The Best Thermometers for Kids and Adults (2024)

We started our search for the best thermometer back in 2016, diving into the recent research on the subject and looking at what the science said about the benefits and drawbacks of each of the different types of thermometers—including the latest studies examining infrared thermometers. Over the years, we’ve spoken to four physicians for their opinions on the best thermometers for at-home use, considering the needs and preferences of both adults and children.

I’m Wirecutter’s senior staff writer for health and have reviewed fever thermometers for three years. I also review other household health-oriented electronics like blood pressure monitors and bathroom scales.

Having a reliable thermometer on hand can provide peace of mind when monitoring health at home. A trustworthy thermometer is useful if ever you’re unsure whether you or your kid is running a fever. But as with a spare tire or a flashlight, you sometimes don’t realize how badly you need a reliable one until it’s too late. As commenters on previous versions of this review have expressed, many people found themselves at the beginning of the pandemic lacking a thermometer or discovering that their rarely used ones had stopped working. A rapid surge in demand dried up thermometer stock at stores nationwide, while online marketplaces became flooded with all sorts of models, both reliable and not, at exorbitant prices.

In 2020 and 2021, we tested 15 thermometers, keeping in mind that in many cases they might be used for children and adults in a multigenerational household for years to come. Fever thermometers designed for at-home use don’t need to be recalibrated (in other words, if yours was accurate at the time of purchase, it should still be), so if you have one that fits your needs and still works, this isn’t a device that you need to replace constantly.¹ But newer thermometers offer features such as faster read times, better displays, fever alarms, silent mode, and memory logs, all of which can make life a little easier when you or a loved one may be sick. If you have a kid or care for one, an upgrade to an ear or forehead thermometer, especially a contactless infrared model, can take much of the struggle out of measuring a temperature.

Our requirements for a thermometer are simple: It should be accurate, consistent, and available.

Types of fever thermometers

Whereas traditional oral/rectal/axillary (armpit) thermometers have long been the most popular tools to take temperatures at home, forehead and ear thermometers tend to be faster and easier to use, especially with children.

Digital stick thermometers are simple and offer reliable measurements and fast results, but you need to keep your mouth closed around the probe for anywhere between 10 and 60 seconds, and oral measurements may be skewed if you’ve recently consumed something very hot or cold. Using a stick thermometer orally is tough for most toddlers and preschoolers, so such models are recommended for people ages 4 and up. Oral thermometers today usually pull triple duty as armpit and rectal thermometers, as well. Although rectal temperatures have long been the gold standard for infants, many countries, including the UK, actively dissuade parents from using the oral or rectal methods at any age due to discomfort with the former and safety concerns with the latter (PDF). The UK now recommends that stick thermometers be used for armpit (axillary) measurements for newborns under 4 weeks and suggests using infrared forehead thermometers for any age above that. The American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends rectal thermometer use for newborns but acknowledges research that shows infrared thermometers are accurate for people over the age of 3 months.

Ear and forehead infrared thermometers, both in-ear/on-forehead and contactless, are accurate enough to properly track a fever and are generally easier to use than stick thermometers. These thermometers tend to be a little more expensive than simpler oral/rectal/axillary models, but they’re worth the investment when speed and comfort are top concerns.

Forehead and ear thermometers both measure temperature based on heat radiated from either the temporal artery (forehead) or the eardrum (ear). Although it is tempting to just place an ear thermometer in an ear and press the button, these thermometers are usually a little more complicated than “insert and wait,” so make sure to follow the directions to position your ear appropriately to line things up. The Mayo Clinic does not recommend ear thermometers for newborns; Mayo advocates a minimum age of 6 months, basically when children are old enough to balk at a rectal thermometer but too young to manage an oral one.

Whereas ear thermometers almost always require skin contact, many forehead infrared thermometers are “no-touch,” contactless models (others require a light touch of the thermometer to the forehead). On the downside, results from these thermometers may be affected by factors such as perspiration and air temperature (taking the temperature itself may not wake up the sick person, but wiping the sweat off their head first might). Infrared thermometers are also more susceptible to ambient temperature: To work properly, they need to be in the same room as the person who needs their temperature taken for around 30 minutes prior in order to acclimate to the surrounding air temperature and provide an accurate measurement.

