The Quilt is a ductless mini-split heat pump with a slim wall-mounted indoor head, outdoor units that serve two or three zones, and dial and smartphone controls, sold and installed only through certified contractors. Wirecutter's overnight test in the Catskills found it kept a room comfortable at single-digit outdoor temperatures and stayed near 50 dB at full fan speed, and it judged the design and controls a clear improvement on typical mini-splits. Gary Cruz, reviewing five heads in his own home after three months, praised the design, app and support but called the roughly $6,500-per-room price steep. It suits homeowners without ductwork who want an installed, good-looking system and can pay a premium; DIY installers and buyers outside Quilt's contractor network should look elsewhere.
Full review
Raised a cold room 10 degrees in under 20 minutes
Wirecutter tested a Quilt head in a hotel room with an overnight low of about 4 °F. After opening the windows and letting the room fall to 61 °F, the reviewer turned the heat back up and the unit raised the temperature by 10 degrees in less than 20 minutes, blowing air at around 120 °F before settling into a slower, milder output that held a steady temperature for hours. At its highest fan speed the head barely passed 50 decibels from a few feet away. Wirecutter did not test cooling, though it notes the claimed efficiency figures are AHRI-certified.
Gary Cruz reported that his heat pumps keep the house at a comfortable temperature through winter and cool rooms quickly in summer heat waves, after an early refrigerant-charge problem was fixed by the installer the next day. He says his household's winter electricity use fell from about 1,700 kWh a month with space heaters to closer to 800 kWh with the Quilt system, and that room-by-room zoning lets each room run at a different setting.
A mini-split designed to be seen, with Nest-style controls
Both reviewers single out the looks. Wirecutter found the paintable or stainable front cover, available in matte white or oak veneer with a built-in LED strip, looked more like a light fixture than HVAC hardware. Gary Cruz says friends assumed the units were part of his remodel, and notes the indoor head is just 7 7/8 inches tall. He also found the compact outdoor units, each driving two heads, took up far less space than the large Mitsubishi unit he had considered.
Control is through a dial thermostat and an app. Wirecutter found both sleeker than the usual remotes and apps, though occasionally laggy, and its occupancy sensor once wrongly detected a return to the room. Gary Cruz liked the app's schedules and per-user energy visibility but wanted smart-home integration and per-room schedule pausing. When one of his dials lost its connection, Quilt support fixed it in under a minute and followed up by email.
The trade-off: a startup's narrow range and Wi-Fi reliance
Wirecutter cautions that Quilt offers only one indoor head and two- and three-zone outdoor units, so contractors have less flexibility than with brands offering dozens of combinations. At its February 2026 update, the only control without internet was a power switch that runs the head at a preset temperature, and there was no dedicated Dry mode, though Quilt said software updates would add both. Availability is limited to about 90 certified contractors across 27 states and provinces, and Wirecutter notes the risk of relying on a young company for future repairs.
Priced with premium installed systems
Quilt originally advertised a flat $6,500 per room including installation, and Wirecutter reports contractors now set their own prices in the same top-of-market range, with one installer comparing it to Mitsubishi. Wirecutter concluded that against other premium systems it is a sensible investment in the right home, and noted that the automatic installation check addresses a common cause of poor mini-split performance. Gary Cruz found the all-in quote, which included permits and electrical work, had no surprise fees, but called the price steep next to a DIY MrCool system costing $3,000 to $4,000.
Strengths
- +Kept Wirecutter's test room warm with outdoor temperatures in the single digits °F
- +Barely reached 50 dB at top fan speed in Wirecutter's noise test
- +Slim indoor head with a front cover that can be painted or wallpapered to match a room
- +Dial and app controls Wirecutter found sleeker than typical mini-split remotes and apps
- +Runs a full self-check at first start-up to catch installation faults
Watch-outs
- −About $6,500 per room installed, steep next to DIY systems such as MrCool
- −Only available through a limited network of certified contractors
- −Depends on Wi-Fi; the only offline control was a fixed-temperature power switch
How it compares
Unlike the Senville LETO 9,000 BTU 115V and the Della Optima Series 12,000 BTU 115V, which are sold as single units, the Quilt is only sold through Quilt's certified contractors with installation in the quote. Like the LG Artcool Deluxe KNSAL, it is a premium heating and cooling system, but its indoor heads are designed to be painted or stained to match the room.
Rating sources
Our 4.4 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
