An automatic weather station is a broad term that describes weather stations that take measurements without humans. Basic home weather stations are automated, as are official weather stations, known as Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) in the United States. An automatic weather station can range in price from as little as $100 to tens of thousands of dollars for commercial equipment.
However, in most residential and commercial applications, the average price is between $300 and $2,000 USD depending on the station purchase, any specialized sensors, and mounting.
Average Weather Station Cost By Application
A casual weather watcher won’t need the station that a farmer would. In other words, determine your primary need for a weather station and go from there.
Casual weather watcher
If you just want to be able to know what’s going on outside before stepping out the door, or if your garden’s getting enough water, we recommend a basic station like the Ambient Weather WS-2902. For under $200, you’re getting a fully featured weather station that we’ve found to be super reliable. If you don’t need the solar and UV sensors, you can step down to the WS-1965, but for $50 more the WS-2902 is far more accurate.
Average cost: $100-$200 USD
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 is surprisingly feature-packed and accurate, given its price. Many of the cheap wireless home weather stations we've tested had issues that prevented us from genuinely recommending them. The WS-2902 does not.
The WS-2902 isn't as accurate as the WS-5000 or Davis weather stations, but it's also less than half the price. The connectivity is a standout feature at its price point, with full smart-home capabilities thanks to IFTTT, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa support. Like the WS-5000, connecting the station to AmbientWeather.net allows you to share data with Weather Underground and access weather station data through the app or a web-based portal.
If you can't justify the price of other weather stations on our list, the Ambient Weather WS-2902 is the best budget model available. The LCD display console in the WS-2902 is much improved over previous models. When we tested the WS-2902A, the console suffered from readability problems beyond a 30-degree angle, which is far less of a problem now.
The WS-2902 weather station has all the features you'd expect including indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, and barometric pressure. A nice surprise is the inclusion of a fairly accurate UV/light sensor, something you typically don't see on other home weather stations even in this price range.
The WS-1965 is Ambient's cheapest weather station with internet connectivity.
Weather enthusiast
Consider yourself a “weather weenie?” Or just want a more dependable station overall? While the WS-2902 might be fine, we’d also suggest you check out the Davis Vantage Vue, Tempest Weather System, or the Ambient Weather WS-5000. Each of these stations has both its strengths and weaknesses, but are a step above the previous recommendations.
Average cost: $300-$600 USD
- Accuracy is nearly on par with the Vantage Pro2
- Extremely reliable
- Well-constructed and durable
- The WeatherFlow Console makes it even better
- A 5-in-1 sensor isn't the best for accurate readings
- You pay a premium for the name
WeatherFlow is a relatively recent entrant to the home weather station market, although it has years of experience. Its coastal network of professional weather stations has been delivering vital information to meteorologists for years and has proven useful (and durable) in landfalling hurricanes.
The Tempest Weather System is WeatherFlow's first attempt at a wireless home weather station. For the most part, it's a good start. It's the only one of our stations with built-in lightning detection, one of Tempest's standout features, and operates entirely on solar power.
We found that the real-time lightning data matched better with historical data than from professional lightning detection networks. It regularly detected distant lightning faster than any other station we've tested. In addition to lightning data, the Tempest measures indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, barometric pressure, and UV and light intensity.
Wind is measured by a sonic anemometer which we found to be fairly accurate. And up until the Ecowitt Wittboy, the Tempest Weather System was the only home weather station to use a haptic rain sensor.
See our review for a way to save 10% off your next purchase from WeatherFlow.
Gardening & Farming
If you’re in need of weather data for agricultural purposes, we highly recommend stations on the high end for their accuracy and expandability. Stations like the WS-5000, Davis Vantage Pro2, or KestrelMet 6000 are stations to investigate. All three offer optional soil and leaf moisture sensors and UV and light data. However, you will pay considerably more.
Average cost: $500-$1,500 USD
- Installation is easy
- Top-tier accuracy
- The app and web portal are easy to use
- High-quality construction
- High price (although a good value)
- Great full-color console
- An impressive list of optional sensors
- Smart home connectivity
- Improved barometer and rainfall accuracy (from WS-2902 series)
- Cumbersome console setup
- Some sensors had to be reset to connect to console
Educational Applications
We’d recommend the KestrelMet 6000 or Davis Vantage Pro2 for educational uses. Our reasoning here is accuracy. While the KestrelMet 6000 comes with far aspiration, the Vantage Pro2 base model does not so make sure you select the correct model.
Average cost: $1,000-$2,000 USD
- The best accuracy of any home weather station
- Top-notch reliability
- Durability is impressive
- Expandability through additional sensors
- A 5-in-1 sensor isn’t the best for accurate readings
- No expandability
Commercial Applications
If weather data at a job site or location is important, we’d recommend either the Davis Vantage Pro2 or KestrelMet 6000. Both offer optional cellular connectivity, which allows you to monitor weather conditions even offsite. The Tempest also has a commercial version known as the TempestOne. The cost varies widely based on the business’s unique needs.
Average cost: $1,000-$2,500 USD+
While these are only a few examples, we hopes this helps you narrow down your search to the best automatic weather station for your particular need. Have any questions? Feel free to comment below!