Demand for contactless thermometers has skyrocketed in the past year. With a pandemic of a highly transmissible respiratory virus ongoing and with restrictions in place, the idea of a no-touch thermometer is particularly appealing—as is the idea of taking a sleeping child’s temperature without disturbing them. Although the technology is still fairly new, it is being widely adopted in clinical, commercial, and household settings.

Most of the thermometers we tested covered a range from roughly 96 °F to 109 °F with an accuracy of ±0.4 degree. Some report lower accuracy at higher ranges, but if your temperature is pushing 107 °F, you’re ideally in a hospital and not at home quibbling over a 0.4-degree difference. Know that the FDA does not test and “approve” home-use fever thermometers itself. According to FDA spokesperson Fallon Smith: “Electronic clinical thermometers marketed in the US are typically tested according to voluntary international consensus standards recognized by the FDA or equivalent methods—we review the submitted data and if the device is similar to another device already on the market we approve it under what is called a 510(k) clearance.” So a device that claims to be “FDA approved,” such as our pick from Mobi and some iProven models, didn’t go through special, rigorous testing by the government—its packaging is simply reporting that the company’s in-house tests fit the guidelines. Recently, some companies, such as ThermoWorks, have started using the term “FDA-cleared,” which still refers to the submitted packaging guidelines, not to the product itself.

Whatever type of thermometer you choose, it is important to remember that as with a bathroom scale, no device meant for home use can provide exact, 100% accurate measurements. At-home fever thermometers are just not that precise (and temperature is not a static measurement). Luckily, this isn’t the goal: Just as how a bathroom scale is meant to track trends in weight gain and loss, a thermometer’s job is usually to track trends over time.

Among so many other things the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted, it upended our thermometer testing plans. Whereas in previous years we had taken the top contenders to a clinic, where we would compare their readouts with those of a machine often used in urgent-care and hospital settings, in 2020 and 2021 we tested thermometers in situ: at home. I tested each thermometer dozens of times on myself (a healthy adult with no fever), as well as on the three other members of my household (another healthy adult and two healthy kids, none with fevers).

Although all of the infrared ear and forehead thermometers we tested in 2020 and 2021 gave results in less than three seconds, the operating time for the oral thermometers ranged from a low of eight seconds to an excruciating high of 40 seconds (with a few read failures from one especially odious model). A minute may not seem like a long period of time—until you’re sitting around with a rigid stick of plastic under your tongue or, worse, trying to hold it under the tongue of a kindergartner.

Most of the thermometers we tested, including all of our picks, have two alarms—one that tells you the reading is done and a “fever” alarm that goes off if your temperature is above a given level. Most of the alarms alert you to an elevated temperature at 99.5 °F and above. Dr. John Mills, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Michigan, stressed that even though people often talk about a fever as anything higher than 100.4 °F, “there is no such thing as a normal temperature.” Mills continued, “Everybody has a different personal set temperature as a baseline, and it can vary throughout the day. You can’t pick one point where everyone should worry—99.5 °F and 100.4 °F are reasonable thresholds, but that may not be sensitive enough for people with an increased risk of infection, or may be too sensitive for people who are generally healthy and have a higher baseline.”

To find out how a forehead thermometer worked in the outside world, a tester for a previous version of this guide tried one on a healthy person sitting in the sun. The reading came back as 103.8 °F—a lesson in both thermometer use and the need to sit in the shade. You can follow all of the instructions (wipe off sweat, wait after exercise), but the environment around you will still influence your skin temperature. Engineers at Braun explained that it “takes 28 minutes to adjust to a new setting”—in other words, you and the infrared thermometer need to be in the same steady-environment room for a half hour before it will give you an accurate read.

Every thermometer we tried bounced around within a small range from measurement to measurement. In the end, though, most of the thermometers we tested gave readings that were acceptably consistent. Our picks stand out from the pack on the three most important fronts in these strange times: accuracy, consistency, and availability.

For a traditional oral/rectal/axillary thermometer, we recommend the Vicks ComfortFlex, which stands out in speed and style. The average measurement time of eight seconds was the fastest among stick thermometers we tested, and customer reviews for the ComfortFlex consistently mention the speed as a key feature. During our tests, the backlit, large display was by far the easiest of those on the stick thermometers to read and interpret: One Wirecutter colleague chose this thermometer without hesitation because, he said, “I can actually see the numbers.” Plus, it comes with a useful, color-coded fever alarm and has a waterproof design.

