunning, especially at this price.
Customer review: "This is a great speaker for travel if weight is important. Had been looking for a Bluetooth speaker to carry on holiday which would not be too weighty or bulky to carry. This is a great size, very light compared to other speakers I have been using, good sound and long battery life."
Pros
- Fantastic 360° sound for a great price
- Completely waterproof, perfect for the shower
- Incredibly durable
- Small yet powerful
- RGB light show
- Built-in mic for Bluetooth calls
Cons
- Ideal for small gardens - but not as powerful as others here
Best ultra-cheap garden speakers
Our final pick is incredibly light, affordable, and delivers a very solid sound for the price. Lenrue has managed to deliver crystal-clear sound with decent bass for a ridiculously low price point, we can't recommend it enough for those looking to have a relaxing evening in the garden, without the needless expense of a booming speaker.
Customer review: "I got this speaker so I had sound for my pc in my room. This is perfect, decent sound, decent battery life and definite value for money"
Pros
- Good sound for the price
- Tough and durable, perfect for camping
Cons
- Isn't going to deliver amazing volume and bass
Verdict: What are the best garden speakers?
Sometimes the simplest solution is also the best, especially if the product is well-built and reliable. And that's why the JBL CHARGE 5 takes our top spot here. It's small and rugged, yet large enough to pack a decent punch sound-wise. The battery lasts well and waterproofing will keep you playing through summer rain, a splash in the pool and more.
If you're looking for something slightly more refined with extra functionality, we think the Sonos Move is best. It can stream via WiFi and you can link them up to make a wide sound field. It looks great too.
Best garden speakers: FAQs
Do outdoor speakers need to be covered when used outside?
Generally speaking, if your speaker is weatherproof, you won't need to cover the speaker at all. It'll therefore be resistant to pretty much anything that can damage it - water, dirt, snow, UV, you name it. But if your speaker isn't weatherproof, definitely consider covering it up if they're in wetter conditions.
What outdoor speakers work with Alexa?
Practically any Bluetooth speaker can connect with Alexa. So, if you've already got yourself an Echo you can create a surround sound for your garden.
What does wattage mean for a speaker?
A speaker's wattage indicates how much power a speaker can handle and how much power an amplifier is putting out. So, the higher the wattage - the louder the bass and volume.
What does the waterproof rating mean?
IP rating (or International Protection rating) is a measure of how effective a speaker is at protecting itself against water. Usually, an IP rating has two digits. The first digit represents protection against solid objects on a scale from 0-6, and the second digit represents protection against liquid with a scale from 0-8. And so, the higher the digit, the greater the protection.
Some speakers have an 'X' instead of a number. This means that either the solid or liquid protection has not been rated.
Ryan Houghton is a commercial content writer for Yours, specialising in tech. Ryan has retained a burning passion for gaming and technology since a young age and is always at the forefront of the latest technology trends.
