After Google Nest, ecobee and Honeywell Home are the two thermostat brands most people end up choosing between. The ecobee vs Honeywell decision comes down to a few things: which smart home platform you use, whether you want room sensors, and what wiring you have behind your current thermostat.
The comparison has also changed recently. Honeywell discontinued the T9 and T5+, and its smart lineup is now just two models: the X8S and the X2S. Many comparisons online still use the T9, so this guide compares what both brands actually sell today, where each one is stronger, and which model fits which home.
Ecobee vs Honeywell: The Short Answer
Quick answer: choose ecobee if you use Apple Home, want room sensors on any model, want a voice assistant built in, or don’t have a C-wire. Choose Honeywell if you want Matter, the lowest price (the X2S), or live video from a Ring doorbell on your thermostat screen.
If you already know which way you’re leaning, these are the four models worth looking at:
- ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium — Best ecobee thermostat, with a room sensor, radar, air-quality monitoring, and Siri or Alexa built in.
- Honeywell Home X8S — Best Honeywell thermostat, with Matter, a 5-inch screen, and doorbell video.
- ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential — Best value ecobee, and the cheapest thermostat here that works with room sensors.
- Honeywell Home X2S — Best budget option, a simple Matter thermostat for about $85.
What Ecobee Does Best
ecobee (owned by Generac) sells three thermostats: the Smart Thermostat Essential (about $140), Enhanced (about $200), and Premium (about $260). All three look similar, with a color touchscreen, and all three use the same app. Our ecobee Essential vs Enhanced vs Premium comparison explains what each step up adds.
ecobee’s biggest strength is room sensors. Every model works with ecobee’s SmartSensor, a small battery sensor that reports temperature and whether a room is occupied. With the Follow Me feature, the thermostat averages the rooms that are actually in use, and gives more weight to the rooms you spend the most time in. The Premium includes one SmartSensor in the box.
ecobee is also the easier choice for Apple Home. All three models work with HomeKit directly, and the SmartSensors show up in the Home app as temperature and occupancy sensors. The Premium adds a speaker with Siri or Alexa built in (you pick one at setup), radar occupancy sensing, and an air-quality monitor. The Premium and Enhanced also include ecobee’s Power Extender Kit, which solves the missing C-wire problem in most homes.
The weak spot is Matter. No ecobee thermostat supports it, so Google Home and Alexa connect through account linking in the cloud rather than locally.
What Honeywell Does Best
Honeywell Home thermostats are made by Resideo, which uses the Honeywell Home name under license from Honeywell. The lineup is now small: the X8S (about $240) and the X2S (about $85). Honeywell’s own store lists the X8S as the replacement for the T9. For a model-by-model look at what Honeywell sells now, see our guide to the best Honeywell thermostats.
The X8S is the one to compare with the ecobee Premium. It has a 5-inch touchscreen, radar that detects when someone is nearby, and air-quality monitoring that tracks humidity and VOCs and estimates carbon dioxide. It can show live video from Ring and First Alert doorbells, and you can talk to visitors straight from the thermostat. It also watches your HVAC system and sends an alert to you and your technician when something looks wrong. It works with up to 20 wireless room sensors, which are sold separately.
The X2S is a much simpler thermostat that looks like a regular Honeywell. It has no room sensor support, but it costs about a third of the X8S.
Honeywell’s biggest advantage is that both models are Matter certified. That means they work in Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings through one standard. The catch is that Matter only carries the basics: the current temperature, the target temperature, and heat or cool mode. Schedules, air quality, and sensor settings stay in Honeywell’s own app. Both models also need a C-wire.
