The Best Inexpensive Digital Thermometers, According to Our Tests

If you ever roast meat, sear steaks, pan-fry pork chops, poach fish, or...cook any meat at all, you should consider a good thermometer to be as essential a piece of kitchen equipment as a cutting board or a knife. It's the only way to know—not just guess, but know—that your meat is cooked exactly the way you want it.

We've long recommended the Thermapen ONE as the undisputed heavyweight champion of thermometers, but it has one major downside: it costs a pretty penny.

Good news: After testing the most popular and highly ranked thermometers on the market, two of them proved capable of performing many—though not all, and not as quickly—of the same functions at a fraction of the cost.

Here they are.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Inexpensive Thermometer

Thermoworks ThermoPop 2

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Easy to use, precise, and fast, it's hard to beat the ThermoPop 2. We also liked the rotating display screen (helpful when you're sticking your hand into the oven at an awkward angle).

The Best Compact Inexpensive Thermometer

Lavatools PT12 Javelin Digital Instant Read Thermometer

View On Amazon $27 View On Walmart $40 View On Lavatools.co

If you're searching for an inexpensive model with a fold-out probe, this thermometer from Lavatools is your best bet.

The Criteria: What to Look for in an Inexpensive Digital Thermometer

For my testing, I ran nine thermometers through a gamut of common kitchen tests (taking the temperature of ice water, boiling water, roasted chicken, and caramel) to assess four different qualities: accuracy and precision, speed, quality of build, and usability and features.

Accuracy and Precision

First and foremost, a good thermometer needs to be both accurate and precise. That is, the reading that shows on its display needs to be close to the actual temperature of the thing it is measuring, and it needs to be able to repeat this consistently, measure after measure. In a pot of boiling water, it should register 212°F, and in ice water, it should measure 32°F. If I measure the temperature of a cup of room-temperature water five times in a row, those readings should be the same (or at least close) each time.

But there's also an upper limit to usefulness in accuracy and precision when we're talking about everyday cooking. Sure, if you're cooking a delicate egg sous vide, a temperature difference of a few degrees can make a significant difference in its final texture. But for your standard roast chicken or steak? A couple of degrees one way or another isn't going to make or break dinner. So I didn't dock too many points for being a little bit off. (That said, both of the winners happened to also be exceedingly accurate and precise.)

To judge accuracy, we plunged room temperature probes into three different things: a boiling pot of water (which should register 212°F), a cup of ice water (32°F), and a roasted chicken breast (150°F). It turns out that the speed at which those temperatures registered had a very high correlation to accuracy—the most accurate thermometers were also the fastest. Which brings us to...

Speed

A good thermometer needs to be fast. Ten or 12 seconds may sound like a small amount of time, but in the real world, when you've got a side dish on the stovetop, guests or family milling around the kitchen, and your hand reaching into a hot oven to probe a turkey, it can feel like a lifetime. So we weighted the speed of reading very highly in my testing.

Interestingly, I went into the testing expecting to find an even spread in the speed. But as it turns out, the thermometers all fell into one of two extremes: Those that took between 10 to 15 seconds to take a reading, and the two winners, which took only two to three seconds.

Build Quality

A good thermometer must be well-built and able to withstand the rigors and unpredictability of a busy kitchen.

Of course, you'd expect a thermometer that costs $75 or more to last a long time. But even at $35 or less, longevity and robustness should factor into your decision. Some thermometers were made of cheap plastic that warped and/or cracked when we tried to open the battery case or had wands that bent precariously over the course of normal use. Thermometers made of tough, high-grade plastic with smooth operation and well-constructed casing scored higher.

Waterproof, water-resistant, and easy to clean were all bonuses in my book.

Usability and Features

To assess how user-friendly the thermometers were, we judged them subjectively on measures such as readability (large displays and features like automatically rotating digits and backlights were useful); ease of operation (some thermometers had fold-out wands that were difficult to fold out, while others required small buttons to be pressed—not easy when you have greasy fingers); length of the probe; the position of temperature reading (was the temperature taken just at the tip, or spread across a wider area?); and additional features.

