No one likes to sleep in an overheated bedroom, which is why having a fan in your bedroom is essential if you want to stay cool and comfortable, especially on hot, muggy nights. While there are a variety of models to choose from, you want to look for a fan that cools your room down, is the right size, and has the features to make it easy and convenient to use.

“Consider how big the bedroom is where you want to install the fan,” says Dan Mock. “You should also consider features like built-in lights, remote control to turn on and off the fan, various fan speeds, noise level, and design that matches the room’s aesthetics.”

Dan Mock is the vice president of operations at Mister Sparky Electric.

To see which fans were best suited for bedroom use, we’ve tested 50 fans to date for up to six months, evaluating them on type, noise, oscillation, and remote features.

Our Top Picks Best Overall: Dreo Pedestal Fan at Amazon $140 Jump to Review Best Tower: Dreo Nomad One Tower Fan at Amazon $70 Jump to Review Best Floor: Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator at Amazon $97 Jump to Review Best With White Noise: SNOOZ Breez 2-in-1 Smart Table Fan at Amazon $200 Jump to Review Best With Heater: Lasko FH500 Fan & Space Heater Combo Tower at Amazon $130 Jump to Review Best Bladeless: Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10 at Walmart Jump to Review

　　 Best Overall

Dreo Pedestal Fan

Orig. $140 $126 at Amazon View on Dreo.com View on Bed Bath & Beyond What’s Great About It Lightweight

Has six modes and eight speeds

Blades are easy to clean

Stable base

What Could Be Better Wide cage design could be hazardous to small children

Our top pick, the Dreo PolyFan 513S, has six modes and eight speeds. It can also blow air up to 100 feet, so it’s a great fan if you have a large bedroom. This standing fan features a brushless motor that runs quietly on all settings including high-speed turbo settings.

The fan’s number one feature is that the head oscillates in all directions, including tilting straight up in the air. Although it’s lightweight, the fan has a stable base and cannot topple easily. It comes with a handle that you can use to move around the room if needed.

After six months of rigorous testing, the fan looked as good as new, with no signs of wear and tear. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much dust buildup, so it was super easy for us to wipe down the blades with a cloth or use compressed air for hard-to-reach spots.

You can conveniently turn the fan on or off, plus switch settings with a remote, Alexa, or a smartphone, so it’s easy to control the fan after you’ve gone to bed. Just be aware that you have to precisely point it towards the sensor for it to work. The fan also has a built-in timer, so you can set it to run for specific times.

For its price, this fan exceeded our expectations in every way—we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quality fan to keep their home cool. The cage design is wide in some areas, which could be dangerous for small children who might try to climb on it.

Dimensions: 14.1 x 37.6 x 12.8 inches | Settings: 6 modes, 8 speeds | Oscillation: 120 degrees horizontal, 105 degree vertical | CFM: 715 | Remote: Yes

　　 Best Tower

Dreo Nomad One Tower Fan

Orig. $70 $63 at Amazon View on Walmart View on Target What’s Great About It Available in three colors: black, silver, and white

90-degree oscillation

Powerful airflow

LCD display

Slim design

What Could Be Better Height cannot be adjusted

Thanks to a quiet motor and strong airflow, the 36-inch Dreo Nomad One is beneficial for anyone looking for a comfortable and peaceful night’s sleep. Because it’s a tower fan with a sleek build and digital LCD screen, it would be hard for it to look out of place in your bedroom—unlike clunky, generic white-plastic models. The Nomad oscillates from side to side, circulating air up to 25 feet per second, and can cool small and large rooms alike. 

The fan features four modes: normal, natural, sleep, and auto, plus four speeds from low to high. You can use this fan with your AC to keep your room cool during summer months, and also keep it on low settings during winter to keep your room unstuffy and for white noise. Settings can be changed by pressing buttons on its interface or with a remote. 

We had no issues with this fan after using it continuously for six months. We loved that it seamlessly fit into our decor and came with a handle, which made it easy to carry around. Additionally, it has a round base, which makes it stable even if someone accidentally bumps into it. 

As much as we appreciated the fan, we wished we could adjust the fan’s height. While it worked for us during testing, those with taller bed frames might find it hard to feel the breeze from the fan. It is available in black, silver, and white colors.

Dimensions: 11.8 x 36.2 x 11.8 inches | Settings: 4 modes, 4 speeds | Oscillation: 90-degree oscillation | CFM: 908.6 | Remote: Yes

　　 Best Floor

Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator

$97 at Amazon Orig. $100 $97 at Walmart $100 at Target What’s Great About It Four speeds

Blows air up to 100 feet

Strong airflow

What Could Be Better Does not oscillate

Small and mighty is the best way to describe the Vornado 660. This device lived up to its hype in our tests and cooled our room as described on retail websites. Overall, we found this fan efficiently cooled our large and lofty bedroom during testing. We were impressed with its powerful airflow and portable, compact size.

