The best electric fans, tested and reviewed

Spring has officially sprung, and with the greener grass comes warmer weather. The best fans help circulate the old, stuffy winter air and provide a much-needed burst of cooling when you're not quite ready to turn on the air conditioner.

After testing box, tower, and tabletop options, we compiled our list of the best cooling fans. Our best overall pick is the Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator Fan, a versatile model that provides bothsubtle cooling and whole-room air circulation. If you're on a budget and prefer a box fan, we recommend the Genesis 20-Inch Max Cool Box Fan. It's a no-frills option with a simple, sturdy design that's easy to store and use.

Learn more about how Business Insider Reviews tests and researches home products.

The best electric fans

Best overall: Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator Fan - See at Amazon

Best budget: Genesis 20-Inch Max Cool Box Fan - See at Amazon

Best tower: Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S - See at Amazon

Best tabletop: The Windmill Fan - See at Amazon

Best for bedrooms: Shark Turboblade Tower Fan - See at Amazon

Best with air purification: Dreo Air Purifying Tower Fan - See at Amazon

Best overall

This versatile fan has a wide range of speeds. When you take price, wind speed, energy efficiency, and noise into account, Vornado's 660 Whole Room Air Circulator is the electric fan that fits the widest range of needs and living spaces. Its comprehensive variation in wind speed sets it apart from the competition. From a light, cool breath of air to an absolute calamity, the Vornado 660 can offer relief for everything from mild discomfort to swelteringly hot days.

It has a long cord and a compact design. The relatively long 6-foot power cord is also appreciated, as it allows you to reposition the fan as needed. Considering the Vornado's size and might, we think think this fan would address most anyone's needs, and storing it is completely manageable, thanks to its low-profile design.

It's a little bit loud. Admittedly, it gets a loud at top speed, but you probably won't find yourself sitting too close to it at that level. And it's not outrageous; its noise level is on par with that of any high-powered blade fan. On the other hand, you can barely hear it running when it's at its lowest setting, which offers just enough air for a small room.

Best budget

Box fans are budget-friendly and effective. A box fan stirs up a lot of air and can be stored easily, while other types of fans may fall short when it comes to output or appearance. They also tend to be more affordable, and while Genesis' 20-inch Box Fan isn't the cheapest out there, it's steady, sturdy, and powerful. It's also relatively loud, though, so keep that in mind if you're looking for something a little more discreet. We especially like box fans for home improvement projects that require drying out a room.

It's simple and easy to use. The Genesis is one of the prettier models we've tested. Thanks to the location of the speed-setting knob, it doesn't have any awkward parts sticking out to prevent it from being stashed away in the attic, but the dial settings were a little difficult to read.

Best tower

Tower fans are slim and compact. A tower fan's size is perfect for fitting in corners or awkward spaces in a room. They don't take up much space, but they're still workhorses at direct and whole-room cooling. I tested several tower fans, and the Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S was by far my favorite.

Its lowest setting is both quiet and light. At 35 decibels and wind speeds of 3.9 feet per second, it's one of the quietest, breeziest settings I tested. The lower settings are the go-to if you want subtle cooling without much noise. Truthfully, I can barely hear this fan when it's on its lowest setting.

The high setting provides soothing ambiance and powerful cooling. If you're looking for a powerful blast of air with a soothing fan noise, the Dreo has got you covered, too. The highest setting hit a wind speed of 22 feet per second at 48 decibels, which is much more powerful and quieter than other fans I tested on a similar setting. Dreo advertises its most powerful setting at 27 feet per second, a small discrepancy that also will likely not be noticed by the layperson. It is loud, however, which you will notice, but it's not too loud, and the cooling is intense without being overwhelming.

