About ecobee
ecobee was founded in 2007 in Toronto by Stuart Lombard, and shipped one of the first Wi-Fi-connected smart thermostats in 2008, at a time when most thermostat brands had no connected product at all. The company built its lineup around solving real-world install headaches rather than just adding a touchscreen to an old design, most notably by including a Power Extender Kit in the box so homes without a C-wire, a common blocker in older houses, can still install a smart thermostat without extra wiring work. ecobee was acquired by Generac Holdings in 2021 and continues to develop its thermostat, sensor, camera, and security lineup out of Toronto.
Wirecutter has named an ecobee model its top smart thermostat pick since 2017, and currently recommends the ecobee Premium for its energy-efficiency tuning and multi-ecosystem support. In our own testing for this roundup, the ecobee Enhanced and Premium stood out for supporting every major voice ecosystem — Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and Matter — in a category where most competitors pick one or two ecosystems and stop there.
Brand website: ecobee.com
What ecobee makes
ecobee's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Smart Thermostats
Enhanced, Premium, and Essential lines — PEK C-wire workaround included in every box — featured on DIYRated
SmartSensor
room-by-room temperature and occupancy sensors that pair with ecobee thermostats
Smart Camera
indoor Wi-Fi security camera with voice control
Smart Doorbell Camera
wired video doorbell with two-way talk and package detection
ecobee Smart Security
subscription monitoring service that ties sensors, cameras, and the doorbell together
Why we recognized ecobee
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. ecobee earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
ecobee products we rated highly
ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced
Includes the PEK Power Extender Kit in the box, letting it install on systems without a C-wire by repurposing the G (fan) wire, which solves the single biggest blocker for older homes. It's compatible with roughly 90 percent of residential HVAC systems including 3-stage heat / 2-stage cool and heat pumps with auxiliary heat, and it's the only thermostat in our roundup that supports Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and Matter out of the box.
Read the 8 Best Smart Thermostats of 2026: A Contractor's Honest Picks guide →
ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium with SmartSensor
Ships with one occupancy/temperature SmartSensor included, where most premium competitors sell room sensors as a separate add-on. It adds a built-in Alexa speaker and Apple Siri support directly through the thermostat, a built-in air quality monitor for VOC and CO2 trends, and the broadest HVAC compatibility we tested in the category at roughly 95 percent of US homes, up to 4-stage heat / 2-stage cool.
Read the 8 Best Smart Thermostats of 2026: A Contractor's Honest Picks guide →What earned ecobee the recognition
- Founded in 2007 in Toronto and shipped one of the first Wi-Fi-connected smart thermostats in 2008, well before the category had a name.
- Ships a Power Extender Kit in every thermostat box, letting installs proceed without a C-wire on older homes, a problem most competitors leave to the installer to solve separately.
- Full voice-ecosystem coverage across Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and Matter, the broadest of any brand we reviewed in the category.
- Recognized by Wirecutter as its top smart thermostat pick every year since 2017, with the Premium currently holding that recommendation.
- 3-year manufacturer warranty on both models we tested, plus a built-in air quality monitor on the Premium that gives homeowners VOC and CO2 trend data most thermostats don't report at all.