I have never used one so I don't know. But I would say you dont want to go cheap on the one thing that protects you snakes from a bad burn If you look at what vet costs will be to treat 1 burned snake I bet that costs more than a good thermostat. And if you use it on a rack you are risking burning more than one so personally I think the $60.00 dollars more for a herpstat is well worth it.