The Very Best Floor Fans

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Height:40 to 45inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:48 decibels |Special features:Remote, timer, compatible app, adjustable height

After testing over a dozen floor fans and talking to numerous experts, I can confidently say that you’ll be hard-pressed to find a fan that’s as effective, good-looking, and well priced as this one. It’s one of the newest additions to Dreo’s lineup of tower fans, and after a speedy setup (just five minutes), it has become integral to my apartment. It’s fitted with everything a solid floor fan should have: A remote, a 12-hour timer, and nine speeds. At the top speed, the fan is so powerful that I found myself huddling under a blanket when it was pointed my way. When I turn the fan to lower speeds — five and below — it’s just strong enough to circulate air without being distracting or loud. Compared toour old top pick from Lasko, which costs $10 more, this one is similarly sleek and slightly quieter, clocking in at 48 decibels at its top speed. The noise quality itself is also more pleasant; it’s more of a gentle hum than a mechanical whir.

It’s the fan’s special features — along with the nice price point — that earned it the top spot. Some features, like the ability to adjust its height and the option to turn off the beep it makes when you change speeds, are just nice to have. However, I was especially impressed by a couple of features, notably the inclusion of three additional modes: natural (which makes the fan speed up and slow down to imitate a natural breeze), sleep (which will decrease the fan speed twice over the course of an hour as you fall asleep), and auto (which adjusts the fan speed according to the room temperature). Each of these features can be controlled through the remote or the compatible app — the other impressive feature. Unlike other remote-control apps I’ve used (including Dyson’s), this one is incredibly simple to set up and sync with all of your Dreo fans. Perhaps most helpful is the ability to set the fan to a certain schedule. Using the app, I’ve scheduled my fan to turn on — specifically to a level five — at 8 a.m. on weekdays, so it quietly shuffles the air in my living room before I wake up. You can do this manually with the remote, too, but the app automates the process as long as the fan is plugged in.

Height: 36 inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:60 decibels |Special features:Remote and timer

Lasko, which has been making fans of all shapes and sizes since the 1900s, earned the praise of every hardware-store employee I spoke to — specifically for its high-quality fans for the price. This tower fan exemplifies that intersection.Generally speaking, the taller the fan, the more powerful it will be. But if you have a smaller budget, this 36-inch tower fan from Lasko is still powerful enough to move air around both large and small spaces. Like the fan above, this one includes a remote control and takes less than five minutes to assemble.Compared to the taller model, though, it has four speeds instead of nine and doesn’t have a compatible app. So by saving $25, you’ll be sacrificing some of that customizability, but you’ll still have a powerful fan that can spread breezes across 40-foot spaces. Plus it’s noticeably quiet for a fan at this price point: “While most of the cheaper machines are louder,” McDonnell says, “Lasko really prides itself on still making quiet fans all across its range.”

When I put the fan to the test in my own home, I found it looked sleek and compact in the corner of my living room. At its highest speed, the fan was strong enough to make me want to sit under a blanket when it was pointing my way. At its lowest speed, though, the fan was quiet and subtle enough that I forgot about it after a few minutes. At just about ten pounds, the fan is also lightweight enough that I could easily move it from room to room depending on my cooling needs.

Height: 39.6 inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:40 decibels| Special features:Remote, timer, and compatible app

For the ultimate cooling experience, go for this Dyson. The brand’s cooling devices are pricier than the other options on this list, but Strategist senior editor Ailbhe Malone says it’s worth the money. “Compared to the two other tower fans I own — generic brands — it’s really cooling,” Malone says. “You get a huge waft of air, rather than the little slats from a regular fan.” The fan is an especially good option for people with young children or pets because it doesn’t have exposed blades.Malone’s been using her Dyson fan to cool her daughter’s nursery — the hottest room in the house — for two years. “We are all jealous of Aoife, when we are lying in bed, with two tower fans circling humid air, and she is snoring under a breeze,” Malone says.

Just note, according to Malone, the fan has two downsides: a finicky remote and a top-heavy structure. “You’re more likely to knock it over than a regular tower fan,” she says. But if those drawbacks don’t bother you, you’re in for a cool summer.

