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Keep reading to find our full list of the best fans.
We also tested each fan at distances up to 20 feet to see how close you must be in order to feel a comfortable breeze. Finally, we reviewed the fans' quality, appearance, and ease of use to ensure the product is durable and lasts a long time. Finally, we sent the best fans from our lab tests home with testers, where they used the devices every day for a month before providing insights based on the fans' performance.
We put 31 different fans to the test in our lab to determine which ones will actually keep you cool and comfortable during hot weather. Our team of home experts evaluated box fans, tower fans, desk fans, and more based on the settings they offered, fan speed, noise level, oscillation, and other factors.
The best fans provide a wide range of speeds, offer an oscillating feature to help move air around the whole room, and remain super quiet, even on the highest setting. This versatility allows you to change how much airflow you need, choose between a direct breeze or one that keeps the entire room cool, and go about your normal tasks without a loud buzzing sound bothering you.
There are few things more uncomfortable than living in a home that's stuffy, hot, and lacking airflow. Even if you have an air conditioner unit installed, it may not be powerful enough to contend with summer's stickiest weather. Instead of tossing and turning at night or spending your day sweaty and miserable, consider buying a high-powered fan to improve airflow and keep you cool .
Best Overall
Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan
Walmart
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$48
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
This fan offers a wide range of settings and wind modes to provide whole-room cooling without noisy distraction.
Keep in Mind
Our testers found this fan's base to be slightly wobbly.
Whether you're trying to fall asleep at night or provide a little more airflow in a particularly stuffy area of the house, our versatile three-speed tower fan is a sleek and simple cooling solution.
With three different fan settings—normal, sleep mode, and natural wind mode—you can control the amount of air circulation, noise, and oscillation this fan provides. Because of the strong airflow, one tester noted that she didn't have to run her air conditioning as much when using this fan.
You'll also be able to switch between low, medium, and high speeds in each of these settings, and the fan is easy to program, thanks to the straightforward LED display. Our testers found this fan to be quite lightweight in spite of its size, which is 41.5 inches tall. The handle on the back of the fan makes it easy to carry from one room to the next with one hand.
Plus, this fan includes a remote control, which can be stored on the back of the fan itself. Our testers enjoyed being able to use the remote from a bed or couch without having to get up to change the fan settings.
When testing the different wind settings on this fan, we found that it's extremely effective at cooling without being too disruptive or noisy. We were able to feel the airflow from as far as 20 feet away during our tests, and the internal oscillation feature allows you to cool the whole room without the entire fan rotating. Our tester appreciated how effective it is at cooling down a room, especially when doing at-home workouts or cooking in the kitchen.
The only downside to this fan was its base, which was slightly uneven after our tester put it together. She noted that this could have been a user error, and while it didn't take away from the fan's cooling capabilities, it may bother some shoppers.
"The airflow on this fan is strong and keeps the room so cool while I'm sleeping," our tester said after using this fan every night for a month. "The noise level is just right, and I love that it has a remote and a spot on the fan to store it so it doesn't get lost."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Three | Modes: Default, Sleep, and Natural | Timer: Up to 7.5 hours | Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 41.50 Inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
The 6 Best Window Air Conditioners of 2024 for Cooling Every Room in Your House
Best Tower
Lasko Wind Curve Oscillating Tower Fan
Amazon
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$80
View On Wayfair
$71
View On Walmart
$80
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
The sleek design and powerful fan speeds make this tower fan great for cooling small rooms.
Keep in Mind
Our testers weren't able to feel a breeze when standing further than 10 feet from the fan.
Tower fans are the best fans for cooling an entire room without sacrificing a ton of space or making lots of noise. This sleek oscillating tower fan from Lasko is a great example—it offers three fan speeds, quiet operation, and a space-saving design that makes it easy to tuck into a corner.
During testing, our home experts were shocked by how easily the different fan speeds circulated cool air throughout the room, giving the fan a perfect score in this category. We liked the variance between each fan speed, allowing you to choose between a soft breeze and a powerful, cooling blast, depending on how warm the room is.
When in nighttime mode, the Lasko portable fan slowly decreases the fan speed over time, allowing you to drift off comfortably without racking up your energy bill all night long. There's also a timer setting, which allows you to designate how long you'd like it to run before shutting off.
