Head-to-head · Best Electric Fireplaces

Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) 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

Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.6 vs 4.4). The gap is mostly about homeowners framing a permanent media wall who want a flush recessed fireplace with working app and voice control — read the strengths below before deciding.

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Electric Fireplaces

Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004)

4.6

2 sources1 derived$549

The Sideline 50 is the recessed Touchstone that turns up in more editorial round-ups than any other electric fireplace, and the reason is the front heat vent: it exhausts through the face of the unit, so the frame can sit flush in a framed opening without a clearance gap. This Old House scores it 4.7 out of 5 and makes it their overall pick; Reviewed likes that it stays cool on the back and sides so it can live inside a wall cavity. The heater is a 1,500W coil with a blower rated at 5,000 BTU and about 400 square feet, and both publications are blunt that it will not warm a large room. What you are buying is a permanent architectural element with working app and voice control, not a heat source.

Strengths

— Front-mounted heat vent lets the frame sit flush in the wall instead of needing a clearance gap above it
— Three flame colours across five intensity levels plus a separately switched ten-colour ember bed, published as thirty combinations
— Wi-Fi app control with Amazon Alexa and Google Home certification, plus an included infrared remote

Watch-outs

— The 1,500W coil heater is rated at 5,000 BTU for about 400 square feet, which Touchstone itself describes as supplemental only
— Reviewed lists "Won't heat a large space" as a con and This Old House logged buyers who called the heater ineffective
— This Old House also records a finicky remote among owner complaints

$549 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Ranked #5 in Best Electric Fireplaces

Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)

4.4

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 Amazon Full 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

Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004)

Runs the same coil heater and the same room rating as the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036) for considerably less money, giving up the Elite's slimmer frame, driftwood media and wider colour menu. Unlike the PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert and the PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert it is designed to be framed into a stud wall rather than dropped into an existing firebox.

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

Spec	Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004)	Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)
Type	Recessed or surface wall-mount	Recessed or surface wall-mount
Heating Power	1,500W coil heater with blower	1,500W coil heater with blower
Heat Output	5,000 BTU	5,000 BTU
Coverage	Up to 400 sq ft	Up to 400 sq ft
Flame Effect	3 colours, 5 intensity levels, 10-colour ember bed	60 colour combinations; log, crystal and driftwood media
Controls	Wi-Fi app, Alexa, Google Home, IR remote	Wi-Fi app, Alexa, Google Home, IR remote
Timer	30 minutes to 7.5 hours	1 to 8 hours
Dimensions	50 3/8" W x 21 1/2" H x 5 1/2" D	49 3/4" W x 19 1/4" H x 5 1/2" D
Weight	59 lb	48.45 lb
Power	—	Plug-in or hardwired 120V

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