Many of the thermometers we’ve tested have small numbers in a display window roughly 0.75 by 0.2 inches. The ComfortFlex features numbers twice the size of the next largest display, and it’s the only thermometer in our test group with a backlight feature—a must-have for anyone who shuns the light when sick or anyone who is taking a child’s temperature in the dark.

The ComfortFlex also has a useful fever alarm. Most of the thermometers we’ve tested boast alarms that change the number or tone of beeps when a temperature is elevated—a feature that is completely useless unless you memorize the “normal” beep structure in advance. The Vicks thermometer, on the other hand, color-codes the results, turning green for a normal temperature, yellow to indicate a slightly elevated temperature (above 99 °F), and red to alert you to a temperature greater than 101 °F. (Note that a fever in children over 6 months old is defined as starting at 99 °F for oral temperature and 100.4 °F for rectal temperature, which are both in the alarm’s yellow zone.) No preternatural ability to interpret shrill beeping required.

The Vicks ComfortFlex stores the most recent reading. The thermometer comes with a one-piece case and five single-use probe covers. Because these covers are meant to be trashed after one use, they won’t last you very long. You can buy replacements, but the thermometer itself is water resistant, so save your money—an alcohol swab or soap and water on the tip between each use will work just fine.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

When a temperature is ready to be read, the Vicks ComfortFlex emits an annoying, repetitive alert that you can’t silence. Although this is the case with most oral thermometers we’ve tested, the beep of the Vicks model is particularly grating.

Our version of the Vicks thermometer was Fahrenheit only. For us this was a flaw, but it would almost certainly be a dealbreaker for people who use Celsius. For years, Kaz Incorporated, the maker of this thermometer, has told us that newer versions will allow you to switch between the two scales, but as of 2021 this update has not yet happened.

Many of the negative customer reviews are complaints about the battery either arriving dead or dying after a few uses. The 3-volt, CR1225 battery is easily replaceable, but when you buy a new item, it should work—if yours is a dud, send it back.

If you prefer an in-ear thermometer, the Equate Infrared In-Ear Digital Thermometer is a great option. We found its large, backlit screen easy to read, and consecutive measurements remained the same in dozens of tests. It’s also fast, with temperature readings available within three seconds. As on our stick pick, the backlight changes color from green to yellow to red depending on the temperature measured, a feature we found helpful.

Unlike our stick thermometer pick, the Equate stores 10 temperature measurements (as opposed to just one) and can present readings in Fahrenheit or Celsius. Its audible fever alarm sounds if the detected temperature exceeds 99.5 °F.

The thermometer comes with a storage case and a handful of optional, disposable protective caps, which we found did not negatively impact the consistency or reliability of the measurements. You can buy additional protective caps.

The Equate is not waterproof, but you can wipe it down with a cloth dampened with 70% ethyl alcohol, following that with a dry cloth.

It takes two AA batteries and comes with a satisfaction-guaranteed promise of either a replacement or money back; according to an Equate customer service rep, that promise has no time limit.

If this model is unavailable when you’re shopping, we recommend the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer as a backup option. Although it is a smart thermometer, it’s perfectly functional even if you never use the accompanying app.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The Equate has no silent mode, and the manufacturer says that for maximum accuracy this thermometer should not be used on someone who is asleep. (We could not get official clarification as to why.) We also found this model difficult to fit into its storage case, and the disposable protective covers felt a bit flimsy.

The Hetaida htd8813c is a reliable contactless infrared forehead thermometer that’s no less speedy or consistent than a pricier option we tested. It is available from several brands, at several prices: We tested the Homedics TIE-240 Non-Contact Infrared Body Thermometer, the iProven NCT-978 Non-Contact Thermometer, and the Mobi Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer in 2020, and we found that they were all the same (save for the warranty coverage, where the Mobi falls short if you do not register the device). The thermometer can store up to 50 readings.

In our tests, consecutive temperatures were consistent, and when we took readings in the exact same position, they rarely varied. This thermometer almost always recorded either the exact same temperature as the sleek but slower ThermoWorks Wand No Touch Forehead Thermometer or came within two-tenths of a degree. (If the Hetaida htd8813c is unavailable, we recommend the ThermoWorks Wand as an alternative.)

It also has a nice feature in that you don’t have to press a power button to turn it on: You just point, click, and get a reading in a few seconds.

The large and easy-to-read display remains backlit for a useful five seconds after you take a reading (in contrast to the ThermoWorks Wand’s two) and can show readings in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. This model also doubles as a surface thermometer, and you can mute the sound, too. When the sound is on, the beeps are loud and clear.