Each mode provides a comfortable breeze with minimal noise, and the fan has an oscillating setting to help circulate the cool air. Our testers also loved the modern yet unobtrusive design of the Lasko portable fan, which has a matte gray finish, a user-friendly control panel, and a slim frame that won't take up too much space.
"This fan is honestly saving my life right now in the New York City heat," the tester said. "I use it on the highest setting every single day while I work. … It is a really powerful fan, easy to switch between modes, and it's very quiet. In fact, sometimes I forget to turn it off because it's not loud at all."
We recommend using this fan in small-to medium-size rooms, as our testers couldn't feel the breeze when standing more than 10 feet away from the fan. Our long-term tester also noted that the fan's base was very bulky, making it difficult to move from room to room.
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Three | Modes: Default and Sleep | Timer: Up to 7.5 hours | Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 42.5 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Best Box Fan
Pelonis Box Fan
Amazon
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$45
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
This fan works to cool the entire room, not just the space directly in front of it.
Keep in Mind
It's a bit louder than other fans on this list.
If you're trying to circulate cool air in a large or particularly stuffy room, the gentle breeze from even the best portable fan isn't going to be enough. Instead, you'll need a high-powered box fan—like the Pelonis Three-Speed Box Fan—to move stagnant air out of the room and keep the space cool.
During testing, we found the Pelonis box fan to be one of the most powerful models in terms of airflow. The fan itself is nothing fancy; there's no LED display, special settings to try, or auto-shutoff features—you simply change fan speeds by turning a knob. But it's incredibly effective at circulating air throughout the entire room, and you'll be able to feel a cool breeze from even 20 feet away.
We also found this fan to be surprisingly portable and lightweight, making it super easy to move from room to room as needed. There are convenient carrying handles in two corners of the fan, and our testers were able to transport it one-handed without issue.
Because of its powerful airflow, this fan does make a bit of noise, which could be bothersome to light sleepers who want to run the fan overnight. If you're intending to use this fan while sleeping, plan on placing it on the opposite side of the room so the fan doesn't disturb you.
"I like using this fan when I want to cool down a specific area of my apartment, like my kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. rather than turning on the AC, which makes my entire place cold and is expensive," our long-term tester said.
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Three | Modes: None | Timer: None | Dimensions: 20 x 6 x 21 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Best Quiet
Dyson Purifying Fan
Amazon
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$636
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$430
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Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
This fan has a built-in HEPA filter, allowing it to filter and circulate cool, clean air throughout the room.
Keep in Mind
vThe lowest air flow settings on this fan didn't seem very noticeable or useful to our testers.
Finding the best fan that effectively cools you down without making a racket can be a difficult task, but the Dyson Pure Cool fan manages both effortlessly. While it's the most expensive fan we tested, our home experts found it to be well-worth the money, given its wide range of settings, quiet operation, and air purification capabilities.
When testing the Dyson Pure Cool, we were particularly impressed with how quiet it was compared to other models. Even on the highest setting, our testers noted that its gentle whirring wouldn't be a disturbance as they were sleeping.
It also has 10 different fan speeds, allowing you to adjust the breeze based on how close to it you'll be (testers reported that they could feel the breeze as far as 20 feet away). Our testers found that the lowest two fan settings were too slow to actually be useful, but they appreciated the wide range of speeds that the higher settings offered.
Unlike other fans we tested, this quiet fan features a bladeless design, meaning you don't have to worry about someone getting injured by the fast-spinning blades. This also means the fan is super easy to wipe down, as there's no grille or hard-to-access blades collecting dust.
To top it all off, the Dyson Pure Cool fan has a built-in HEPA filter, which allows it to draw in and capture pollutants in the air, then re-circulate fresh, clean air back into your room. This cooling fan has been certified asthma and allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
"If you're in a small space, this is a fantastic option, not only because it blends in easily but also because it also works as an air purifier, so you get two products in one," our tester said. "The sound is really only noticeable on the highest settings, but even then, it's nowhere near as loud as my AC unit or a larger box fan. It provides good white noise while I sleep."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: 10 | Modes: None | Timer: Up to nine hours | Dimensions: 4.3 x 7.7 x 40 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
The 9 Best Fans for Bedrooms of 2024 for a Cool and Comfortable Sleep
Best Desk Fan
Vornado Large Air Circulator
Amazon
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$90
View On Target
$100
View On Wayfair
$100
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
Our testers could feel the breeze from this fan as far as 20 feet away, making it great for keeping you cool at your desk and throughout the room.
