7 Best Honeywell Thermostats to Buy in 2026

The Honeywell Home T9 isn’t just a thermostat—it’s a climate command center that transforms how you experience comfort across your entire home. What sets it apart is its dual-threat intelligence: a high-resolution touchscreen interface paired with a battery-powered Smart Room Sensor that delivers up to 200 feet of wireless range, adapting temperatures based on where people actually are. This is adaptive comfort at its finest, solving the all-too-common issue of uneven heating and cooling in multi-room homes—no more freezing bedrooms or sweltering living rooms.

In real-world testing, the T9 shines when managing multi-zone preferences. Whether you’re hosting guests in the basement or trying to maintain a cool nursery, the Smart Room Sensor detects occupancy and adjusts accordingly, ensuring conditioned air flows where it’s needed most. It supports forced air, heat pumps, and hydronic systems (with C-wire), and integrates seamlessly with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant for voice control. While it struggles slightly in homes without a C-wire (though the included adapter helps), its Auto Home/Away geofencing is impressively accurate, learning your routine and adjusting before you walk through the door.

Compared to the feature-rich RTH9585WF, the T9 trades flashy color displays for smarter spatial awareness—making it a better pick for households that prioritize whole-home comfort over visual flair. It’s ideal for tech-savvy homeowners who want hands-off automation with granular control, especially those enrolled in utility demand-response programs that offer rebates. When stacked against the budget-friendly RTH6580WF, the T9 justifies its premium with superior sensor integration and broader smart home compatibility, delivering a more personalized and energy-efficient experience.

The Honeywell Home T5 enters the smart thermostat arena as a no-nonsense efficiency engine, built for users who want serious energy savings without the premium price tag. Its standout feature? A 7-day flexible scheduling system proven in studies to cut heating and cooling bills by 8–16%, thanks to precise, repeatable programming that adapts to real-life routines. Add in geofencing technology that detects your smartphone’s location and activates Auto Home/Away mode, and you’ve got a thermostat that anticipates your needs while slashing waste.

During daily use, the T5 performs reliably across gas, oil, electric, and heat pump systems, provided a C-wire is available. The ENERGY STAR certification isn’t just a label—it’s backed by monthly energy reports and personalized tips that help users fine-tune usage over time. We found the app-based control via the Resideo platform to be responsive, though slightly less intuitive than Honeywell Home’s main app. It doesn’t support room sensors or voice control beyond Alexa, limiting its smart home reach, and performance dips in larger homes where temperature variance isn’t accounted for.

Priced between the budget RTH6580WF and the high-end T9, the T5 positions itself as the value champion for disciplined schedulers—those who prefer setting a routine and sticking to it. It’s perfect for smaller homes or secondary residences where full smart integration isn’t a priority. Against the RTH6580WF, it offers stronger energy reporting and geofencing, but lacks color display or advanced automation, making it a leaner, more focused tool for cost-conscious users who value predictability over bells and whistles.

Meet the RTH6580WF—a budget-smart powerhouse that delivers core Wi-Fi functionality without compromising on energy intelligence. This thermostat learns your home’s thermal behavior through Smart Response technology, predicting how long it takes to reach your desired temperature and starting early so comfort arrives on time, every time. With ENERGY STAR certification and utility program compatibility, it’s engineered for users who want to reduce consumption silently and consistently, all while controlling the climate from their phone using either the Honeywell Home or Total Connect Comfort app.

In practice, the RTH6580WF excels in modest-sized homes with standard HVAC setups—forced air, heat pumps, or hydronic systems. The backlit digital display is clear and easy to navigate, and integration with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana makes voice control a breeze. However, it lacks geofencing and room sensors, meaning it can’t auto-adjust when you leave or focus on occupied spaces. While the Wi-Fi connection is stable, the interface feels utilitarian compared to touchscreen rivals, and the need for a C-wire limits DIY installation in older homes.

For those stepping into smart thermostats for the first time, the RTH6580WF strikes a compelling balance between affordability and functionality. It’s a smarter upgrade from basic programmables, especially when compared to the non-Wi-Fi RTH2300B. While it doesn’t match the T9’s spatial awareness or the RTH9585WF’s color interface, it outperforms both in voice assistant breadth and learning algorithms at a fraction of the cost—making it the go-to for value-focused buyers who still want real automation.

The RTH9585WF is Honeywell’s feature-packed flagship, designed for users who want a thermostat that doubles as a home dashboard. Its full-color touchscreen isn’t just eye-catching—it’s functional, displaying local weather, indoor/outdoor humidity, and even system alerts like air filter change reminders. This is a thermostat that talks to you, delivering intelligent notifications and supporting IFTTT, SmartThings, and Google Home, making it one of the most deeply integrated models in Honeywell’s lineup.

