As @sidjohn1 says, it will depend in part on the exact use case.
THE CNET CHART: COMPARING LUMENS AND COLOR TEMPERATURES
CNET has a good chart that compares the more popular smart bulbs and gives lighting and color ranges. This can vary quite a bit. However, as of October 2015, the chart is out of date. The Hue Lux which was Hue’s less expensive white color only bulbs are noticeably dimmer than a standard bulb and dimmer than most of the others in the chart. But in October 2015, hue released two new bulbs, the “hue white” and the “hue white and multicolor.” Both new models are noticeably brighter than the previous versions, and the Hue White has dropped in price to $15.
WHEN MONEY MATTERS
The GE link white color only bulbs are probably the least expensive, typically on sale at target, Home Depot, or sometimes Amazon for about $12 a bulb. The Cree appear to be a somewhat better quality than the GE and usually only cost a few dollars more. Best Buy has the Hue Whites for $15, also a good price.
I’m working on a situation right now where the GE links get bumped off of my echo control when they get connected to SmartThings. I don’t have that problem with any other brand of bulb. (edited to update: it has now been confirmed that there is a firmware flaw with the GE links that causes them to lose connection to the network from time to time. This flaw is the reason why they are not on the official “works with smartthings” list. )
There’s a brand new line from Ecosmart in the same price range as the Cree and GE Link but not many reviews on how well they work yet.
Then in October 2015, Hue dropped the price of their white color only bulb to $15, putting it head-to-head against the others.
If you want color changing bulbs there aren’t a lot of choices, and the Hues are very good quality although they are expensive. Osram Lightify has introduced a new RGBW bulb in Europe so I would expect to see it in the US in 2016. (edited to update: now officially supported for the US)
MIDRANGE WHITE COLOR ONLY BULBS
osram Lightify is an interesting bulb, seems to be well engineered, but costs about double that of the GE link or Cree. It’s color tunable which means you can go cool white to warm white. Many people perceive cool white as brighter than warm white even though it isn’t. So there could be a psychological effect there.
Any of those work quite well with SmartThings.
ZWAVE OPTIONS
There are also some Z wave smart bulbs from Aeotech and linear, including an RGBW model. I have a couple of friends who are using these to get zwave signal downstairs into the basement, and they can certainly be a nice device for that.
One thing to note is that zwave antennas are noticeably bigger than zigbee and although the bulb may look like a traditional shape in a catalog picture they often look quite different in a lamp or fixture because of their size. This is because they are A21 instead of A19.
SOME OTHER PROTOCOLS
TCP bulbs used to have a cloud to cloud negation, but they discontinued it in June 2016.
LIFX is popular with those who want a very bright bulbs, but it also runs physically hot, so just take that into account.
Striimlight is a very expensive WiFi color changing bulb (about $125 each) with an interesting twist – – it includes a speaker as well. So you can use it to play music. A couple of community members have it. I would think it would be fun in a dorm room, or studio apartment, or a teen’s bedroom as an effect light.
Also be aware that many WiFi routers can have difficulty if you have more than about 30 WiFi devices active. You just need to check the specs for the router. This can be a problem if you are using only Wi-Fi bulbs to like the home, as it’s pretty easy to hit the 30 device limit.
SO DIFFERENT BULBS MEET DIFFERENT CASES
So a lot comes down to your budget and how you’re going to use them. I use one of the lux bulbs in the entryway and another by my bed because even though they’re a bit dimmer, they’ve been the most successful at staying connected, and those are the two areas where I don’t have a back up light.
I used to use GE links in several rooms so that I have voice control using the echo, they were a very inexpensive way to add extra voice controlled lighting in those areas. Those rooms also have conventional lighting with light switches as a backup. I also personally like the aesthetics of the GE link more than the Cree bulbs, although I suspect the Cree Bulb is better engineered. However, the dropping off drove me crazy and I have since replaced the GE links with Hue Whites.
If money wasn’t a consideration for me, I would get all Phillips bulbs. The color changing ones. Really well engineered, give you a lot of choices. I just can’t afford to spend $60 per lightbulb.
With the new $15 price for the “Hue White” bulbs, Plus their brighter light ouput, those will probably be my bulb of choice going forward for now.
So there are a lot of choices, and no one answer. Just depends on exactly what situation you’re working with, including your budget.
AND THEN THERE ARE SMART SWITCHES…
And of course all of this assumes you have a reason to begin with for choosing a bulb instead of a switch. Many people prefer switches, because they work in a more intuitive way, especially for visitors.
But again there’s no one right answer. If you’re in a dorm or an apartment where you’re not allowed to change any of the wiring, bulbs will obviously be a better choice. If you want color changing affects you pretty much have to go with smart bulbs. If, like we did at my house, you’re adding additional lighting in order to get voice control, a smart bulb in an inexpensive table lamp may be the least expensive option.
The following topic discusses switches versus bulbs: