The 5 Best Humidifiers of 2023

We’ve updated the long-term testing notes in the Flaws but not dealbreakers section for our top pick, and also added several new models to the Competition.

The ideal humidifier is one you shouldn't notice.

It creates a comforting indoor condensation level that soothes your skin and helps you breathe more easily, without turning the room into a swampy fog or leaving little drops of moisture on the walls. And it should do this without making the maintenance process too much of a burden.

This sounds pretty basic, but it's a surprisingly tall demand for such a seemingly simple device.

After testing dozens of humidifiers over the years, we think the Wi-Fi–enabled Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier is the best option out there: It's quiet, durable, and easier to deal with overall than any other humidifier we’ve tested, with a 1.5-gallon tank that will last all day.

Powerful, quiet, and easy to clean, the Levoit LV600S is also the rare ultrasonic that won't over-humidify your room—which means it's the easiest one to live with overall.

The Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier does everything right. It's easy to clean, and it humidifies the air quickly and (almost) silently, and it won't bother you at night with beeping or bright lights. It also does something that almost no other ultrasonic humidifier can claim to do: It can achieve a target humidity level and maintain it on an auto setting that actually works, thanks to a built-in humidistat and functional smart features. This sounds like it should be the most basic expectation for a humidifier, but it is in fact a rare and remarkable feat. Over-humidification of a room has been the flaw of nearly every ultrasonic humidifier we’ve tested since 2013—including the non-smart version of this same humidifier, which we recommended from 2018 to 2022. But the LV600S finally fixes that issue. It has plenty of other thoughtful features that make it stand out from other humidifiers, too. Its 1.5-gallon tank is big enough to last all day, and its fill hole is wide enough that you won't have to scrub around any awkward corners. It's also the only model we currently recommend that offers warm mist capabilities. While the idea of a "smart humidifier" might sound a little ridiculous, we were genuinely surprised at how impressed we were with the LV600S's smart-home features, which brought some added convenience into our lives with cleaning reminders, scheduling options, and memorable voice commands via Alexa or Google Home. The LV600S is still susceptible to some of the other drawbacks of ultrasonics, including a tendency (if you have hard or well water) to leave a trail of fine mineral dust on the furniture or floor, but this is harmless and simple to clean, and easier to maintain overall than an evaporative model.

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The Levoit Classic 300S is just as powerful and reliable as our top pick, but you need the app to use its features to the fullest. It does come with a nice built-in night-light though.

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The Levoit Classic 300S Ultrasonic Smart Humidifier performed nearly identical to our top pick in our tests and has a lot of the same features as well, including a top-filling tank that holds 1.5 gallons of water, and smart-home capabilities that help prevent it from over-humidifying the room like other ultrasonic models do. It also adds a pleasant night-light feature (that's also easy to turn off when you need to). The user interface isn't quite as intuitive, however, and the four unmarked buttons on the basin are pretty limited on what they can accomplish without pulling up the app on your phone. We’ve heard several complaints about the tank leaking when it's lifted off the basin as well. But if you want something spartan and uncomplicated (and don't mind some potential dripping), the Classic 300S is a solid choice.

This straightforward humidifier lacks most features and can over-humidify a space. But it's powerful, quiet, and easy to clean—a good option for anyone willing to compromise.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

If you just need a basic humidifier that looks nice and does the job without costing too much, get the Levoit Classic 200 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. Its 4-liter tank is big enough to last most of the day, with a large opening and simple rectangular shape that make it easy to clean. The Classic 200 isn't quite as versatile as the Levoit LV600S, or even the Classic 300S: The Classic 200 has just a single button that changes color each time you press it, to indicate the different power levels (on/low, medium, high, and then off again). This model also lacks a humidistat or any other option for self-regulation. Otherwise, the Levoit Classic 200 has all of the same perks and flaws as many ultrasonic humidifiers, including quiet yet buzzy operation and a slight chance of water puddling underneath.

This energy-smart evaporative model isn't quite as easy to use as our top pick, but it's great at keeping the humidity consistent and distributing it around the room.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $80.

The Vornado EVDC300 is the most energy-efficient humidifier we’ve ever tested, thanks to its unusual DC motor. It's also the most consistent, with a powerful fan that keeps the humidified air circulating evenly around the room. The EVDC300 differs from our other picks in that it's an evaporative model. That means it's better at self-regulation than your typical ultrasonic humidifier, so it won't over-humidify your room. But the downside is you have to deal with the added maintenance and regular replacement of this model's wicking filter. The EVDC300 is also louder than our ultrasonic picks. But the white noise emitted from its fan is still quieter and more pleasant than that of most other evaporative models we’ve tested. The EVDC300's 1-gallon tank is also slightly smaller than the tank on the Levoit LV600S, but it's still easy enough to open, carry, and clean. If anything else goes wrong with this humidifier, it's backed by Vornado's impressive five-year warranty (and 10 years for the motor alone). This is the best protection for any humidifier we’ve seen. However, it won't cover you if your toddler knocks a full tank off the counter, shattering it into a puddle of sharp plastic edges. We learned that one the hard way.

The Venta LW25 is pricey, but it's an exceptional performer with a unique design that requires less-frequent cleaning and refilling than competitors.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $348.

If you want an extremely effective evaporative humidifier that requires less-frequent cleaning and refilling than our other recommendations, consider the Venta LW25 Airwasher. At its current price, it's very expensive. But its high up-front cost is somewhat mitigated by its extreme energy efficiency in the long run. And in our tests, the LW25 consistently ranked high in humidification performance. Like our other evaporative picks, this model is suited to spaces that are the size of a large bedroom. Competitors require weekly cleaning. But Venta recommends that you rinse this unit every two weeks and thoroughly clean it every six months. Despite its name, however, it does not wash the air particularly well. If that's a concern for you, consider getting an air purifier.

Powerful, quiet, and easy to clean, the Levoit LV600S is also the rare ultrasonic that won't over-humidify your room—which means it's the easiest one to live with overall.

The Levoit Classic 300S is just as powerful and reliable as our top pick, but you need the app to use its features to the fullest. It does come with a nice built-in night-light though.

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This straightforward humidifier lacks most features and can over-humidify a space. But it's powerful, quiet, and easy to clean—a good option for anyone willing to compromise.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

This energy-smart evaporative model isn't quite as easy to use as our top pick, but it's great at keeping the humidity consistent and distributing it around the room.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $80.

The Venta LW25 is pricey, but it's an exceptional performer with a unique design that requires less-frequent cleaning and refilling than competitors.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $348.

Since 2013, we’ve spent nearly 500 hours researching and testing dozens of humidifiers in enclosed home spaces using Lascar data loggers. The earliest versions of this guide were written by John Holecek, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher who has studied atmospheric physics and chemistry everywhere from the continental US to the Arctic to the remote island nation of the Maldives. Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan took over in 2017, building on that earlier research. Tim has also written guides to air purifiers, water filtration systems, and more. Since 2019, the guide has been shepherded by staff writer Thom Dunn, whose other work includes guides to space heaters, portable air conditioners, and window air conditioners.

If you are bothered by problems associated with dry air—dry sinuses, nosebleeds, cracked and sore lips, or shocks from static electricity—the air in your home is likely under-humidified. In most of the US, this is primarily a winter problem, especially in homes with forced-air heating systems, which can drive indoor humidity down to desertlike conditions. But dry air can also be an issue if you have radiators or other types of heating, since the relative humidity of cold winter air is generally lower than that of summertime air.