Ecobee vs Honeywell Side by Side
Here’s how the two brands compare on the points that matter most:
| Factor | ecobee | Honeywell Home |
|---|---|---|
| Current models | Essential, Enhanced, Premium (about $140 to $260) | X2S and X8S (about $85 and $240) |
| Matter | No | Yes, both models |
| Apple Home | Yes, built in, sensors included | Yes, through Matter (basic control) |
| Alexa | Yes (built in on Premium) | Yes |
| Google Home | Yes, through account linking | Yes, through Matter |
| Room sensors | All models, up to 32 | X8S only, up to 20 |
| Sensor in the box | Premium | No (X8S sensor kits cost extra) |
| Built-in voice assistant | Premium (Siri or Alexa) | No |
| Air-quality monitoring | Premium | X8S |
| Doorbell video on screen | Premium (ecobee Doorbell) | X8S (Ring and First Alert) |
| No C-wire | Premium and Enhanced include a Power Extender Kit | C-wire needed; X8S includes a voucher for a free adapter |
| Dual-fuel heat pumps | Yes | No (electric backup heat only) |
| Subscription needed | No | No |
Smart home compatibility and Matter
This is where the honeywell vs ecobee choice gets decided for a lot of people. ecobee works with every major platform, but through each company’s own integration. In Apple Home, that works really well: HomeKit support is built in, and your room sensors show up in the Home app next to the thermostat. In Google Home and Alexa, it’s a cloud account link, which works but depends on ecobee’s servers. If that link ever drops, see our fixes for ecobee not working with Google Home.
Honeywell took the Matter route instead. You add the X8S or X2S to Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, or SmartThings with a Matter code, and control stays on your local network. Just know what you’re getting: Matter lets you see the temperature, change it, and switch between heat and cool. Everything else still happens in Honeywell’s app, and you need a Honeywell account before the thermostat will give you its Matter code. If Matter is a priority, see our guide to the best Matter thermostats for other options.
Room sensors
Room sensors fix the most common thermostat complaint: the hallway is fine, but the bedroom is too hot or too cold. Our guide to the best smart thermostats with remote sensors also covers Nest, Aqara and Amazon.
ecobee’s SmartSensors cost $99.99 for a 2-pack, run for up to five years on a coin battery, and work up to 60 feet from the thermostat. They work with every current ecobee model, including the Essential, which makes it the cheapest thermostat in this comparison with room sensor support.
Honeywell’s X8S sensors cost $44.99 each and track temperature, humidity, and motion. You choose how the thermostat uses them: “Selected rooms” reads the rooms you pick (and averages them if you pick several), and “Active rooms” follows the rooms where it detects motion. Older T9 sensors may not work with the X8S, so check before reusing them. The X2S doesn’t support room sensors at all.
Wiring and heat pumps
Most smart thermostats need a C-wire, which provides constant power. The ecobee Premium and Enhanced include a Power Extender Kit for homes without one (it needs at least four wires at the thermostat). The Essential needs a C-wire or the kit, which costs $24.99 separately.
Both Honeywell models require a C-wire. The X8S box includes a voucher for a free C-wire adapter, but the X2S doesn’t include one. Our C-wire adapter guide explains which adapter fits each brand. Our guide on how to install a smart thermostat shows how to check your wiring before you buy.
If you have a heat pump, look closely at backup heat. ecobee supports dual-fuel systems (a heat pump with a gas furnace as backup), and the Premium handles two compressor stages plus two stages of auxiliary heat. The X8S supports electric backup heat only, not dual fuel. Our heat pump thermostat guide covers this in more detail.
App and setup
ecobee uses one app for everything, and it got a redesigned schedule and comfort settings screen in July 2026. Honeywell is in the middle of a change: new setups use Resideo’s First Alert app, while people who already use the older Honeywell Home or Resideo apps can keep them until they’re moved over. If a Honeywell shows offline in the app, our Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting guide covers the Wi-Fi checks.
Neither brand charges a subscription for thermostat features. ecobee sells an optional Smart Security plan ($5 a month, or $20 with professional monitoring) that turns its thermostats and sensors into a home security system, but you don’t need it for heating and cooling.
Which Should You Choose?
