9 Best Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors of 2026, Tested and Reviewed
You can trust these models from First Alert, Kidde, and SimpliSafe to protect you and your loved ones from harm
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Installing reliable smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home can mean the difference between life and death.
About 60 percent of the fatalities from fire occur in homes without working fire alarms, according to the National Fire Protection Association. And more than 400 people in the U.S. die from accidental CO poisoning every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Why Are Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Ratings Free?
CR is committed to safety. Ratings of lifesaving products like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, car seats, and bike helmets are available to everyone.
Best Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Best Hardwired Smoke Detectors
Best Battery-Powered Smoke Detectors
Best Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Best Portable Carbon Monoxide Detector
Portable CO detectors can protect you when you’re away from home, alerting you to dangerous CO levels in hotel rooms, cars, RVs, and boats. Many offer low-level detection, alarming sooner than the traditional CO detectors installed in your home, which go off at 70 ppm CO per the UL 2034 standard.
The lower threshold can serve as an early alert system and also inform you of chronic low-level CO exposure, which carries its own health risks. Don’t use a portable detector to replace a home model, because there’s no UL certification standard for low-level CO detectors yet. But they can provide helpful backup to the more traditional detectors listed above.
How to Choose a Detector
Most detectors need to be hardwired, battery-powered, or plugged into an outlet. If you’re replacing an old detector, remove it from its mount to determine the type you need.
Hardwired detectors require special wiring typically found only in newer or renovated homes. The wiring runs from the detector into a wall or ceiling.
Battery-powered detectors are wireless, which means they can be installed anywhere. They typically use replaceable batteries (usually 9-volt or AA) or lithium batteries that are sealed inside and last 10 years. Some portable CO detectors require recharging.
Plug-in detectors receive power from an outlet. Like hardwired detectors, though, they have a backup battery that takes over during a power outage, and that battery needs to be replaced annually.
Newer models offer other helpful features, like smart-home alerts via a mobile app or the ability to work with other detectors so that when one goes off, they all do.
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