Every Major Electric Blanket Brand Ranked Worst To Best

One of the more irritating aspects of colder weather is trying to warm up enough to comfortably fall asleep — particularly when it comes to fingers and toes. There are loads of heated gadgets that'll keep you nice and toasty when you're out and about, or working at your desk, but when it comes to bed time few things beat blankets.

The cheapest option is to stick with really warm regular bedding, because there are no internal electronics that will eventually break down and necessitate a replacement, but electric blankets can work very well as a method of pre-heating. You'll also want to be cautious with them in general, because misuse could lead to damage, which could create a fire hazard.

But when used with safety in mind, an electric blanket should be able to keep you comfortable through several cold seasons. Especially if you do a bit of research beforehand and find one that both fits your needs and has a good track record. So think of this list as a starting point.

Once upon a time, The Sharper Image was a mainstay of malls across the U.S. And it was always a store full of really specific, kind of strange, but also oddly compelling stuff — like mini billiards tables, massage chairs, and multi-function desk organizers. The days of a Sharper Image in every mall are long gone, but the company is still around and continues to make a fairly robust assortment of products. Including electric blankets, obviously.

With all that said, you probably don't want to get yourself a Sharper Image model. Not only is it one of the least-recommended brands for electric blankets, but the company's $119.99 Heated Wearable Blanket was called out as something of a disappointment by Reader's Digest due to its thin material and lack of heating across a wider area..

It's not so much that you should absolutely avoid Sharper Image electric blankets at all costs, but rather that there are far better (and more highly-regarded) options out there. Many of which also carry a lower price tag.

While not exclusively focusing on cold weather gear (heated and otherwise), Eddie Bauer does produce quite a bit of it — along with its more all-weather clothing options. So it's understandable that electric blankets would also offer a couple of heated blankets.

The heated throw blanket is currently one of its most highly customer rated models on Amazon, but if you want something a little fancier — maybe a little "smarter" — there's another option. Eddie Bauer's Smart Heated Electric Throw Blanket ($79.99 MSRP) can use a 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi to connect with other smart devices for hands-free voice activation. Or you can connect it to your smartphone and control the temperature from there if you prefer.

However, it's worth noting that several customer reviews claim an inability to get the blanket and app to pair to their Wi-Fi, even when it's the requisite 2.4Ghz connection. According to many of these reviews the blanket will still function in a basic on and off sort of way, but if you can't get the app to connect properly you won't be able to utilize the more nuanced control functions.

The name didn't come up in any "best of" lists that were referenced this time around, but Woolrich electric blankets do have a presence in the Highly-Rated categories for Macy's online shop and the Home Depot website. Not at the very top, but with the top 10 spots or so.

Specifically, its Plush to Berber options tend to keep popping up. Such as the King sized Heated Plush to Berber electric blanket for $149.99. Which comes in a variety of colors — from Chocolate and Indigo to Grey and Tan — and is reversible.

Larger versions (Queen and King sizes) also offer two separate controllers, so each half can be adjusted to a different temperature with a six-foot long power cord, and an automatic shut-off (a very important safety feature). Several customer reviews also note that it's good at heating up fairly quickly, which is handy for those cold days when you don't want to wait before diving under the covers.

Much like The Sharper Image, Brookstone's mall domination heyday is behind it. And also much like The Sharper Image, the lack of a country-spanning retail store chain (though there are still some physical locations floating around out there) hasn't prevented it from selling products.

It's not a bedding specialty shop, obviously, but Brookstone has released a number of electric blankets in the past — and in the present, really. Some of these recommended models are a bit difficult to find at the moment, but others, like its $80 Queen-sized Heated Plush Blanket, occupy a not insignificant chunk of Target's "best electric blankets" category.

This is another model that features dual controls for each blanket half (in King and Queen sizes), along with a timer, 10 different heat settings, and an automatic shut-off that kicks in after 12 hours. As long as you stick to the included instructions, its washer and tumble dryer safe, too.

Bedsure doesn't seem to be taking the electric blanket world by storm, but a couple of its offerings do come highly recommended from both Travel + Leisure and Good Housekeeping. Which is why it's hovering around the middle of the lineup, here.

This doesn't mean the blankets it sells are middle-of-the-road, though. Far from it, in fact, with Bedsure's $44.99 Ribbed Heated Electric Throw Blanket coming out on top as Good Housekeeping's top pick for best overall electric blanket. Citing its overall effectiveness and comfort as positives, but also noting that some customers have mentioned that the power cord might be a bit too short for some situations.

According to user reviews it's able to reach its target temperature fairly quickly, distributes that heat more evenly than some other electric blankets (i.e. the warmth isn't focused in just one or two spots), automatic shut-off, and barely-noticeable wires. Bedsure also advertises six different temperature settings, four timer settings, and a construction that claims "enhanced durability."