In most homes, your smart home platform and your wiring decide it:
- Your home runs on Apple Home: get an ecobee. HomeKit is built in, and the room sensors work in the Home app too.
- You want Matter or use several platforms: get a Honeywell. It’s the only one of the two brands with Matter.
- You want the cheapest good smart thermostat: the Honeywell X2S, as long as you don’t need room sensors.
- You want room sensors on a budget: the ecobee Essential.
- You don’t have a C-wire: the ecobee Premium or Enhanced, which include the Power Extender Kit (see more thermostats that work without a C-wire).
- You have a Ring doorbell: the Honeywell X8S shows Ring video on the thermostat.
- You have a dual-fuel heat pump: ecobee.
- You’re also considering Nest: see our Nest vs ecobee comparison.
Which Ecobee or Honeywell Thermostat to Buy
ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium — Best Ecobee Thermostat
ecobee’s top model, with a SmartSensor in the box, radar occupancy, air-quality monitoring, and Siri or Alexa built in. This bundle adds a second SmartSensor, so two rooms are covered from day one. The Power Extender Kit is included.
Best for: Apple Home users and anyone who wants room sensors and built-in voice.
Price: ~$320 (kit with a second SmartSensor)
Honeywell Home X8S — Best Honeywell Thermostat
Honeywell’s best thermostat, with a 5-inch screen, Matter, air-quality monitoring, and live video from Ring or First Alert doorbells. Room sensors are optional, and it needs a C-wire (a voucher for a free adapter is in the box).
Best for: Matter users, Ring doorbell owners, and mixed-platform homes.
Price: ~$240
ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential — Best Value Ecobee
A simpler ecobee with a color touchscreen, HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Home support, and room sensor support when you want it. It needs a C-wire or the Power Extender Kit, which is sold separately.
Best for: Apple Home users on a budget and anyone who may add room sensors later.
Price: ~$140
Honeywell Home X2S — Best Budget Option
A basic Matter thermostat that works with Apple Home, Google Home, and Alexa for about $85. It doesn’t support room sensors and needs a C-wire.
Best for: single-zone homes that want a reliable, low-cost smart thermostat.
Price: ~$85
The Bottom Line
The ecobee vs Honeywell choice mostly comes down to Apple Home versus Matter. ecobee has the better room sensor system, works directly with HomeKit, and makes installation easier if you don’t have a C-wire. Honeywell has Matter on both models, the cheapest option in the X2S, and doorbell video on the X8S, but its Matter control is basic and both models need a C-wire.
If neither brand fits, there are good smart thermostats from other brands too.
Does ecobee work with Matter?
No. No current ecobee thermostat supports Matter. ecobee works with Apple Home directly and with Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings through account linking.
Does Honeywell work with Apple HomeKit?
Yes. The Honeywell Home X8S and X2S are Matter certified, so you can add them to Apple Home with a Matter code. Matter covers the temperature, the target temperature, and heat or cool mode, while schedules stay in Honeywell’s app.
Is the Honeywell T9 discontinued?
Yes. Honeywell lists the T9 as discontinued, and its own store names the X8S with a room sensor as the replacement.
Which needs a C-wire, ecobee or Honeywell?
Both Honeywell models need a C-wire, though the X8S includes a voucher for a free adapter. The ecobee Premium and Enhanced include a Power Extender Kit for homes without one, and the Essential needs a C-wire or the kit sold separately.
Honeywell vs ecobee: which is cheaper?
Honeywell has the cheapest model, the X2S at about $85. ecobee’s cheapest is the Essential at about $140, but it supports room sensors, which the X2S doesn’t.
Written by Evan Mercer
Founder & Lead Researcher, Smart Home Matrix
Evan digs through spec sheets, firmware changelogs, and thousands of owner reviews so you don’t have to. Every guide starts with a compatibility check and ends with picks he would install in his own home. Read more about Evan and this site, or see exactly how we choose products.