It has four speed settings, from low to high, and uses “Vortex Action,” a patented feature that cools air and blows it up to 100 feet. Note that it doesn’t come with a remote control, so it’s going to be inconvenient to turn it off if you’re already tucked in bed. You can adjust fan speeds by toggling buttons at the top of the fan.

While it doesn’t oscillate, you can point the head in any direction you need a breeze. The outer cage is detachable, so you can easily get to the blades when they need cleaning. In addition to coming in small, medium, and large sizes, there is also a smart option where you can use voice control with Alexa.  

Dimensions: 11.8 x 14.8 x 13.1 inches | Settings: 4 | Oscillation: No | CFM: 584 | Remote: No

　　 Best With White Noise

SNOOZ Breez 2-in-1 Smart Table Fan

$200 at Amazon View on Getsnooz.com What’s Great About It Compact desk fan

Scheduling functions

Temperature sensors

What Could Be Better Not effective on low settings

Does not oscillate

This Snoox Breez fan is a 2-in-1 fan and white noise machine that delivers soothing background sounds—great for those looking to drown out snores, and environmental noise. It also comes with a wooden stand, which gives it a slight style boost. While it cost more than the average desk fan, we thought it had a lot of features and functions to make it worth the price.

The fan is compact, yet powerful and comes with 10 settings to choose from. It is a smart device and can be controlled with your phone and Snooz app—you can also just push buttons on the fan to turn it on or off. We ended up not using the app, but it was hard knowing what mode it was on because there were no numbers or markers on it. 

While the fan was powerful at its highest, it performed poorly on lower settings. When it was on low, we barely felt any air and the fan wasn’t able to blow away paper strips we had set on a table during our tests. Also, the fan doesn’t oscillate, which is a drawback if you want air to circulate evenly.

Regardless, this fan can still keep you cool and dry all night long. It comes with scheduling functions, so you can set the fan to turn on and off by itself during the night. Plus, it has temperature sensors that turn the fan on if the room gets too hot.

If you’re looking for a smart device with plenty of advanced functions, this fan is great for that. The downside we found was that the white noise machine and fan were both loud and could be disturbing for those who enjoy absolute quiet while they sleep. 

Dimensions: 7 x 11.8 x 11.3 inches | Settings: 10 speeds | Oscillation: None | CFM: 380 | Remote: Yes

　　 Best With Heater

Lasko FH500 Fan & Space Heater Combo Tower

$130 at Amazon View on Wayfair Orig. $154 $120 at Walmart What’s Great About It Four speeds

Remote control

Digital dashboard

Available in black and white models

Stable base

Tall and slim design

What Could Be Better Not portable

Makes a rattling noise on high settings

This Lasko model comes with a 1500-watt heater, so you can use it in cold and warm weather. We loved this fan because it really helped keep our room cool. It circulated the air, especially AC air, so we didn’t need to have it running all day. It created soft, white noise as we used it, which blended in the background.

The fan features four speeds: high, medium, low, and super low, and three heat settings. There is a heater/fan setting that switches between a high heat and low fan mode, so your room doesn’t overheat. It also features an auto-off timer and thermostat to conserve energy. While it comes with a remote, you can also navigate modes using its digital interface.

In terms of design, it’s super tall and blends in well with our room. It also has a sturdy base that never toppled over once, despite being repeatedly run into by our pet dogs. Although it’s not meant to be portable and has no handles on its body, it’s still lightweight enough to move around.

Although this fan remained in excellent condition over a six-month testing period, we noticed that it tended to rattle when it was on high. But, overall its size and power make it a terrific option for cooling large rooms. Available in black and white models.

Dimensions: 12.5 x 41.9 x 12.5 inches | Settings: 4 fan speeds, 3 heat settings | Oscillation: Wide oscillation, not specified | CFM: 350 | Remote: Yes

　　 Best Bladeless

Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10

View on Walmart View on Dyson.com View on Best Buy What’s Great About It 10 speeds

Removes allergens from the air with a HEPA filter

Blends with various design styles

What Could Be Better Expensive

More suitable for small- to medium-sized rooms

When we tested the Dyson Purifier Cool Gen 1, we immediately noticed how well it blended with the rest of the room. It features a bladeless design that uses patented air multiplier technology, which increases airflow and moves it around the room. 

In addition, it comes with a HEPA filter that purifies air before it circulates throughout the room. It’s able to remove 99.9% of dust, dander, and other particles as small as 0.03 microns, making it an excellent choice for those suffering from allergies or asthma.

Its lack of blades means it runs quieter than the average box fan or AC—we only heard that when we switched it on high in testing. The downside to this fan is the airflow is not as strong as tower fans. We found that we had to be fairly close to it to feel its effects.

