Smart thermostats do more than automate a fixed heating and cooling schedule. These app-enabled devices make it possible to adjust your thermostat whether you’re on the couch, on vacation or at the grocery store. Many of them also work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri now, too. These are four of the best on the market according to our CNET experts’ testing.
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Ecobee4
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)
The good: Ecobee’s Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat has a responsive display, a remote sensor and tons of smart integrations, including a built-in Amazon Alexa speaker.
The bad: The price is high, particularly if you don’t care about the Alexa speaker or the Ecobee4’s other smart capabilities.
The cost: $219.00 to $234.23
The bottom line: There’s no comparison — the Ecobee4 is the best smart thermostat available today.
Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen.)
CNET rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The $249 Nest Learning Thermostat has a larger display, a better resolution and a far-field sensor for viewing time and temperature information from a distance. It works with Google Assistant and Alexa — and Nest, finally, sells a temperature sensor as an optional accessory.
The bad: The Nest Learning Thermostat isn’t compatible with Apple HomeKit.
The cost: $214.95 to $249.00
The bottom line: Nest is a solid smart thermostat, but the Ecobee4 offers more smart home integrations and a better overall value.
Honeywell Lyric T5
CNET rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The Honeywell Lyric T5’s geofencing feature worked consistently well, it automated our Home and Away settings every time without complaint, and it sent prompt notifications alerting us to the changes.
The bad: While we like the thermostat’s general design, the font and layout of the touchscreen interface looks dated. We would like to see integrations with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.
The cost: $139.99
The bottom line: Honeywell’s Siri-, Alexa-, and geofencing-enabled Lyric T5 is smart, it works well and it offers a better value than other connected thermostats.
Ecobee3 Lite
CNET rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: A responsive touchscreen and integrations with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT give the lower-priced $169 Ecobee3 Lite Smart Thermostat serious appeal.
The bad: “Smart” is a bit of a stretch for the Ecobee3 Lite, since it doesn’t rely on activity-tracking sensors or any other sort of adaptive tech to learn your routine. $169 is still a lot to spend, especially on a programmable thermostat.
The cost: $154.99 to $169.95
The bottom line: No other Wi-Fi thermostat available today offers this many smart home partnerships for this low of a price, but you should weigh the importance of the integrations against the MSRP — many 7-day app-enabled programmable thermostats cost just $100.