It's full of extra features. The Dreo Smart Tower Fan has other cool features, too, including app connectivity and simulated wind modes. The app was intuitive and easy to use, but I found myself controlling it with the remote most of the time. The nature mode changes speeds to simulate natural wind, while the sleep mode slowly reduces the fan's speed to help you drift off to sleep. It also oscillates up to 90 degrees for whole-room cooling, and you can set a timer to let it run for a set amount of time.

But tower fans have their cons. I found cycling through the modes directly on the fan itself to be difficult and a little confusing. It does save your settings when you turn it off, so it will remember the speed and oscillation that you prefer. It's important to note that tower fans aren't the most durable compared to circulating fans. They're notoriously difficult to clean, since you have to dust between small blades, and they can break after only a few years of use. I have yet to find durability issues with the Dreo Tower Fan, but I'll keep using it to note any problems with longevity.

Best tabletop

The Windmill Fan is a total powerhouse. Small but mighty, it easily handles both small, direct cooling and whole-room air circulation. It's become a staple in my home, and at 2.5 pounds, it's lightweight enough to take with me from room to room. It's also attractive, available in your standard white or black, plus three other pastel shades (though the fun colors sell out frequently).

It's one of the few truly versatile tabletop fans. Compared to other tabletop fans we tested, the Windmill Fan stands out for a few reasons. On the lowest setting, this fan is incredibly quiet. I placed it on a console table behind my couch to keep me cool while I'm reading or watching TV. I can't hear the fan at all from about a foot or two away. In fact, I usually have to look closely at the blades to see if they're running or not — impressive. The highest setting is loud, but this is supposed to be used for air circulation rather than personal cooling, so the noise isn't bothersome.

It's energy efficient and easy to use. The fan connects with an app, which is handy since the remote doesn't attach to the fan and can easily be misplaced. There's also a button at the base of the fan, so it's incredibly easy to turn it on and off very quickly. The Windmill also has the the lowest energy consumption of any tabletop fan I tested, averaging 16.4 watts per hour.

Best for bedrooms

The best fan for bedrooms is quiet, free from lights, and powerful. The steady, cool stream of a fan in your bedroom can prevent overheating at night and getting caught in sweaty, tangled sheets. They should be whisper-quiet and have sleep-friendly settings that turn off any distracting lights. If you like the soothing sound of wind to use as a white noise machine, you can also place the fan on a higher setting.

This fan's unique design is perfect for nighttime use. The Shark Turboblade Tower Fan is one of the best fans for a bedroom because it is quiet and has unique features perfectly suited to sleeping. The design incorporates an adjustable head and swivel vents for precise cooling. When the head and vents are angled horizontally, the air comes out in a flat sheet, also known as air blanket mode. It's like having an extra blanket on top of your comforter that's breezy and cool, keeping your temperature regulated all night long.

The best feature of the Shark Turboblade is its adjustability. The head also swivels vertically, and the fan oscillates 180 degrees. You can even direct the wind to blow in two different directions for more comprehensive room coverage. The air blasts range from barely noticeable to extreme cooling, including whisper-quiet or white noise sound.

I wish the controls were more intuitive. I thought the modes are a bit difficult to cycle through, even on the remote, and the fan doesn't remember the oscillation settings when you turn it off.

Read our Shark Turboblade review.

Best with air purification

This fan combines powerful cooling with air purification. The smart, dual-functional Dreo MC710S is a multi-tasking fan with a built-in air purifier. With 12 speeds, it incrementally generates anywhere from a gentle breeze to a steady wind. Thanks to the dual-motor design, the fan and air purifier can operate simultaneously or you can use each function singularly. The air purifier sits at the base of the unit, while the oscillating tower fan design sits directly above.

It's one of the quietest units we've tested. I've been using it in my bedroom, and I've practically forgotten about its existence save for the direct airflow that reaches across the room to cool me through warm nights.

It can be controlled with an app, remote, or buttons. The Dreo comes with a remote and has button controls on the unit, but you unlock further customization when you connect to the app to adjust controls, set schedules, and track air quality and ambient temperature over time.

