The Best Humidifiers to Help You Breathe Easier
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When seasons change and temperatures drop, the cool, dry air can wreak havoc on your sinuses and skin. This can be exacerbated when your home's heating system dries the air even further. But you don’t have to suffer chapped lips, nosebleeds, or cracking skin. If the air in your home is persistently dry—or you just want to combat the occasional cold—a great humidifier can do a lot to improve your air quality and health.
Best Humidifiers
Why You Should Consider a Humidifier
Unlike whole-home humidifiers installed by HVAC contractors, these units are easy-to-use and affordable but still powerful for cutting down on dry air. Using a humidifier in your living room or bedroom while you sleep can prevent dry sinuses and chapped hands and lips, as well as decrease static electricity.
Winter may be the primary season, when heating systems drive moisture from the air, but air conditioner use in summer can cause it, too. Aside from your sinuses, low humidity can also dry out wood furniture, floors, paint, and wallpaper—a tell-tale sign of low humidity is when that sticking door suddenly opens easily. Consistent humidifier use, year-round, could help if your house’s humidity levels are below the ideal range of 30 to 60 percent. If you don’t already know the level in your home, you can test it with an $11 hygrometer.
While there are many benefits to getting a humidifier, consider if you can actually commit to the care and maintenance. Dirty humidifiers will only pose more health risks, since the water can become a breeding ground for germs, bacteria, mold, and mildew, which it will then pump into the air. Many humidifiers require at least weekly cleaning and daily refills, though some of the best models have design features that make this maintenance easier.
What Type of Humidifier Should You Buy?
Whether you prefer warm or cool mist or want an evaporative or ultrasonic machine, each kind of humidifier has advantages and disadvantages to consider.
Cool Mist: Cool-mist humidifiers are the most common and very simple devices that use a small fan to circulate air. This helps make them safer to use around children. But they typically require more cleaning to prevent mold compared to warm-mist devices. Both ultrasonic and evaporative humidifiers may use a cool mist.
Warm Mist: Using a heating element to boil water and make steam, warm-mist humidifiers can add some nice heat in the winter but are best kept away from children because of it. You can also use these humidifiers with medicinal inhalants for cough or cold relief.
Ultrasonic: These popular humidifiers use high-frequency vibration with quiet fans to produce a fine mist. However, they must be raised off the ground to prevent puddling water on the floor and may leave white dust around the room if you use unfiltered tap water.
Evaporative: These humidifiers use wick filters and fans to release actual water vapor into the air. Though the wick requires replacing, an evaporative humidifier usually causes less mold or mildew growth and doesn’t produce over-condensation on the floor like ultrasonic models.
How We Tested and Selected
We tested humidifiers during the winter months, when typical heating systems tend to dry out the air in homes and windows and door are kept closed. To get a baseline for each test, we used individual hygrometers to measure humidity in our rooms—then monitored them throughout testing. We tested in both closed rooms, isolated from air currents in the house, as well as in larger rooms with more airflow, open to adjoining rooms. Models earned or lost points based on ease of use, efficacy, refilling frequency, and how easy they were to clean.
For models we didn’t physically get our hands on (the Raydrop, Levoit LV600HH, Pure Enrichment, Honeywell, Levoit Top-Fill, and Crane), we researched features, cost, and 75,000 consumer reviews to select the top humidifiers. For these models we didn’t test, we calculated a Consumer Score, which represents the percentage of customers who rated the product at four out of five stars, or better, on retail and review sites like Amazon, Home Depot, and Walmart.
Water capacity: 6 liters | Run time: Up to 60 hours | Settings: 3 mist levels | Dimensions: 13 x 10 x 7.5 in. | Weight: 4 lb
We tested the Levoit Classic 300S humidifier for about a month, during a very cold, dry winter in Pennsylvania, to confirm its efficacy and convenience. It leverages ultra-sonic technology, using high-frequency vibration to create a fine mist, which it distributes with a quiet fan. This means it doesn’t have a paper wick that needs replacing periodically, either due to mineral build-up or mold growth. Thanks to its huge, six-liter tank, the Classic 300S can run for over two days on low. When needed, refilling is a breeze—its top-fill design, with wide mouth, made it easy for us to add water.
