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You’re never guaranteed a scorching summer in the UK, but when the heat hits, the best fans will keep you cool, calm and collected and might even help you get some shuteye as the mercury rises. However, choosing one can be tricky. With so many desk, tower and pedestal fans all vying for your attention, which one will deliver the comforting airflow that you’re looking for?
In the last five years, I’ve tested and reviewed over 30 fans, including some of the best desk, tower and pedestal models on the market. I’ve tried out their features, used them while snoozing, and run detailed tests to check their noise output, airflow and energy consumption.
Best fans: At a glance
| Best fan overall | Meaco Sefte 10in Pedestal Air Circulator | |
| Best multipurpose fan | Duux Whisper Flex | |
| Best cheap fan | Igenix DF0030 |
Listed below, you’ll find the fans that I’m happiest to recommend for a range of budgets and requirements. Meanwhile, if you want to know more about what to look for in a fan including the strengths and weaknesses of different types then take a look at the detailed buying guide that comes after the reviews.
How we test fans
We test every fan for airflow, power consumption and noise output, as well as checking through their features and finding out how easy (or not) they are to use. Having assembled the fan and set it up, we measure the speed of the airflow through the fan at a distance of 1m with an anemometer, being sure to test at both maximum and minimum speed settings, plus a medium setting.
We also measure the sound levels at these settings, along with power consumption at the highest and lowest point. From there, we use the fan in a variety of rooms to gauge how effectively they work in different situations and layouts, using different modes and oscillation settings where available. We also try out any special modes and get to grips with both the built-in controls and the remote control, where supplied.
The best fans you can buy in 2025
In our most recent update to this page, we cleaned house. Four fans – the NSA UK Compact Cool, the Duux Globe, the Vortex Air Cleanse Bladeless and the Princess Smart Compact Tower Fan – lost their place on our roundup because they have been superseded by better options. We also updated our buying guide with specific guidance for sleeping, so check it out.
1. Best fan overall
Meaco Sefte 10in Pedestal Air Circulator
Price when reviewed: £180 | Check price at Meaco
- Great for… massive airflow with little noise and impressive levels of customisation
- Not so great for… some unintuitive controls
Meaco’s new Sefte pedestal fan improves on its already superb 1056P Air Circulator through a combination of an even quieter motor and a more efficient fan design, along with a clever, modular build that makes it even more flexible. By only using some parts of the three-part stalk, you can use it as a desk fan, floor fan or pedestal fan, while controllable oscillation lets you set the arc to between 30 and 120 degrees on the horizontal and 20 and 65 degrees on the vertical. I found this surprisingly useful for spreading the airflow across, say, a group of people on the sofa, or focusing it on just me, sitting at my desk.
You might want to exercise some restraint on the speed settings, however. At the maximum setting, the Sefte produced over 7.6m/sec of airflow; enough to blow paperwork around the desk at a distance of more than one metre. Even at the medium speed settings, you can get an impressive 4.7 to 5.9m/sec. Yet it’s quiet, not exceeding 40dB even at its highest settings, and staying at 32 to 35dB at low to medium settings. It’s quiet enough to sleep through, especially if you switch to the handy Night mode. I have some reservations about the controls, especially those for oscillation, but nothing to take away from the fact that this is the new king of pedestal fans.
Read our full Meaco Sefte 10in Pedestal Air Circulator review
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 34 x 34 x 59-109.8 cm; Weight: 5.4kg; Oscillation angle: 120 degrees (horizontal), 65 degrees (vertical); Sound level: 38.4dB (max); Remote control: Yes; Compatible smart devices: N/A; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 26W
2. Best cheap fan
Igenix DF0030
Price when reviewed: £33 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… cheap and cheerful cooling and carrying around the home
- Not so great for… noise levels or getting some sleep
If you don’t need to cool a massive space, this 30in tall Igenix fan is something of a bargain. I found I could easily lug it around the house with the integrated handle, yet it puts out a decent airflow at each of its three speed settings, with an 80-degree oscillation to help spread it around.
