10 Best Smart Thermostats Under 200 Dollars (October 2026)

If you want one answer right now: the Sensi Touch ST75 is the best smart thermostat under 200 dollars in 2026, and the Sensi Smart Thermostat ST55 is the version to buy if you want to spend less. Both are ENERGY STAR certified, both install over standard 24-volt low-voltage wiring, and neither charges a monthly fee.

We spent the last few weeks reading the manufacturer specifications for every Wi-Fi thermostat on the market in this price band and then working through thousands of owner reviews to see which claims hold up in real homes. What follows is the short list, ranked on things that actually matter once the unit is on your wall: whether it fits your HVAC system, whether it needs a C wire, how good the scheduling app is, and how much you give up compared with the flagship models from the same brands.

One thing to know before you read on: this is a spec-sheet and owner-review evaluation, not a lab test. We did not tear these units apart or measure their radio range, so where we say something is accurate, we are reporting what owners report against their own thermometers rather than claiming a reading we took ourselves.

If your heating system is a heat pump, or you are trying to decide between the ecobee and Nest ecosystems, we have a dedicated page on smart thermostats for heat pumps and a head-to-head on Nest vs ecobee vs Honeywell that goes deeper than this list.

Top 3 Picks Under 200 Dollars

All 10 Picks at a Glance

1. Sensi Touch ST75 – Best Overall Under 200 Dollars

The ST75 is the one I reach for when the thermostat sits on a busy hallway wall and someone else will use it, and the review data backs that up. It carries a 4.5 average across more than 14,000 reviews, the highest average rating in this roundup, and unlike the flagship units it still lands inside our 200-dollar ceiling.

It is made by White-Rodgers, a long-established thermostat manufacturer, and the 4.3-inch color LCD is genuinely responsive. The background color changes depending on whether the furnace is firing or the condenser is running, which is a small touch that makes a big difference when you are trying to work out why the house is cold.

Installation is where this model earns its reputation. There is a bubble level built into the back plate, the terminals are lit and easy to click, and the wire ID stickers come in the box rather than being something you print out. Sensi rates this model for air conditioners, boilers, furnaces and heat pumps, and it covers all four of those equipment types, which is more than most picks at this level can say.

The hardware is only half of it. The real argument for this model is the app, which has per-day heat, cool and auto programs and lets you duplicate a schedule block instead of rebuilding it. Owners running Sensi report rock-solid day-to-day Wi-Fi once it is configured, and professional installers describe it as the best on the market for build quality.

Why the ST75 is worth the extra money over the ST55

The ST55 does the same scheduling work and skips the color screen and the C wire requirement. The ST75 buys you two things that matter in daily use: a display you can read from across a room, and a thermostat that does not go blank when a circuit trips.

Because it hardwires for everything, the ST75 has no battery fallback at all. If power cuts out, the display is dark until it comes back. That is a fair trade for a cleaner install in a home that already has a C wire.

Where the ST75 falls short

The Wi-Fi pairing step is the most common install complaint, and it is not the unit’s fault. Routers that broadcast one smart-mode SSID across 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz will not let the ST75 join, so you may need to split the bands before setup.

Registration is limited to the US and Canada, which is a genuine problem for buyers in Europe, Australia and the UK. Scheduling and remote access simply do not activate outside those two regions.

2. Google Nest Thermostat – Best for Minimalist Design and Google Homes

The Google Nest Thermostat is the most reviewed product we considered, with close to 30,000 owner ratings, and it is still the one most people mean when they say smart thermostat. At 4.1 stars it sits below several picks on this list, and the gap tells you something real about what you trade away for that clean circular design.

What it does exceptionally well is the empty-house problem. The Nest learns when nobody is home and turns the temperature down on its own, and the 66% of owners who gave it five stars frequently mention noticing lower heating and cooling bills within the first couple of seasons.

The C wire story is the headline advantage here. Google designed it to run without a C wire in most homes, and only heating-only, cooling-only, zone-controlled and heat pump systems need one or a power accessory. That makes it one of the easier installs in this group for older houses.

It is also the pick that states support for all Matter-certified voice assistants rather than naming a fixed set of partners, so if you mix Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit devices in the same house, this is the one that keeps working. HVAC monitoring is a genuinely useful extra, sending an alert when the system looks off and pushing maintenance reminders.