According to most medical research as well as the EPA, your home should have a relative humidity level below 60%, and ideally between 30% and 50%. The cheapest and easiest way to maintain these conditions is to use a humidifier. This will alleviate the symptoms listed above while discouraging mold and mildew growth (which can happen in excessively humid conditions). Proper humidification can also help slow the spread of airborne viruses, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2, aka the coronavirus. While it might not be able to prevent infection or disease, the general research consensus is that humidity can affect a viral particle's ability to survive in the air, as well as the way your immune system's defenses function.

But here's the catch: Proper home humidification takes some work. If you want to measure the humidity in your space before you buy a humidifier, or you want to monitor the performance of a humidifier you already have, you can get a basic hygrometer on Amazon for about $10. And regardless of the natural humidity levels in your home, you’ll still need to do some cleaning and other maintenance work on your humidifier once or twice a week, or run the risk of some serious health risks, like the nasty fungal wheezing of the dreaded "humidifier lung," a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. At that point, the machine can do you more harm than good. You can mitigate this risk somewhat by using distilled or demineralized water instead of tap, but either way, you’ll have some work to do. Unfortunately, this is not a problem that's unique to any one specific style or brand of humidifier—they’re all annoying to clean, and they all get disgusting if you don't maintain them right. So before you commit to buying one, you need to ask yourself honestly: Are you ready to be a "humidifier parent"?

Your humidifier can turn into a cesspool of bacteria and mold without regular maintenance and cleaning.

After spending hundreds of hours testing dozens of humidifiers since 2013, we like to think we have a pretty good grasp on what constitutes a "good" humidifier in terms of technology and design. Even the worst humidifiers we’ve tested have still performed adequately at their most basic function of pumping out moisture into the air. It's the other parts of the humidifier that make the real difference—the ergonomics, ease of cleaning and filling, quality of construction, the user experience, and so on. Because you typically have to interact with a humidifier daily (to refill the tank, sometimes more than once, and then restart and reset it), these factors always weigh heavily in our decision on which machines to pick for testing.

In addition to our usual research into popular models and user reviews from sites like Amazon, AllergyBuyersClub.com, Top Ten Reviews, ConsumerSearch, and Best Buy, we also pay particularly close attention to the reader comments on this guide. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it's that humidifiers can inspire quite a bit of ire. Regular reader feedback helps us shape our understanding about what exactly people are looking for, and what uniquely frustrating humidifier flaws we should seek solutions for, or avoid outright.

Generally speaking, we limited our search to portable humidifiers rated to cover between 200 and 700 square feet, with a minimum tank size of 1 gallon (although we have made occasional exceptions). In our experience, a 1-gallon tank is big enough to allow a humidifier to last for most or all of a day running on medium without having to refill.

There are many different kinds of humidifiers, but we narrowed our search to the most common types: evaporative and ultrasonic. Neither one is necessarily better than the other; they’re both simple, effective, and energy-efficient machines that use different methods of humidifying a room. In the past, our top pick has typically been an evaporative model; these tend to have a more mechanically simple design, and they are better at self-regulating, often shutting themselves off as soon as they enter the ideal humidity range. Over time, however, in response to reader feedback, we’ve started leaning more heavily toward ultrasonic models. These tend to be quieter than their evaporative counterparts, and they don't need any wicks or filters that require regular maintenance. But they’re also more likely to over-humidify the room, and they can sometimes leave a dusting of fine white powder on the floor from the minerals in your water. (This is more of an annoyance than anything else, and you can minimize the problem by using distilled or demineralized water.) Still, we always make sure we offer recommendations for both kinds of humidifiers, so you can pick which one suits your situation better.

Over the years, we’ve considered more than 100 humidifiers and tested more than two dozen of them. For our most recent tests, in 2022, we looked at three new ultrasonic models: the Wi-Fi–enabled Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier and Elechomes UC5501, as well as the Lasko UH300 Ultrasonic. We also revisited the Carepod One as well as the newer Carepod Cube X50, which boasts warm mist capabilities. We compared these against our existing picks: the Wi-Fi–connected Levoit Classic 300S, the Vornado "Energy Smart" EVDC300 Evaporative Humidifier, the standard Levoit LV600HH, and the Venta LW25 Airwasher (which uses a unique cold-evaporation technology and claims to "wash" or purify the air).

Our testing procedures have remained largely the same since 2014, although the locations have changed. We set up the test models in an enclosed, 200-square-foot room with the windows shut tight and the forced-air or other HVAC equipment deactivated. We take an initial humidity reading, turn on a humidifier, let it run for four hours at a time, and repeat—first on medium (or low, on two-speed machines) and then again on high. The aim is to measure the humidifiers’ performance under everyday conditions (when the medium setting would be adequate), as well as under challenging conditions (such as during a bout of exceptionally cold, dry winter air, when humidification needs are highest). Between tests, we reset the conditions by opening the windows, turning on a dehumidifier, and circulating in drier air.

While running these tests, we measure quantitative factors to provide a common baseline of comparison among the models. We track the rate of humidification in the room as well as the accuracy of the humidistats, and other climate-based data, using a pair of Lascar high-accuracy USB data loggers. To measure how much noise the humidifiers make while running, we use an audio spectrum analyzer app, recording our results in both dB-A and dB-C frequency weightings for added accuracy. In more recent years, we’ve also begun tracking the energy use of each unit, as well as the airspeed at which the humidification comes out of the machine.

We also pay attention to qualitative factors, like the ease of cleaning the machines, the simplicity of operating them, and other details that make living with them as easy as possible. We note any difficulty opening, filling, and closing the tanks; this can be a pretty crucial factor, since you’ll likely have to refill your humidifier at least once a day, if you run it constantly on a medium setting. Admittedly, our observations are subjective—but scrubbing a dozen humidifier tanks, filling them twice daily, and carrying them across a 1,200-square-foot apartment (over and over) all week does breed some familiarity (and occasionally contempt).

Since 2019, we’ve performed our tests in the fall, in a garden-level Boston apartment with electric radiator heat. In 2017 and 2018, we tested in a New York City apartment that had hot-water radiators. Before that, we tested these machines in lablike conditions at the home of John Holecek, a former NOAA atmospheric scientist. And all the while, we have used these picks long term throughout the country in Wirecutter staff members’ homes.

Powerful, quiet, and easy to clean, the Levoit LV600S is also the rare ultrasonic that won't over-humidify your room—which means it's the easiest one to live with overall.

Of the more than two dozen humidifiers we’ve tested over the years, the Wi-Fi–connected Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier offers the best combination of powerful humidification, easy maintenance, and quiet, consistent performance. We’ve been recommending the non-smart version of this Levoit since 2018, and this new model addresses every minor gripe we had with the old one, and more. Both versions have a 6-liter tank that sits flat in the sink and is large enough to last the whole day. Unlike that older version, however, the tank on the LV600S fills from the top instead of the bottom, meaning you won't have to deal with any leaks or difficult screw-top caps. It has a larger opening, too, so you can carry it, open it, fill it, and clean it more easily than any other tank we’ve tested. The base on the LV600S has been simplified and streamlined to aid with cleaning as well, with fewer awkward nooks and crannies to work around. Most important, this is one of the only ultrasonic models we’ve ever tested that was actually able to stop itself from over-humidifying a room—a surprisingly monumental feat, and the main reason the non-smart LV600HH wasn't our top pick before this. Like other ultrasonic humidifiers, the LV600S is virtually silent aside from the soft white noise or a low mechanical rumble. This is also the only model we recommend that has a warm mist option (though we’re personally kind of ambivalent about this feature, for a number of reasons). Even the smartphone app was surprisingly delightful. Though we were initially pretty skeptical about the idea of a "smart humidifier," Levoit won us over with its remarkably user-friendly design and smart-home integrations, which genuinely made the LV600S easier to live with. When it comes to humidifiers, "ease of living" is really the ideal. If anything goes wrong, the LV600S is backed by a two-year warranty, too.