Keep in Mind
It's quite large for a desk fan, so it may take up too much space on small desks.
Productive work days don't have to be ruined by hot weather. If your home office tends to get stuffy and warm during the summertime, we recommend the Vornado 660 Whole Room Air Circulator, which sits conveniently on your desk but can keep the whole room cool.
This portable fan offers four different speeds to choose from, so you can keep the breeze low if you have a lot of papers on your desk or blast the cold air when you're moving around the room. It doesn't oscillate, but you can tilt the fan up and down to control where the breeze is concentrated.
According to the manufacturer, this fan circulates air throughout the entire room by creating airflow in multiple directions at once—and we certainly found in our tests that this fan is extremely powerful. Our testers were still able to feel a light breeze from this fan at 20 feet away on its highest setting, so you'll be able to stay cool at your desk and as you move about the room.
Keep in mind that this fan is a little bulky, measuring 13 inches wide by 15 inches tall. If you have a small desk or limited space, this fan may take up too much room.
"This fan is small but mighty, and the design is minimal enough to not feel like it's changing the style of your room or creating an eyesore," our tester said after using it on her desk for a month. "It circulates air around the room, which is fairly large and lofty, making the room seem cooler."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Four | Modes: None | Timer: None | Dimensions: 11.8 x 13.5 x 15 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
The 10 Best Office Chairs of 2024, According to Lab Testing
Best Standing
Pelonis Pedestal Fan
Amazon
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$85
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
The sturdy, high-quality design and digital features made this standing fan worth the money to our testers.
Keep in Mind
The carrying handle is quite close to the fan blades, so it's difficult to move from room to room.
This quiet yet powerful fan is a versatile and modern option to help you cool even large rooms in your home. Our testers were quite impressed by its sleek design, which includes a metal build and thoughtful features like its LED display, adjustable height, and wide range of airspeed settings.
In the testing lab, we found that the Pelonis standing fan created breezes strong enough to be felt from distances up to 20 feet on its highest setting (though it was most effective between 6 and 15 feet). With 12 speeds to choose from, you'll be able to adjust the airflow and tilt the fan head up and down to provide the perfect amount of cooling to a room.
It's super easy to change settings on this standing fan right from the LED display, including changing the fan speed, setting a timer, and turning on the oscillation feature. You can also adjust the height of this fan so the airflow doesn't get blocked by furniture or other large obstructions. There's even a remote control that allows you to change settings from across the room.
We recommend using this fan in a room where you won't have to move it around often, as it's quite bulky and difficult to carry. While it does have a carrying handle, it's right next to the fan blades, making it awkward to lift and move from one place to another.
"This is a heavy fan that feels very sturdy and high-end," our tester said. "The fan also comes with a remote control. Since I use it while I sleep, I love that I can control the speed, timer, side-to-side movement, and on/off buttons, without getting out of bed. Even on its higher speed settings the fan is very quiet, which I love."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: 12 | Modes: None | Timer: Up to 12 hours | Dimensions: 15.75 x 15.75 x 51.18 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Best for Sleeping
Rowenta Turbo Silence Extreme+ Stand Fan
Amazon
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$180
View On Wayfair
$180
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$136
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
This fan has an adjustable stand, so you can raise and lower its height to match the height of your bed.
Keep in Mind
It's quite heavy, making it less portable than other options on this list.
If your typical sleep routine involves tossing and turning at night in a room that's too warm, the Rowenta Turbo Silence fan could be just the solution you need. At just 35 decibels (barely louder than a whisper) on its lowest setting and 60 decibels at its highest, even light sleepers should have no trouble dozing off when it's running.
During testing, this standing fan received perfect scores for effectiveness at circulating air. We were still able to feel a faint breeze while standing 20 feet away from it, meaning it's powerful enough to provide cool air to all corners of the room. The Rowenta Turbo Silence fan also oscillates 120 degrees, helping to cool the entire room as you sleep.
We liked the easy-to-use LED display and the detachable remote, which allows you to change fan settings without having to crawl out of bed. You can choose between five different fan speeds and set it to natural mode or decrescendo mode, which is an energy-saving setting that rotates between high and low fan speeds.
