7 Of The Quietest Air Compressors On The Market (And How Much They Cost)

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If you've ever seen a compressor run without owning one, it was probably at a car repair shop. And if you noticed anything about those, it's that they get really loud. In reality, you've probably been in a room with a compressor countless times before and didn't even notice it. Air compressors are standard tools in a dentist's studio, and most traditional refrigerators use compressors too. As it turns out, almost any tool can be very quiet, as long as you're okay paying a little extra and don't need too much power, you can use a quiet compressor for whatever you want, not just dental care. But before we can talk about quiet compressors, we need to learn how to talk about the regular ones.

There are three main measurements typically used to rank air compressors: CFM (which we'll measure as CFM at 90 PSI), gallons, and PSI. We'll also use decibels (dB) to measure noise levels. CFM stands for cubic feet per minute and is used to measure airflow. The higher it is, the more machinery the compressor can power. The gallons you already know — they measure the size of the tank holding compressed air. Finally, there's pressure, expressed in PSI (pounds per square inch). Not unlike CFM, this measurement determines which tools the compressor can run. There's also the matter of pancake vs. hot dog style air compressors, but for simplicity's sake, we'll ignore that for now.

With the Quiet Portable Air Compressor CAT-1P1060S, California Air Tools claims to have created one of the quietest air compressors in the industry. And with just 56 dB, below the noise level of a normal conversation, it seems it was successful. The Quiet Portable Air Compressor is meant for small home projects, with just one gallon of volume and 1.2 CFM at 90 PSI. At $164, it's still relatively affordable, too. Users are especially fond of the power packed into such a small package (29 lbs) and the low noise. That's no surprise coming from California Air Tools, one of the top air compressor brands specializing in quiet models.

California Air Tools makes more powerful, somewhat quiet tools as well. There are simply too many to count, but they range from the 1 hp / 60 dB line to the 2 hp / 70 dB, all the way up to the not-so-quiet 6 hp / 78 dB. It's already stretching the definition of quiet at 70 dB, especially without considering the size and power of the machine. All things considered, it's quite impressive that a 2 hp motor like the one in the California Air Tools 10020C, which can reach 5.3 CFM at 90 PSI, only makes as much noise as a somewhat loud conversation. If that's too much for you, and 10 gallons and $425 could easily be, the CAT 2010A is a happy medium: 2 gallons, 120 PSI max, and 2.2 CFM at 90 PSI with just 60 dB of noise, for $197.

Another 1-gallon air compressor, Limodot's Ultra Quiet Air Compressor Portable, stands out from other 60 dB portable air compressors for two reasons. First, its relatively short 45-second tank refill time. Second, the max pressure of 120 PSI and the promise of 1.5 CFM at 90 PSI. While this isn't the absolute best in the category, it's a good tradeoff between power and volume, price (just $130), and reliability. While Limodot isn't a broadly recognized name, user reviews for this product are overwhelmingly positive, often mentioning the low weight and high portability of the design.

Limodot's other "Ultra Quiet" machines go as loud as 68 dB, somewhere between the noise level of a lively conversation and a vacuum cleaner. In exchange for the added disturbance, you get a much bigger 6-gallon tank, 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI of airflow, a maximum PSI of 120, and a recovery time of 25 seconds. While 68 dB is about twice as loud as 60 dB, the power, and especially size, have more than doubled. Meanwhile, the price hike is just $40, bringing the total to $170. Alternatively, the 2-gallon variant is a solid middle-of-the-road choice: a quiet 60 dB, double the volume of the base model, and 2.5 CFM at 90 PSI, all at $150.

Let's get this out of the way right now: The Greteefor 1-Gallon Ultra Quiet Portable 60 dB looks a little sketchy. For $128, this unknown company promises 60 dB of noise, 13 seconds to reach full pressure from 0%, and 3 CFM at 90 PSI. Oh, and the whole package is just 23.7 lbs, much lighter than similar or even smaller air compressors like the California Air Tools Light & Quiet. The few user reviews available speak positively about their purchase. That said, as they themselves point out, this kind of review can't guarantee the product will continue working as it should in the future.

Another point in favor of the Greteefor Ultra Quiet is the positive experience some users have had with customer support. One of the major risks of buying off-brand, budget-friendly tools is a short warranty and inconsistent support. While the good impressions shared by customers are encouraging, it's hard not to notice the absence of any warranty details on Greteefor's Amazon store page, let alone the lack of a company website.

Makita is a big name in the world of power tools, so of course it would have a quiet air compressor to complete its workshop pneumatic setup. As far as the specifications go, the Makita MAC210Q, the most popular product in the brand's Quiet Series is ... a little better than average. It's quite expensive at $293, but it features 2 gallons of capacity and an airflow of 2 CFM at 90 PSI: slightly more than the average offer among 60 dB models. If you're looking for the best power-to-dollar ratio a quiet compressor can offer, this isn't it. However, that doesn't mean we can write off the price as a brand capitalizing on name recognition alone.

