TCRThe Comparison Report

Smart Thermostats / Honeywell Home

Honeywell Home · X Series

Honeywell Home X2S (RTH2CWF)

The cheapest Matter thermostat here, if you have a C wire and forgive its thin Matter.

$79.99

Overall score 5.1/10

Pros

  • + Matter certified, ENERGY STAR certified and dual-band Wi-Fi for $79.99 — nothing else here does all three that cheaply
  • + 2H/2C conventional staging is more than the similarly priced Sensi Lite or the Nest Thermostat publish
  • + Mounts on Resideo's UWP plate, the same system professional installers use, which makes wiring tidy
  • + 2-year warranty at $80, double what Amazon and Google give at this price

Cons

  • A C wire is mandatory and no adapter is included — in a four-wire house this $80 thermostat becomes an electrician's callout
  • Matter works only for reading state in at least one reviewer's testing: setpoint changes sent over Matter did not stick
  • You have to install the First Alert app to get a Matter pairing code, so Matter does not free you from the vendor app
  • No room sensors and no occupancy sensing at all — this is strictly a one-room thermostat
  • No humidifier, dehumidifier or ventilator control

Honeywell Home X2S (RTH2CWF) review: what the specs say

The cheapest Matter thermostat here, if you have a C wire and forgive its thin Matter. At $79.99, Honeywell Home's 2025 model sits among the cheapest we cover — the smart Thermostats we compare run from $79 to $259.99. It scores 5.1/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.

Its strongest showing is Value at 8.5/10 — what the money buys once accessories, adapters and sensors are added in. The weakest is Multi-Room Sensing at 1.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.

Worth knowing before you buy: a C wire is mandatory and no adapter is included — in a four-wire house this $80 thermostat becomes an electrician's callout; and matter works only for reading state in at least one reviewer's testing: setpoint changes sent over Matter did not stick. Every specification on this page comes from Honeywell Home's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.

Specifications and price last verified . Report an error

Full Specifications

System VoltageLow voltage 24V. Resideo states it does not work with electric baseboard heat at 120-240V
C-Wire RequiredYes, hard requirement. Resideo states a constant 24V C-wire supply is needed and the X2S is not battery powered
Adapter / Power Kit IncludedNo adapter of any kind is included
Heating & Cooling StagesUp to 2 Heat/2 Cool conventional
Heat Pump & Aux HeatYes — up to 2 Heat/1 Cool heat pump with electric backup
Humidifier / Ventilator TerminalsNone published. Humidity is monitored and displayed, not controlled
Remote SensorsNone. There is no room sensor option for this model
Occupancy DetectionNone. Away behaviour comes from geofencing in the First Alert app
Matter SupportMatter certified — but Matter Alpha's reviewer could see temperature, humidity and mode in SmartThings and could not get setpoint changes to take effect, which breaks the automations Matter is meant to enable
Voice & Smart Home PlatformsFirst Alert app by Resideo (required for setup and to generate the Matter code), Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Home via Matter
Utility Rebates & Demand ResponseENERGY STAR certified. Resideo's launch materials specifically call out enabling enrolment in utility energy-management programs
Account or Subscription NeededNo subscription. A First Alert account is required
Connectivity2.4GHz Wi-Fi, 5GHz Wi-Fi, Matter
MaterialPlastic housing with a 4.84 sq in monochrome display and a UWP wall plate
Warranty24 months

Compare Honeywell Home X2S (RTH2CWF) With

Cheaper Alternative

Sensi Lite (ST25) — $79.00

Premium Alternative

Google Nest Thermostat (2020) — $129.99

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