Who the Nest suits best

It suits anyone who lives in a Google Home household, lives in an older home without a C wire, or wants a thermostat that visually disappears on the wall. The 2-inch display and the turn-ring control are among the few designs that look deliberate rather than industrial.

It also suits people who check their phone constantly. Remote control from phone, laptop and tablet is reliable, and the schedule editor in the Google Home app on Android or iPhone is straightforward once you have done it twice.

Who should pass on the Nest

Skip it if an older relative will be living with and adjusting the thermostat. The swipe-and-turn-ring interface is the most commonly criticized control scheme in the group, and the box contains no paper instructions at all, so setup depends entirely on the app and online tutorials.

It is also a 1-year warranty against the 3 years on the Sensi models, and its functionality drops into limited offline mode when your internet connection is down. Support from Google is largely limited to online community resources rather than phone help.

3. Sensi Smart Thermostat ST55 – Best for Scheduling and No C Wire

The Sensi ST55 is the pick I point people to when they care more about getting the schedule right than about how the thermostat looks. At 4.4 stars across more than 23,000 reviews it has a deep owner base, and 75% of those owners gave it five stars.

Its scheduling app is the reason. You can build separate heat, cool and auto programs for each day and duplicate a block rather than starting from scratch, which is a small feature that saves an enormous amount of friction in a household where everyone has different hours.

The second reason to like it is power. Sensi states that a common wire is not required in most applications, and owners upgrading from a Honeywell unit whose Wi-Fi board has failed report swapping to the ST55 as a straight improvement. A built-in level on the back plate means the wall plate lines up without a bubble level taped to the side.

It is also unusual at this price point in showing indoor humidity alongside usage reports, equipment alerts and filter replacement reminders. Those reports are how you catch a failing system before you notice it as a cold room in February.

Why the ST55 is the value pick of this list

It covers air conditioners, boilers, furnaces and heat pumps, and it is ENERGY STAR certified with a manufacturer claim of roughly 23% HVAC energy savings from scheduling, remote access and usage reports. Owners call out accurate temperature readings consistently, and the physical buttons feel like a traditional thermostat rather than a gadget.

Because the display is a 5-inch LED rather than a color LCD, the numbers stay readable from a few steps away. For anyone who actually cares what the thermostat says, that matters more than a fancier panel.

What the ST55 cannot do

The alert thresholds are fixed. You cannot adjust the high and low temperature or humidity trip points, which makes it a weaker choice for a rental or second home where you want to be pinged if the temperature swings while you are away.

Wi-Fi registration fails on some routers that use a single smart-mode SSID for both bands, and the app interface is the oldest-looking of the Sensi range. Both are workable problems, but they are the first two things a fussy owner will try to fix.

4. Amazon Smart Thermostat – Best for Alexa Households on a Budget

The Amazon Smart Thermostat is a low-cost way into a voice-controlled thermostat that actually schedules, and at 4.0 stars across more than 25,000 reviews it is one of the more established devices in the category. The hardware is Honeywell Home technology, which matters more for long-term reliability than the branding suggests.

Its real strength is Alexa. Comfort zones connect to select Alexa devices and adjust heating and cooling based on temperature readings or presence detection, and you can let Alexa run the schedule automatically while you monitor and control the temperature from the Alexa app when you are away from home.

It is ENERGY STAR certified, and the product materials cite an EPA estimate of meaningful annual energy savings for a typical home. Amazon also emails you about available home thermostat rebates from local energy providers, which is a free nudge that sometimes pays for a chunk of the unit.

Installation is guided step by step inside the Alexa app rather than a paper manual, and the whole process is designed for someone who has never opened a wall plate. That is genuinely the deciding factor for a lot of first-time buyers.

What the Amazon Smart Thermostat does well

It is the practical answer to the Alexa question and a fit for a room that gets used differently every day. Programmable home, away and sleep schedules cover the three patterns most households actually use, and the Honeywell Home build means the physical device is a known quantity rather than a first-generation experiment.

It is also the right pick for an apartment, a rental or a second home where you want remote control and away scheduling without a learning model. The value case is strongest for anyone already running Echo devices.

What the Amazon Smart Thermostat leaves out

A C wire is required, which is the most common install blocker in this category. Homes with older two-wire systems need an adapter, and there is no bundled power-stealing fallback here.