Seeing Serta in this list probably isn't much of a surprise, what with it being a bed and bedding company and all. Sure enough, it makes a few types of electric blankets, too. Though, while it did appear in a couple of lists, and has claimed a few spots within some of the top-rated electric blankets from Macy's and Target's online shops, there isn't one particular model among them that keeps appearing.

The one that seems to have a higher rating (based on a larger average from customer reviews) is the Reversible Fleece Heated Blanket, with a list price of $126.99 for a Queen. The price seems to depend on the color you choose — with Stone Brown and Berry Red at $114.99, Ivory at $108.35, and Smoke Grey at $122.33 for some reason.

Regardless of color, you can expect polyester fleece on one side and a softer sherpa fabric on the other, a reasonably long 6-foot power cord, and a fast heat-up time. However some customer reviews comment on the blanket not being all that warm when it isn't turned on, and sometimes getting a bit too warm if left on for an extended period of time.

A few of our references also picked out Cozee as a solid choice — most specifically for outdoor use. The catch is that it's going to cost you. Possibly several times more than other electric blankets.

Cozee's Battery Powered Heated Blanket costs an eye-watering $349.99, but as the name implies it's battery powered, so aside from the need to recharge the battery pack you don't need to plug the blanket in to use it. And the pack itself has two built-in USB ports for charging smartphones and other devices.

By all accounts it's a great choice for outdoor use due to the battery as well as a weather-resistant outer lining, and Cozee claims it can get up to temperature in as few as five minutes while automatically shutting off after two hours on high (or over three hours on low). There's a bit of a trade-off, however, in that it's probably going to feel much heavier than other blankets you might be familiar with (it weighs 10-pounds) and its 60-inch by 60-inch dimensions might not offer as much coverage for full body wrapping as would be preferable.

Westinghouse was one of the three brands that came up most often while researching. Its $59.99 heated throw was a bit of a miss, with Reader's Digest noting that it didn't provide quite as much warmth as other electric blankets, but the $109.99 Queen-sized Flannel Electric Warming Blanket certainly seems to have left an impression.

This blanket is advertised as soft and breathable material for year-round comfort, with or without the heater turned on. But if you do turn it on, you can choose from up to 10 different heating levels, an even distribution of heat, dual controls for either half of the blanket, a seconds-long heat up time according to Real Simple, an up to 12 hour timer, and a 12 hour automatic safety shut-off.

A couple of minor grievances did come up, though. Namely that the material is slippery enough to sometimes have trouble staying on a bed without sliding off, and a few users have mentioned being able to feel the texture of the wires inside the blanket.

Up to now it's been fairly close from brand name to brand name, but Beautyrest stands above the previous entries by a wider margin. It's not just a common recommendation, either — Beautyrest electric blankets are highly-rated and very good sellers across a number of online retailers.

A lot of different models popped up in research, but the one that appeared the most often was Beautyrest's Queen-sized Heated Electric Blanket for $149.99 (though different colors may have different sale prices). It features dual controllers (one for each side of the bed), a one hour preheat function, compatibility with smart home outlets, 20 heat settings, and an auto-shut off feature that can be customized from one to up to 10 hours.

However, there were a few mentions of being able to see and sometimes feel the wires inside the blanket, and the automatic shut-off function requires a manual reset to get the blanket to warm up again. A few customers have also reported that their blanket stopped working after a few months, but the problem doesn't seem prevalent enough to be a consistent issue.

As popular as Beautyrest may be, however, it's still pretty significantly eclipsed by Sunbeam. Chances are high that, whenever you might be searching for electric blanket recommendations, from CNET and Forbes to Popular Mechanics and Real Simple, Sunbeam is there. Usually at the top.

One model that's made its way onto more than one recommendation list is the $59.99 Royal Mink Sherpa Heated Blanket. Not because it's loaded with features — especially seeing as it costs less than $100 — but because it's good at what it does, and it does it for an affordable price.

It offers four different heat settings, can warm up within half a minute, and distributes its heat evenly. It also has an automatic shut-off that kicks in after four hours, which isn't enough for a whole night but this particular blanket is meant to be used as a throw rather than for your bed. By all accounts it's also very soft and comfortable, making it an ideal napping buddy.

The names on this list were chosen based on their aggregate appearance in recommendation lists and reviews across multiple reputable websites, along with their appearance in best-selling and highest-rated lists for various online retailers.

Order was determined by adding up the number of times a brand's name showed up across all of the referenced recommendation lists and reviews, and how often they appeared in retailer top-sellers and high user ratings categories. Then the list was sorted from least mentioned to most.