Vornado Transom Window Fan for $135: I was impressed with the features of this fan—it has a remote control (there’s also an Alexa-compatible version), it can suck air indoors or outdoors, and it’s relatively quiet. It’s a step up from less expensive versions. However, the foam blocks to mount it on the window did not provide as tight a fit as I would have liked. Also, the fan can only be installed horizontally, and the thermostat is located inside—a problem that plagues space heaters—so it was difficult to cool the south-facing bedroom during my testing.
Vornado Strata for $133: After using it in my husband’s office for most of the summer of 2024, I decided that the Strata was an oddly designed fan. Shaped like a box, the high-end hair dryer, the 18-inch long Strata, draws in air and pushes it up through a roughly 1- by 14-inch opening in the front, an orientation designed to mimic a tall tower fan. This narrow and very direct airflow feels awkward on the road, but the Strata is still an air circulator meant to sit on the floor and not blow air directly at the user. If you want to feel the breeze, it would be better to have a tower fan.
Windmill Smart Air Circulator for $69: This smart fan has a small modern silhouette that stands less than a foot tall and comes in colors like pink, white, yellow, and black. While the Windmill has excellent airflow, higher settings come with higher noise volume. At higher temperatures, the fan is called an “air circulator.” I would have liked to use a fan instead of a Whisper that vibrates. Still, the Windmill, along with the price tag and five-year warranty, is a welcome addition to my home. — Lisa Wood Shapiro
Dreo CF312 Desk Fan for $45: This smaller model is a direct competitor to classic Vornado circulators like the 630. In fact, after trying both, I can confirm that they are very similar, except that the Dreo comes with a wall mounting option, and the screen pops up to access the internal parts for cleaning. You can get by with the Dreo or Vornado versions, but the Vornado wins with its longer warranty—five years over the Dreo.
Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan for $120: The Fresh 180 is a great basic fan with three speeds, timer options, and remote control. It’s noisy at high speeds and has a solid build quality, you just don’t get as many options as you can find in other brands at this price point. That said, there really aren’t many tower fans that rotate a full 180 degrees, if that’s the feature you’re looking for.
Honeywell QuietSet Whole Room Oscillating Tower Fan for $64: This eight-speed fan is solid for the price—it has a remote that fits neatly into the back of the unit, and the base is sturdy, even on carpet. It’s not much quieter than other low-end fans, however, which is its selling point. The lightweight body feels cheaper than similar fans. For the price, however, these may not be deal breakers, especially since the lightweight body makes it easy to move around.
Aecooly Chic 01 Lite Desk Fan for $35: I declared this periscope-shaped fan a must-have dorm accessory in our Best College Essentials and Dorm Gear guide, given that it’s cheap, USB-C rechargeable, and quiet enough (36 decibels on low) that it’s not a distraction. Its 8-inch-long body is small enough to fit in your grad school suitcase.
Pelonis 40-Inch Oscillating Tower Fan for $60: This fan wobbles on the carpet and has a cheap-feeling remote control that you should point out indeed on the air conditioner sensor to activate it. However, the fan produced the coolest air among the tower fans I tested, and it ran quietly and reliably in the back of my home office for months. The remote also comes loaded with batteries, unlike other fans in this price range.
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Dyson Cool AM07 Tower Fan for $400: My previous pick for Best Tower, this Dyson fan couldn’t match the current Dreo in terms of value, but this iconic ellipse is still worth a look. A beautiful statement piece, with a classy look that fits any decor, with a small footprint of about 8 inches. Its lack of blades makes it easy to keep clean, and safe for children and pets. Its assembly instructions are also refreshingly accurate. That said, it’s one of the loudest fans I’ve tested on high, and I don’t like that you can control it with a tiny remote that’s easy to lose.
Vornado Refresh 8 Table Fan for $65: This fan is about the same size as the company’s famous 660 air circulator, but it has a longer base, no portable handle, and a slightly lighter structure. It comes in what looks like clinical white, and at 40 decibels on low, it’s louder than I would have expected. There was a slight wobble in my test unit—noticeable enough to be annoying—and removing the front grille required a longer-than-usual-sized screwdriver, which I didn’t have.
Not recommended
Dreo Smart Air Circulator PolyFan 704S: I love almost all Dreo fans, so I was surprised when the first 704S I bought, from Amazon, died while updating the firmware to connect it to the Dreo app. To get a replacement, I had to take a video of myself trying to use the air conditioner, then pack and send the broken one back to Dreo via FedEx. In the process, I also received incorrect tracking numbers for the new unit and was prompted to leave a review on Amazon that contained certain keywords.
O2Cool Neck Fan: I liked that this fan could stand alone with a small kickstand on the back or be worn around the neck with a lanyard, but it was too weak to deliver any noticeable cooling. If you want a neck fan, Aecooly makes one for $6 more that is rechargeable and twice as powerful.
