ecobee3 is the best Wi-Fi thermostat you can buy today. It not only works with additional sensors, but it supports Apple's HomeKit home automation system.
Update: ecobee3 is now available without additional sensors, offering a lower-cost point of entry for anyone interested in smart thermostats. More below!
Best overall
ecobee3
ecobee3 one-ups other smart, Wi-Fi equipped thermostats by including remote sensors. They allow you to not only measure the temperature of the room or hallway where the thermostat is installed but also any other room as well. As such, you get more granular control and better comfort and energy efficiency in your house. With the new HomeKit-enabled version of the ecobee3 hardware, you also get full support for Siri control, including the ability to change temperature with your voice and trigger more complex actions with scenes, using your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. (Like cooling the house when you watch Empire Strikes Back!)
Bottom line: With extra sensors for around the house and HomeKit support both inside and remote, ecobee3 is the easy choice for anyone in the Apple ecosystem.
One more thing: ecobee is an independent company, not part of a search engine giant. So, if you want to avoid even the slightest chance of your data being harvested or shared, you want ecobee.
Why the ecobee3 is the best
Remote sensors and easy remote control make ecobee3 the complete package.
I love the idea of controlling my home with my iPhone, iPad, and especially my Apple Watch. When I needed to replace my thermostat, I first looked at Nest. I'll be honest — their being owned by Google was a concern of mine. I'm incredibly concerned about online privacy and I just don't like the idea of a data company having a sensor in my house. So, I went with ecobee – first the original and then the HomeKit version as soon as it was available.
Given some of the stumbles Nest has made since then, the continued lack of HomeKit support, and the general neglect that seems to have plagued their products, I'm more convinced than ever that I made the right choice. And I'm not alone.
"In love" was the term used by M. B. Grant of Smart Thermostat Guide:
This is the thermostat we've been waiting for!
We weren't hugely sold on the Honeywell Lyric's geofencing feature, and the Nest's twist dial is feeling a bit dated compared to the ecobee3's full-blown touch screen. We also think Google already has too many eyes inside our house (sorry, Nest).
Megan Wollerton of CNET still preferrs Nest, but agrees that:
Ecobee3 is the best choice if you want Apple HomeKit integration and a remote sensor to track any room-to-room temperature disparities.
You don't really appreciate the convenience of a connected thermostat until you have one. It was relatively easy to set up, and since then it's been incredibly easy to control on my iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
The original version required its own app, but the current version works with HomeKit, which is Apple's home automation framework. That means that once you're set up with the app, you can use Apple's virtual assistant, Siri to control your ecobee3. You can also integrate it into scenes with your other HomeKit enabled accessories.
With iOS 10, you can use Apple's new Home app to do all the setup and management as well, and with tvOS 10 and the current generation Apple TV, you can control ecobee3 with the Siri Remote and also access it remotely from anywhere in the world. That's one of the big advantages of HomeKit.
While the ecobee3 comes with one additional sensor, you can get dozens of others to place around even the biggest house. That way, even if the temperature fluctuates from room to room, you can make sure everything is set just the way you like it.
Those three factors — not being tied to Google, integration with HomeKit, and the extra sensors — combine to make ecobee3 the best Wi-Fi thermostat for anyone in the Apple's ecosystem.
Best for less
ecobee3 lite
ecobee3 lite is no more, no less, than the ecobee3 thermostat without the extra sensors. It has all the same great features, including HomeKit compatibility and Siri control, it's just constrained to the area where you install the main unit.
If you have a small apartment, condo, or home, or just don't feel the need for extra sensors in other rooms, it's a great way to get started with ecobee3 and save a little money while doing it.
Bottom line: If you want ecobee3 but you don't want to pay for the full starter kit, you can get the essentials with lite.
One more thing: You can still add extra sensors at any time to expand your ecobee3 setup.
Best for the rest
Nest
Alphabet's Nest may not be the newest smart thermostat on the block any longer, but it was the one that sparked a generational shift. The HAL-like dial is futuristic, largely easy to operate (albeit sometimes clunky to type with), and Nest comes with a great iPhone and iPad app for controlling your house's temperature. It also supports the Works with Nest program, which provides integrations with dozens of other smart home products.
Ultimately, what separates it from our top pick is its age and lack of HomeKit support — though ultra-modern when released, Nest is showing signs of not being quite as technologically advanced as its competitors. It doesn't offer room sensors, like the ecobee, nor does it let you connect to Apple's HomeKit framework.
That said, if you have other Works with Nest products in your home and few HomeKit options, Nest might be the better of the two picks.
There's also the question of privacy: Nest is owned by Alphabet (A.K.A. Google), and the thermostat's operating ability centers around web access.
