In this article, I compare important features of Wyze and Nest thermostats to help you make your final choice. For your convenience, I start by indicating the similarities and differences in two comparison tables. For more information regarding the similarities and differences read the notes referred to in the comparison table.
Nest vs Wyze Similarities
| Feature | Wyze Thermostat | Nest Thermostat | Number of the note with more detail | ||
| Sensor to measure temperature | Has a sensor to measure room temperature. | Has a sensor to measure room temperature. | Note 1 | ||
| Sensor to detect motion | Has a sensor to detect when people are coming into a room. | Has a sensor to detect when people are coming into a room. | Note 2Humidity sensorHas a sensor to determine the humidity level in a room. | Has a sensor to determine the humidity level in a room. | Note 3 |
| Savings-finder | The thermostat offers a savings-finder feature. | The thermostat offers a savings-finder feature. | Note 4 | ||
| Compatibility – voice assistants | Voice assistant compatible. | Voice assistant compatible. | Note 5 | ||
| Compatibility – HVAC systems | Work well with a variety of HVAC systems. | Work well with a variety of HVAC systems. | Note 6 |
Nest vs Wyze Differences
| Feature | Wyze Thermostat | Nest Thermostat | Number of the note with more detail |
| Price | Starting price is about $79 | Starting price is about $125 | Note 7 |
| C-Wire adapter | The C-wire adapter easily connects the C-wire to the thermostat. | No C-wire adapter is provided. | Note 8 |
| Ambient light Sensors | No ambient light sensor. | Is equipped with an ambient light sensor. | Note 9 |
| Energy Tracker | No energy tracker | Equipped with an energy tracker | Note 10 |
| Remote Control | Comes with a 3-in-1 remote control. | Designed to use the remote control in the app. | Note 11 |
| Eco-mode | Doesn’t offer Eco-mode | Offers an Eco-mode feature. | Note 12 |
| Connectivity | Only supports the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. | Uses either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands. | Note 13 |
| Aesthetics and Color | Comes only in white and uses an IPS screen. | Available in different colors and uses an LCD screen. | Note 14 |
| Geofencing | Always detects your arrival at your home. | The geofencing feature only works if you turn on “Location” on your phone. | Note 15 |
| Installation time | Comes with installation guidelines and takes only a few minutes to install. | Comes without installation guidelines and might take somewhat longer to install. | Note 16 |
| Apps | Controls the thermostat with the Wyze App. | Controls the thermostat with the Google Home App. | Note 17 |
Detailed Comparison
Given below is a list of different features and how they compare for Wyze and Nest thermostats;
Temperature Sensors
Both thermostats function with the help of temperature sensors. For your convenience, the temperature reading is also always displayed on the thermostat’s screen. As both thermostats measure the room’s temperature continuously, both of them have the capacity to keep your home’s temperature at a comfortable level.
Motion detectors
Both thermostats offer sensors to detect motion. The Wyse, as well as the Nest thermostat, has one or more sensors to detect when people are coming into a room. When they detect the movement of people into the room, they automatically adjust the temperature. This feature keeps the room’s temperature always comfortable.
Humidity Sensors
Both thermostats offer humidity sensors. The purpose of humidity sensors is to continuously determine the humidity level in your home. If the humidity is insufficient, the thermostat turns on the humidifier and thus, keeps your home comfortable.
Savings Finder
With a savings-finder feature, a thermostat analyzes your habits and thermostat settings and then suggests better ways to save power in your home. Fortunately, both the Wyze and Nest thermostats offer this feature.
Compatibility – voice assistants
The Wyze and Nest thermostats are both compatible with Google Assistant and Alexa voice assistant. Thus, if you want to, you can control any of the two thermostats hands-free.
Compatibility – HVAC systems
It is always good to use a thermostat which is compatible with as many HVAC systems as possible. This means, that if you upgrade or change aspects of your HVAC system, you don’t have to replace your thermostat as well.
Both the Wyze and Nest thermostats offer a variety of compatible possibilities. They both are compatible with the following:
- Oil, gas, and electric HVAC systems
- Heat pumps
- Dual fuel system
- Hydronic heaters
- Forced air heating systems
- Dual transformers
- Single-stage HVAC systems
- Humidifiers
Price
The starting price of Wyze thermostats is about $79, while Nest thermostats start at about $125.
If you’re looking for an affordable and cost-effective thermostat for your home, the Wyze thermostat might be the thermostat for you. The thermostat was designed with the budget-conscious homeowner in mind. Despite its relatively low price, the thermostat offers features such as motion and humidity sensors which many more expensive thermostats don’t have.
The Nest thermostat is more expensive than the Wyze but for about $50 more, you’ll receive extra features such as ambient light sensors, an energy tracker and eco-mode. Furthermore, Nest has built a good reputation over several years for being reliable.
Thus, purchase the Nest thermostat if you can afford it, but even if your budget can accommodate the more expensive Nest thermostat, have a look at your specific needs. If everything you need from your HVAC thermostat is included in the Wyze’s features there is no need in buying the more expensive thermostat.
