Ecobee vs. Nest

Few smart thermostat brands are as influential as Nest and Ecobee. Nest helped jumpstart the modern smart home era with minimalist styling, automatic scheduling, and robust smart home compatibility. Likewise, Ecobee contributed innovations like remote sensors, long-term energy tracking, and a built-in smart speaker.

Until recently, the Nest Learning Thermostat held a comfortable lead as our favorite thermostat, but the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium narrowed the gap to a photo finish. Read our complete head-to-head comparison to see how Nest kept the crown and why you shouldn't ignore Ecobee.

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The Nest Learning Thermostat has topped our thermostat rankings for years and still manages to impress us as the competition struggles to catch up (though Ecobee's latest releases come closer than ever). We love its features, particularly automatic scheduling and HVAC monitoring that warns you of issues with your HVAC system. And it’s a piece of cake to use and install.

Plus, it's oozing cool, thanks to a striking circular design and multiple colors options. It gives your home personality as few other thermostats can.

The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium costs the same as its Nest rival, but it includes a few extra features that might win you over. We love that it comes with a remote sensor and a built-in smart speaker, but the biggest highlight is Apple HomeKit support. HomeKit is an excellent smart home platform, and we're always happy to see it on more devices, including all of Ecobee's current lineup.

Ecobee and Nest offer similar pricing, ease of installation, basic features, and HVAC compatibility at the foundational level. Here's a quick summary of where these brands align:

• Price: While you can expect to spend more on Nest and Ecobee thermostats than on brands like Wyze, Amazon, or Emerson, there's little price difference. Nest's cheapest model is only $20 less than Ecobee's, and the priciest models from either brand sell for around $250. Only Ecobee Enhanced lacks a direct price competitor from Nest.
• Installation: Ecobee and Nest are a breeze to install in most homes. Upgrading to a smart thermostat is an intermediate DIY project—for light electrical work—it should take less than an hour. However, you may need professional installation for complex HVAC systems.
• Basic features: All of the hallmarks of smart thermostats exist in Nest and Ecobee products: Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile app controls, and robust manual scheduling options.
• HVAC compatibility: Every Ecobee and Nest smart thermostat works with standard HVAC equipment like furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, and air conditioners. The pricier models also support accessories like humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and ventilators.

When you start digging into Ecobee and Nest's more advanced features, a clear picture of the brand's differing philosophies starts to appear. For example, Nest's hands-off process largely works behind the scenes to improve your energy usage after the initial setup. In contrast, Ecobee provides as many features as possible while encouraging you to maximize your utilities.

• Design: Ecobee's square thermostats use a standard color scheme with a black front and a light back that blends into your home. While it works well, it's a far cry from Nest's suite of expressive colors: seven on the Nest Learning Thermostat and four on the Nest Thermostat.
• On-device controls:
  • Nest thermostats use a rotating outer ring or a simple touch bar on the side of the device. This control scheme isn't difficult to learn and helps keep your device free of fingerprints, which takes some sting out of not having a touchscreen.
  • Ecobee thermostats rely entirely on touchscreens, which have the advantage of offering nearly identical controls to the Ecobee app. It's even easier to learn than Nest's intuitive controls.
• Scheduling assistance: The Nest Learning Thermostat's iconic automated scheduling is exceptional. It learns your habits and works to anticipate your needs while saving energy. Ecobee doesn't have the same learning features as Nest, but its Eco+ options track your usage and suggest changes you can implement.

• Energy tracking: Ecobee takes a long-term approach to energy tracking with an impressive 18-month history you can review anytime. In contrast, Nest limits energy tracking to a 10-day account and a monthly Nest Home Report with some surface-level information.
• Smart home compatibility: While Nest offers some of the best smart home integrations among thermostats, it lacks Ecobee's compatibility with Apple HomeKit. Plus, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium includes built-in Alexa so you can control the thermostat without an additional speaker. It also supports built-in Siri controls—if you have an Apple HomePod.
• Subscriptions: Nest and Ecobee each offer paid subscriptions to supplement your thermostat, but they aren't required for it to function. Ecobee's two subscriptions focus on air filter delivery and home security. We especially like the filter plan, which helps you maintain your HVAC system. As for Nest's paid plan, Nest Renew Premium, you can purchase renewable energy credits to invest in sustainable power sources, even if your local utility company doesn't.

One of the main differences between Ecobee and Nest is your access to your energy usage history. While both brands provide monthly reports, Ecobee's Home IQ energy reports are accessible in an online dashboard for up to 18 months, and Nest's arrive via email.

Ecobee's reports also offer more detail than Nest's. For example, Nest's monthly report consists of a runtime summary and some efficiency information. But Ecobee Home IQ includes all kinds of data that you can dig into at any time:

• Runtime Report: Ecobee compares your home to a hypothetical one where the thermostat never changes and estimates how much you saved on your bill.
• Community Comparisons and Home Efficiency: You can see how your runtime, energy use, and efficiency compare to other users in your area.
• System Monitor:
  • System: A graph shows exact runtimes and temperature settings in your system.
  • Schedule: This graph shows how your schedule affects your home's temperature relative to the temperature outside.
  • Follow Me: You can see when the thermostat detects occupancy and how those settings affect the average temperature in your home.
  • Weather Impact: This is our favorite graph because it shows how often the system runs relative to the average outdoor temperature. Seeing how the weather affects your home is an excellent reference when adjusting your schedules.
  • Download Data: This may seem like a small thing, but downloading your data in a spreadsheet is much more convenient than copying everything by hand. (We're big fans of spreadsheets at SafeWise.)