Bottom line: If you're inside the Works with Nest ecosystem and don't mind Google's ownership, Nest is a great non-HomeKit alternative to Ecobee.
One more thing: Works with Nest is really the best bit of the Nest thermostat. You can use it to tell items in your home to go on or off at a certain temperature or clue Nest in to when you're home or away.
Conclusion
Smart, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats are maturing rapidly, but they're still very new. Nest is in its third generation and ecobee3 its second. That means a lot is still changing and fast. But if you're all-in on Apple, and you want a smart thermostat now, ecobee3 is your best bet.
Note: The Honeywell Lyric is a third option and one that also supports HomeKit. It hasn't beat out ecobee3 or Nest in any of the comparisons we've seen to date, but we look forward to testing it ourselves and updating in the near future.
Best overall
ecobee3
ecobee3 one-ups other smart, Wi-Fi equipped thermostats by including remote sensors. They allow you to not only measure the temperature of the room or hallway where the thermostat is installed, but also any other room as well. As such, you get more granular control and better comfort and energy efficiency in your house. With the new HomeKit-enabled version of the ecobee3 hardware, you also get full support for Siri control, including the ability to change temperature with your voice and trigger more complex actions with scenes, using your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Apple Watch. (Like cooling the house when you watch Empire Strikes Back!)
Bottom line: With extra sensors for around the house and HomeKit support both inside and remote, ecobee3 is the easy choice for anyone in the Apple ecosystem.
One more thing: ecobee is an independent company, not part of a search engine giant. So, if you want to avoid even the slightest chance of your data being harvested or shared, you want ecobee.
Reader comments
Best Smart Thermostat
I feel when blog posts like this are replayed at a later stage, one should confirm current hardware and such prior to reposting. .
The first thing I noticed was that the Nest segment, was based off either the 1st or 2nd gen (based on the image; smaller screen, latest generation has a larger screen).
Two days ago, I bought the latest generation, and it works fine with Apple 'Home'. And, it was and is a rather seamless setup...
Nest thermostat plus Keen smart vent is a better solution than Ecobee even with the higher cost of entry. For voice control, Alexa is doing the job nicely.
FYI I was an early Nest adopter and still have the Gen 1 running in my house. I was able to get homekit integration by running "hombridge" on my mac mini. I can control my Nest with Siri from anywhere just like my Hue and Lutron devices.
Any news of availability for the ecobee in the UK? Really would prefer to avoid Nest due to privacy concerns but reviews seem to indicate that those two are the ones to go for.
Sent from the iMore App
Georgia,
While the sensors sound great, unless you own a house with VAV's or multiple furnaces or condensing units, you're going to waste energy if you set one of the sensors in your cold or hot rooms.
Not necessarily. One of my thermostats is in a room that never gets used. It also tends to be one of the rooms that gets the most sun. So while the room I am in all day (I work at home) is freezing in the summer and my AC is working overtime cooling a room to a temperature it doesn't need to be at. With this setup, I can set my comfortable temperature, put a sensor in my office, and not worry about my office being cold and the room with the thermostat being cooled unnecessarily
Georgia - I thought the ecobee lite it only didn't come with the sensor but also that it didn't support it? If the lite does support the sensors, it would be a better deal to get that and the two sensor pack, which would make the total cost the same as the non-lite with one sensor.
I also wonder, and assume you can, but in a dual zone, can you use the regular in a zone you want sensors (my upstairs zone), and a lite downstairs where I am not concerned about zones?
Sent from the iMore App
given the recent DDOS meltdown from using hacked wifi devices, how about a comparison about security used on these cool new toys?
My new Sensi brand wifi thermostat, has a device specific code for setting up the wifi. Does that sound like enough?
Sent from the iMore App
Can it work LAN only? No WAN?
If not I don't care to have it.
I have no desire to fund companies that will eventually fail and leave me with devices that are useless.
Sent from the iMore App
Home Kit, for now, is a non-starter for me. With Alexa... I just talk to my house (via one Echo and two Dots) to make things happen. I don't need to have my phone or watch with me.
Nest for me.
the honeywell programable thermostat is hands down the best. it may not work with homekit but even the one that's 10 years old beats all of the above hands down when it comes to programability and it's intelligen adaptive recovery. getting the professional (commercial) version gives you even more savings and comfort in the long run.
You're right...
Having the sensors with the ecobee is nice. I put them in the bedrooms upstairs to make sure it's warm enough in winter (or cool enough in summer). I can not turn on the heater or a/c during the day, and then have it go to the normal temperatures when the sensors detect someone is home. Sure it's lazier that way, but isn't that what technology is for?
It's a thermostat. All it needs to do is control the temperature. I don't need weather, and colors, a watch complication, or geo-location, etc. Just control the temperature. I use an Emerson Sensi. It is wi-fi enabled and is controlled by an app on my phone. Plain, simple, and does its job.