It comes with both audible and visible fever alarms that you can adjust: The default setting is to emit a sound and to display red if the detected temperature exceeds 99.2°F, but you can toggle that number up and down in the thermometer’s settings.

This thermometer does not come with a case, and it looks and feels a bit cheap, which makes sense considering that in non-pandemic times it usually retailed for around $20 (in contrast to prices as high as $100 for the same thermometer in 2021). Depending on the retailer you purchase this model from, it may have poorly placed stickers on each side, as we found on the iProven version.

According to the manuals accompanying two of the three htd8813c versions we tried, this thermometer has a life expectancy of three years. You can clean it only by wiping it down with a soft, clean cloth.

It takes two AAA batteries. The Homedics and iProven versions come with one-year warranties. The Mobi model is covered by a 90-day warranty (which, with registration, can be extended by a year).

It features a big, easy-to-read display (that stays backlit for a few seconds less than the screens on our other contactless picks do), and like our other contactless picks, it can double as a surface or object thermometer. Similarly, it can switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius, and you can use it with the volume turned on or off. The thermometer comes with an audible fever alarm that sounds if the detected temperature exceeds 99.5 °F, though you can mute that sound.

The Wand takes about two seconds longer to deliver readings, and stores half as many temperature readings, as the Hetaida htd8813c models do (25 versus 50). When it is not muted, the sound is very low and hard to hear (the Hetaida models’ sound is louder and clearer). After you take a reading, the screen remains backlit for only two seconds, which makes temperature reading in the dark more difficult. A particularly annoying series of four beeps chirps if you try to take another temperature too quickly, so if you’re used to taking consecutive readings without pause, you’ll likely need to get accustomed to the mandatory two-second wait between attempts.

In our 2020 and 2021 testing, the Wand produced consistently reliable readings, either matching our picks’ or coming within two-tenths of a degree. And like two of the three Hetaida htd8813c models we recommend, it is covered by a one-year warranty.

The Wand runs on two AAA batteries. According to a company spokesperson, it has a battery-life expectancy of around four years.

The Wand is not waterproof, but you can wipe it down with a cloth dampened with 70% ethyl alcohol and then with a dry cloth. It does not come with a storage case.

If the Vicks ComfortFlex is unavailable, we recommend the iProven DTR-1221A as a runner-up. Like the ComfortFlex, this traditional stick thermometer is speedy, reliable, and designed with a flexible probe. But unlike our pick, the DTR-1221A does not have a backlit display and is generally more difficult to read. Although the ComfortFlex was sold out for nearly all of 2020, it’s now reliably back in stock and generally priced less than the DTR-1221A.

If the ThermoWorks Wand No Touch Forehead Thermometer is your first choice but is unavailable, consider the company’s Wand Blue No Touch Bluetooth Forehead Thermometer. It’s the same contactless forehead thermometer but with the addition of smart capabilities, including wireless syncing with an app called ThermoWorks Health (iOS, Android). The Wand Blue is perfectly functional even if you don’t ever use the smart functions, though if you do use them, know that if you wish to store information—chiefly, temperature logs for multiple people—via the app, the company says: “ThermoWorks Apps do not collect any personally identifiable information, but in common with many commercial apps uses a third-party analytics service to collect anonymous usage information for the purpose of product improvement.” However, ThermoWorks does offer the option not to store data (this choice is embedded into the app sign-in). The terms of service and privacy policy lack the clarity we’d like to see, though the app itself does not offer much more than an extended text note would in the way of features, save for automated temperature tracking.

We previously recommended the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer, which is still a fine choice if you want an in-ear thermometer with smart capabilities, including wireless syncing with an app. Although many customer reviews allege inconsistency, in our tests we found this model to work fine with or without its smart capabilities. This thermometer’s accompanying app (iOS, Android) can automatically log temperatures for multiple people, among other features. Kinsa shares anonymized data in aggregate with public health experts, pharmacies, schools, and other third parties (including advertisers). It also publishes anonymized data in aggregate to HealthWeather. According to Kinsa’s privacy policy, the company says it “will never … [s]ell personally identifiable or individual data without the individual’s explicit permission.” Note that the first time you sync the thermometer to the Kinsa app, you have to enable location services. You can disable that as soon as you’re connected and still send temperature data from the thermometer to your phone.

