With the Herpstat ND it has the alarms and night drop features used in the Herpstat II and PRO, but it does not have the abilitly to connect to the internet and send instant messages or call your cell phone like the Herpstat II and PRO do. I personally prefer the Herpstat PRO. I have 2 Helix which are not bad Thermostats, but after getting them we went to a Herpstat Pro in our rack system and realized all the additional features it has and now that is all we plan to use. Also as long as your racks are close together you can use a herpstat PRO to power 4 different racks even if they use different types of heating elements as it has 4 seperate channels. Then you figure in the cost we found the Herpstat pro at was $320 or $380 if you want the software connection stuff. Four Helix controllers are going to run over $500. You can do the rest of your math from that. Granted I think as more people realize the added features they can get with Herpstat you may be able to pick up used Helix controllers at a significantly lower price unless Helix picks up their game and comes out with something better! We plan on getting another Herpstat Pro to replace the two Helix units we have on our display enclosure in the future. We will keep the Helix Thermostats around as back ups or for the set up of emergency individual quarantine tanks.