Sent from the iMore App
I think the problem is the color of your furniture and not the thermostat
Sent from the iMore App
Seems like this is only half of the solution. It's nice to know what the temps are in ohter rooms of the home and to have some control via smart device, but wouldn't a good bit of energy be wasted by trying to heat/cool the entire home/floor/zone just to make that one room more comfortable? To make this truly work, wouldn't the HVAC system need to be outfitted with air-dampers to each room with a sensor? What am i missing?
I'll give you a scenario where the sensors would be really helpful for my family. My wife runs her business out of our basement and so during weekdays there is no one on the main floor (where the thermostat is). She doesn't really care what temperature it is upstairs if it feels cold in the basement. A sensor in the basement would probably cause our system to run the heat more in the winter and the AC less in the summer to maintain a predefined temperature in the basement - which is really all that matters if that's where she is. You're correct that a much smarter HVAC system would be required for maximum efficiency, but for maximum comfort the remote sensors would work well regardless of the efficiency of the system in accomplishing it.
@mavaguy842
Your example is valid however still the issue that heat/AC will run longer to bring that one room up to required temperature. That means other rooms will be extra hot/cool and probably higher bills due extra usage of heat/AC
Ideal scenario would be to install this along with "intelligent" HVAC system to control air flow to individual rooms.
That being said, I'll probably be getting and Ecobee for its other conveniences
Sent from the iMore App
Love love love my Ecobee. It's saved me more than a few $$s
I have two ac units in my house, wonder if they would work well together if I purchase two units.
Posted via the Note 5 or iPhone 6s Plus
I love my Nest Products. Just obtained the Smoke/CO2 detector (free from my insurance company).
I hear nest is working on adding sensors so when this happens, Nest may jump back into the lead!
Perhaps, but their refusal to fully integrate with HomeKit will always be an issue for those in the Apple ecosystem.
Like Fitbit's refusal to integrate with the Health app, Amazon's refusal to sell Apple TV because it lacks an Amazon Video app (even though it is totally up to Amazon to create one), it is self serving, and anti customer.
There will be an ecobee 3 under my tree.
Sent from the iMore App
You can actually get an Ecobee (2nd gen with HomeKit) on eBay for around $170-$190 new. I lucked out and just picked one up without a box for a really good deal. Looking forward to my first HomeKit product. :-D
Can you send me a link? That's awesome!
Sent from the iMore App
You just have to search eBay for Ecobee and wait for a good deal to come up. I got in on a "make an offer" auction.
I purchased my ecobee3's (third-generation) in June on Amazon while they were on sale for $200 each. Their price does fluctuate, so just watch them carefully and you might luck into the same deal.
I have the ecobee 3 now after using a nest for 3 plus years. I do miss the build quality of the nest compared to the plastic feel of the ecobee but that's as far as it goes with my love for the nest.
Ecobee 3 wins hands down on functionality and the ability to use Siri to change the temperature I love.
Sent from the iMore App
Why does the Ecobee only come in black though? Right there, I can't buy it, and won't buy it, and I'm sure hundreds of thousands of other potential buyers are in the same boat.
My apartment is all white walls, with white furniture and the colour accents are pink, lavender and grey. Why in the world would I buy a gigantic (at least four times the size of my current thermostat), BLACK blob to put on my wall?
The thermostat typically occupies a central place in the house, usually prominently placed on the main wall of the living room. The fact that these guys haven't even thought about that aspect casts great doubt on their designery skills.
I'm guessing it only comes in black because it wouldn't look great having a big black rectangle screen right in the middle of a white square.
Ecobee is the uglier of the two. I love my Nest.
Privacy really has no bearing for me. Only things it can know are if I'm home or not and what temps my house is at.
Love that through Google it automatically starts on my drive home without me setting up a recipe for it.
Posted via the iMore App for Android
I have an ecobee3 on all-white walls and it looks super sleek. People are drawn to it because it looks so cool. I've also heard someone from the company talk about the thermostat design and the all-black was actually very much thought out and it was a conscious decision to make it look more 'gadgety' (which it does) rather than 'appliance-y' and appeal to a particular aesthetic. Just because it isn't to your taste doesn't make it careless :) It's definitely a less 'traditional' look, so i get it if that's your preference why you wouldn't care for this.
Also, how small is your current thermostat that the ecobee is FOUR TIMES the size? lol It's not much bigger than my palm!
Yeah I'm sure literally hundreds of thousands of people aren't buying these because they are black
I think the problem is the color of your furniture and not the thermostat.
Sent from the iMore App
I'm sure you could always use some of your fingernail polish to make it a different color