Best Smart AC Controllers of 2025
Remotely control your AC with our top picks from Boldr, Cielo, Mysa, Sensibo, and Venz
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If you’ve ever wanted to turn on your window or portable air conditioner before you got home—or simply without walking into another room—you might want to invest in a smart AC controller. These handy thermostats work with any AC unit, mini-split, or in-wall heat pump that uses an infrared remote control. And they’re not expensive. A controller in our ratings costs less than $50.
Smart AC controllers serve as supercharged remote controls for your AC unit. You usually plug them into an outlet (though some are battery-powered), place them within sight of the unit, and use them to send infrared commands to the AC to change the temperature, turn it on or off, adjust fan speed, and more. You issue these commands or create schedules (as you would with a traditional thermostat) from the AC controller’s smartphone app or physical controls on the unit itself if it has them.
Below you’ll find the five best smart AC controllers from Consumer Reports’ tests. The list is arranged in alphabetical order and features models made by Boldr, Cielo, Mysa, Sensibo, and Venz.
For more options, see our smart AC controller ratings. And if you need help choosing an AC controller or thermostat, check out our thermostat buying guide.
The Boldr Klima Smart Thermostat looks a lot like the latest Google Nest Learning Thermostat, but they have very different functions. In our tests, we found the Boldr app to be easy to set up and use. The thermostat also has decent manual controls. The Klima’s features include geofencing (to turn your system on or off when you leave and return home) and the ability to control it from the Amazon Alexa and Google Home apps and their respective digital assistants. The Boldr Klima comes with a wall mount; a tabletop stand is sold separately.
The Cielo Breez Max provides a simple LCD display and robust, easy-to-use controls for heating and cooling, both on the device itself and in the Cielo Home app.
The Cielo Breez Max offers a built-in humidity sensor, geofencing, and an AI-powered Comfy Mode to make temperature adjustments on its own, similar to the Nest Learning Thermostat. It works with all four major smart-home systems: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home and Siri, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. Cielo also offers two smart thermostats for traditional HVAC systems, the Cielo Smart Thermostat and Cielo Smart Thermostat Eco, which you can use with the Breez Max to control your central HVAC system and individual AC units from the same app.
If you’re interested in less expensive versions of the Cielo Breez Max, see our test results for the Cielo Breez Eco and Cielo Breez Lite. The former features an on/off button but lacks physical temperature controls and a display, while the latter lacks both display and any physical controls at all. Both work with the Cielo Home app.
The Mysa Smart Thermostat features a dot-matrix LED display and capacitive-touch buttons to adjust the temperature. In our tests, the Mysa smartphone app receives a high score for setup and ease of use. The Mysa includes geofencing, energy monitoring, and a humidity sensor. It also has proximity and ambient light sensors to turn on and adjust the brightness of the display. The Mysa works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home and Siri, and Google Home and Assistant. It comes with a tabletop stand and can also be wall-mounted.
The Sensibo Air is very easy to set up and use, and features robust app controls, but it offers no physical controls or screen on the device. It features a humidity sensor, geofencing, and compatibility with all four major smart-home systems (Amazon Alexa, Apple Home and Siri, Google Home and Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings). The Sensibo comes with rubber feet to sit on a flat surface, and it can also be wall-mounted.
The Venz Smart Thermostat is the least expensive model in our ratings, with a list price of $40. It’s from a relatively obscure brand, but it works well. Our testers found it very easy to set up and use via its app, which is called Woox Home. It lacks physical controls, but it does have an LED display that shows current temperature and humidity. The Venz features geofencing and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home to control your AC via their digital assistants and smart-home apps. It comes with a tabletop stand.
How CR Tests Smart AC Controllers
Our test engineers evaluate AC controllers for smartphone app functionality and manual controls. For app functionality, we evaluate how easy they are to set up and use, and whether they offer robust app controls for temperature adjustments and powering on or off the unit. For manual controls, we evaluate how robust their physical controls are (some lack physical controls altogether) and whether those controls are easy to use.
For more information on our thermostat testing process, see our thermostat buying guide.
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