Honorable Mentions
Photograph: Kat Merck
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo for $120: I love the original Shark FlexBreeze (above), so I was very excited to see Shark had released a rechargeable portable fan in seven colors, including ones not normally seen in fans like Lilac and Honeydew. Shark says it can run 30 minutes with the mister consistently on or 60 minutes with it in (interval mode?), and after testing it at my son’s soccer practices, I was impressed that these estimates were more or less accurate. However, the mist that comes out of the middle is so fine and in such a small stream that it blew away quickly before it had a chance to cool anyone, unless they were sitting just inches from it.
Vornado Transom Window Fan for $110: I was impressed with the features of this fan—it’s got a remote control, air can go in or out, and it’s relatively quiet. It’s definitely a step up from less expensive versions. However, the foam blocks didn’t provide as tight a fit as I’d prefer, the fan can only be installed horizontally, and the thermostat is located on the inside of the fan—a problem that plagues space heaters as well—so it struggled to cool a south-facing bedroom during our tests.
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Vornado Strata for $150: Though most Vornado fans are roundly—and justifiably—beloved, the Strata seems to have engendered mixed feelings among online commenters. After using it in my husband’s office for an entire summer, I have to agree it’s a puzzling design. Shaped like a boxy, high-tech hair-dryer, the 18-inch-tall Strata pulls air and pushes it upward through an approximately 1-by-14-inch slot in the front, a maneuver that’s designed to mimic a taller tower fan. This rather narrow and very direct stream of air feels somewhat jarring when you’re in its path, but the Strata is still an air circulator, meant to sit on the floor and not necessarily blow air directly onto a user. If you want to feel the breeze, you’d be better off with a tower fan.
Windmill Smart Air Circulator for $69: At a solid 2.5 pounds, this desk-dized fan punches above its weight when it comes to airflow. Add the Windmill app that you can use to automate and schedule the fan, an easy-to-use remote, and Google Home and Amazon Alexa compatibility, and it becomes more than just a little fan. The smart fan cuts a minimalist modern silhouette that stands less than a foot tall and comes in colors like pink, white, yellow, and black. While it hums along at the barely audible Whisper setting, it gets louder with each fan speed, coming in at a noisy 54 decibels on its highest Boost setting, somewhere around the sound of a conversation. It can be adjusted vertically, but it does not oscillate. While the Windmill had excellent airflow, and at its highest settings Windmill touts the fan as being an “air circulator,” those higher settings come with higher noise volume. I would have loved to run the fan at an oscillating Whisper setting. Still, the Windmill Fan, along with its price tag and 5-year warranty, is a welcome addition to my home. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Photograph: Kat Merck
Dreo CF312 Desk Fan for $45: Dreo’s been after Vornado’s crown for years now, and this little model is a direct competitor to classic Vornado circulators like the 630. In fact, it’s extremely similar, save for the fact the Dreo comes with an option for wall mounting, and the screen pops off to access the internal parts for cleaning. In fact, you’d be fine with either the Dreo or Vornado versions, but the Vornado wins out its longer warranty—five years to Dreo’s one.
Honeywell QuietSet Whole Room Oscillating Tower Fan for $68: This eight-speed fan is very solid for the price—it’s got a remote control that neatly slots into the back of the unit, and the base is very sturdy even on carpet. It wasn’t much quieter than some of the other fans on low, though, which is its selling point, and the lightweight body feels cheaper than similar fans, though for the price this may not be a deal breaker.
Pelonis 40-Inch Oscillating Tower Fan for $70: This fan is quite wobbly on carpet and has a cheap-feeling remote control that must be pointed exactly at the fan’s sensor to operate. However, it puts out one of the stronger breezes I’ve seen for a tower fan and has been operating quietly and reliably in the background of my home office for months now. The remote also helpfully comes loaded with batteries, unlike other fans in this price range.
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Dyson Cool AM07 Tower Fan for $370: Our previous pick for Best Tower Fan before being bested by Dreo’s MC706, Dyson’s iconic ellipse is still worth a look. It’s a beautiful, high-tech-looking statement piece that fits into any decor, with a small footprint of about 8 inches. Its lack of blades makes it easy to keep spotlessly clean and is safe for kids and pets, and the assembly instructions are refreshingly intuitive. That said, it is one of the loudest fans tested when set on high and I don’t like that it can only be controlled with a remote, which is small and can easily be lost. It’s a solid tower fan, but there are higher-performing options for less.
Vornado Refresh 8 Table Fan for $70: This aromatherapy fan is roughly the size of our top-pick 660, but with a taller pedestal and without a carrying handle. It comes in a sort of clinical-looking off-white, and at 40 decibels on low, it’s louder than I would have expected. The aromatherapy designation comes from the fact that you can apply essential oils to included pads that slip under the front cap of the fan. This worked for a little while as long as I completely saturated the pad, not just added a few drops per the instructions. However, there was a slight rattling in my test unit—just noticeable enough to be irritating—and removing the front grill required a screwdriver longer than a standard size, which I did not have.
Photograph: Kat Merck
Lasko High-Rise Adjustable Pedestal Fan for $65: This standing fan looks more like a speaker than a fan, but it’s a unique shape that can telescope up to 52 inches and down to 41 inches. The only issue I encountered during testing was an occasional tendency not to oscillate when that option was selected from the remote, but it would start up with a slight push. Regardless, at this price point, it’s hard to compete with Vornado’s similar 683 and its five-year warranty.
Jisulife Ultra 2 Handheld Fan for $90: Does one need a $90 hand fan with a digital display screen, two concentrator attachments, and a max wind speed of 1,614 ft/m clocked on my anemometer (the same as a powerful full-sized fan)? Probably not, but it is darn cool. However, unlike our pick above, it’s too heavy and bulky to fit in a pocket, and at its highest setting, it’s piercingly, ear-splittingly loud. Even on its lowest setting, I clocked 60 dB, which is loud enough to be disruptive.