The display is small and monochrome, and functionality is thinner than the ecobee or Honeywell premium models. You will not find room sensors, occupancy sensing, a color panel or a usage report, and that is exactly what you give up at the bottom of the price range.

5. Honeywell Home RTH9600WF Smart Color – Best for a Customizable Color Display

The Honeywell Home RTH9600WF puts a genuinely good color touchscreen in reach for most buyers, and at 4.3 stars across roughly 20,000 reviews it has one of the larger owner bases on this page. A color panel at this price is unusual, and Honeywell has been building thermostats long enough that the hardware feels solid rather than novel.

The screen is customizable, so you pick the display color, and the home screen carries indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity and a daily forecast. That combination is the reason people keep this unit on a hallway wall where guests can see it.

Smart Response is the scheduling feature to understand. It reads your schedule and begins warming the home before you arrive, rather than waiting for the setpoint time and then catching up. It works with forced air systems running on gas, oil or electric, hot water and steam systems, and heat pumps with electric backup.

Voice support runs to four partners, covering Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and IFTTT, so it fits a mixed smart home. It is ENERGY STAR certified, tracks heating and cooling, and sends personalized energy-reduction tips.

Who should choose the RTH9600WF

Choose it if the thermostat is visible and you enjoy having real data on screen. People who like to glance at outdoor conditions and humidity without opening an app rate this highly, and 72% of owners gave it five stars.

It is also a solid fit for hot water or steam heating, which some picks on this list do not explicitly cover, and for heat pumps with electric backup where you want Smart Response preheating.

What to know before you buy

A C wire is required, so homes without one need the power adapter, which adds a step and a small cost. It will not work with electric baseboard heat at 120-240V, so check what is driving your heat before you commit.

Heating-only oil furnace systems will not work without a C wire present. And the menu hierarchy is deep, so expect to spend a few minutes finding basic settings the first time you set it up.

6. Honeywell Home 9000 WiFi Color Touchscreen – Best for On-Screen Data

The Honeywell Home 9000, model TH9320WF5003, packs an unusually dense amount of information onto one screen, and its 4.4 rating across nearly 9,000 reviews reflects a device people keep for a decade. You can see indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, system status, the full schedule and both set points at once.

That is the practical argument for it. Most smart thermostats make you choose between looking at the schedule and looking at the humidity. This one shows everything, on a bright color screen that owners say stays readable for aging eyes.

Reliability is the headline for the 9000. Owners report running these units for nine and ten years, and the thermostat keeps its time and settings through a power outage and stays on schedule if the Wi-Fi drops. Energy Savings mode pairs with 7-day easy programming, and predictive AI scheduling gets rooms to target before you need them.

The Total Connect Comfort app handles remote monitoring and management, and alerts and reminders appear on the display and get pushed through the app. It works with Alexa, though the Echo device is sold separately.

Where the 9000 earns its price

It is a pro-install class model, and buyers running them in residential or light commercial settings rate it accordingly. If you want your thermostat to be the information hub for your whole HVAC system rather than a simple dial replacement, this is the pick we would look at first at the upper end.

Because units of this model have been in the field for years, wiring diagrams and troubleshooting advice for this exact thermostat are easy to find, which matters if you hit a setup snag.

The problems you should weigh first

It is hardwired and a C wire is required, so older battery-powered systems need an add-a-wire kit. The pro-install designation also creates real confusion about warranty terms, which owners flag as a genuine source of frustration.

There is no way to manually set the second-stage heat differential, which matters if you run a two-stage heat pump, and the menu system is deep enough to overwhelm a first-time smart thermostat owner. Honeywell customer support is also widely reported as unhelpful.

7. ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced – Best for Occupancy Sensing

The ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced is the one pick here with a built in occupancy sensor rather than a phone-based location check, and the only one that ships a Power Extender Kit in the box. At 4.4 stars across more than 3,700 reviews it earns its place, and it comes closest to what the flagship ecobee hardware offers.

Occupancy sensing is the reason. The thermostat preheats or precools before you arrive, learns your preferences and schedule, and adjusts for humidity. It claims up to 26% annual savings on heating and cooling by shifting temperature when you are away or asleep.

The box is unusually complete. A Power Extender Kit for homes without a C wire and a trim kit are both included, which removes the most common surprise cost in this category, and ecobee rates it compatible with 90% of HVAC systems with an online compatibility checker to confirm yours.

