Major Humidifier Brands Ranked Worst To Best

Figuring out the ideal humidifier may require a bit more thought than expected. There are a few varieties of mist temperature (cool mist, warm mist, and dual-mist), but the way in which a given model produces its mist is what you really want to pay attention to.

Vaporizers make mist by boiling water to create steam. Which certainly gets the job done but also uses more energy than other kinds of humidifier, and the heating element makes them a bit more dangerous (i.e. they could burn someone).

Evaporative humidifiers use a fan to pull air through a wick filter and then push it out into the room. They also tend to be on the larger size (compared to ultrasonic) but often provide more area coverage.

Ultrasonic humidifiers use vibrations to create mist, and are generally the most quiet and energy-conscious options. However, they typically call for distilled or filtered water — to avoid calcification caused by the minerals in tap water — and don't often include filters.

Also consider how much effort they take to clean. Cleaning a humidifier is regularly necessary to avoid mold or bacteria buildup being blown out into your living space. A humidifier's construction and design could mean the difference between a few minutes of cleaning once a week or a half hour or more. Something to note about this list is that, while we are saving the best for last, the preceding brands aren't inherently "bad." They're just not the best.

You'll find both large, entire floor or apartment-filling humidifiers and much smaller models designed for single rooms in Aircare's lineup from prices starting as low as $50, going up over $200.

Some of Aircare's larger models tend to pop up in recommendations — such as SlashGear's own list of the best humidifiers for the dry season, which calls out both the 6 Gallon Cool Mist Evaporative Tower and 5 Gallon Evaporative. But the smaller ones don't appear quite as much.

That's the thing you need to keep in mind with Aircare. Its smaller humidifiers aren't necessarily bad, but it's the larger models that really excel. If you're only looking for a compact model to take on a bedroom or something, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want something beefier, which can handle much larger rooms, or high ceilings, or multiple rooms, or all of the above, Aircare's 6-Gal. Cool Mist Evaporative Whole House Humidifier (up to 2,300 square feet) for $119 is a good place to start.

A whole lot of humidifiers (not all, but a lot) default to implementing fairly typical dial controls. That means there's a single dial you rotate in order to turn them on, adjust the intensity of the mist, and click them back off. But digital humidifiers are also a thing, and Air Innovations uses these types of readouts in several of their models.

Going digital affords a few extra features compared to non-digital models, as well. Things like being able to see a numerical readout of the water tank's current level, having more precise control over mist and humidity levels, and in some cases even timer settings.

Prices for Air Innovations are pretty broad, too, starting as low as $14.99 for a small mood light humidifier meant for a night stand and reaching as much as a top-fill ultrasonic model with its own aromatherapy tray for $119.99. Though recommendations are mostly for more mid-range devices, like the $79.99 MH-505A Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier that combines digital features, up to 70 hours of operating time in a 400 square foot space, and a ceramic filter that you'll never need to replace (but will need to clean sometimes).

Not to be confused with Trane, the air conditioner manufacturer, Crane specializes in air quality (not temperature control). Particularly air purifiers, sinus inhalers, and of course, humidifiers.

Crane's 1 Gal. Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is another model that made it into SlashGear's recommendations for the dry season, but several of its products are also quite highly regarded by Home Depot customers. Though its situation is mostly an inverse of the previous entry, with the majority of its most celebrated hardware being built for smaller area coverage.

The more recommended model so far is its 0.5 Gal. Droplet Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, which can cover an area of up to 250 square feet. A single small room device, to be sure, but despite the smaller size it claims up to 15 hours of run time. Crane also says it's very quiet, which would make it a solid choice for a bedroom — particularly a childs' bedroom. And these smaller models typically go for around $30 to $50.

Yet another name from SlashGear's list of humidifiers for the dry season, and appearing in Amazon's list of best-selling humidifiers, and Home Depot's best rated, is Pure Enrichment. It's another company that mostly caters to smaller spaces with smaller devices, but you're also unlikely to break the bank with one of these.

Prices tend to stick to the neighborhood of $40 to $60, but there are also options for around $30. Even its most expensive humidifiers cap out at just below $100.

Once again you're mostly looking at single room use and around 250 square feet of coverage, though of particular note is its MistAire Eva 4-Speed Evaporative Humidifier. In addition to 500 square feet of coverage, it also boasts an antimicrobial wick filter and can recirculate humidity that's already in the air. Which means a more consistent level of overall humidity, and potentially less energy use compared to models that don't offer recirculation.