The Kinsa QuickCare is a reliable stick thermometer with smart capabilities. Like the company’s Smart Ear, this model displays temperature readings directly on the device, which is handy if your phone is not nearby or you don’t wish to use the app after you’ve completed the setup process. The QuickCare syncs to the same iOS- and Android-compatible Kinsa app described above.

We previously recommended the iProven DMT-489, and long-term testers who purchased that model in previous years have found that it remains a consistent, reliable ear-and-forehead thermometer. But in our 2020 testing, it varied too much from read to read in comparison with our newer picks.

In previous rounds of testing, we tried several other models and made the following determinations:

Walmart’s ReliOn 60 Second Digital Thermometer took far too long to deliver results, with an average reading time of 40 seconds. The owner manual also cited an accuracy half that of our stick thermometer pick.

The Braun ThermoScan 5 ear thermometer requires lens caps for use (literally requires—the device will not operate until one is snugly in place). In a setting where someone might need to use the device on multiple people with no time or resources to clean it between uses, this thermometer is an excellent option. For at-home use, though, the need to keep an added component on hand makes it unappealing.

We liked that the Exergen TAT-2000C forehead model could be silenced, but the process was complicated and required some careful reading of the instruction manual. It also had a small, hard-to-read backlit display and was less intuitive to use than the Braun (for example, you need to press the main button 10 times to turn the alarm on and off). In addition, it runs on an (included) 9-volt battery—we generally try to avoid devices with batteries that we can’t replace by raiding the remote. Customer reviews suggest that this thermometer is not reliable over long periods of use.

We considered and quickly dismissed thermometer patches (such as the Fever Smart and TempTraq), which you apply to a person’s skin to continuously and remotely monitor their temperature. Such models are either many times the price of our picks or single-use, and—unless your doctor tells you otherwise—they’re overkill for most people.

Shannon Palus and Caroline Weinberg contributed reporting.

This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.

1. Sometimes, a perfectly functional thermometer just needs a new battery. If the original packaging is long gone, Google your model number until you find an official listing to determine what type of battery your thermometer needs. Ideally, you can find a PDF of the instruction manual to make sure you don’t break your thermometer while trying to replace the battery. Although some thermometers do use esoteric batteries that are hard to find, many—including three of our four picks—now use AA or AAA batteries. Stick-thermometer batteries are usually the most difficult to find, though not impossible. Note that many battery model numbers are interchangeable with other model numbers. (For example, the CR1225 battery that our stick-thermometer pick uses is also known as BR1225, DL1225,E-CR1225, LM1225, KCR1225, 5020LC, 5620LC, and L30, among other names.) Consider having a spare battery or two on hand so that you aren’t without a working thermometer in case of emergency.

   Jump back.

1. Karel Allegaert, MD, PhD, Kristina Casteels, MD, PhD, Ilse van Gorp, RN, Guy Bogaert, MD, PhD, Tympanic, Infrared Skin, and Temporal Artery Scan Thermometers Compared with Rectal Measurement in Children: A Real-Life Assessment, Current Therapeutic Research, December 1, 2014

2. Prerna Batra, Sudhanshu Goyal, Comparison of Rectal, Axillary, Tympanic, and Temporal Artery Thermometry in the Pediatric Emergency Room, Pediatric Emergency Care, January 1, 2013

3. Thermometers: Understand the options, Mayo Clinic, September 12, 2015

4. Ayşegül Işler, RN, PhD, Resmiye Aydin, RN, Şerife Tutar Güven, RN, Sema Günay, RN, Comparison of temporal artery to mercury and digital temperature measurement in pediatrics, International Emergency Nursing, July 1, 2014

5. Panagiotis Kiekkas, PhD, RN, Nikolaos Stefanopoulos, PhD, RN, Nick Bakalis, PhD, RN, Antonios Kefaliakos, PhD, RN, Menelaos Karanikolas, MD, MPH, Agreement of infrared temporal artery thermometry with other thermometry methods in adults, Journal of Clinical Nursing, January 27, 2016

6. Daniel J.Niven, MD, MSc, et al., Accuracy of Peripheral Thermometers for Estimating Temperature, Annals of Internal Medicine, November 17, 2015

7. Amanda McGrath, technical product manager, ThermoWorks, phone interview, September 1, 2020

8. Amesh Adalja, MD, senior scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, phone interview, September 1, 2020