It’s a tough one when comparing the Ecobee3 and the latest Gen3 version of the Nest Learning Thermostat. Both are competitively priced at around $250, can be controlled from a tablet or smartphone, give the weather forecast and are easy to install. Another helpful feature that both have is furnace monitoring, which will send an alert to your phone if your furnace is malfunctioning.

While Ecobee and Nest both have their pros and cons, I have to give the win to Ecobee, and here is why.

Nest learns your habits while Ecobee picks them up from sensors. If you live in a large home Ecobee has what is called sensor deprioritization, which means you put sensors in the rooms you frequent the most. Those sensors talk to Ecobee letting it not only know you’re home, but specifically what room you are in. That alone helps reduce energy costs. That’s the biggest advantage for Ecobee. Whereas, you have to walk by the Nest for it to know you’re home, which is perfectly fine for an apartment or smaller home.

Now to be fair, the Nest Learning Thermostat has a few cool features that Ecobee doesn’t have, such as it’s sleek, smooth, round design. It’s also a little easier to install. Below is a comparison chart.

I have one of each in my smart home. I have an Ecobee upstairs with sensors to control the bedrooms, and a Nest downstairs since that is an area that people frequently walk by.  While my personal favorite is the Ecobee3, both thermostats are clearly excellent additions to any smart home. I also have heard from the grapevine that Ecobee’s technical support is better than Nest’s. I have yet to need tech support on either, which is a definite positive for them both.