In our tests, the Levoit LV600S stood out not only for its ability to quickly humidify a room but also for its rare ability to stop itself from humidifying a room. It performed impressively when we chose to let it run without limits, raising the relative humidity in the room by about 20% in two hours—making it one of the most powerful humidifiers we tested (with the exception of the Lasko). During these tests, the humidistat on the LV600S stood out by virtue of the fact that it actually worked, tracking within five points of what the data loggers registered; by contrast, the Lasko we tested showed a 10% to 12% relative humidity difference from our data loggers, while the Elechomes was at least 15% off at any given time. (Bad humidistats are just part of the reason ultrasonic humidifiers are so notorious for over-humidifying spaces.) To be fair, the LV600S did ultimately end up turning the air into a clammy fog, too, ending that first test at a stuffy 77% relative humidity—but that's exactly what we expected it to do.

Then we ran a second test, setting the LV600S to a target humidity of 60%. Over the course of four hours, this model brought the relative humidity in the room from 53% to about 60%—and then kept the room within 5% of that target for three whole days. This was precisely what we wanted the LV600S to do. It was precisely what the instruction manual said the Levoit would do. And it's something that no other ultrasonic humidifier has ever actually done for us (other than the Levoit Classic 300S, which is our current runner-up pick). By contrast, the auto feature on the Levoit LV600HH—the older, non-smart version of this humidifier that we used to recommend—sometimes wouldn't stop until the room had reached the steady dankness of 90% relative humidity. This is not only uncomfortable but also potentially dangerous, because this level can encourage mold growth and other nasty things.

Put another way, the Levoit LV600S stood out both because it humidifies a room better than other models and also because it doesn't. You’ll find plenty of reviewers on YouTube who loved the old, non-smart version of this humidifier but complained about its tendency for over-humidification. Luckily, this new model solves that problem.

The LV600S's aesthetic simplicity is another big part of this model's appeal. It's basically just a rectangle with slightly rounded corners, about 8 inches wide and a little more than 11 inches tall and deep. There's a base unit on the bottom with a water reservoir, with a 1.5-gallon tank resting on top. The display panel on the front has a large LCD screen displaying the current settings and humidity level, along with six capacitive touch buttons: on/off, mist level, humidity level, timer, warm mist level, and sleep. These are mostly self-explanatory, with the exception of the sleep button, which turns off the display and automatically sets the humidity level to 50% to 60% with no warm mist. (You can also toggle through the options on the LCD directly from the app; more on that below.) Where the older, non-smart version of this humidifier had three mist levels that could be set to either cool or warm, the LV600S lets you select your ideal blend of three cool mist levels, and three warm mist levels. While we didn't do too much in-depth testing on the warm mist feature, we do think this could be helpful for people who want to save money on electricity—this humidifier uses about 12 times as much energy when the heating element is running, and that can add up fast.

When the time comes to fill the LV600S, all you have to do is lift off the lid, then pick the tank up off the base by its built-in handle and carry it away. Other humidifiers like the Honeywell HCM-350 (our former top pick) and the Levoit LV600HH (an older version of this model) use screw-on lids to keep the water in the tank, which can sometimes be difficult to open, especially if they’re wet, or if you have hand mobility issues. These screw-on lid tanks are typically bottom-filling too, which means you need to turn them upside-down to put back into the humidifier, increasing the risk of leaks and spills. The LV600S doesn't have any of those problems. It can be filled from the top, and everything just lifts right off without any twisting or latching or other extra steps. It even sits flat when you place it in the sink to refill it—which is especially nice, because it can take a while to fill up all 6 liters. Fortunately, with a tank this size, you only need to fill it about once a day. (We’ve gotten about 27 hours of use with the machine running continuously on medium, which is about what we expected, though the company claims the tank can go for up to 50 hours between fills.) This capacity makes both Levoit models good options for very large rooms or overly dry homes, such as those with forced air or wood heating in the winter.

The LV600S is easier to clean than most other humidifiers we’ve tested, too, with the exception of the Carepod. The fill hole on the top of the tank is about 5 inches in each direction, which makes it easy to reach inside to scrub the limescale and other gunk that inevitably accumulates. This is one of the larger openings we’ve encountered on any humidifier—and one of the few that isn't circular, which makes it even easier to navigate. There aren't any awkward or hard-to-reach crevices inside the tank to impede your cleaning, either; even the "chimney" part where the water vapor passes through is spaced in an accessible way (though a bottle brush may come in handy for some folks anyway). The basin of the LV600S is a bit more complicated to clean, but not much, and it still stands out among the basins on the other humidifiers we’ve tested. Case in point: We once described the basin on the predecessor to the LV600S as being "needlessly tricky," even though we still recommended it for most readers. But the LV600S improves on that tremendously. Gone are the nooks and crannies that plagued us for so many cleanings; instead, this Levoit boasts straight lines and smooth surfaces, and any corners that might look hard-to-reach should be made more accessible with the help of the included cleaning brush. You should still give it a good clean every couple of days, but at least that process won't be any more annoying than it has to be. (Which, to be fair, can still be pretty annoying, but that's the case for every humidifier on the market.)

Your humidifier can turn into a cesspool of bacteria and mold without regular maintenance and cleaning.

Like other ultrasonics, the Levoit LV600S emits a low mechanical hum that essentially disappears within the empty sound of every room. The word essentially here is key—though the sound was too quiet to accurately measure, you might still notice a slight whirring around 200 hertz, especially if you live somewhere that's already pretty tranquil, like a forest with no wind or critters. Anecdotally, we were only able to hear the noise in an urban setting when we were actively listening for it, and the sound blended into the background as soon as we stopped thinking about it. But we also recognize that other people with sensitive hearing (or those who haven't spent decades playing in rock bands) might be more attuned to these things. We’ve heard from some people who find the sound even more irritating than the white noise made by evaporative humidifiers.

If you do want more-precise control, or you want to adjust the humidity level for that auto setting we think works so well, the Levoit's smart app, VeSync, provides you with plenty of options. On a basic level, it works as a simple remote control so you can control the LCD display, night-light, mist level, and so forth, without having to leave the couch or bed. The app also lets you set a schedule or timer to run your humidifier, or to customize the auto setting's Target Humidity. By default, this target is set to 50% (which is what we saw in our tests), and has a built-in "auto-off" setting that automatically stops the machine when the humidity reaches 5% above your target, and starts it again when the room drops more than 5% below your target humidity. You can customize these levels in the app, or override them using the "manual" setting though we’re not sure why you’d want to do that and risk over-humidifying the room. The app will also give you weekly cleaning reminders (if you want them), and you can even create custom smart scenes based on personalized "if this, then that" scenarios, which is pretty neat. The setup process was impressively simple overall (barring the need to create a new account), and we were particularly pleased with VeSync's smart-home integration. Not only does the app actually tell you what kind of voice commands you can use, it will also automatically search your phone (with your permission) to sync up and connect with Alexa or Google Home (assuming you have the apps installed on your phone). You don't even have to open a separate app to make sure everything is synced. That kind of convenience is rare, but it's the type of thoughtful detail that makes the LV600S stand out.

The LV600S offers a few other luxuries as well, including a tray for essential oils and a warm mist setting. We’re not big fans of either feature—for personal as well as health-related reasons—but if that's the sort of thing you’re into, there it is.

All ultrasonic humidifiers are prone to the same two major flaws: over-humidification, and a constant quiet mechanical murmur that can nonetheless drive itself into some people's heads. This Levoit model goes a long way in addressing that first problem; in our tests, the on-board hygrometer performed with an impressive level of accuracy that set it above and apart from the other humidifiers we tested. However, we have heard from readers, Wirecutter staffers, and even some Amazon reviewers that the on-board hygrometer can become increasingly unreliable or erratic over time. Most of these complaints seem to have resolved themselves with a simple reset — the classic "turn it off and then turn it back on again" school of troubleshooting. Still, we plan to keep an eye on this as we continue long-term testing.

