Best Smart Thermostat Under $100 in 2022

Not everyone wants the flashy high-end thermostats with touch screens, geolocation, and smart learning technology. Sometimes, all you want is a cheap but decent thermostat to manage your zoned heating or take care of your temporary residence.

The best smart thermostats under $100 will help you get the job done without sacrificing so much. In essence, the best smart thermostat should be able to:

• Be programmable to automatically adjust temperatures across the week
• Let you configure and read temperatures easily
• Control your AC in an accurate and reliable manner
• Deliver additional perks that make access, control, and automation easier

If you are looking for the best smart thermostat under $100, you are on a tight budget. You should be willing to compromise on brand names and other savvy perks you will find on high-end models

Featured in This List

1. Vine TJ610 Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat
2. GoControl Smart Thermostat
3. Honeywell Wi-Fi RTH6580WF
4. Honeywell RTH8580WF1007/W1
5. Lux Products GEO-BL
6. Lux Products TX9600TS

Top Smart Thermostats in the $100 Range Reviewed

All the thermostats on our comparison table have two things in common: affordability and programmability. However, there is more to these thermostats than these basic budget features. A brief glimpse into each thermostat will help you understand what you will be buying better.

Vine TJ610 Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat

The Vine Wi-Fi programmable thermostat is a programmable beauty with a 3.5 inch LCD touch interface. The slim design makes it a perfect fit to almost any décor while the Wi-Fi connection lets you control it over wieldy android apps. The Vine TJ610 will give you up to 8 periods of programming on the 7 days making it more than enough to keep your 24V AC system fine-tuned on its own for a full week. Vine managed to give an impressive and minimalistic thermostat that could easily blend into your living room or hallway décor without costing you more than $100.

GoControl Smart Thermostat

If you have gone through our best Z-Wave thermostat review, you would have realized that Z-Wave thermostats are among the cheapest in the market. This is so since the thermostat tends to send much of the smart operations to the Z-Wave hub. The GoControl Smart Thermostat will be a great solution if you are thinking of installing a Z-Wave smart home system. The thermostat will work on standard HVAC systems and heat pump systems with 3 stage heat and 2 stage cool. The thermostat runs on 4 AA batteries and will be compatible with most Z-Wave hubs. The thermostat can work as a standalone programmable thermostat but will work best with the Z-Wave hub.

Honeywell Wi-Fi RTH6580WF

The Honeywell Wi-Fi RTH6580WF gives you 7-day programming with 4 program periods per day. This is enough to cater for most programming scenarios to most users. Combine this with the Wi-Fi access that lets you control the thermostat over a smartphone or the computer and you will get an impressive Honeywell package at a lovable price. The thermostat design does look a bit yesterday and the buttons instead of a touchscreen might make it stick out like a though thumb on a modern living room but it will do its thermostat duties fairly well either way.

Honeywell RTH8580WF1007/W1

This is another Honeywell product on the list that will work on almost any AC system on the market. Apart from giving you 7-day programmable schedules, you will find the fact that it works with SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT almost irresistible. The thermostat can also send regular updates to your email and also give you remote access through your smartphone or computer. In my opinion, the Honeywell RTH8580WF1007/W1 is the best under $100 thermostat if you are looking for a decent balance between performance, features, and reliability.

Lux Products GEO-BL

Lux takes a different approach to smart thermostats by giving you a small vertical or horizontal thermostat that is easy to tuck out of the way. A cool control wheel lets you handle your 7-day programming straight on the unit even though you can still link it to the free Android or iOS app to get better control. You will have to work with either 2-AA batteries, a 24V C-Wire or a micro-USB port to power up the thermostat. Powering the Lux Products GEO-BL with USB or C-Wire will give you access to Amazon Alexa control. The thermostat can also run a subroutine depending on your location thanks to the LUX/GEO geolocation system.

Lux Products TX9600TS

The Lux Products TX9600TS is simplicity at its best. A big size touch screen with easy to read display makes it easy to configure and use. The 2 or 4 day period per day will make your 7-day programming seamless while the touchpad lockout will keep unauthorized users out of the way. In addition to this, you will get an energy usage monitor, a temporary temperature override for one-time adjustments and a handy air filter life timer. The system is compatible with a wide range of heating and cooling systems like the 2 or 3 wire hydronic systems, heat pumps and 750 millivolt systems (gas fireplaces and wall heaters) but will not work with line voltage systems.

A good smart thermostat under $100 will let you keep close tabs on your HVAC almost as well as the flagship models will. Even though you might have to forego some features, you will still have the intelligent controls you so much desire. Such thermostats are great when you want to control a zoned system, want a smart thermostat for your RV or just something cheap that you can install in your rental house or holiday cabin.