Height: 20 inches| Oscillation:No | Noise:NA |Special features:None

We’ve recommendedLasko’s purple-and-blue box fansever since we spotted one in the home of musician Eleanor Friedberger and artist Michael Berryhill whilephotographing it for the magazine. While it’s still a perfectly good fan — Friedberger says, “I can’t think of another $20 object that is that useful and that capable of holding a space” — it’s rarely in stock. If you find one, we still recommend it, but in the meantime, this model from Vornado is best described by the cliché “everything you want and more.” With no fewer than 99 speeds, the fan can be customized to the exact speed you desire. Unfortunately, there’s no remote, so you have to manually cycle through the speeds. But pressing and holding on the button allows you to go through all of them in a few seconds, and I think the added customization is worth the slight inconvenience.

I’ve found the difference between, say, speed 56 and 57 to be negligible, but the real difference is in the extremes. Near the bottom of the spectrum — from zero to around 35 — the fan gives off a soft hum and a small, constant breeze. However, at the top — from about 85 to 99 — the fan feels like it would be strong enough to make a Victoria’s Secret model’s hair flow behind her down the entire runway. At those speeds, it will be loud (around 60 decibels), but I’d trust it to keep me cool should my window air conditioner unit break. Another nice feature: There’s an adjustable kickstand, so you can choose the angle you’d like the fan to blow.

Height: 15 inches| Oscillation:Horizontal and vertical |Noise:55 decibels |Special features:Remote

We’ve recommended Vornado’s small floor fans for years, and until recently, theVornado 633held this spot. However, the brand’s latest class of small fans are sleeker, quieter, and more powerful, and this one hits the sweet spot of customizability and price. Compared to our previous pick, which had three speeds and needed to be manually adjusted, this one has ten speeds and a remote and can oscillate both horizontally and vertically. At the top speed, the fan is noticeably loud, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make to circulate air throughout my living room without taking up too much space. At its lower speeds, though, the fan was quiet enough that it didn’t prevent me from sleeping, and the nice breeze it provided kept me cool throughout the night.

Along with the added speeds and oscillation options, the fan has three special modes that are comparable to those you’d find on the Dreo fans: Breeze (which simulates a natural breeze), Sleep (which will decrease the fan speed every 30 minutes until the fan turns off) and Cyclic (which causes the fan speed to rise to a maximum selected speed then fall at a consistent interval). Especially for college students looking to make the most of their small spaces, these features will allow the fan to optimize airflow according to the day’s needs. (For those who want to further optimize their fan, I recommend splurging on theVornado EOS 9, which has all of the same benefits as the Vora 8 along with a nightlight capability.)

Height:11.3 inches| Oscillation:No|Noise:NA| Special features:None

If you’re budget-conscious,this small-but-mighty fanis the best option for you. Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst initially bought hers in 2016 to fill in the gaps in her air conditioner’s BTUs.She was immediately smitten: “I took it home, plugged it in, and was so impressed with it that I kept it running nonstop for the next six months, even after I bought the AC.”Given the price tag, this fan doesn’t have any bells and whistles. “There’s a knob at the back that toggles between three modes: high, medium, and low,” Denton-Hurst says.“The coolest thing about it is that it has a 90-degree pivoting head, so you can point it toward you and then tilt it to any angle you like.”Despite its simplicity and size, the fan is remarkably powerful, albeit fit for one person: “Its size actually works in its favor. The stream of air is concentrated — dare I say person-size — and offers spot cooling rather than transforming the temperature of the entire room,” Denton-Hurst says. Just one thing:Neat freaks should consider that the fan is difficult to clean. Denton-Hurst cleans her with a wet paper towel wrapped around a butter knife, but if you’re particularly handy, you can try your hand at disassembling it yourself.