C-wire adapter
The Wyze thermostat comes with a C-Wire adapter in the box, while Google doesn’t supply an adapter.
Nowadays, a C-wire, or “common wire,” is found in most homes. The C-wire provides power to recharge the thermostat’s battery. Without a C-wire, power is drawn from the HVAC system to charge the battery. But it can only draw power when the HVAC is on and either heating or cooling your home.
Thus, if you are experiencing good weather and your HVAC system is not active, the battery cannot be charged. When your thermostat doesn’t have a C-wire connected, it will constantly trigger your HVAC system to charge the battery. This process is called “pulsing.” Pulsing can damage your thermostat and it uses unnecessary energy.
Wyze recommends that its thermostat should be connected to a C-wire and therefore include a C-wire adapter in case your home is without a C-wire. This makes the Wyze thermostat very energy efficient.
Nest, however, doesn’t feel strongly about the C-wire and, thus, doesn’t provide an adapter. If you want to make your Nest thermostat more energy efficient you’ll have to buy the adapter separately.
Ambient light Sensors
An ambient light sensor attributes to the overall energy saving of the Nest thermostat. The sensor is designed to detect the amount of light in a room. With this information, the thermostat then adjusts the brightness of its screen to match this light. In other words, the Nest thermostat screen’s brightness automatically decreases when there is a bright light in the room to save energy.
Energy tracker
This Nest feature helps you to track your energy usage. You can see on the thermostat or the app when and how much energy has been used in the last 10 days. You can see when and how long your heating or air conditioning was used on any specific day. With this information, you can determine whether the cooling or heating was only used when really necessary, and if not, you can reschedule. With this Nest feature, you can save energy and thus money.
The Wyze thermostat doesn’t offer this feature.
Remote control
In principle, you can control both thermostats remotely. The difference between the two, however, is that the Nest thermostat’s remote control is linked to the Google Home app on your phone and can only be used with your phone, while the Wyze thermostat offers a separate remote that anyone can use.
Eco-mode
The Nest thermostat’s Eco-mode feature is designed to help you to save energy. This feature automatically turns off your thermostat when no one is home. The Wyze thermostat doesn’t offer this energy-saving feature.
Wifi Connectivity
Nowadays, most homes use dual-band routers which may switch from one band to another, depending on the Wi-Fi network with the strongest signal strength. Because the Wyze thermostat can only support the 2.4 GHz band, you may have to switch your Wi-Fi network to a 2.4 GHz band frequently.
The Nest thermostat, however, can support either the 2.4 GHz or the 5 GHz band.
Aesthetics and color
The Wyze thermostat is a plain plastic device with a rotor dial. It uses an IPS screen with excellent visibility for its display. It is only available in white.
The Nest thermostat is more robust which makes it attractive for many users. It is fitted with an LCD screen and the capacitive touchscreen allows you to control the thermostat with the tap of a finger. The Nest thermostat is available in white, black, stainless steel, brass, mirror black, and copper.
Geofencing
Geofencing is a feature offered by both thermostats. With geofencing, the thermostat detects when you are home and adjusts the temperature in your home to your programmed temperature.
According to users’ reviews, the geofencing feature is more reliable in Wyze thermostats than in Nest thermostats. Wyze thermostats always detect your arrival at your home, while the Nest thermostat may occasionally fail to determine when you arrive at your home.
Another con of the Nest thermostat is that the geofencing feature only works if you turn on “Location” on your phone. You might be too worried about your privacy to always keep your location active on your mobile phone.
Installation
The Wyze thermostat comes with installation guidelines to help you to get the thermostat installed and up and running within a few minutes. The Nest thermostat comes with no installation guidelines and although you can also install the thermostat within a few minutes, you might struggle with the order of the steps you have to take to install the Nest, especially if it is the first time you have to install a thermostat.
Apps
Both thermostats use apps.
Google Home app
You control your Nest thermostat intuitively and in a straightforward way with the Google Home app. With the app, you can set your routines and power-saving schedules. It also allows you to record and see on the app your usage statistics and the times you and your family members leave and return home. Unfortunately, you have to give the Google Home app permission to use your location on your phone at all times if you want to keep the geofencing feature active.
Wyse app
If you use the Wyze thermostat, you use the Wyze app to control it. It is easy to use and it doesn’t require your location all the time for geofencing. Unfortunately, the Wyze app doesn’t track and record the performance and maintenance of your HVAC system.
Conclusion
As I’ve mentioned right at the beginning of this article, there are so many similarities between the Wyze and Nest thermostats that, in principle, you can choose either of them and you’ll have one of the best thermostats on the market. However, the differences between the two allow you to “fine-tune” your choice.
We recommend that you use the comparison table above and consider every aspect where differences between the two thermostats are indicated and ask yourself which thermostat’s feature will be the best fit for your home and family. The thermostat with the most features that fit your circumstances should be the one you purchase.
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