Jisulife Portable Neck Fan for $33: I love how lightweight this neck fan is and the fact that it comes in fun colors like forest green and light blue, but I prefer neck fans with ends you can angle where you need them, like our pick above.
Not Recommended
Dreo Smart Air Circulator PolyFan 704S for $150: There are so many glowing reviews of this attractive smart pedestal fan, but the first one I ordered died while I was updating the firmware to connect it to the Dreo app. To obtain the replacement, I had to take video of myself attempting to operate the fan and then pack and send the broken fan back to Dreo via FedEx. In the process, I also received multiple incorrect tracking numbers for the new unit and was implored to leave an Amazon review containing specific keywords. This fan has fantastic features for the money, but with its short one-year warranty (though it can be extended to two and a half years if you create a Dreo account and register your device) and less-than-helpful customer service, it’s just not worth the risk. The replacement unit has proven reliable, but unwieldy.
O2Cool Neck Fan for $10: I liked that this fan could either be freestanding with a little kickstand in the back or worn around the neck with a lanyard, but it was too weak to provide any noticeable cool air.
Allen + Roth Valdosta Outdoor Ceiling Fan for $100: Purchased in hopes of cooling the air inside my backyard’s metal-roofed gazebo, this 20-inch fan hangs from a hook and has a stylish, retro vibe that perfectly matches my gazebo’s oil-rubbed bronze frame. I had hoped the fan would make it more pleasant to eat outside on hot days, but it does not noticeably increase airflow—especially in comparison to the Shark FlexBreeze—and the cord is so short it necessitates using a permanent extension cord, which detracts from the overall look.
Photograph: Kat Merck
Lasko Duo Comfort High-Velocity Fan and Ceramic Space Heater for $98: This sleek double tower has a heater on the left side and a fan with four speed settings and its own control buttons on the right side. Unfortunately, the fan performance is abysmal, with wind speed struggling to top 450 ft/m. It’s also louder than many tower fans at around 70 dB on high. Upon opening the box, it had some rather extreme off-gassing—our test unit gave off a terrible plastic smell for about a month, even during the times it was turned off. Worse yet, though, is the fact there is no tip-over protection function for the heater—I knocked it over to test, and it ran face-down into the carpet for a full 30 seconds before I finally picked it up.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Fan
So, you’re in the market for a fan. But what kind? Does it need to blend in with the existing furniture and decor, or can it be on the floor, hidden behind something so that looks don’t matter? Is a direct stream of air required in a specific location, like for someone sitting at a desk, or is general air circulation the goal? Are there kids and pets in the house that could knock it over or have fingers or tails injured by spinning blades?
Second, it’s important to know that fans can’t actually cool down a room, but they can circulate hot air away from people, which can create the feeling of a room being cooler. How hot and/or humid the room gets might determine whether you prefer air moving gently around you, as you would get with an air circulator fan or oscillating tower fan, or directly at you, as with a pedestal or box fan. For a roundup of the main categories of fans, see “What Type of Fan Is Best for You?” below.
What Type of Fan Is Best for You?
When I was growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, there were maybe three types of fans available to the average household consumer, which one had to buy in person at, say, Sears or Kmart: a metal table fan, a wobbly pedestal fan, or a box fan. If it was an especially new or fancy model, there were buttons for different speeds, perhaps encircled by a snazzy faux-wood veneer. Nowadays there are thousands of types of fans from hundreds of brands in multiple categories, sizes, and shapes. How do you know which fan is right for your particular situation? Thankfully, most fans fall into one of six general categories:
Pedestal fans offer adjustable height, oscillation (though many tower fans have this also), and larger blades for more power, and they are easier to clean because the blades are usually visible. They’re the best option for large spaces or even outdoors on a deck or patio. One drawback is that they can be top-heavy and easily knocked over, and since the blades are visible, they can be dangerous to small fingers that may find their way inside the cage.
A table or desk fan is perfect for small rooms that are short on floor space. They provide direct airflow and often come in vintage designs or fun colors. They’re also portable, so they are easy to travel with or move from room to room. Many are chargeable for cordless operation or, in the case of our favorite travel fan, can even function as chargers themselves.
A tower fan is basically a streamlined alternative to a pedestal fan, offering a slimmer profile and less top-heavy structure, which can be useful in households with children or large dogs lumbering about. The blades are also enclosed, making them a great choice for a child’s room. One drawback is that this also makes them difficult to clean, unless you go with a bladeless Dyson or Shark.
Air circulators are designed to move air around the whole room rather than straight at a person or object, which makes them usable for all seasons—in winter, they can move hot air down to the floor from where it has risen. They can also do this from behind furniture, so looks aren’t as important.
Box fans and transom fans are more utilitarian options that can be used in windows to either bring colder air in or exhaust hotter air out, but neither is particularly stylish or something you’d want in your home year-round.
Misting fans are usually air circulators or pedestal fans that come with an attachment for misted water to be expelled with the air. Some allow you to connect your hose, while others come with a reservoir that allows them to be used away from a water source.
When looking for fans, I seek out popular models available at Amazon and other well-known retailers such as Home Depot and Target, as well as fans reviewed favorably elsewhere and from brands I’ve come to know and trust through my own fan-buying experiences. I consider available features, value, and ease of use, and I test each fan in both an office during the day and a bedroom at night. I also measure wind speed in feet per minute with an anonemeter and noise level with a decibel meter. Features including warranty length, oscillation, and bonus accessories like a remote control are also taken into consideration.
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