It's a great air purifier, too. The Dreo has three purification speeds and an auto option to adjust to the room's detected air quality in real time. In our air purification test, which consists of lighting an incense stick and measuring how quickly it removes the room's particulate count and VOCs, both were back to low levels within half an hour and cleared within the hour. Depending on usage, the filters can last up to six months, but my running it on 24/7 averaged a two-month filter life.

It's bulky. At 46 inches tall and 17 pounds, the unit is quite large and not ideal for moving from room to room. It also has a wider girth than your average tower fan, but it nicely tucks into a spare corner. — Jaclyn Turner, senior home editor

What else we tested

Tower fans

Genesis Powerful 43" Tower Fan: Our previous top pick, this tower fan offers six speeds and a sleep timer. It operates very quietly, but our new Dreo outpaced it in terms of noise and energy efficiency, has a sleeker, more modern look, and app connectivity.

Honeywell QuietSet Tower Fan: This is a great tower fan that stays true to the Quiet in the name, but the top setting wasn't very powerful, topping out at only 5 ft/s. That said, it's super quiet, so it's a great option if you're looking for a subtle, quiet tower fan.

Honeywell TurboForce Tower Fan: We've recommended this fan in the past, but it's relatively loud, and we've since found quieter tower fans. Still, we like the design—namely, its ability to direct air flow in two different directions—and its powerful air flow. If you're looking for a tower fan for a particularly large room, it's worth considering.

Dreo 2-in-1 Tower Fan and Heater Combo: Dreo's combo fan is designed to serve as a year-round fixture in your space, because it's kind of heavy and bulky to move. The cooling is very effective, with 12 fan speeds. Senior home editor Jaclyn Turner keeps it next to her desk where it delivers a steady chill on the lowest setting. It converts to a space heater at the long press of a button, and if you watch closely, you can see the parts rotate within the grate. She doesn't love the controls on the unit, which are located at the top and flat, but you need to be looking at them to find them. There is a remote, though.

Vornado 173 Whole Room Tower Fan: With Vornado being such a favorite with regular fans (see our recommendation above), we hoped this design would offer something other tower fans don't: a better solution to oscillation. Most oscillating tower fans we've come across eventually start making a clicking noise. Sometimes it's repairable. But it's annoying, especially when you're trying to sleep. This fan has a grate set on a spiraling angle, so it's supposed to cool the whole room without oscillating. While it did span a great deal of the room, it just wasn't powerful enough to compete with our other picks.

Vornado OSC54 Oscillating Tower Fan: The Vornado OSC54 is powerful, but its top setting was very loud at 62 decibels and used a lot of energy, 42.2 watts per hour on average. It's also difficult to cycle through modes and requires a screwdriver to assemble.

Lasko Wind Curve:We've never had any trouble with Lasko's fans (and we've tested a number of them). This one works perfectly well. If you want to save a few bucks, it will certainly suffice in the place of our tower fan recommendation. But it doesn't offer as many settings and programming. It's also slightly louder, which might affect light sleepers.

Dyson HP07 Purifier Hot + Cool Purifying Fan Heater: Our previous best splurge pick, there are newer versions of this multifunctional appliance that we need to test.

Tabletop fans

Genesis 6-inch Clip Convertible Table Top and Clip Fan: Our former best tabletop pick, this tiny six-inch fan converts from a tabletop to a clip fan that could clamp onto the side of a table or a bed frame.

Honeywell HT-904 TurboForce Tabletop Fan: This is a functional tabletop fan with simple, basic settings. It's a little too big to fit on most tabletops, though, and even the lowest setting was loud. The price can't be beat, though, costing under $20.

Vornado VFAN Mini: The VFAN Mini has only two speeds with a noticeably loud buzz on either setting. It's a great size for nightstands and desks, though, with a cute vintage-inspired design

Other fans

Rowenta Turbo Silence Oscillating Fan: We've recommended this fan in the past, but considering the price, we bumped it out for more efficient, technologically advanced options. If you're after a pedastal style, this would be our pick.