This isn’t the perfect fan for sleeping even at its lowest setting, it’s far from silent but it did a fine job of cooling down a small living room, and it’s good for taking heat out of the bedroom before you go to bed. Looking for maximum cooling for minimal cost? This is the fan for you.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 24 x 24 x 76.2cm; Weight: 2.66kg; Oscillation angle: 80 degrees; Cord length: 1.8m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 45W
3. Best multipurpose fan
Duux Whisper Flex
Price when reviewed: £142 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… good airflow, smart features and a flexible design
- Not so great for… limited height adjustment
The Duux Whisper Flex gives you what you want from a modern pedestal design. It’s powerful I measured the maximum airflow at a solid 3.7 m/sec and it’s also quiet, producing roughly 43dB when running at full tilt, and dropping to under 34dB at medium settings. It can run for up to 12 hours away from mains power using the optional battery pack, and with 26 different speed settings and useful Natural and Night modes, you’ve got plenty of control.
You can also connect to it over Wi-Fi using an iOS or Android app and control it using your smartphone, even scheduling when it will come on or off, and it will also work with Google Home and Alexa voice control. I found the commands a bit limited beyond turning the fan on and off or adjusting the speed, but it’s still nice to be able to do it without standing up or using a remote.
Perhaps the best thing about this fan, though, is that you can use it either as a pedestal fan or a floor fan or even a desk fan at low speed just by adding or removing one section of the stalk. This means there’s less height and vertical adjustment than on other pedestal fans, but it’s a real plus if you don’t want a tall pedestal fan dominating a corner of the lounge. Versatile, stylish and efficient, this is one of the best fans you could place in your home.
Read our full Duux Whisper Flex review
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 34 x 34 x 88cm; Weight: 5kg; Oscillation angle: 90 degrees horizontal, 100 degrees vertical; Cord length: 1.85m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 27W
4. Best value fan
Ansio 30in Tower Fan
Price when reviewed: £60 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… huge airflow on a budget
- Not so great for… keeping noise levels low
Don’t expect much in the way of modes or features, but this striking 30in tower fan has it where it counts. It’s one of the more powerful tower fans I’ve tested, with air speeds reaching 3.2m/sec from a metre away. Even at the lowest of its three speed settings, I measured 2.4m/sec; not bad for what’s still a budget model.
That’s a lot of cooling power, I did observe, however, that the airflow is at its strongest relatively low to the ground. With 60-degrees of oscillation, you can spread the airflow around a decent section of a bedroom or living room, and it doesn’t take up too much space. On the flip side, noise levels are relatively high as well. If you struggle to sleep through the 41dB at low power, you can forget about the 49.9dB at full. Still, the old-school mechanical timer works surprisingly well, and even if it’s not the most refined of fans, you’ll appreciate its icy blast as the temperature soars.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 24 x 24 x 76.5cm; Weight: 3.96kg; Oscillation angle: 60 degrees; Cord length: 1.75m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 45W
5. Best fan for sleeping
Princess Pedestal Air Circulator
Price when reviewed: £125 | Check price at Dunelm
- Great for… cooling a large space without making much of a racket
- Not so great for… not much. It’s a well-designed and effective fan
At less than 80cm high, the Princess Pedestal Air Circulator is pretty short for a pedestal fan. Luckily, it more than makes up for it through a combination of air-circulating muscle and oscillation. Unlike most pedestal fans, it can oscillate on both the horizontal and vertical axes, giving it more scope to push air around the room. Meanwhile, its 12 speed settings deliver wind speeds of up to 4.3m/sec, making this one of the most powerful fans I’ve tested. At the highest speeds, it’s a bit too noisy, reaching 48dB, but by stepping down to 10 I could still get a 2.9m/sec airflow with a more bearable 43dB. At the halfway point, I was looking at 2.5m/sec and a mere 35.8dB. That’s still not perfectly quiet, but it’s close enough that you won’t notice it while you’re busy bingeing Netflix on TV.