Height: 27 inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:42 decibels| Special features:Remote, timer, and compatible app

If you’re looking for pure power, I’d still recommend theVora(or the nightlightEOS), but if you’d like something slightly more pleasing to the eye, then I’d go for Dyson’s smaller floor fan. Its petite frame means you can put it practically anywhere you want, from your coffee table to the floor. When I put the fan on top of my kitchen island, I’ve found it’s especially helpful for moving air around my kitchen when my oven is hot or I’m cooking on high heat. (Though I feel it’s worth noting that I have an electric stove, so I don’t need to worry about any flames.)

Height: 43 inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:25 decibels| Special features:Remote, timer, and compatible app

I’d previously namedDreo’s PolyFan 513Sthe best pedestal fan for its power, customization options, and minimal noise level, but the brand’s new 707S model impressed me with further improvement in all three categories. I tested the new model during last year’s particularly steamy New York City summer and found it powerful enough to fill in the gaps in my air conditioner’s BTUs, quickly dry my laundry on my drying rack, and create that wind tunnel McDonnell advised simulating.

Compared with the old model’s eight speeds, this one has nine that can be changed by touching the fan’s control panel, toggling the included remote, or connecting to the remarkably simple compatible app. While this fan has six modes — normal, auto, turbo, natural, custom, and sleep — that you can switch between whether you’d like to optimize for speed, ease, or customization, I found myself staying on the normal mode most frequently while testing because I prefer to set and forget my appliances. This means after I picked my desired speed and oscillation (this fan can move up to 150 degrees horizontally and up to 120 degrees vertically), I would just leave the Dreo to move air in the background. If you, say, come home from the office at the same time every day, I recommend using the in-app scheduling feature to turn it to turbo mode shortly before you arrive to quickly disrupt stale air. Just note: Turbo mode is strong enough to move loose sheets of paper at least ten feet away, so be sure to secure any lightweight items before turning your fan to the highest speeds.

While the Dreo is pricier than some of the other fans on this list, I would say it’s worth the money if you value customization or simply run hot. It’s one of the most powerful fans I’ve tested.

Height: 41 inches| Oscillation:Yes |Noise:61 decibels| Special features:Remote, timer, and compatible app

If you prefer to have fewer appliances taking up valuable real estate in your home, you should consider the new-and-improved Dyson fan-purifier, which is now compatible with Dyson’s app. Like the other Dyson fans on this list, this one is worth the premium price in my opinion. Considering it has ten speeds, the fan is noticeably quiet. In the year that I’ve been testing the fan, I’ve found it’s quiet enough to keep at full speed while I’m sleeping but powerful enough to keep me cool and decrease any lingering smell from neighboring units in my building. When I use it to air-dry my laundry, I find it rids my room of any musty smells that arise from the added humidity, as well.

Height: 14.4 inches| Oscillation:No |Noise:NA| Special features:None

If a power outage has ever knocked out your air-conditioning, you’re not alone — and you’ll be glad to have this battery-operated fan on hand should it happen again. It has three speeds, can rotate 360 degrees, and was a lifesaver for Trolio during a recent power outage.“I never thought about the convenience of a rechargeable fan until I tried it,” she says. “It’s so easy to just pick it up and move from room to room, or to place it on the floor or a side table and not have to worry at all about being near an outlet or having a cord run across the floor.” You can see how much battery it has left on its battery indicator on the back, but, Trolio says, “it easily goes eight to ten hours at a reasonably mid to high speed because we were able to use it overnight during our recent power outage.”

Height: 17.4 inches| Oscillation:No |Noise:53 decibels| Special features:None

If you’re looking for the signature power that Vornado is known for in slightly prettier packaging, you’ll be pleased to know that this fan is available in five color options (white,gray,maroon,gunmetal, and the deep teal pictured) and four sizes (nine inches, 11.4 inches, 17.4 inches, and a 55-inch pedestal). I used ajunior-size versionof the fan throughout college and found it was a simple way to make my otherwise dorm-y dorm room seem more mature. On nights when my dorm hadn’t turned off the central heating despite warm temperatures, this little fan became my only savior. However, you’ll do even better with this larger version. It’s worth noting, though, that with three speeds and the ability to pivot up and down, the fan is basic in its capabilities.