Vornado Transom Window Fan for $135: I was impressed with the features of this fan—it’s got a remote control (there’s also a version with Alexa compatibility), it can suck in air either inside the room or out, and it’s relatively quiet. It’s definitely a step up from less expensive versions. However, the foam blocks for fitting it in the window didn’t provide as tight a fit as I’d prefer. Also, the fan can only be installed horizontally, and the thermostat is located on the inside—a problem that plagues space heaters as well—so it struggled to cool a south-facing bedroom during my testing.
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Vornado Strata for $133: After using it in my husband’s office for much of the summer of 2024, I determined the Strata to be a puzzlingly designed fan. Shaped like a boxy, high-tech hair dryer, the 18-inch-tall Strata pulls in air and pushes it upward through an approximately 1- by 14-inch slot in the front, a maneuver that’s designed to mimic a taller tower fan. This rather narrow and very direct stream of air feels somewhat jarring when you’re in its path, but the Strata is still an air circulator meant to sit on the floor and not necessarily blow air directly onto a user. If you want to feel the breeze, you’d be better off with a tower fan.
Windmill Smart Air Circulator for $69: This smart fan has a minimalist modern silhouette that stands less than a foot tall and comes in colors like pink, white, yellow, and black. While the Windmill had excellent airflow, higher settings come with higher noise volume. At its highest, the fan is touted as being an “air circulator.” I would have loved to run the fan at an oscillating Whisper setting. Still, the Windmill, along with its price tag and five-year warranty, is a welcome addition to my home. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Dreo CF312 Desk Fan for $45: This little model is a direct competitor to classic Vornado circulators like the 630. In fact, having tried both, I can confirm it’s extremely similar, except that the Dreo comes with a wall-mounting option, and the screen pops off to access the internal parts for cleaning. You’d be fine with either the Dreo or Vornado versions, but the Vornado wins out on its longer warranty—five years to Dreo’s one.
Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan for $120: The Fresh 180 is a pretty basic tower fan with three speeds, timer options, and a remote. It’s noisy at high speed and has a flimsy build quality, with nowhere near as many options as you’d find in other brands at this price point. That said, there actually aren’t many tower fans that oscillate a full 180 degrees, if that’s a feature you want.
Honeywell QuietSet Whole Room Oscillating Tower Fan for $64: This eight-speed fan is solid for the price—it’s got a remote control that neatly slots into the back of the unit, and the base is sturdy, even on carpet. It wasn’t much quieter than some of the other fans on low, though, which is its claimed selling point. The lightweight body feels cheaper than similar fans. For the price, though, 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 guide to the Best College Essentials and Dorm Gear, given that it’s cheap, USB-C rechargeable, and quiet enough (36 decibels on low) that it isn’t a disturbance. Its 8-inch-tall body is small enough to fit in a suitcase for your grad who’s headed out of state.
Pelonis 40-Inch Oscillating Tower Fan for $60: This fan is quite wobbly on carpet and has a cheap-feeling remote control that you must point exactly at the fan’s sensor to operate it. However, the fan put out one of the strongest breezes among the tower fans I’ve tested, and it operated quietly and reliably in the background 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 current pick Dreo in terms of value, but this iconic ellipse is still worth a look. It’s a beautiful, high-tech–looking statement piece that fits into any decor, with a small footprint of about 8 inches. Its lack of blades makes it easy to keep spotlessly clean, and it’s safe for kids and pets. Its assembly instructions are also refreshingly intuitive. That said, it is one of the loudest fans I tested when set to high, and I don’t like that you can only control it with a small remote that’s easy to lose.
Vornado Refresh 8 Table Fan for $65: This fan is roughly the size of the company’s popular 660 air circulator, but with a taller pedestal, no carrying handle, and a slightly flimsier build. It comes in a sort of clinical-looking off-white, and at 40 decibels on low, it’s louder than I would have expected. There was a slight rattling in my test unit—just noticeable enough to be irritating—and removing the front grille required a screwdriver longer than a standard size, which I did not have.
Not Recommended
Dreo Smart Air Circulator PolyFan 704S: I love nearly all of Dreo’s fans, so I was surprised when the first 704S I bought, from Amazon, died while I was updating the firmware to connect it to the Dreo app. To obtain the replacement, I had to take a video of myself attempting to operate the fan, then pack and send the broken fan back to Dreo via FedEx. In the process, I also received multiple incorrect tracking numbers for the new unit and was implored to leave an Amazon review containing specific keywords.
O2Cool Neck Fan: I liked that this fan could be either freestanding with a little kickstand at the back or worn around the neck with a lanyard, but it was too weak to deliver any noticeable cool air. If you want a neck fan, Aecooly makes one for just $6 more that’s both rechargeable and twice as strong.
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