It's not clear how long the warranty is on this product in particular, and while Makita doesn't have the best tool warranty, it offers a 2-year extension on most of its tools if registered within 30 days of purchase. Not that you'll necessarily need it. A lot of users are extremely happy with their purchase, and quite a few compare the product favorably to other brands. The Makita Quiet Series includes two other entries. One is a 58 dB unit with just 0.7 CFM at 90 PSI that can compete with the extra-quiet CAT-1P1060S by California Air. The other is the MAC320Q, a bigger 60 dB model with 3 gallons and 2.6 CFM at 90 PSI. However, this last one is almost 50% more expensive than the base model, making the price gap with other brands even worse.

A major step up in size, capacity, and power from the previous entries, the Fortress 6-Gallon Ultra Quiet is the largest model in Fortress' Ultra Quiet series. At 66 dB, it's quite a bit louder than the name Ultra Quiet would imply. Six decibels, the difference between this and the standard 60 dB of other quiet air compressors, are more significant than they might appear, since sound intensity roughly doubles with every 6 dB added. Still, 66 dB is far from loud, especially if the machine is used out in the open. For this small jump in noise (and the not-so-small price of $230), the Fortress brings 6 gallons, 2.7 CFM at 90 PSI, and a maximum PSI value of 150 to any environment that might not be especially welcoming to a noise like a hair dryer stuck to your ear.

Fortress also features some tiny machines, the quietest of which is the 1-Gallon 135 PSI Ultra Quiet. This small compressor isn't very powerful, with a 0.5 hp motor that reaches just 0.7 CFM at 90 PSI, and its 1-gallon tank takes about a minute to fill. It is, however, extremely quiet. At just 57 dB and $160, it's very comparable to the CAT-1P1060S. On the other end of Fortress' Ultra Quiet lineup sits its 26-Gallon 175 PSI model, aimed at auto shops. With 26 gallons and 4.5 CFM at 90 PSI, it's way too much volume for most nonprofessional users, and at $400, it's not cheap either. Still, it's impressive how this machine keeps its noise level to a modest 69 dB, below that of a quiet washing machine.

While 68 dB is quite a lot louder than a quiet compressor should probably be, the Milwaukee 2840-20 M18 Fuel 2-Gallon Compact Quiet Compressor gets a pass for being cordless. There are two reasons why it gets that pass. For one, using any heavy machinery in the open will make it sound quieter. Being cordless, the 2840-20 makes that much easier. Milwaukee also claims its M18 Fuel battery-powered compressor is the quietest of any cordless compressors, and we weren't able to disprove that claim. Since it's not a wired compressor, the specs can't compare to a similarly priced corded one. Like many Milwaukee tools, the warranty is pretty long: a full three-year limited warranty.

In terms of power, the 2840-20 offers 1.2 CFM at 90 PSI and 135 max PSI. More than the noise, it's the price that makes the Milwaukee a hard sell. At $349, the 2840-20 is over twice as expensive as most other compressors on this list, and most of them are many times more powerful. And that's before you add the price of a Milwaukee M18 Redlithium battery. Those will set you back another $249 for the top-end battery pack, or $50 to $100 less if you go with one of the cheaper options. According to user reviews, this is a very power-hungry tool, so a smaller and cheaper battery might not be an option after all.

Kobalt is another lesser-known brand of air compressors with just enough users to dispel doubts about its tools. Reversing the trend of quiet compressors being very small, Kobalt's Quiet Tech 4.3-Gallon is a large-tank machine with 150 maximum PSI and an airflow of 2.4 CFM at 90 PSI. At $249, it features quite a lot of volume for a 60 dB compressor, and it's one of the smallest in the Quiet Tech lineup. At its biggest, Kobalt makes a "quiet" 1.8 hp motor compressor that produces 70 dB of noise, holds 26 gallons of compressed air, and delivers 4.5 CFM at 90 PSI for a hefty $419.

Meanwhile, the smaller 2-gallon Quiet Tech model is a lot less powerful, with 1.7 CFM at 90 PSI and 125 max PSI, but also a lot cheaper, at just $179. It's also a lot quieter, producing just 60 dB of noise. The middle-of-the-road quiet compressor from Kobalt, the JFD-10G-S, is surprisingly big, with a 10-gallon tank, 4.3 CFM at 90 PSI, and 175 max PSI. Predictably, it's a bit noisy at 69 dB, and almost $100 more expensive than its little brother. Every Kobalt Quiet Tech comes with a 3-year limited warranty, which is a lot better than what you can expect from most small-name brands. And while they aren't as broadly available as the more popular ones, Kobalt's compressors are universally highly rated by their users.