If you're searching for humidifiers, it's very likely you've seen the Vicks name pop-up often. When you think about it, a company that's probably best known for cough and congestion medicine also manufacturing humidifiers makes sense.

Vicks' catalog includes mostly single-room ultrasonic and evaporative humidifiers (and vaporizers), with different models specializing in small, medium, or large spaces. The cost varies based on size and complexity, of course, but a lot of what's available sits somewhere in the $30 to $50+ range.

That said, its 1.5 gallon Warm Steam Vaporizer actually sits well below those prices at $17.98, which might have something to do with why it's one of Amazon's best-selling humidifiers. It can work as a regular vaporizer humidifier, naturally, but it's also designed to work with Vicks' VapoSteam liquid to act as a sort of airborne overnight cough suppressant. So you can use it when the air is dry, but it's really intended to be used as a way to alleviate cold and other mild illness symptoms.

You won't need to pay AprilAire much mind if you're only interested in single-room humidifiers or even larger units that can work on multiple rooms. But if you want a humidifier for your entire house — central air style, with square foot coverage in the thousands — AprilAire is something to look into.

The benefit to a whole-house humidifier is that it can be worked into and regulated with your home's other environmental controls. Or at least work in conjunction with them via a thermostat-like dedicated, wall-mounted panel for humidity control. Though as with other whole-house climate controls, these kinds of humidifiers cost quite a bit more than plug-in units and require way more work to set up.

If you're in the market, though, the 700 Whole-House Humidifier is a very highly-rated model. It'll set you back over $400 and you'll either need a lot of DIY experience or the help of an installation expert to set it up — several Amazon reviews mention you'll need additional materials like wiring, pipes, and tubing — and a home that already has ductwork. But once it's set up you'll have 5,300 square feet of coverage, and the occasional replacement of the water panel is a much simpler process.

The concept of a "smart humidifier" shouldn't come as a surprise at this point, but Dreo sure does make a lot of them. It makes plenty of non-smart models as well, but it seems like any time the name comes up as a recommendation, it's for a smart model.

That does make sense, seeing as smart humidifiers push the convenience of digital models even further via app connectivity. This leads to more precise control over humidity levels, day and time scheduling, detailed breakdowns of daily use, seeing how the filter or water level is doing from your phone, and even cleaning reminders.

Dreo's HM713S 6L Smart Humidifier is one of the brand's most-recommended models, however. For $89.99 you get app connectivity, compatibility with smart home devices, up to about 550 square feet of coverage, a dual aroma tray so you can switch between two different scents (if you're interested in scented mist, of course), up to 60 hours of run time, and the ability to swap between warm and cool mist.

When searching for humidifier recommendations and high-ranking models on various retail seller websites, one name in particular comes up a whole lot — often multiple times in the same list or category. And that's Levoit.

Levoit humidifiers are one of SlashGear's recommendations for gadgets that keep indoor plants thriving in winter, a top seller on Amazon, one of Home Depot's top user-rated brands, and one of the best overall humidifiers for large spaces according to BobVilla.com (though it makes them for smaller rooms, too). Barring potential mismatches, like a style of humidifier that's at odds with what you really want (i.e. ultrasonic, evaporative, etc) or accidentally getting something that doesn't cover as much square footage as you need, Levoit is generally one of the safest bets you can make.

Sitting at the very top of Amazon's best selling humidifiers, with an aggregate 4.4 out of five stars from almost 22,000 user reviews, is the $39.99 28dB Quiet Cool Mist Air Humidifier. It covers up to 280 square feet, the top fill tank makes refills simple, the basin is shaped in a way to make cleaning easier, it claims up to 25 hours of running time, a minimum noise level of 26dB (somewhere between a watch ticking and a whisper), the spout can rotate a full 360, an automatic shut off when water levels get too low, and a replaceable sponge filter.

Our methodology behind this list utilizes a combination of elements: SlashGear's own coverage on various humidifiers and brands, recommendations from other reputable websites such as BobVila.com, best sellers and top rated models from Amazon and Home Depot, user discussions on Reddit, and good old-fashioned personal experience.

We did our best to organize the list based on which names ended up being highly recommended or rated most often, then working backwards from there.