What to look for

• Size and type: You'll want to think about where you're putting the fan and how much space you can dedicate to it, whether you need something small for personal use or something that can cool down an entire room. There are many types of fans, from traditional circulating desk or tabletop fans to space-saving tower fans that oscillate air throughout a room or box fans, many of which can also fit in a window to help with ventilation.
• Features: Look for features that make the fan easy to use, like clear controls, a remote, or even app connectivity. A range of speed settings is important—we like to see at least three, though some we've tested have as many as 12, plus modes for sleep or that can mimic wind, too. Timers are useful if you only want the fan to run for a period of time, and oscillation is essential for helping distribute air at all angles.
• Strong airflow: If the fan is too weak to cool you down, it's not doing its job. Whether the fan needs to chill just a few feet in front of it or you're hoping the fan can reach you across a room, ideally, you want to be able to feel the fan from as far away as possible.
• Noise: Even if you prefer the white noise of a running fan, no one wants a fan that sounds like a jet taking off. Thanks to advancements in motors, many fans can operate ultra-quietly.
• Safety: Especially if you have small kids or pets, safety features like grates over the fan blades to prevent small fingers from catching and a sturdy base that keeps the fan from toppling over.

How we test electric fans

We tested 13 fans for several weeks to determine which ones offered the best combination of airflow, speed, and energy efficiency. We also spoke with Duncan Freake, an associate director of innovation at Epam Continuum, who likes taking apart home appliances in his spare time, about the qualities to look for in a fan.

Our testing procedures

Ease of use: Operating a fan should be intuitive. We examined features, like timers, various speed settings (and whether they were useful and cooling, or under-powered or overwhelmingly strong, and how easy they were to control. The convenience of visible controls or a remote made a big difference, and we also downloaded any apps if they had smart controls.

Durability: More features often mean more problems, and while we still recommend oscillating fans (like our tower fan pick), they're not the sturdiest.

Power: We measured airflow in feet per second using a wind meter at 6 feet away to determine the average wind speed coming off of each fan.

Energy consumption: We used a basic digital energy consumption meter to measure fans' consumption at their lowest and highest speeds.

Noise output: We used a decibel meter to measure how loud fans were at their lowest and highest settings.

Meet the experts behind this guide

Owen Burke, former senior reporter: I developed the in-depth testing procedures for fans, including checking energy efficiency, wind speeds, and decibel levels.

Kinsley Searles, associate home editor: I'm responsible for keeping our guide up to date, ensuring that it reflects current availability and product information. I also try out fans in my own home, where I employ my lifelong experience as a chronically sweaty person to put fans through subjective and objective tests. I keep up with new products on the market to ensure we're recommending the best, newest fans.

The best fan FAQs

What is the quietest fan?

In general, tower fans are the quietest type of fan. Tower fans are also more energy-efficient and have a small, compact footprint. If you're looking for the absolute quietest fan we've tried, that'd be the Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S. Otherwise, any of our picks above should more than suffice.

What is the best fan placement for optimal air circulation?

The best fan placement for optimal air circulation depends on the shape and size of your room. Window fans are most effective when you have a cross breeze and cooler temperatures outside. You can replicate that sensation with multiple types of any fan and open interior doors.

For other fans, like desk and tower fans, face them towards the wall where you'll be the least. This causes the air to disperse and creates a chill as it mixes with stagnant air in the room.

Do oscillating fans cool a room better?

Since they move and push stagnant air throughout a room, fans with oscillation usually make a room feel much cooler than those without.

Can I sleep with a fan on?

Sleeping with a fan on can keep you cooler throughout the night, and many people love the white noise provided by a running fan. Some may notice that a fan can stir up dust in the air, which could lead to dry skin or congestion. For most, though, the pros of sleeping with a fan on outweigh the cons.

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