The Rowenta Turbo Silence fan is also the best fan for sleeping because of its adjustable stand, which allows you to change its height to match the height of your bed. This lets you get the perfect amount of airflow as you snooze without having to prop your fan up on something to make it taller.
Our only complaint with the Rowenta fan is its weight distribution—even though it's only 10.18 pounds, our testers found it to be rather cumbersome to move around, and its large base makes it difficult to store when not in use.
"This fan has "Silence Extreme" in its title, and it definitely lives up to that name," our long-term tester said. "You really cannot hear it when it's on. I put this fan in the living room of my apartment where I don't have an air conditioner, and it cools it down enough to actually be in there during the day, even when it's hot out."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Five | Modes: Three | Timer: Up to eight hours | Dimensions: 18 x 17 x 53 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Best Portable
Crane Circulating Desk Fan
Amazon
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$50
View On Wayfair
$72
View On Walmart
$50
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
The head of this fan folds back for easy storage.
Keep in Mind
While it's great for direct cooling, it isn't as effective as other models at improving airflow throughout the whole room.
Having a lightweight and portable fan allows you to keep cool anywhere that has a power source without lugging a large, heavy device with you along the way. Whether you're working in an office, packing for an RV trip, or simply adding a portable fan to your nightstand, the Crane Oscillating Desk fan is a simple solution to keep you cool.
With low, medium, and high fan speed settings to choose from and the ability to tilt the fan up to 90 degrees, the fan is adaptable enough to get the right amount of air circulation pointed in the direction you want. It also has an oscillating feature to help circulate cool air throughout the room.
When not in use, you can fold the head of this fan completely flat against the base, creating a more compact cylinder shape that's easy to store in a desk drawer. We found the fan to be powerful enough to faintly feel a breeze as far as 20 feet away, but it works best at close range, around 6 to 10 feet away.
If you're in a tight space, such as a camper or an office cubicle, this fan will be powerful enough to provide airflow across the room, but we found it to be less effective than others at circulating air in an entire room.
Our tester used this fan next to her bed for an entire month, and she reported that, while it was a little too bulky to be used on her desk, it was very effective and easy to control. "This fan performs well and has a unique design that's sleek yet functional," our tester said. "Plus, the top part of the fan folds down when not in use, so it'd be easy to stack in storage."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Three | Modes: None | Timer: Up to seven hours | Dimensions: 9.75 x 7.75 x 14 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
Best Window
Genesis Window Fan
Amazon
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$49
View On Walmart
$63
View On Home Depot
$49
Our Ratings
Why You Should Get It
The dual-fan design draws in fresh air from outdoors while simultaneously pushing stale air out.
Keep in Mind
Our long-term tester found that the feet on this device aren't the easiest to put on or take off, making it tricky to switch it from a window fan to a standalone fan.
One of the most effective and cost-effective ways to cool your home without an air conditioner is to install a window fan. The Genesis reversible airflow fan performed exceptionally well in our tests, receiving near-perfect scores for its air speed, design, and effectiveness.
The dual-fan design allows the machine to draw fresh air from outside into your home while venting stuffy, warm air back out. You can change the speed and direction of each fan individually, giving you more flexibility with how much air you want to draw in from outside. Our tester appreciated that she could adjust the direction of each fan, and she felt like it helped increase airflow.
Our testers liked that this window fan has three fan speeds and a built-in thermostat to help you more accurately decide what fan speed you'll need for a comfortable room. We found that its airflow isn't particularly strong compared to the portable fans we tested, but it was still effective at removing stale air and keeping the overall room cool.
The Genesis Twin window fan comes with expandable side panels and removable legs so you can fit it snugly into your window without leaving large gaps open for bugs to get through. According to our tester, the removable legs can be a bit tricky to take off or put on, making it an ordeal to switch this fan from a window model to a stand-alone fan. However, aside from this drawback, she found it to be just as effective at home as it was in the lab.
"I placed this fan on the window beside where I work out in the mornings, and it's strong enough to keep the entire room from feeling stuffy, even on hot days," our tester said. "Even the lowest setting is still really powerful, especially given the size of the fan, and it's small enough to tuck away when I'm not using it."
Product Details:
Fan Speeds: Three | Modes: None | Timer: None | Dimensions: 24 to 37 x 4 x 12 inches
Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek
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