The short version: You can’t buy the Vivint Element Thermostat by itself. It comes as one piece of a monitored Vivint security package, installed by a Vivint technician and locked to a multi-year monitoring contract. Judge this purchase on the contract and the company, not the thermostat spec sheet.

Why This Review Reads Differently

Every other thermostat on this site can be bought, returned, or swapped independently of anything else. The Element can’t. Vivint doesn’t sell it at retail, on Amazon, or direct-to-consumer as a standalone device — it’s installed as part of a Vivint Smart Home security and automation package, and its price is folded into your equipment and monitoring costs rather than listed separately. Vivint’s own pricing pages and sales process don’t publish a standalone unit price, which is why you won’t find a dollar figure for it here.

That changes what “review” means. We can tell you what the thermostat does on paper and what independent buyers say about Vivint as an installer and monitoring company. We can’t tell you whether the Element beats an ecobee or Nest on a dollar-for-dollar basis, because you’re never given that choice — it’s the Element or nothing within a Vivint system.

Who It’s For

The Element only makes sense if you’re already buying, or seriously considering, a full Vivint monitored security system (cameras, sensors, panel, professional monitoring). If you just want a smart thermostat, buy one separately — you’ll pay less and won’t be locked into a monitoring contract to use it. This device is for forced-air homes where the homeowner wants HVAC control folded into a single security/automation app alongside cameras and door locks.

What the Element Does

On paper, the Element is a fairly standard smart thermostat: a touch display, built-in proximity/motion sensing to detect occupancy, learning-style schedule adjustments, and control through the Vivint Smart Home app alongside your cameras and locks. It supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. It ties into Vivint’s broader automation rules — for example, adjusting temperature when your security system is armed in “away” mode.

Setup & Compatibility

Installation is done by a Vivint technician as part of your system install, not a DIY job. That’s a plus if you don’t want to deal with C-wire troubleshooting yourself, but it also means you have no visibility into wiring quality until something goes wrong. In the buyer feedback we found, a recurring theme was installation problems traced back to Vivint technicians — including at least one report of a heater failure caused by improper thermostat wiring that blew a transformer and damaged a compressor. That’s a serious failure mode for a smart thermostat and worth asking your installer about directly (ask what happens if their wiring damages your HVAC equipment).

Compatibility with existing smart-home or HVAC equipment is worth confirming before you sign anything — some buyers reported being told specific existing devices would integrate with Vivint, only to find they weren’t actually supported once the system was installed.

What Owners Say About Vivint (the Company, Not Just the Thermostat)

We found little independent commentary on the Element thermostat specifically — it’s not sold or reviewed as its own product. What we did find plenty of is buyer sentiment about Vivint as a company, which matters more here since you’re buying the relationship, not just the hardware:

  • Aggregated review sites (PissedConsumer, SmartCustomer) show Vivint with very low average ratings, driven heavily by billing and cancellation complaints rather than equipment complaints.
  • A recurring complaint pattern: charges continuing after cancellation, contracts that auto-renew without clear notice, and long or difficult cancellation processes.
  • Vivint’s sales practices have drawn regulatory action: Arizona’s Attorney General fined Vivint $400,000 in 2022 over deceptive sales tactics, including reps allegedly misrepresenting competitor buyouts and extending contracts without consent.
  • Vivint customers were also affected by an FTC action tied to misuse of customer credit information; the FTC issued refunds to affected customers in December 2024.
  • Some buyers report positive experiences with individual technicians and the core equipment working as expected — the complaints skew toward sales and billing, not necessarily day-to-day reliability.

None of this is about the Element thermostat’s temperature accuracy or app polish. It’s about what you’re actually signing up for. Read the contract length and early-termination terms carefully before you commit.

Price & Value

Vivint Element (bundled)
Standalone price Not sold separately — no published unit price
Contract Multi-year professional monitoring contract typically required
Installation Included, professional (not DIY)
Cancellation Early termination has historically triggered disputed charges per buyer complaints — confirm current terms in writing

Because pricing is bundled into your security package and varies by what else you add (cameras, panel, sensors), there’s no meaningful price-to-value comparison against standalone thermostats. Compare the total system cost against a self-installed alternative (a standalone smart thermostat plus a separate security system, or a DIY system like SimpliSafe or Ring) rather than trying to price the thermostat in isolation.

Pros & Cons

Pros:
– Professional installation included, no DIY wiring required
– Ties into the same app as your Vivint cameras, locks, and sensors
– Occupancy/proximity sensing built in
– Alexa and Google Assistant support

Cons:
– Not sold or priced as a standalone product — no way to comparison-shop it directly
– Tied to a multi-year monitoring contract to get any use from it
– Independent buyer complaints skew heavily toward billing, cancellation, and sales practices rather than the equipment itself
– At least some reported cases of installation-related HVAC equipment damage
– If you leave Vivint, you may lose full functionality of the thermostat

The Recommendation

Don’t shop for the Element thermostat on its own — you can’t buy it that way. If you’re evaluating a Vivint security system for other reasons (cameras, monitoring, home automation) and the Element is part of the package, treat it as a reasonable-but-unremarkable inclusion rather than a reason to choose Vivint. Read the monitoring contract terms, especially cancellation and early-termination charges, before signing — that’s where most documented buyer frustration comes from, not the thermostat hardware.

If you want a smart thermostat and don’t need or want a monitored security contract, buy a standalone model instead — see our Best Smart Thermostats roundup — and pair it with a self-monitored or contract-free security system if you want cameras too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy the Vivint Element Thermostat without a security contract?
Not through Vivint’s normal sales channel. It’s sold as part of a monitored security/automation package with professional installation.

How much does the Vivint Element Thermostat cost?
Vivint doesn’t publish a standalone price. Cost is folded into your overall equipment and monitoring package, which varies by what else you add to the system.

Does the Vivint Element work with Alexa and Google Assistant?
Yes, both are supported through the Vivint Smart Home app and voice integrations.

What happens to the thermostat if I cancel Vivint monitoring?
This varies and has been a source of buyer complaints around continued billing and unclear terms. Get cancellation and equipment-ownership terms in writing before signing, and ask specifically what functionality (if any) survives cancellation.

Is Vivint a good company to buy a security system from?
Independent review aggregators show low average satisfaction, driven mostly by billing, contract, and cancellation complaints rather than equipment failures. Some buyers report satisfactory experiences with installation and day-to-day use. Weigh the contract terms carefully rather than relying on the sales pitch alone.