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Digital vs analogue window thermometer

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at a digital window thermometer because the digits look more serious than a pointer, and you want to know whether that is worth a battery on the outside of the glass. In this set the digital is one listing, the Youshiko YC779, and the analogue side is every other row. The Products Compared editorial team compared those six amazon.co.uk listings on 15 October 2026. There was no laboratory test. If you buy through our Amazon links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The table is the [window thermometer comparison](/hub/climate-measuring/window-thermometer). The choice below is the mechanism, with one condition at the end.

You are looking at a digital window thermometer because the digits look more serious than a pointer, and you want to know whether that is worth a battery on the outside of the glass.

Our top picks

Faithfull Faithfull stick-on window thermometer

Best overall

Faithfull Faithfull stick-on window thermometer
7.2/10about £4.31
View offer
Brannan Brannan outside window thermometer

Rank 2

Brannan Brannan outside window thermometer
7.6/10about £5.95
View offer
Youshiko Youshiko YC779 digital window thermometer

Alternative

Youshiko Youshiko YC779 digital window thermometer
5.7/10about £18.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What only the digital in this set can do
  2. 2.What the dials can do without a cell
  3. 3.Reading the number
  4. 4.Which to buy, with a condition
  5. 5.Memory or no cell

What only the digital in this set can do

Only the Youshiko states a minimum and a maximum on the display, next to the current outdoor temperature. It is about £18.99, rated 3.6 from 32 reviews, fixed with self-adhesive film. The listing says it runs on one 1.5 V AAA, and that the cell is not included. That memory is the reason to buy it, if you can reach the case later. Reviews include a unit stuck at 50 °C and daylight that makes the screen hard to see. A cell change means working on the glass or replacing the tape. A shop's Vision digital, with the AAA included and a stated range of −25 °C to +70 °C, is a different product. Do not copy its range or its included cell onto the Youshiko. A greenhouse maximum-and-minimum is a different tool, which the buying guide keeps separate.

What the dials can do without a cell

A dial in this set shows the current position of a pointer. It does not store last night's low unless you were there to see it. The Brannan 14/419/3 is the one with a published mechanism: a bimetal hairspring, no cell, −20 °C to +50 °C, and ±2.0 °C at ambient on the maker's sheet. The listing price is about £5.95, with 3.7 from 153 ratings. The Amazon fields still say an upper rating of 120 °F and power ac. Only the Brannan figure should be quoted as ±2 °C. The Faithfull at about £4.31, 3.9 from 684, is sold with a Digital and AC attribute line. UK reviews describe a dial and do not mention a cell. A UK review of the Jiujuda9 four-pack says there is no battery. If you need the overnight minimum without watching the pointer, none of these dials does that job.
Faithfull Faithfull stick-on window thermometer

Testsieger

Faithfull Faithfull stick-on window thermometer
7.2/10about £4.31
View offer

Reading the number

Digits are not automatically easier. Some Youshiko reviews call the figures clear from across the room. Others call the display hard to read in daylight. A Brannan problem is the opposite surface: a transparent or green face that disappears against a garden or at night. A 0.1 °C mark is precision of the display, not accuracy of a tenth of a degree, and the Youshiko listing does not state a resolution. Both instruments sit on the glass, and both climb when the case heats up. Moving either of them into shade is the sun and shade page, not a reason to prefer an LCD.

Which to buy, with a condition

Buy a dial if the job is a glance at the current number and you do not want a cell on the outside of the window. The Faithfull is the long UK review trail at about £4.31. The Brannan is the one with ±2.0 °C at ambient, at about £5.95, if the pane is shaded. Buy the Youshiko if the job is last night's low on that same pane, and you can reach the case later. If you cannot reach it, the memory is a cost you will not collect.

Memory or no cell

The 3.6 from 32 is why the digital stays a narrow buy. Digits are not a general rule that the number is more trustworthy than a pointer on the same glass.

Common questions

When is a digital window thermometer the better buy?
When you want minimum and maximum on that window, and you can reach the outside face to fit and later change an AAA. In this set that is the Youshiko YC779 at about £18.99, 3.6 from 32 reviews. It is a poor buy for a coat check, which a dial from about £4.31 already does.
Does the Youshiko include the battery?
No. The listing says one 1.5 V AAA, and the cell is not included, at about £18.99. Reviews then describe tiny screws and a change that fights the tape. A Vision digital sold elsewhere includes its AAA. That is context, not the contents of this box.
Can a dial show the overnight minimum?
Not unless you looked. None of the analogue listings here stores a high or a low. The Brannan, the Faithfull, the Jiujuda9, and the SYNKIGY show a pointer now. The Youshiko is the listing that states minimum and maximum. If you need the coldest point of the night on that glass, the dial will have moved on by breakfast.
Why does Amazon call the Faithfull digital?
Because the attribute table says display type Digital and power AC. UK reviews of the same listing describe a dial with a lever, and they do not mention a cell. The Whispern Cloud row has the same clash, Digital in the table and analogue in the bullets. Read the reviews beside the table.
What happens to the battery in the cold?
The Youshiko listing does not say. There is no stated cell life in frost, so a winter figure would be a guess. What the reviews do say is that changing the AAA means tiny screws and either working on the glass or replacing the tape. A dial with no cell avoids that job in January.

Related pages

Best window thermometer

Window thermometer

Stick-on window thermometer: checks before you buy

How to stick a thermometer on outside window glass

Window thermometer inaccurate: sun, shade, and noon

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk dump dated 15 October 2026.

  1. Met Office — how we measure temperature (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Met Office — make your own thermometer box (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK — controls on mercury-added products (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Brannan data sheet 14/419/3 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Brannan — dial window thermometer (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. RHS — heating greenhouses efficiently (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Thermometer World — dial window thermometer (retrieved 15 October 2026)