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Head-to-head · Best Electric Fireplaces

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert vs Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.5 vs 4.4). The gap is mostly about owners of a disused masonry firebox or a framed cutout who want the closed-door look of a traditional hearth — read the strengths below before deciding.

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
Higher ratedRanked #3 in Best Electric Fireplaces
PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
3 sources2 derived$419.99

The Klaus is Bob Vila's overall pick for the category and Popular Mechanics' best traditional insert, and both awards come down to the front face: double glass doors, a mesh curtain, and a three-sided brick liner behind a resin log on a grate. It is a conversion product, meant to drop into a hearth or a framed cutout, and the flat bottom means it can sit straight on the floor of an opening with no hearth built under it. Popular Mechanics puts the output above 5,000 BTU for rooms up to 400 square feet. The reservations are consistent across both publications: the crackling audio does not convince, the control panel sits where you can see it, and there is no hardwire option.

Strengths
  • — Double glass doors and a mesh curtain in front of the fire, so the front face reads as a real firebox rather than a lit panel
  • — Flat bottom lets it sit directly on the floor of a hearthless opening with no plinth to build
  • — Three-sided brick liner behind a resin log on a grate, which is what Bob Vila built its overall pick around
Watch-outs
  • — Bob Vila's single con is that the crackling sound effect is not very realistic
  • — Popular Mechanics calls the front-mounted control panel conspicuous on an insert designed to look traditional
  • — Cannot be hardwired, so the cord has to be planned for or hidden
$419.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)
Ranked #5 in Best Electric Fireplaces
Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)
2 sourcesall derived$999

The Elite is the step-up Sideline, and Touchstone is unusually clear about what the extra money buys: a slimmer frame that enlarges the viewing area, six flame colours instead of three, and a driftwood media set on top of the log and crystals. Forbes Vetted named it best luxury pick for the smart control and the sixty colour combinations; Bob Vila named it best smart fireplace and flagged flaky Wi-Fi from some owners. What the money does not buy is heat — the coil heater, the 5,000 BTU rating and the 400 square foot coverage are identical to the standard Sideline 50. It is the right unit only if the fire itself is the point of the room.

Strengths
  • — Slimmer frame than the standard Sideline enlarges the visible fire to 46 inches wide by 14 3/8 inches tall
  • — Sixty flame-and-ember combinations from six flame colours and a ten-colour media bed
  • — Ships with three media sets — faux log, clear crystals and driftwood — rather than two
Watch-outs
  • — Forbes Vetted's first con is the price, which it says "hovers far above all the other electric fireplaces on this list"
  • — Bob Vila reports that some owners found the Wi-Fi flaky
  • — The heater is the same 1,500W, 5,000 BTU, 400 square foot unit fitted to the far cheaper standard Sideline
$999 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert

Shares its width with the PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert but is about four inches shorter and closes the fire behind glass doors and a mesh screen instead of leaving the hearth open. Unlike the Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) it needs an existing opening rather than a stud wall, and it has none of the app or voice control the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036) offers.

Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)

Costs the most in this lineup and heats exactly the same 400 square feet as the Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004), so the premium is entirely about the larger viewing area, the driftwood media and the wider colour menu. It is framed into a wall rather than dropped into a hearth, which is the opposite of what the PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert is built for.

Specs side-by-side

SpecPuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace InsertTouchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)
TypeFirebox insert, freestanding or wall-mountRecessed or surface wall-mount
Heating Power750W / 1,500W1,500W coil heater with blower
Heat Output5,100 BTU5,000 BTU
CoverageUp to 400 sq ftUp to 400 sq ft
Flame Effect3 settings, variable intensity and brightness60 colour combinations; log, crystal and driftwood media
Sound6 crackling tracks, switchable off—
FrontDouble glass doors and mesh curtain—
ControlsFront panel and remote, heat-off flame modeWi-Fi app, Alexa, Google Home, IR remote
Dimensions35.04" W x 22.44" H x 8.78" D49 3/4" W x 19 1/4" H x 5 1/2" D
Timer—1 to 8 hours
Power—Plug-in or hardwired 120V
Weight—48.45 lb
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