Its partner list runs to four ecosystems, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit and SmartThings, and the app extends to smartphone, tablet and Apple Watch. eco+ uses your routine, comfort preferences, local weather and grid activity to tune efficiency.

What the ecobee Enhanced does that the Essential cannot

Occupancy sensing, metal construction, the included Power Extender Kit and the 3-year warranty. Owners also praise accurate readings, a responsive touchscreen and smooth Alexa and HomeKit pairing, with meaningful savings once eco+ and time-of-use routines are configured.

It is the right pick for a household where someone works from home on a shifting schedule, because occupancy beats a fixed timetable. If your week does not look like a fixed week, this is the thermostat that adapts.

What it costs you at this price

SmartSensor room sensors are sold separately, so genuine room-by-room comfort still means buying accessories. It sits right at the ceiling of this list, which means you get no headroom for the sensors you may decide you want three months from now.

Registration and app region locks limit setup outside the US and Canada, which frustrates international buyers, and eco+ is a deeper feature set to configure than anything else in this roundup.

8. Sensi Lite ST25 – Best for a First Smart Thermostat

The Sensi Lite ST25 is the model to buy if this is your first smart thermostat and your system is a basic four-wire setup. It is rated for air conditioners, boilers, furnaces and heat pumps, and at 4.0 stars from more than 2,300 owners it does the core job without setup drama.

Owners who struggled with a Nest on a basic system report installing the ST25 in about five minutes and having it work immediately. A built-in level and simple step-by-step instructions are part of why, and the app has no settings most beginners will ever need to touch.

The display numbers are large enough to read from across a room, and temperature readings are reported as accurate to within about half a degree of professional service thermometers. It is ENERGY STAR certified with a claim of about 23% HVAC energy savings through flexible scheduling, geofencing, remote access and usage reports.

Privacy is stated more plainly than in most listings. Sensi states it does not sell personal information or use thermostat activity for advertising, which is a meaningful difference in a category where data practices are rarely spelled out by manufacturers.

Where the ST25 makes sense

It suits a first upgrade from a manual dial, a small apartment, a dorm or an office, and any home where you want phone control and scheduling without a display to learn. The physical interface is uncluttered enough that a landlord handing a tenant a key does not need to walk anyone through it.

At 4.8 ounces with two included AAA batteries and a battery-or-C-wire power source, it is also a good fit for a secondary space where you would rather not pay for a power adapter or an electrician. The 3-year warranty is longer than the 1-year and 2-year terms on the Nest and Honeywell models.

What you give up for the simplicity

There is no color display, so it is plainer than most of the picks on this page. It has only three levels of temperature tolerance and limited settings overall, and 16% of owners left a one-star review, the largest single-star share we saw, mostly over Wi-Fi dropouts after installation and fragile battery springs that need reseating.

Registration is limited to the US and Canada, and a C wire becomes required on heat pump and heat and cool only systems, so check your wiring before you buy if that is your setup.

9. ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential – Best for Apple HomeKit on a Mid Budget

The ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential is the lower-cost path into the ecobee app, and its 4.2 rating from nearly 1,900 owners reflects a polished but simplified device. It is the pick for an Apple HomeKit household that wants eco+ scheduling without paying for the Enhanced.

You get the round, matte design, an easy-to-tap 3.74-inch color touchscreen, and the full ecobee app experience with eco+ features including indoor humidity detection, a schedule assistant and time-of-use preheat and precool. All of that work is done by the software rather than the hardware, which is the point of this model.

Compatibility is broad for the money. It works with most 24 VAC equipment including gas, oil, electric, dual fuel, forced air in 2H/1C or 1H/2C configurations, heat pumps in 2H/1C and boilers, and ecobee rates it for 85% of systems with an online compatibility checker.

Owners report real savings of up to roughly 23% on heating and cooling, reliable Alexa and HomeKit pairing, and the value of free software upgrades extending the working life of the unit. 68% of owners gave it five stars.

Why pick the Essential over the Amazon Smart Thermostat

The Amazon Smart Thermostat gives you a small monochrome panel, simple schedules and Alexa-driven control. The ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential gives you a color touchscreen, a considerably more capable app, and native Apple HomeKit support, which is rare in this price band and matters if your household runs Home.

It is also the right call when you might add room sensors later. SmartSensors are sold separately, but the thermostat is built to accept them, so the path to whole-home comfort exists without changing hardware.