When it comes to the subtle noises produced by every ultrasonic mechanism, the answer gets a bit more complicated. Between our firsthand experience and the different things we’ve heard from other owners of these machines, the impact of this sound can vary quite a lot from person to person. We’ll continue looking for better ways to assess and address this problem as well.

It also bears repeating that although we’re big fans of smart-home integration, we were initially skeptical of a Wi-Fi–connected humidifier. It just felt unnecessary. Even though we were surprised to find that the VeSync app genuinely made our life easier, we were still frustrated by the fact that we had to download an app and create a new password to log in to a humidifier. The VeSync app (named for the parent company of Levoit) is designed to work with several other brands, such as Etekcity and Cosori, and it also serves as an online store and a customer service hub. While the company has somewhat simplified its sprawling privacy practices, it can still be difficult to parse, let alone verify, exactly what the app will track and collect. (Although we were comforted to know that the company instituted a bug bounty program in 2021, which allows security researchers to report bugs they find for cash rewards.). In our long-term testing, we also found that the humidifier's auto-setting can fumble or fail when it can't find a familiar wifi network to connect to. While this shouldn't be an issue if you’re buying a new humidifier, it can complicate things if you’re traveling with it, or looking to sell or buy a used one.

Finally: It's really annoying that you have to remember the name "VeSync" when you’re looking for the app on your phone, rather than the more obvious "Levoit." The seafoam-green icon with a vague image of a house bisected with half an infinity symbol doesn't really scream "humidifier," either.

The Levoit Classic 300S is just as powerful and reliable as our top pick, but you need the app to use its features to the fullest. It does come with a nice built-in night-light though.

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If the LV600S isn't available, or you just don't think you need as many robust features, the Levoit Classic 300S is a similar machine from the same company that works almost as well. In our tests, the Classic 300S performed almost identically to our top pick both in how fast it humidified the room, and also how it didn't over-humidify the room when we had it on the proper setting. In addition to using the same smart home app as the LV600S, the Classic 300S also has a similarly-sized 6 liter (1.5 gallon) top-filling tank, although this tank won't sit as flat in the sink when you’re trying to fill it. Both the tank and basin on the Classic 300S have some awkward crevices and corners, too, making the cleaning process just a little more difficult. The on-board buttons on the Classic 300S are a bit more streamlined as well, limiting the amount of customized control you have over the settings without the app. We’ve heard complaints that the tank tends to leak sometimes as well. On the bright side (no pun intended), the Classic 300S comes with the added feature of a built-in night light, making it an exceptional choice for a children's nursery or any other room that might need that little extra bit of illumination. Like all of our Levoit picks, the Classic 300S has a two-year warranty as well.

Like the LV600S, the Classic 300S looks like a slightly tapered rectangle with rounded corners with a top-filling tank sitting on top of a water reservoir basin. The tank on the Classic 300S has two notches on the side for carrying, instead of a centralized handle like our top pick, which makes it a bit more precarious to transport across the room. While the opening on the top of the tank is large and easy to fit a hand inside, it can still be tricky to clean the awkward area around the water vapor chimney, even if you do have a bottle brush or use the included cleaning tool. There are also a few plastic pieces that stick out on the bottom of the tank, although it should still be able to balance well enough in most sinks. You may have to hold it while you’re filling the water or, worse, awkwardly balance it against something and hope it doesn't spill.

The water basin of the Classic 300S has just four buttons, which should provide you with all the basic controls you’ll need (though the app will let you dial in more precision). However, these buttons are only labeled with images, rather than words, which could be a bit jarring if you don't have the instruction manual handy. The order of the buttons is a little counterintuitive as well, with the most frequently used buttons finding placement on the bottom and the right, instead of top-left as one might expect. The power button on the bottom right turns on the unit and the LCD screen. The mist level button, on the top right, toggles the humidification output between low, medium, and high, or it lets you set the unit to auto-regulate itself. There's also a small night-light inside the tank, and you can switch it on or off with the light bulb button on the bottom left, if you want some gentle illumination in the darkness. Finally, there's a sleep button on the top left, represented by a crescent moon, that turns off the LCD screen but keeps the unit running—a thoughtful touch for those who need total darkness to sleep. When the LCD screen is lit, it displays the exact humidity level in the room, and it also indicates other things like Wi-Fi connectivity, low water levels, and whether you’ve set a timer in the app. It's a pretty basic digital display, but it gives you just enough options and information without overwhelming you. To get down into the details—such as customizing the auto target humidity that prevents over-humidification—you’ll need to use the VeSync app, which works the same way it does on the LV600S.

Like a lot of ultrasonic humidifiers, the Levoit Classic 300S has a complex water channel in the basin, which can be a little tricky to clean. Although it's not as labyrinthine as those of other models we’ve tested, you may still need to get in there on occasion and really scrub for a while. The instruction manual (PDF) should offer some guidance for any other tricky situations.

Also like other ultrasonic humidifiers, the Classic 300S runs essentially quiet aside from a faint mechanical murmur from the vibrating diaphragm. Most people don't notice this at all, and prefer the near-silence of an ultrasonic humidifier to the white noise fan sound of an evaporative one; however, there are some people for whom that constant soft buzzing sound is absolutely intolerable. If that sounds like you—or if you’d prefer something that makes a little background noise to help you sleep—we suggest checking out our evaporative humidifier pick instead.

Finally, several of the reviewers on Amazon as well as a few Wirecutter staffers have complained that the tank on the Levoit Classic 300S started leaking after a few months of regular use. Some Amazon reviewers have specifically pointed out an issue with the rubber stopper on the float valve, which is supposed to close when the tank is full, then push up to fill the base with water as needed. While we didn't have this specific problem ourselves, we still noticed that the tank dripped every time we lifted it to refill. However, it wasn't clear if this was from a slow leak, or from simply lifting the tank out of a basin full of water. We’ll keep an eye out on this watery weirdness and continue to update this guide as we learn more.

This straightforward humidifier lacks most features and can over-humidify a space. But it's powerful, quiet, and easy to clean—a good option for anyone willing to compromise.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

If you want an affordable, basic, quiet, attractive humidifier with the same two-year warranty, go for the Levoit Classic 200 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. One of this model's main limitations is there's almost no discernible difference between its settings, other than the color on the LED indicator. That's in addition to the common ultrasonic tendency to over-humidify. The tank is also only about two-thirds the size of the tanks that come with our top pick and runner-up, and fills from the bottom rather than the top. All of that may be fine if you only need to humidify a smaller space and can live without a versatile, detailed humidistat.

Despite its simple features, the Levoit Classic 200 provided some consistently powerful humidification—about a 13% humidity increase in the first hour, and an average increase of 24% over the course of four hours. Levoit claims the water in the tank can last up to 40 hours on low. However, this Levoit doesn't have the same smart-home features as our top pick, the LV600S, or our runner-up, the Classic 300S, which means it's more likely to over-humidify the room like other ultrasonic models if it runs for too long. In our tests, it ultimately turned the bathroom into a clammy sauna, with an 84% relative humidity level that made the porcelain glisten.