The Classic 300S has three mist levels: low, medium, and high, as well as an auto mode that allows you to set a target humidity. In auto mode, a built-in hygrometer will alert the unit to turn off once the air reaches 5 percent over that target. However, because the built-in hygrometer is located near the mist, it’s not a super accurate or reliable indication of your room’s overall humidity. So, we tested its performance using two hygrometers placed about 4 and 8 feet away from the humidifier. In auto mode, the humidifier sometimes turned off because it thought the humidity reached 50 percent, when it really was only about 30 percent in the rest of the room. As a result, we’d recommend either setting auto mode to a slightly higher target humidity, placing the unit in an open area with good airflow, just skipping the auto mode feature in favor of setting schedules via the accompanying app, or just letting the humidifier turn off once it’s run out of water on another setting.
About that app—we used it to set modes, timers, and to create schedules to turn the humidifier on and off. We could also view the current humidity, as well as set up voice control through Alexa or Google Assistant.
In our tests, the humidifier successfully increased our room’s humidity level about 10 percent—up to 35 percent from 25 percent after running a full tank. The tank lasted 55 hours before needing a refill on low, 30 hours on medium, and about 18 hours on high. On auto mode, the humidifier averaged needing a refill about every 24 hours. When running the humidifier for a few consecutive days, we were able to increase our room’s humidity up to 40 percent, instead of the usual 20-25 percent around this time of year.
Water capacity: 2.5 liters | Run time: Up to 36 hours | Settings: Humidifier, diffuser | Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 8.5 in. | Weight: 3 lb
The Canopy is marketed toward improving your skin health, but it’s still a serious enough humidifier to cover larger living spaces up to 500 square feet. It’s an evaporative humidifier that uses a fan to draw moisture through a paper filter, or wick, that sifts out contaminants in your water. Because of the way it works, we were never able to see any mist or vapor, but according to our hygrometer, it was certainly working.
We tested in a closed 150-square-foot room, starting at 47 percent humidity. After an hour, it was up to 52, and after two hours, it reached 55. In a larger 250-square-foot room open to the rest of the house, we were able to raise humidity from 37 percent to 45 and maintain it, over the course of a day, with the Canopy running on high. At that level, we had to refill the reservoir about every 24 hours.
As far as cleaning and maintenance, the Canopy mitigates some of the downsides of caring for a humidifier with its embedded UV light to kill bacteria and mold in the water. To clean the housing and tank, we were able to put them right in the dishwasher, as the plastic parts are dishwasher-safe. The filter/wick, however, will need to be replaced every six weeks and, if you use the Canopy year-round, means you’ll go through about nine a year. The company offers a filter subscription that will save you a few dollars and help make sure you’ve always got one when you need it.
The Canopy also comes with a diffuser pad on top of the fan housing to dispense essential oils for aromatherapy, or just to keep your room smelling nice.
Water capacity: 3 liters | Run time: Up to 25 hours | Settings: Humidifier, diffuser Dimensions: 7.1 x 7.1 x 11.8 in. | Weight: 3 lb
Levoit’s Dual 200S is an effective, reasonably priced smart humidifier, packed with features. With its Wi-Fi capability, you can set it up, monitor it, and operate it via a free app on your phone. Through the app, we were able to set modes and timers, as well as create schedules to turn the humidifier on and off. We could also view the current humidity, as well as set up voice control through Alexa or Google Assistant.
During our testing, in a closed 150-square-foot room, we found the Dual 200S could quickly increase humidity. It took us just one hour to go from 45 to 51 percent, and then to 55 in the next hour. We also tested in a larger, 250-square-foot room open to the rest of the house, over the course of a few days. Our starting humidity was 38 percent, and we were able to hold an average of about 48 running the 200S on auto. At this rate, we needed to fill the 2.5-liter reservoir about every 24 hours—while we had to fill it every 18 hours when we ran it on high, boosting humidity into the 50-55 percent range.
The reservoir has a wide opening on top for refilling, and while it’s easy to fill, we preferred bringing a larger pitcher to the humidifier rather than taking the reservoir to the sink. While the reservoir has a valve at the bottom that doesn’t leak, we always seemed to get a drip on the floor from the bottom of the tank where it touched the water. Admittedly, this is a minor complaint—and about the only criticism we really had.
Water capacity: .45 gallons | Run time: Up to 9 hours | Settings: Mist dial | Dimensions: 12 x 6 x 5.5 in. | Weight: 2 lb
Consumer Score: 88% give it 4 stars or more
This Raydrop humidifier is an affordable option around $30, though keep in mind that it isn’t much more powerful than some diffusers. But it is compact and narrow, easily fitting on most nightstands. Its capacity is almost a half gallon, which will be able to run through the night on low before needing a refill. It has a dial knob that can cycle through many settings between low and high speed, as well as an LED indicator to tell you when the water has run out.