Performance-wise, it handles complex HVAC systems with ease, including heat pumps with auxiliary heat, and supports demand-response programs that can earn you utility rewards. During testing, the customizable programming adapted well to shifting schedules, and the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi maintained a rock-solid connection. However, the lack of a room sensor means it can’t adjust based on occupancy, and the color screen, while beautiful, can feel like overkill for users who just want reliable control. It also lacks geofencing, relying instead on manual or scheduled mode changes.

Positioned as the most connected Honeywell thermostat, it’s ideal for smart home enthusiasts who want centralized control and visual feedback. Compared to the T9, it trades spatial intelligence for richer interface features and broader ecosystem support. When measured against the RTH6580WF, it offers a more polished, informative experience with superior alert systems and programming flexibility—making it worth the step up for users who value data, design, and deep automation.

The RTH8560D is a touchscreen standout in the non-Wi-Fi world, offering a premium look and feel without requiring internet connectivity. Its crystal-clear, cool-blue backlit display delivers excellent readability, showing not just temperature but real-time indoor humidity—a rare perk at this price point. What makes it truly shine is Smart Response Learning, which analyzes your home’s heating and cooling cycles to deliver the right temperature exactly when you want it, eliminating guesswork and reducing system runtime.

In real-world use, the thermostat performs flawlessly for set-and-forget households. Whether you’re on a weekday grind or weekend relaxer, the 7-day programmable schedule lets you customize settings for every phase of your week. It supports nearly every HVAC type imaginable—from gas furnaces to heat pumps and even millivolt systems—and runs on batteries or hardwired power, adding flexibility. However, without Wi-Fi, you lose remote access, geofencing, and energy reporting, making it a poor fit for tech-forward users.

This model is the perfect bridge for analog loyalists who want modern convenience without smart home complexity. Compared to the Wi-Fi-enabled RTH6580WF, it lacks connectivity but wins in system compatibility and display quality. For those upgrading from a basic dial thermostat, the RTH8560D offers a luxurious, responsive interface and intelligent learning at a budget-friendly cost—making it the best choice for simplicity, reliability, and hands-on control.

The Honeywell X1N is the essence of simplicity—a no-frills, non-programmable thermostat that does one thing perfectly: deliver reliable, manual temperature control. With a large, backlit display and clear font, it’s ideal for users who prefer to adjust settings on the fly without wrestling with menus or apps. It includes filter change reminders and a 32°F low-heat setpoint, making it suitable for vacation homes or rental properties where predictable operation trumps automation.

In practice, it’s a plug-and-play solution for single-stage HVAC systems, including forced air, gas, oil, and hot water heat. Installation is straightforward thanks to the universal wall plate, and the use of AA batteries means it keeps working during power outages. But its simplicity comes at a cost: no scheduling, no learning, no energy tracking. It won’t adapt to your routine or save energy automatically, making it a poor fit for eco-conscious users.

This thermostat is best for budget-focused buyers or landlords who need a durable, easy-to-use device with minimal maintenance. Compared to the programmable RTH2300B, it lacks scheduling but offers a cleaner interface and modern design. When stacked against smart models like the T9, it’s clearly outgunned—but for those who want zero learning curve and rock-solid reliability, the X1N is a quiet, dependable workhorse.

The RTH2300B is a barebones but brilliant programmable thermostat for users who want automatic control without the internet. Its 5-2 day scheduling lets you set distinct weekday and weekend programs with four daily periods—wake, leave, arrive, and sleep—making it perfect for 9-to-5 routines. The precise ±1°F temperature control ensures your home never drifts too far from comfort, and the backlit digital display offers one-touch access to settings, all while retaining memory during power outages.

In daily use, it handles basic HVAC systems like gas furnaces, central AC, and heat pumps (without backup heat) with quiet efficiency. The built-in reminders for filter and battery changes add convenience, and the installation is DIY-friendly. However, its limitations are clear: no Wi-Fi, no learning, and no support for multistage or radiant systems. It won’t adapt to schedule changes or offer remote access, making it a static solution in a dynamic world.

This thermostat is ideal for first-time programmable users or secondary homes where cost and reliability matter most. Compared to the X1N, it offers automation and scheduling, but lacks a modern display. Against the RTH8560D, it misses the touchscreen and humidity readout but matches in core functionality. For those seeking the most affordable way to save energy through programming, the RTH2300B delivers fundamental automation with zero smart home complexity.