At just 4 liters (about 1 gallon), the Levoit Classic 200's bottom-filling tank is smaller than the tanks on our other Levoit picks. It does have a surprisingly large fill hole, however, making it easy enough to clean. There aren't many awkward orifices to scrub around, either—it's pretty much just a rectangle, which means it can also stand up on its own when you’re trying to fill it. The Levoit Classic 200 also uses a one-twist cap lined with a rubber gasket, in place of the standard screw cap that you find on most bottom-filling humidifier tanks. We found this nerve-racking at first—was it really tight enough to keep the water in?—but to our surprise, it worked fine. This design also means that it's less frustrating to deal with when the tank is wet and slippery, or for people who have hand mobility difficulties. One more thing: There is a faux "lid" that rests loosely on top of the tank, which is easy to forget about and accidentally send crashing to the ground when you’re trying to transport the tank. This is a mistake we continue to make, even after living with this humidifier for a while. Luckily, the water doesn't spill when this happens, even if it is a little jarring. This Levoit model also includes a tray for essential oils.

This energy-smart evaporative model isn't quite as easy to use as our top pick, but it's great at keeping the humidity consistent and distributing it around the room.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $80.

If you want a humidifier with better circulation that won't over-humidify the room, or you simply want something that uses even less energy than our ultrasonic recommendations, the Vornado EVDC300 is a reliable choice. Unlike our other picks, the EVDC300 is an evaporative humidifier, which means it uses a replaceable wick or filter and pushes the freshly dampened air out through a fan. Though this does mean it's slightly louder than our ultrasonic picks, the sound is not unpleasant; we think it's a fair trade-off to end up with a more-even distribution of humidity throughout the room. Vornado has a well-deserved reputation for air circulation—we also recommend a number of its room fans and space heaters—and the EVDC300 is no exception. This particular humidifier also has a DC motor, which makes it more energy-efficient in general. It also has a dedicated Energy Smart Mode, which uses as little as 1 watt of energy, instead of the 8 to 9 watts it normally pulls (which is already about a third as much energy as our other picks use). And if anything goes wrong, the EVDC300 is backed by an impressive five-year warranty, and the motor itself is guaranteed for twice as long as that.

The EVDC300 has a simple capacitive-touch control panel on top of the unit, with five buttons: power, Energy Smart Mode, fan speed (LO, HI, or HH, which confusingly stands for "turbo"), and two more that adjust your target humidification level up and down. The EVDC300 smartly limits this target range to 40% to 60%. There's also a continuous-operation, or CO, setting, which slows the rate of humidification as it approaches 60% but never shuts the machine off entirely. In our tests, we were genuinely impressed by the EVDC300's ability to consistently hold the line within about 2% of its target; even after four hours on the CO setting, it still rarely let the room get above 60% relative humidity, which is about as humid as you should ever want it.

In our tests, the EVDC300 managed to raise the relative humidity in the room by about 10% in the first half-hour, and then gradually another 10% over the next hour. Although this might make the machine sound a lot less powerful than our top pick, the ultrasonic Levoit LV600S, that's not entirely the case. As an evaporative humidifier, the EVDC300 is designed to automatically self-regulate to prevent itself from over-humidifying the room. This means it will automatically slow down the rate of humidification as it senses the room approaching a relative humidity of 60%, and that's exactly what it did in our tests. This actually makes your life easier because you don't have to worry about any mold or mildew starting to fester in the dankest corners of the room. Unlike our top pick and runner-up, the Levoit LV600S and Classic 300S, the EVDC300 doesn't need a smart-home app to stop the room from feeling like a swampy cloud, either.

The EVDC300 also had the most consistent humidity readings across the room, thanks to the Vornado fan's distinct air-circulation ability. Although most of our test data was based on readings from about 4 feet away from the humidifier, we also kept a second monitor in the corner of the room (about 8 feet away, in the opposite direction) to see how well the humidity was dispersed. Every other model we tested had a discrepancy of about 5% to 10% relative humidity between the two readings (which was what we expected). By contrast, the EVDC300 kept the whole room within a few percentage points of the same humidity level at all times. This all made sense once we measured the air speed of the water vapor coming out of each machine: while the freshly humidified air coming out of our Levoit picks moved at around 2.2 miles per hour, the air from the EVDC300 moved three to four times faster. That improved circulation clearly made a difference. The EVDC300 also made the room feel more pleasant overall, with a gentle, constant waft of freshly humidified air.

However, that impressive Vornado fan also means the EVDC300 is louder than our other picks, which are all nearly silent ultrasonic models. It sounds slightly different from other evaporative humidifiers we’ve tested, too, emitting a slightly more high-pitched sound with a slight hissing, gurgling, or bubbling underneath the whir of blades. Basically, it sounds like a small room fan with water underneath it—which, to be fair, is precisely what it is. We personally find that kind of white noise tolerable, even pleasant, and it easily blends into the background. We measured the EVDC300 at about 51 decibels on its lowest fan setting; this is 9 decibels quieter than what's considered "average" conversation tone. The noise is slightly more pronounced on the higher settings, but even then, it measured only 55 decibels. But if you’re accustomed to ultrasonics, or even the more "normal" sound of other evaporative models, you may be a little startled when you first turn on the EVDC300.

The EVDC300 has a 1-gallon tank that lies flat in the sink while you fill it. Although this is smaller than our top pick's tank, which has a 1.5-gallon capacity, we think it should still be enough to get you through most of a day before you have to refill. The tank also has a convenient carrying handle on top that makes it easy to transport. Instead of a screw top, however, it uses a rubber gasket that locks into place with one twist. The tank is also cylindrical, with an opening that spans the whole circumference. So it's easier to reach in for cleaning than tanks on almost any other model we’ve tested, except for the Carepod. It doesn't even have any awkward corners or cutouts to scrub around; it's literally just a tube. That also means the tank is pretty tall; this could make it difficult to fill all the way in a shallow sink, like you’d find in a bathroom. Also, the tank is not shatterproof. We learned this the hard way when a water-loving toddler pushed it off the kitchen counter when it was full.

If anything does go wrong, the unit as a whole is supported by Vornado's impressive five-year warranty; the motor itself is guaranteed for a whopping 10 years. By comparison, all of our other picks have only a two-year warranty. You’ll still need to periodically replace the wicking filter. But the EVDC300 has a subscription option, which can deliver the replacements right to your door. So you actually replace them when you’re supposed to. (These wicks require some additional cleaning maintenance between replacements, as well.)

We have one other complaint. The base holds about an inch of water all the way around, much of which is hidden underneath the fan and other electronics. It also has two notches on either end that seem like convenient carrying grooves, which deceive you into thinking you can carry the base across your home without spilling water all over yourself. Spoiler alert: You cannot.

The Venta LW25 is pricey, but it's an exceptional performer with a unique design that requires less-frequent cleaning and refilling than competitors.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $348.

The Venta LW25 Airwasher performed extremely well in our tests and is one of the most energy-efficient models we’ve ever tested. There's a reason we’ve continued to recommend it since we first checked it out in 2014. The LW25 is a little different from your traditional humidifier, however. But in the right circumstances, we think it's worth paying more upfront for lower power consumption and less-frequent refills and cleanings—something that will free up your mental bandwidth a lot more in the long run.

The Venta LW25 is basically a compact cube, about 8.5 pounds and a little more than a foot in each direction. It works by drawing air over a set of slowly rotating disks. It draws just 7 watts on high (about one-sixth the wattage of a typical evaporative humidifier, or one-quarter of the ultrasonic models we recommend), yet it's extremely effective at humidifying, consistently performing at the top in our real-world tests. Despite the machine's extreme efficiency and big, 2-gallon tank, Venta still recommends that you top it off every day to maintain maximum humidifying efficiency—it works best when full.

Every humidifier requires a thorough cleaning at least once a week. This means wiping down all surfaces, as well as descaling the insides with vinegar. When it comes to the LW25, however, Venta recommends simply rinsing the wet parts every 10 to 14 days and using a proprietary antimicrobial additive to keep the funk down. A two-week supply, 3.5 ounces, is included with the LW25, and a 35-ounce replacement bottle will cover you for more than four months. At around $30 per bottle, this still adds up to about $100 per year. This is a little more than you’d probably pay for the replacement wicks if you had a standard evaporative humidifier. We think this additional upcharge could be worth it for the relief it brings from the unrelenting albatross of having to scrub your humidifier every few days.