What it costs you

For homes without a C wire, the Power Extender Kit and trim kit are both sold separately, which adds cost and steps to an install that the Enhanced model handles in the box. That is the most common complaint among owners.

There is no built-in occupancy sensing, so comfort scheduling depends on your fixed program rather than detecting an empty house. And it is less capable than the Smart Thermostat Enhanced in every other respect too.

10. Honeywell Home T5 Smart WiFi Thermostat – Best for Geofencing and Utility Rebates

The Honeywell Home T5, model RTH8800WF2022, is the pick for anyone who wants location-based control rather than a schedule you have to maintain. It runs at 4.3 stars from more than 1,400 owners, and geofencing is the feature that separates it from the plain budget options.

You choose between seven-day flexible scheduling or location-based control, so the thermostat lowers itself when the last person leaves the house and recovers it on the way back. Auto home and away modes, vacation mode and fan control are all handled in the app, and owners using the budget Honeywell range rate its app quality well.

The energy side of the T5 is better than the screen suggests. It is ENERGY STAR certified with monthly energy reports and personalized savings tips, and Honeywell reports that users of its scheduling saved between 8% and 16% on heating and cooling bills.

It is also the pick to chase money back. Owners report qualifying for utility rebates, and demand-response programs can reward you for allowing temperature adjustments at peak times, which turns the thermostat into something that pays rather than costs.

Who the T5 is right for

It suits households with unpredictable hours, two-car families where one person is always home, and anyone who wants the thermostat to react to leaving rather than to a fixed clock. It is rated for air conditioners, furnaces and heat pumps.

If you are in a region with utility rebates or demand-response programs, this is the model most likely to qualify. Check with your energy provider before you buy, and again after installation.

What to watch out for

A C wire power adapter is required if your home does not have one, and heating-only oil furnace systems will not work without a C wire present. Both are worth confirming against your existing wiring before you order.

The 4.95-inch display is monochrome LCD, so it is plain next to the RTH9600WF and the ecobee models. The 2-year limited warranty is also shorter than the 3 years on all three Sensi models.

How We Chose These Thermostats

We ranked on five things, in this order, and we did not score on appearance.

1. HVAC compatibility first. Every model here had to be rated for 24-volt low-voltage systems and had to state clearly which equipment types it handles. Line-voltage 120V systems rule out every budget smart thermostat outright.
2. C wire reality. We recorded whether a model runs without a C wire, works with a bundled adapter, or forces you to buy one. This is the number one practical blocker for people in older homes.
3. Owner review depth. Ratings only count as evidence when there are thousands of reviews behind them. The two models with the smallest review counts on this list are included, but we treat their ratings as provisional.
4. Scheduling and app quality. Per-day programs, geofencing, occupancy sensing, alerts and usage reports. A thermostat you cannot schedule accurately saves nothing.
5. Total cost of ownership. Subscription requirements, separately sold room sensors, separately sold power adapters and warranty length all count against a model, not just the sticker price.

What we did not do: we did not perform laboratory measurements, we did not confirm energy savings figures independently, and manufacturer savings claims are reported as claims. The EPA and ENERGY STAR numbers quoted in the product materials come from certification data, not from our own testing.

How to Choose a Smart Thermostat Under 200 Dollars

Compatibility decides everything else, so work through these five steps in order rather than shopping by features.

Confirm your HVAC type before you buy

Almost every budget smart thermostat in this list requires a 24-volt low-voltage system. That covers standard forced air furnaces, central air, boilers and most heat pumps. It does not cover line-voltage systems, which is why the Honeywell RTH9600WF and the 9000 both explicitly state they will not work with 120-240V electric baseboard heat.

You also need to know whether you have a heat pump, a dual-fuel system, or a heating-only oil furnace, because each one changes which terminals your thermostat has to reach. Heating-only oil furnaces are the trap: both the T5 and the RTH9600WF will not work on one without a C wire present.

Decide how the C wire gets handled

A C wire, or common wire, is the 24-volt power line that keeps a smart thermostat running continuously. Manual dials run on batteries and do not need one. Wi-Fi thermostats generally do, because a Wi-Fi radio that browns out every time the furnace starts cycling produces exactly the schedule-reset complaints owners complain about.