While you may not find as much value in the data as we do, Ecobee can teach you a lot about your energy usage.

Ecobee sells one more model than Nest, but there is little variety in the lineup. Every model supports remote sensors, two-stage heating and air conditioning, and the same software, but there are  a few extra features with each upgrade. Here's how they hold up to Google Nest:

Ecobee may not support as many security systems as Nest, but it's the better option for smart homes for two reasons: Apple HomeKit and a built-in smart speaker on the Ecobee Premium. But Ecobee's not entirely reliant on HomeKit since you can also use Alexa, Google, IFTTT, and SmartThings—features it has in common with Google Nest.

It was one of the first smart thermostat brands to add Apple HomeKit compatibility—and it's available on every model. While HomeKit isn't as popular as Alexa and Google, it's one of the best smart home platforms. It's effortless to add and use new devices without navigating multiple menus. Nest's lack of HomeKit support has been a sticking point for Apple purists—though Matter should help with that.

Then there's the matter of Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium's built-in smart speaker, which supports Alexa and Siri—though Siri requires you to buy a HomePod. Why use a second device when your thermostat can handle it? Plus, playing music on your thermostat is a great way to get more out of a product that sits idle most of the time.

The Nest Learning Thermostat's ability to "learn" your schedule, habits, and preferences is its greatest strength. It's not enough for Nest to give you a mobile app to use as a remote control for a connected thermostat. Instead, it takes an active role in managing your HVAC system's schedule so you can take a step back from stressing over your utility bills.

It takes a few days for Nest to observe how you interact with the thermostat before it automates your schedule. Nest won't choose a temperature until you do, so you'll see the biggest improvements by adjusting the thermostat often the first week or so. Eventually, Nest builds a picture of the temperatures you choose and when—and takes it from there.

If Nest doesn't pick up your habits to perfection, you can also teach it using manual schedule adjustments. Or you can turn the learning feature off in favor of a concrete schedule. It's your choice.

Unfortunately, scheduled automation isn't available on the base Nest Thermostat—only the Nest Learning Thermostat. In its place, Nest offers guided scheduling where the thermostat walks you through three options:

• Quick Schedule: As the name implies, the Quick Schedule uses a preset option based on the average schedule among all Nest users. This is a nice feature because you can leave in-depth scheduling until later.
• Temperature presets: When you're ready to customize your schedule, you'll adjust the temperature presets. Nest provides ready-made Comfort, Eco, and Sleep presets in the Google Home app, but you can add others for more flexibility. Creating a preset makes it possible to assign a set temperature to a time of day.
• Savings Finder: This tool works similarly to the learning feature on the top-tier Nest model but doesn't make any automatic changes. Instead, it suggests new temperatures to save energy. (Ecobee uses a similar approach with Eco+.) If you like a suggestion, you can approve it to change your presets quickly.

Nest put smart thermostats on the map and pioneered smart home compatibility. This means Nest works with more smart home and security systems than any other brand.

While it's natural to expect integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and SmartThings, Nest made the biggest waves with home security systems. It's compatible with some of the most prominent players in home security, like ADT, Vivint, and Alarm.com (which is used by brands like Frontpoint and Link Interactive).

This gives Nest a leg up over Ecobee's more limited security system compatibility.

Nest's two thermostat models take wildly different approaches, resulting in some heavy specialization to fit different needs. This also means more variety than Ecobee's lineup. Let's look at how Nest's models differ and stack up to Ecobee.

It may seem anticlimactic that our comparison boils down to a close tie, but here we are. Ultimately, Nest's pricing and simplicity offer the best user experience that doesn't require much knowledge about HVAC equipment. But Ecobee is a clear winner for power users who want to tweak every setting for ultimate customization.

• Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen): Automated scheduling, maintenance alerts, and support for top security systems
• Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium: Excellent energy usage reports, smart home compatibility, and a sleek touchscreen display

We have hands-on experience testing multiple smart thermostat brands, including Nest and Ecobee. (As of this writing, we haven't tried the newest Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced and Premium models.) Our testing usually focuses on installation and user experience but is far from a deep dive into the technical aspects of thermostats. Testing has another benefit of helping us identify the most relevant specs and best features.

Testing can't tell the whole story, so we dig into product pages, support resources, and customer reviews to better understand each product. The star ratings on this page come from research we conducted for our review of the best smart thermostats. You can learn more about how we rank, review, and test products in our full methodology.

• Best Smart Thermostats for a Smarter Home
• Nest Thermostat Review
• Ecobee Thermostats Review
• How Do Smart Thermostats Work?