All that being said, we were not impressed with the LW-25's "air washing" abilities. To test whether this machine was comparable to an actual air purifier, we used a laboratory-quality bench-top optical particle counter that measured particles in the 0.5- to 20-micron range; we measured airborne-particle concentrations before and after three hours of testing. Background particle concentrations ranged from 65 to 200 particles per cubic centimeter. At the end of the testing period, the Venta lowered the particle concentration from a starting concentration of 180 particles per cubic centimeter to a final concentration of 9. This sounds impressive until you consider that our former top pick, the Honeywell HCM-350 (which made no claims of air purification) got the number down to 14 in a similar test. For reference, a HEPA-certified air purifier would bring the number down to virtually zero in less than half an hour.

Warm mist humidifiers work by heating water until it turns to steam. And that means these models have the potential to cause burns—from the hot water and steam and from the heating element. Because of that risk, the Mayo Clinic recommends against using them in homes with children.

When it comes to humidifying the air, warm mist humidifiers are no better or worse than evaporatives or ultrasonics. But they do use a lot more energy. On the other hand, warm mist humidifiers slightly heat a room, so you could perhaps turn down the thermostat a pinch. The other humidifier types produce a very slight cooling of the room's air, which you’ll need to heat again (via a furnace or other heating system).

You may also be wondering if warm mist humidifiers can actually offset their energy costs by lowering your heating bill. The short version of this is: no. When we measured the energy use of our top pick, the Levoit LV600S, we discovered that the warm mist feature used more than 10 times as much energy as the standard cool mist setting—about 270 watts on high. Using the current average electricity rate in the United States, this would cost you about 80¢ to keep the warm mist running for 24 hours. Even if you decided to try it anyway, it probably wouldn't keep you warm the way you wanted it to. Back in 2015, writer John Holecek made some calculations about how much actual energy it would require to change the temperature in a room using 4 liters of humidified water per day in a home heated with natural gas. For energy costs, Holecek used his local California rates at the time of 18¢ per kWh for electricity and $1.20 per therm for gas. The efficiency of both the electric humidifier (range of 65% to 80%) and the gas furnace (range of 78% to 97%) was set at 80%.

By figuring out the energy needed to heat the water from room temperature to near boiling (334 joules) and adding the extra energy needed to vaporize it (2,260 joules), we know the total energy (2,594 joules) needed per gram of water. Using (and converting) these assumptions, if you heated that water with the humidifier, you would spend a whopping $355 in electricity, versus just $81 in natural gas, to supply the same amount of heat to your air. And that's in 2015 prices! Damp air can feel bad in the winter, and we understand the appeal of warm mist humidifiers. But producing heat this way doesn't end up being a good deal.

For air washers, which claim to remove particles from the air, we measured airborne-particle concentrations at the beginning of the test and after three hours of running the machines. We used a laboratory-quality benchtop optical particle counter that measured particles in the 0.5- to 20-micron range. Background particle concentrations ranged from 65 to 200 particles per cubic centimeter.

After running the Venta and the Winix air washers against our former top pick, the Honeywell HCM-350 evaporative humidifier, we saw the particle concentrations drop for the Venta and the Honeywell but actually rise for the Winix.

The Venta lowered the particle concentration from a starting concentration of 180 particles/cm³ to a final 9 particles/cm³. That's not nearly as good as the results from the air purifiers we tested for our best air purifier guide, but it's still an order-of-magnitude reduction. By comparison, the Honeywell—which isn't marketed as an air washer but still pushes air through a wet filter—saw the particle concentration change, from 65 to 14 particles per cubic centimeter.

The Winix air washer, by contrast, didn't reduce particle counts at all: The counts started at 70 and climbed to 150 particles/cm³ after three hours.

In summary, our take is that air washers and humidifiers can remove some larger particles (0.5 to 20 microns) like pollen and dust mites, but not nearly as well as a dedicated air purifier.

In researching humidification options that don't require tons of time and attention to maintain, we came across a common DIY suggestion for those who live with steam radiators: Just put a pot of water on it. The idea being that the water will heat up as the radiator runs, gently steaming the pot and producing humidity without the need for all the care and maintenance of an actual humidifier.

To test this, one of our writers—who typically dreads turning on the annoying and capricious radiator in his Brooklyn apartment in the winter—tried out the method for a few weeks in February and March of 2021. Using the same Lascar data loggers, we tracked the humidity changes over time and compared the fluctuations with the performance of our budget pick and with the alternative option of doing nothing at all.

The results were mixed. Using the pot was marginally better than doing nothing, raising the relative humidity by about 5% when it was on the radiator. But that humidification rate was easily eclipsed by our budget pick on its lowest setting, which increased the humidification by double digits. The pot also had the downside of working only at the whims of the radiator's heating cycle (which, in our tester's case, didn't really kick on until 9 or 10 p.m. each night).

We also tried adding multiple pots to the radiator, as well as a shallow baking pan, hoping that the larger surface area would lead to more evaporated water in the air, but we saw no difference in performance.

But if you’re desperate and you happen to live in a building that still uses heating technology from the 1800s, a pot on the radiator will make your air slightly less arid than a desert breeze. You can reportedly achieve similar results with a crockpot as well, although the comedian John Hodgman recommends against this. We’re going to take his word for it.

Caring for a humidifier isn't simply about keeping the air smelling fresh—or even about general home cleanliness. It's also about health. Left uncleaned, humidifiers can quickly become breeding grounds for numerous species of bacteria, amoebas, and fungi that trigger allergies, low-grade fevers, and, in the worst cases, a dangerous inflammation of the lungs called hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This happens so often that it even has a nickname: humidifier lung. This condition is insidious and comes on sneakily, like a bad chest cold. It's even happened to a few Wirecutter staffers, so we can attest that it's not pleasant.

One former Wirecutter editor, Tim Barribeau, confessed to letting his adorable penguin-shaped humidifier go for weeks at a time between cleanings. They didn't run it all the time, so they figured it would be fine to let it sit there for a while in between uses with whatever water was left inside. After turning it on one winter evening, Barribeau and his now-wife-then-girlfriend woke up "feeling like we were dying." Their chests felt painfully tight, and they couldn't get in enough air to breathe properly, which led to constant coughing fits and tunnel vision. At first, they both assumed they had caught a bad chest cold. So they continued using the nasty humidifier, thinking it would ease their pain—but of course, it only made the problem worse. They eventually learned that they had come down with a case of the dreaded humidifier lung. They promptly got rid of the penguin humidifier, and the gross sickness faded after a few more days.

Your humidifier can turn into a cesspool of bacteria and mold without regular maintenance and cleaning.

Regardless of which type of humidifier you have, you must clean it regularly to prevent funky stuff from growing in the reservoir and other parts of your machine. The EPA suggests (PDF) cleaning and disinfecting portable humidifiers every third day; most manufacturers recommend about once a week. A bacteriostatic treatment such as Essick Air or an antimicrobial cleaning cartridge like the fish-shaped Protec can also help to discourage nasty things from growing. But these should still be used in conjunction with a regular cleaning.

Typically, water and elbow grease will do the job, but you may need to use distilled white vinegar every so often to remove mineral deposits (limescale). After washing the humidifier, rinse all plastic surfaces with a cleaning solution. To disinfect the tank, you can make a diluted bleach solution. We’d offer a specific ratio, but it's best to echo the CDC guidelines to follow the product's instructions, since different bleach products have different concentrations. Then wipe to dry. Filling your humidifier with distilled or demineralized water instead of tap water will help reduce the amount of mineral deposits that get left behind. But you’ll still have to clean it either way.