The fan oscillates up to 350 degrees and comes with 10 speed settings. It also comes with a timer that can be programmed to shut off up to eight hours later. You can also control it remotely with a remote. Although it doesn’t come with an app, you can set it to run at intervals of up to eight hours at a time.

After six months of daily testing, we concluded that it’s probably more effective to cool small to mid-size rooms rather than large ones. It’s also a great fan to have if you like a little white noise while you sleep. Although it's one of the most expensive fans on our list, the air purifier and trendy look could make it worth the price tag.

Dimensions: 8.7 x 41 x 4.7 inches | Settings: 10 speeds | Oscillation: Up to 350 | CFM: Not listed | Remote: Yes

　　 The Bottom Line

Out of all the fan models we tested, our clear winner is the Dreo PolyFan 513S Air Circulator Fan. This fan features eight speeds and an oscillating head that spins in all directions, including straight up to the ceiling. In addition, there are many ways you can change its settings, including with your remote, smartphone, or Alexa.

　　 Our Testing Process

We tested different types of fans, including tower, floor, pedestal, and bladeless models, both in the lab and at home over a six-month period. In addition, we put combo models like fan and heater models, and fan and white noise models to assess their ability to cool down a bedroom and ourselves.

For our lab test, we cycled through all the settings, recording the decibel levels at the highest and lowest settings. We also checked if we could adjust its height and/or if we could tilt the fan’s head.

As we were testing many types of fans, we had separate processes to test the strength of its airflow. For the desk fan, we put it on a table and scattered five strips of computer paper, and three strips of construction paper 2 feet away and 10 feet away from it respectively. For floor fans, we placed the same number of computer paper and construction paper strips 10 and 20 feet away.

We walked in front of our markers to see how much breeze we felt. If fans were oscillating, we checked to see how wide of an angle it could oscillate, and how quickly it moved back and forth. 

While the fan was on, we recorded the wattage of each fan. After, we turned it off and noted the kilowatt value. Next, we checked if the fan had a remote. We used it at 10 and 20 feet away to see how well it responded at a distance.

Finally, we unplugged the pan and poked the cage with an unsharpened pencil to test how safe the fan’s cage was for small children’s fingers. We made note of any area where the pencil was able to make contact with the blade.

Once lab tests were completed, we brought the top performing fans home and used them nightly for up to six months to test how they performed long term. 

　　 Tips for Choosing the Right Fan for Bedrooms

Type  When shopping for a bedroom fan, the most common types of fans available are pedestal fans or standing fans, tower fans, and tabletop fans. We also tested multi-function models on our list, such as fans that come with space heaters and white noise machines. 

Pedestal fans are typically cheaper than tower fans, and are suited for cooling large areas due to their powerful airflow. Tower fans have a slim design that looks modern and saves space. But unlike many pedestal fans, they are not height-adjustable and may not have a strong airflow compared to other options. Tabletop fans are compact and are often placed on a nightstand or desk to help cool the room.

Noise  “Fans will vary in noise level, so you want to choose one based on your tolerance for noise while you sleep,” Mock says. “Fans with 30 to 50 decibels are considered relatively quiet for most sleepers.”

Oscillation Oscillation is important if you want air to be circulated evenly around your room. This occurs when the fan’s head moves in a side-to-side or up-and-down direction. “Oscillation is also a great choice for bedrooms where more than one person sleeps, as it’ll help keep both persons cool at the same time,” Mock says.

Remote  More expensive models typically come with a remote function, allowing them to be controlled with a remote control or smartphone. With a remote control, you can turn the fan on or off or switch modes or speeds from wherever you are in the room.

　　 Questions and Answers 

Where is the best place to put a fan in a bedroom? According to Mock, the best location for a fan is in the ceiling above the bed or in a spot that will circulate air to the center of the room. He also advises shoppers to make sure furniture or other objects aren’t blocking airflow to ensure there are no “hot spots” in the room.

What is the difference between a fan and an air circulator? Air circulators are designed to move air around an entire room while traditional fans only push air in one direction, so you’ll only feel cooling effects if it’s in front of you. “Air circulators may be the better option for larger rooms, as they tend to have more special features and a stronger motor,” says Mock.

Are fans good for white noise?  If you need background noise to block out disruptive sounds like car horns or noisy housemates, fans offer steady white noise to lull you to sleep. Some fans have a white noise feature included like the Snooz Breez Smart Bedroom Fan & White Noise Machine. “Fans that have different speed options also allow you to change the level of noise as needed,” Mock says. “The lower the speed, the less noise.”

　　 Why Trust Southern Living?

Nor’Adila Hepburn is a writer based in North Carolina who specializes in writing buying guides for home, lifestyle, and travel categories. To determine the best fans for bedrooms, we’ve tested 50 fans to date and evaluated them on type, noise, oscillation, and remote features. Nor’Adila also received expert tips from Dan Mock, the vice president of operations at Mister Sparky Electric.