The top smart thermostats we’ve tested can control your home’s heating and cooling with your phone or your voice—and might help you save on energy costs.
If you’re looking to smarten up your home, your thermostat is a good place to start and can help you save a considerable chunk of money by reducing your heating and cooling costs.
However, not all smart thermostats are equally capable; some that work with simple heating and cooling systems just offer basic scheduling and programming options, while others that support complex multi-stage systems can control heating, cooling, dehumidifier, and ventilation systems. As with most smart home devices, prices vary depending on features and capabilities. Read on to find out what to look for when shopping for your smart thermostat, as well as our favorite models in testing.Why We Picked It
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is one of the most full-featured smart thermostats out there. It supports five different smart home platforms (Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings), monitors air quality, and can work as a home security device and a smart speaker. And when it comes to controlling your HVAC system, it does that really well, too.Who It’s For
This is a premium thermostat that covers almost all of the smart home bases for easy automation. While it lacks Matter integration, its broad third-party device support means it should still work with all of your other connected gadgets. It’s a bit on the pricey end, though, and keep in mind some of its features require a subscription.Why We Picked It
Nest was one of the first major smart thermostat brands, and it’s still one of the best. The third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat is eight years old, but it still works well enough for Google, which owns Nest, to sell it as the high-end model in its lineup. It doesn’t support Matter, but it works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. It supports external temperature sensors, and most importantly, it can intelligently learn your temperature preferences to efficiently control your heating and air conditioning.Who It’s For
Even if it’s not the newest entry on this list, the Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the best for its ease of use and effective energy-saving automations. It’s ideal if you have a smart home built around Google Assistant, especially if you use any other Nest devices since they all are designed to work together.Why We Picked It
The Nest Thermostat is, somewhat confusingly, a completely different device from the Nest Learning Thermostat. Unlike its pricier sibling, it doesn’t actually learn how you adjust your home’s temperature settings to automatically create a schedule based on your preferences. It can still save you money in the long run, since it can walk you through the process of manually setting up a less dynamic schedule based on your habits. It lacks the Nest Learning Thermostat’s touch screen and it isn’t quite as compatible with HVAC systems because it only supports one- and two-stage heating, but it does work with Matter.Who It’s For
This is an excellent budget smart thermostat, and the only Nest choice if you have a Matter (or HomeKit or SmartThings) smart home. Be aware of its limitations, like a lack of support for three-stage heating systems, but it’s a solid value that can help you save on your energy bill.Why We Picked It
It was inevitable that Amazon would add smart thermostats to its extensive lineup of smart home devices, and the Amazon Smart Thermostat is a solid budget pick. At $80, it’s one of the cheapest options out there, and if you use Alexa to control your smart home, it has you covered. It doesn’t work with Google Assistant, IFTTT, or Matter, though.Who It’s For
The Amazon Smart Thermostat is for budget-minded users who already have a home built around Alexa (and Ring) devices. It doesn’t play well with anything else, but if you have an Echo, it’s an affordable choice that works well.Why We Picked It
If a dial and simple temperature display is too old-fashioned for you, the Sensi Touch 2 relies entirely on a 4.3-inch color touch screen to control your heating and air conditioning.