Do not use cleaners or bleach on the wick of an evaporative humidifier, since doing so can damage the material and compromise any built-in antimicrobial treatments. Instead, soak the wick in cold water for 20 minutes and gently swish it back and forth to release (often brown, slimy) minerals that have built up. To avoid mold growth on the filter when you turn off your humidifier for more than a day, pull out the filter and let it dry, or leave it in and allow the fan to run with no water until the filter is dry. (This takes about an hour with the Vornado EVDC300 and causes the machine no damage.) But you can't clean the same wick forever. You’ll need to replace it every six months, at a minimum.

Even though ultrasonic humidifiers do not have wicks, many of them have some kind of demineralization cartridge, felt pad, or other treatment that you need to replace every so often.

Despite its being an evaporative model, the Venta LW25 has a different maintenance schedule. Because you treat the water with an antimicrobial, anti-scale additive, Venta recommends just a simple rinse of the tank, and rotating the wick every 10 to 14 days, as well as a deep clean every six months using Venta's cleaner.

Levoit introduced another new humidifier, the Levoit OasisMist, in late 2022. With a 4.5 liter tank, the OasisMist is slightly larger than our budget pick, the Levoit Classic 200, while also adding some of the more premium features found on our higher-end Levoit picks, including warm mist and smart home compatibility. At an average cost of around $85, the OasisMist falls right in between our top pick and our budget pick as well. In our preliminary testing, it performed similarly to all of those other Levoit humidifiers we tested, too. But that's precisely the problem: the OasisMist doesn't really offer anything to set it apart. Our budget pick is cheaper; and our top pick and runner-up both have larger tanks along with a few more thoughtful features. Just go with one of those instead.

The Carepod One is a sleek, simple, and effective ultrasonic that's also easier to clean than any other humidifier we’ve ever tested. On the outside, it looks kind of like if Apple had designed an ice bucket. But the tank and lid inside of it are both made entirely from stainless steel, and the fact that you can sanitize it with nothing but boiling water already sets it above the rest of the pack. In fact, we had planned to make it an upgrade pick—until it failed after just a few weeks of regular use. The only plastic part of the Carepod is a wand that houses the ultrasonic diaphragm. In our tests, however, the plastic cracked, presumably from the stress of the ultrasonic vibrations. We contacted the company, and it provided prompt and helpful customer service and sent us a new model—which ended up having the exact same problem. The company has since started offering a two-year extended warranty on the oscillation wand for anyone who has the same problem we did. Even if the oscillation wand doesn't cause a problem, we still think $250 is too expensive for this product.

In 2022, Carepod released a newer model called the Carepod Cube, which used the same humidification mechanism with the addition of a warm mist feature. It performed about as well as the standard CarePod, but the warm mist mechanism didn't actually do anything—after four hours on high, it raised the temperature of the water vapor by only 1 degree, despite consuming four times as much energy as the cool mist setting.

The Elechomes UC5501 is a smart ultrasonic model that looks nearly identical to our top pick, the Levoit LV600S. Unfortunately, looks aren't everything. The on-board humidistat was consistently 15% to 20% off from the humidity readings we took from just three feet away. To be fair, it's possible that the humidity was in fact that much higher at the machine than it was anywhere else. When we measured the speed of the water vapor coming out of the machine, we found that it moved at a glacial 0.2 miles per hour, which means it was barely going anywhere—which could explain the giant puddle that formed on the floor around the humidifier, too.

The Lasko UH300 Ultrasonic is fine overall, though not particularly good in any way. It (over-)humidified the room a little faster than any of our Levoit picks, but the humidistat was about 10% off, and the fill hole on the 5-liter tank was too small for even my toddler to fit his hand inside. Pass.

The Honeywell HCM-350 Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier was our top pick from 2015 to 2021, largely because of its simplicity. The base is dishwasher-safe, there are no bright lights or beeping sounds to keep you up at night, and several Wirecutter staffers have used it long enough to attest to its durability. But we started hearing more and more complaints from readers who had trouble cleaning the non-dishwasher-safe parts or who were otherwise disappointed with this model. Its availability has also become increasingly scarce. This is still a pretty great, simple evaporative humidifier if you can find it, but we think most readers will be better served with one of our ultrasonic picks or the EVDC300.

The Honeywell HUL430X Cool Mist Humidifier is a straightforward ultrasonic humidifier with a streamlined, stylish look. It works at least as well as our other ultrasonic picks, too. But the cleaning process was a little more frustrating. The fill hole on the 1.25-gallon tank is surprisingly small, which means that people with larger hands might have a harder time getting them in there to scrub. There's also one narrow cylinder/pipe within the cylindrical tank that can be difficult to maneuver around, and it's not dishwasher-safe, either. Also, it can be tricky to reinsert the tank once you’ve cleaned and refilled it; it fits in only one way, and as with a USB cable, you’re bound to fail on the first try every time. Finally, although we appreciated the simplicity of the single analog dial control on the HUL430, it didn't have any fail-safes (which the Levoit Classic 300S or LV600HH did) that could help prevent it from over-humidifying the room.

We also used to recommend the Honeywell HEV685W, which has two tanks that together can carry 3 gallons of water at a time. After comparing this with the 4-gallon Vornado Evap40 in 2021, we ultimately decided not to recommend either oversized humidifier, simply because they’re so far beyond the scope of our testing and what we think our readers are looking for. If you do need a humidifier to fill an extra-large space, though, either one of them would still be a good option.

The Dyson–PH03 Pure Humidify + Cool is both a humidifier and an air purifier, but when we tested its predecessor, the PH01, we subjected it to our humidifier testing only. And in that regard, it did perform pretty well, with a very consistent build of humidity in the room that settled just above 60%; combined with the air-purifying feature, it left the whole room feeling nicer overall. However, we still think the whole thing is overkill. You can get better humidification, plus an air purifier that performs better than any of the other Dyson models we’ve tested, for much, much less money. The PH03 has a similarly sky-high price, ongoing availability issues, plus a slew of anecdotal complaints about subpar humidification performance.

The Vornado UH100 has the same cylindrical gallon tank, rubber-gasket cap, and humidification controls as its evaporative counterpart. It's just as good at keeping the humidity level consistent, too—which is even more impressive, given the tendency of ultrasonic models to transform a room into a dank wall of fog. However, that fan sound we didn't mind on the EVDC300 makes the UH100 stick out among the other ultrasonic models we tested, all of which are essentially silent. Sure, the air circulation is great. But that quiet performance is a major appeal of ultrasonic humidifiers; otherwise, you may as well stick with the evaporative version. (It also gurgles loudly at random intervals, which doesn't help the sound issue.) The UV100 also comes with a replaceable mineral cartridge that's supposed to help reduce the fine white powder that some ultrasonics leave behind when using hard water. Unfortunately, the cartridge also held water in a way that made it even more difficult to transport both the tank and the base without splashing water all over the floor—and ourselves.