Water capacity: 1.5 gallons | Run time: Up to 36 hours | Settings: 3 mist levels, warm, auto mode, timer | Dimensions: 11 x 7 x 10 in. | Weight: 5 lb
Consumer Score: 85% give it 4 stars or more
Most humidifiers don’t offer a ton of versatility beyond high and low settings, but the LV600HH delivers all of the customization you’ll need. It has both warm and cool mist settings, an auto mode with an accurate humidity sensor, an aroma diffuser box, and an adjustable light, plus a remote control and timer so you can set a schedule. Most significantly, its 6-liter reservoir provides the longest run time, from 20 to 36 hours for rooms up to 750 square feet.
This Levoit does have the same drawbacks as other ultrasonic humidifiers, namely that it has to sit on a table or shelf to prevent the mist from puddling on the floor. One Amazon reviewer also noted that it has several nooks and crannies that make weekly cleaning to prevent mold more of a challenge. Despite these drawbacks and the expensive price, Tech Gear Lab gave this model an Editors’ Choice award, advising that “if you want something powerful that won’t have you returning to a damp house if you forget to turn it off, the LV600HH is the best choice.”
Water capacity: 0.4 gallon | Run time: Up to 16 hours | Settings: 2 mist levels | Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 9 in. | Weight: 2 lb
Consumer Score: 83% give it 4 stars or more
Digital Trends named this humidifier the best overall, writing that “with a 1.5-liter tank, it’s perfect for bedrooms, offices, and medium-sized rooms.” The MistAire can run for up to 16 hours on its low setting. The shape makes it easy to see when the water gets low, though it will automatically turn off when empty. It’s also a bit awkward to clean, but does come with a brush to help.
Poeple who bought it and put it in their bedroom enjoyed its quiet operation and using the blue glow as a night-light. “Even though the function is excellent, I’m also impressed by how silent the machine is,” wrote one reviewer on Amazon. “We put it in our bedroom, and I have no problem falling asleep.”
Water capacity: 1.2 gallons | Run time: Up to 24 hours | Settings: Mist scroll wheel, bright/dim/off lights | Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 13 in. | Weight: 6 lb
Consumer Score: 80% give it 4 stars or more
The best aspect of this Designer Series is its inconspicuous build, which won’t be an eyesore in your living spaces, that doesn’t come at the cost of quality. Like other ultrasonic models, it’s quiet enough to use in bedrooms, and you can adjust the tank light to off, dim, or bright settings to view the water level. The mist control button allows you to scroll to find the perfect output, and the tank has a fairly wide opening despite the cylindrical shape for convenient filling and cleaning. If you’re on the fence between getting a full-size humidifier or essential-oil diffuser, know that this model also has a tray for you to add your favorite essential oil fragrances. Many Amazon reviewers found it easy to maintain the 1.2-gallon tank, though some experienced issues with it leaking after months of use.
Water capacity: 0.5 gallon | Run time: 8 to 20 hours | Settings: 3 | Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 7 in. | Weight: 3 lb
Consumer Score: 85% give it 4 stars or more
This two-in-one humidifier and diffuser packs in a lot of features. Still, Levoit kept it subtle and compact to blend into your home’s décor. Its sleek design isn’t too bulky, but its half-gallon capacity can still run for up to 20 hours on its lowest of three mist output settings. Its size isn’t its only subtlety. This humidifier also runs quiet, at only 28 decibels on low, and it has an “Intelligent Sleep Mode” that automatically turns off all display lights and senses the humidity in your room at night to adjust its output accordingly. If you want to add some aromatherapy to your room, you can also safely add essential oils into its base. Refilling the water is fairly easy. While other larger humidifiers typically have a removable base to fill from the sink, this one just has a removable lid that allows you to pour directly into the top.
Water capacity: 1 gallon | Run time: Up to 24 hours | Settings: 10 | Dimensions: 13 x 8 x 8 in. | Weight: 4.5 lb
Consumer Score: 82% give it 4 stars or more
Another standard 1-gallon ultrasonic, cool-mist humidifier, the Drop is quiet enough to run in your baby’s nursery or kid’s bedroom at night. It has a dial for variable mist output control, so you can get the humidity levels just right. Though the humidifier doesn’t require a filter, Crane offers an optional one you can buy separately in case you have excessive minerals in your water that you’d like to filter out. And its droplet-shaped lid can rotate 360 degrees to send the mist in whatever direction you want.
It comes in a variety of color options, if you want to match to your kid’s colorful bedroom, too. You should be cleaning a humidifier like this about once a week, especially if it’s in a baby’s room. Keep that in mind, since the bottom-fill tank without a handle or wide opening may make refilling and cleaning a bit more cumbersome.
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