You have three options. Buy a model that runs without one, such as the Sensi ST55 or the Sensi Lite ST25, or the Google Nest in most configurations. Buy a model with a bundled power adapter, which is the case with the ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced and its included Power Extender Kit. Or add a C wire adapter at install, which is what Honeywell calls a power adapter and what the Amazon Smart Thermostat, the T5 and both Honeywell color models require.

If your home genuinely has no C wire and you want a model that needs one, running a new wire means opening the wall and usually means an electrician, which is a materially larger cost than the thermostat itself. Check your existing wiring before you pick a model, not after it arrives.

Know what 200 dollars buys you, and what it does not

At the bottom of this range you get app control, remote access, a programmable schedule and ENERGY STAR certification. In the middle you get color screens, humidity readouts, usage reports, alerts and better construction. At the top of the range you reach built-in occupancy sensing, metal construction, humidifier control, four-voice-partner support and the only model on this list with a bundled C wire solution.

What you do not get at any price point in this list is the multi-room sensor ecosystem of the ecobee flagships, because SmartSensors are accessories rather than included hardware. If room-by-room comfort is the actual problem you are solving, budget for sensors rather than choosing a different thermostat.

Subscription fees, app tiers and room sensors

Subscription pricing is where the marketing tends to get quiet, so read the product materials carefully. What we found across these ten models is one-off accessory costs rather than recurring fees: ecobee SmartSensors are sold separately, so multi-room comfort is an accessory purchase, and the ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential requires a separately sold Power Extender Kit and trim kit for homes without a C wire, whereas the Enhanced includes both in the box. Sensi separately states that it does not sell personal information or use thermostat activity for advertising.

Voice ecosystems and accuracy

Match the thermostat to the assistant you already use rather than the reverse. The ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced lists four partners, covering Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit and SmartThings, and the Essential adds HomeKit at a lower level. The Google Nest works with Google Assistant and all Matter-certified assistants, which makes it the most future-proof if you mix ecosystems. The Amazon Smart Thermostat is the deepest Alexa integration, with comfort zones that read temperature or presence from select Echo devices. The Honeywell models cover Alexa and Google Assistant, and the 9000 puts the most on one screen.

On accuracy, the honest answer is that the measurable factors are sensor placement, calibration behaviour and how the thermostat averages readings across sensors. The Sensi Lite ST25 has owners comparing readings against service thermometers to about half a degree. The Sensi Touch ST75 and the ecobee models are repeatedly described as accurate in review summaries. What none of them do is tell you the temperature of a room, only the temperature at the thermostat, which is exactly what room sensors exist to solve.

What ENERGY STAR certification actually verifies

ENERGY STAR certification for smart thermostats is not a marketing badge. It is based on real-world field data on how much energy these devices save compared with a baseline thermostat, and it is the objective check behind every savings claim in this category.

The numbers you will see quoted are manufacturer claims: an EPA estimate of annual savings for the Amazon Smart Thermostat, roughly 23% for the Sensi models, up to 23% for the ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential, up to 26% for the Enhanced, and 8% to 16% for Honeywell scheduling. All ten models here carry the certification. Your actual saving depends far more on your schedule discipline, your insulation and your climate than on which of these ten you choose.

One more practical point if you own a seasonal home or a rental. The temperature and humidity alert thresholds on the Sensi ST55 cannot be adjusted, so it is a weaker choice for remote monitoring of an empty property. The T5 with geofencing and vacation mode, or the Sensi Touch ST75 with its on-screen alerts, is a better watch over an empty house. If you are protecting pipes in an unheated space, our guide to pipe freeze protection cables with thermostats covers the other half of that problem, and our picks for 240-volt cove heaters cover line-voltage heating, which no thermostat on this page supports.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Final Recommendation

The best smart thermostats under 200 dollars are not close to equal, and the right pick depends almost entirely on your wiring and your schedule. Buy the Sensi Touch ST75 if you have a C wire and want the highest-rated unit here. Buy the Sensi ST55 if you do not have a C wire or if scheduling accuracy matters more to you than the display.

Buy the Amazon Smart Thermostat for a cheap, low-effort start in an Alexa house, the Sensi Lite ST25 for a genuinely first smart thermostat on a basic system, the Google Nest for a minimalist design and the easiest install in an older home, and the ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential or Enhanced if you run Apple HomeKit and want automation that reacts to occupancy.

And if your system is 120-240V line voltage, none of these will work at all, which is worth knowing before you fall in love with a color screen.