Our Favorite Inexpensive Digital Thermometers

The Best Inexpensive Thermometer

Thermoworks ThermoPop 2

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What we liked: This has been our favorite inexpensive thermometer since 2014—and we found the new version to be just as great. It was the new standard then, and it remains the best-in-class now. Its results come in under three seconds—nearly as fast as its big brother, the Thermapen ONE. The screen is large and easy to read and is backlit for extra visibility when you're grilling at night or reaching into a dark oven. The display also rotates in 90-degree increments automatically, which facilitates reading at even the most awkward of angles.

The ThermoPop also comes in various bright colors, if you care about such things, and has a nice long probe that can reach the center of even the largest roast.

What we didn't like: Nothing—this is a great thermometer. However, if you want something faster and with more features, we recommend checking out the Thermapen ONE.

Key Specs

• Probe temp range: -58°F to 572°F 
• Response time: 3 seconds
• Auto shut-off: Yes (after 10 minutes)
• Good to know: Fully waterproof (IP67); two probe lengths available; comes in 9 colors

The Best Compact Inexpensive Thermometer

Lavatools PT12 Javelin Digital Instant Read Thermometer

View On Amazon $27 View On Walmart $40 View On Lavatools.co

What we liked: The Javelin by Lavatools has some impressive specs. In temperature range, accuracy, precision, and resolution, it meets or beats the ThermoPop. It takes a fraction of a second longer to register a temperature reading, but at this point, that's just quibbling. It's also splash-proof, well built, and has an off-on switch modeled after the Thermapen—fold out the probe, and it's on.

Its compact folding design makes it very easy to store in a drawer or your pocket. It doesn't have a rotating display or a backlight—neither of which are deal-breakers for me.

What we didn't like: Its one major flaw is the length of its probe. Measuring under three inches, it'll work fine for most everyday tasks, but taking the temperature of a large holiday roast like a prime rib or a turkey can become a bit dicier.

Ultimately, the choice comes down to your personal cooking style. If you rarely (or never) roast large cuts of meat, then the Lavatool Javelin, with its compact design, is the one for you. If you want a more versatile tool that's slightly bulkier, pick up a Thermopop.

Key Specs

• Probe temp range: -40°F to 482°F
• Response time: 2 to 3 seconds
• Auto shut-off: Yes (when probe is closed)
• Good to know: Splash resistant (IP65); comes in 9 colors; magnetic back

FAQs

How long does an instant-read thermometer take to read the temperature of something?

Instant-read digital thermometers will vary in how long it takes to read a temperature, and anywhere from two to three seconds up to 10 to 15 seconds is generally fair game. But faster is better—both for accuracy and efficiency. 

What's the difference between a meat thermometer and an instant-read thermometer?

Meat thermometers can be left in the meat during the cooking process—this includes the time spent in the oven. Instant-read thermometers, meanwhile, are meant for clocking a quick temperature here and there—checking on the progress of a roasting chicken or a developing caramel, for example. However, sometimes the terms meat thermometer and instant-read thermometer are used interchangeably to describe the same item.

Can an instant-read thermometer be left in the oven?

Instant-read thermometers—with their plastic housings, batteries, and digital components—are definitely not oven-safe and should not be subjected to high temperatures.  

Are cheap thermometers accurate?

Yes, a cheap thermometer can be relatively accurate. Now, we're not talking accurate to the umpteenth degree, but our winners are accurate enough that they won't ruin that steak you're cooking.

Why We're the Experts

• J. Kenji López-Alt is the former culinary director of Serious Eats and still moonlights as a culinary consultant for the site.
• He's the author of the James Beard award-winning cookbooks The Food Lab and The Wok.
• We've continued to update this review, looking at new models when they're available (like the ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2).
• We've also separately reviewed instant-read thermometers.