The Canopy humidifier has some of the sleekest, simplest packaging and design we’ve seen. It's clearly designed for people who don't want to think too much about their humidifier, and it has a lot of thoughtful details to help with that, including a built-in UV light, to discourage bacterial growth, and a proprietary tech, to keep the water moving and the air humidified (even when the unit is technically turned off). We thought this was a particularly great stand-out feature for anyone who lives in a more humid place, where they might not need to leave their humidifier running all the time. It's also the only model we’ve seen that's powered by a USB-C cable, and the company was considerate enough to include a cable with right-angle connections so it's easier to keep it out of the way. The whole thing is dishwasher-safe, too. Overall, it's a nice, simple humidifier. However, it can be hard to find the tiny button that controls the fan, especially in the dark. The opening on the 2½-liter tank (half the size of what we typically recommend) is far too small to fit a hand inside for any manual cleaning you might need to do. And the high-pitched fan can be a little grating when it gets going. This model performed well enough in our tests, but there was just no way for us to justify the price tag (normally around $150). That's more than twice as much as most of our other picks cost, for something that's louder and holds half as much water. That being said, plenty of other reviewers think it's the best option (or at least the best-looking), including New York Magazine. Canopy introduced a newer version with a larger (5.5L) tank in 2023 that we plan on testing soon.

The SPT SU-9210 Digital Evaporative Humidifier had been our runner-up pick for years, with a reliably quiet evaporative performance that was comparable to the Honeywell HCM-350 (plus a nice digital display). Unfortunately, it's been hard to find since 2020. It's still a great option, if you can find it anywhere.

Our former budget pick, the Levoit LV450CH, has been discontinued, too; it was nearly identical to our current budget pick, also from Levoit.

The Vicks V750 Warm Mist Humidifier used to be our budget pick. It still costs about the same as our discontinued budget pick, the Levoit LV450CH. But whereas the Levoit LV450CH feels affordable, the Vicks feels cheap in every sense of the word. On the plus side, it will continue working even after half the pieces snap in half during the cleaning process. On the minus side, we know from our most recent re-test that half the pieces can easily snap in half during the cleaning process. Only get this if you’re really into the minty freshness of Vicks VapoRub and cannot possibly fathom using essential oils in another (better) humidifier.

The Honeywell HCM-710 was the quietest evaporative model we tested on medium—and the absolute loudest on high. Worse, it sounds like someone's leaning over your shoulder from behind and gurgling water in your ear. Functionally, the HCM-710 comprises little more than a plastic casserole dish with a fan on top. Though there are marker lines for the water-fill limit, it's really easy to miss them and overfill. Honeywell was thoughtful enough to add a little drainage hole in the middle of the side to solve this problem. Unfortunately, it was not thoughtful enough to consider that the water would also splash out of that hole while you’re carrying the tank back to the humidifier, making it look like you just peed your pants.

We don't think the Aircare EA1407 Valiant Evaporative Humidifier is right for most people, although it is interesting. The makers of this large, 5-gallon "whole-house" humidifier claim it can manage up to 4,000 square feet of space, and the unit itself is a floor-standing cubic machine that weighs nearly 30 pounds and measures about 2 feet on all sides.

The Pure Guardian H4810AR Ultrasonic Warm & Cool Mist Humidifier is a huge ultrasonic option that looks nice but also gets lots of owner complaints about the "warm" feature, when it works, and plenty of other complaints saying it stopped working within six months.

We found several other potential competitors in early 2020 that looked promising at first glance but came from lesser-known brands, received poor grades on Fakespot, or both. These included the Hupro Ultrasonic Cool & Warm Mist, OVPPH Cool Mist Humidifier, and various Optimus models.

We also considered several models that we dismissed without testing in 2019, including the Honeywell Designer Series Cool Mist Humidifier HUL430W and Top Fill Cool Moisture Tower Humidifier HEV620B, the TaoTronics TT-AH025B, and the Ultrasonic U200 and U300 from Boneco.

SPT's SU-4010 Dual Mist Humidifier used to be our pick for large-space ultrasonic humidifiers. It still works fine, but the Levoit LV600HH is superior in every respect, from performance to ease of cleaning to the user interface.

The TaoTronics TT-AH002 Ultrasonic Humidifier is an Amazon best-seller. But in our tests it was a weak performer—mustering just a 5% increase in humidity on medium. And it has a terrible design, with a small, tippy, hard-to-clean tank.

The Honeywell HEV620B Cool Moisture Tower Humidifier, an evaporative model, has a unique tower-style design, and it performed extremely well in our tests, humidifying the air quickly and holding the humidity steady, thanks to its accurate humidistat. We also like its giant, 1.7-gallon tank, which is good for more than 24 hours of operation under most circumstances. The tower style does make it visually conspicuous, however, and you can fill the tall tank only under a tub or kitchen faucet, not at most bathroom sinks.

The Pure Enrichment Ultrasonic Cool-Mist Humidifier seems popular, but the authenticity of many of its reviews is questionable. And its tiny, 1.5-liter tank renders it useless for all but the smallest spaces—maybe 125 square feet, a 10-by-12 room. Its (seemingly authentic) negative reviews focus on two other disqualifying factors: It tips over easily, and when it tips, the tank has a tendency to break.

Stadler Form's Fred steam model is either a sleek and modern humidifier or an ugly alien saucer/mini charcoal grill. It has a 1-gallon reservoir, and the controls are simple to use, though quite small. When you’re assembling the machine, your hand gets pinched while installing the reservoir, and the lid is slightly difficult to align. The vent gets very hot during operation and points toward the back, so you can't put the machine close to a wall. We cannot recommend it, even if you love its looks.

The SPT SU-3600 Digital Ultrasonic Humidifier with Humidistat is compact and effective, but our test unit had a wildly inaccurate humidistat, which read 33% for the duration of a run designed to test its ability to hold the humidity constant at 65%. And instead of holding steady there, it pumped up the humidity to a muggy 77% and soaked the floor. It's now discontinued anyway.

The filter-free Honeywell HWM705B Warm Mist Humidifier is nearly identical to the Vicks V750 (which we also dismissed), but it's even flimsier, and the outside got hotter to the touch.

The Optimus U-31001 Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier is a well-reviewed, bare-bones ultrasonic model with a simple dial control and a strong, 2-gallons-per-day output. We found the output rate high but extremely variable, at 1.0 to 2.1 gallons per day (both on the high setting).

Dyson's AM10 is a uniquely shaped ultrasonic humidifier that builds on the company's earlier fan models. We wondered what you would get for spending as much as possible on a humidifier; the biggest difference between a basic ultrasonic model and this one, which costs much more, is that the AM10 has a powerful fan to force the water droplets out through its oval opening. We found it solidly constructed and attractively designed, and, well, different—though not necessarily in a good way. For instance, you have to remove the oval portion before accessing the water reservoir. That's an extra step. The tank's fill hole is quite small, about the size of a quarter, making the tank more difficult to fill and the knob harder to turn to seal it. You can control the unit only via the remote, and the display is quite small and dimly lit. The AM10 performed well, ranking first on ability to hold relative humidity at a set point (average 1.4% RH over the set point, and 0.8% RH standard deviation) and third on humidity change (25.5% RH). Dyson definitely makes a statement with its design, but it fails to deliver value.

The Vornado Evap3 Evaporative Humidifier is a very attractive model. It aced our humidity-hold test, reaching the steadiest value among evaporative models, 3.6% over the set point and 1.0% standard deviation. It has a large, 1.5-gallon tank and a high output of 2.7 gallons per day. It uses two wicking filters that last for four to eight weeks before they need to be replaced, at a cost of $12. Unfortunately, it was a little loud on high, and we found the fill cap really hard to turn.

This article was edited by Harry Sawyers.

Thom Dunn

Thom Dunn is an associate staff writer at Wirecutter reporting on HVAC and other home improvement topics. Sometimes his curiosity gets the best of him, such as when he plugged a space heater and a Marshall guitar amp into the same power strip. Pro tip: Don't do that.

Tim Heffernan

Tim Heffernan is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter and a former writer-editor for The Atlantic, Esquire, and others. He has anchored our unequaled coverage of air purifiers and water filters since 2015. In 2018, he established Wirecutter's ongoing collaboration with The New York Times's Smarter Living. When he's not here, he's on his bike.

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