On its lowest settings, it’s virtually silent I dozed quite comfortably with it on and you can still get a decent breeze. What’s more, this fan has one of the more usable Natural modes out there, varying the speed but without any extreme changes. It even has a sensible Sleep mode that starts at your current setting and then reduces the speed every 30 minutes. I also liked the simple controls and the rock-solid build quality; there’s barely any wobble once assembled. This is one of Princess’s only fans without smart features, but despite that, it’s arguably its best.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 28.8 x 29.3 x 77.3cm; Weight: 5.1kg; Oscillation angle: 90 degrees (horizontal), 60 degrees (vertical) Cord length: 1.6m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 20W
6. Best tower fan
Dimplex Ion Fresh Cooling Tower Fan
Price when reviewed: £110 | Check price at Argos
- Great for… a well-controlled airflow with a fresher feel
- Not so great for… using while you’re trying to snooze
The Ion Fresh stands out from the tower fan crowd thanks to its imposing 1.07m height, its built-in ioniser mode and its rather classy brushed-copper finish even if it’s just a coloured plastic. It looks great with its low-glow green digital temperature display and touch-sensitive controls, and I was also keen on the fan’s tilt feature, where you can push it back by up to seven degrees to direct the airflow upwards.
The ionisation feature is designed to discharge negative ions that attach to positive ions to freshen up your environment. Whether this works or not is somewhat controversial, but I found that the Ion Fresh did a fine job of making stuffy rooms more liveable and more importantly it proved to be an effective fan.
It can speed air through the vertical slats at up to 2.3 m/sec at maximum speed, and 1.3 m/sec at its lowest, with a wide 70-degree oscillation to spread the gust of air around. I also found it easier to use than cheaper rivals, thanks to the bundled remote and intuitive controls, while it packs in a timer, a sleep mode and a natural mode that varies the power setting to make the airflow feel more like a natural breeze. Don’t get too excited about snoozing, however; even at its quietest, the Ion Fresh puts out around 41dB, reaching 50dB at its worst. Still, if it’s not the ideal fan for bedroom use, it’s a good-looking, capable cooler for everywhere else.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 31 x 31 x 107cm; Weight: 5.6kg; Oscillation angle: 70 degrees; Cord length: 1.5m; Warranty: 2yr (3yr after online registration); Power: 45W
7. Best fan for big rooms
Levoit 36in Tower Fan
Price when reviewed: £90 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… cooling larger areas without much noise or fuss
- Not so great for… noise levels at the highest speeds
While it’s one of the tallest tower fans I’ve tested, it’s worth making room for Levoit’s 36in column. Look beyond the two-part plastic base and it’s a well-built unit without a hint of wobble, with stylish and straightforward touch controls on the top panel. It also has some useful advanced features, including an Auto mode that adjusts the speed according to the room temperature, and a Sleep mode that will do its best to keep you cool while staying quiet. There’s also a Turbo mode for some extra speed, plus a simple 1- to 12-hour off timer.
However, what I like most about this tower fan is that it offers an efficient and economical way to cool a larger area. It pushes through air at speeds of up to 3.2m/sec at the highest of its five speed settings, or 3.3m/sec in Turbo mode. It’s a little loud when maxed out, putting out between 44.4 and 45.2dB, but on its next-to-lowest setting, you can still hit speeds of 2.1m/sec, with the noise reduced to around 32dB. That’s almost whisper quiet, and perfect for watching TV on a boiling summer evening. What’s more, on its lower settings it uses only around 20W. Throw in the competitive price, and you have a great tower fan for bigger rooms.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 16.5 x 16.5 x 92cm; Weight: 3.6kg; Oscillation angle: 90 degrees; Cord length: 1.8m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 39W
8. Best desk fan
Meaco Sefte 10in Table Air Circulator
Price when reviewed: £120 | Check price at Meaco
- Great for… powerful and portable cooling, with extra-low noise
- Not so great for… the oscillation controls can be tricky, but nothing major
While I’m classifying the Sefte 10in Table Air Circulator as a desk fan, that’s a waste of its potential. It’s immensely powerful, capable of pushing through air at a ridiculous 7.8m/sec. I had to check my anemometer against another fan to make sure it wasn’t broken. Yet with 12 speed settings, it can ramp down to deliver everything from a blast to a barely-there breeze, with plenty of usable options in between.
To make it even more versatile, it has the same controllable oscillation as the Pedestal version, giving you between 30 and 120 degrees on the horizontal and 20 and 65 degrees on the vertical. I found this useful for getting a more focused airflow while using a rowing machine but having a wider spread for general cooling in the living room. And, even with all this power, the Sefte keeps things nice and quiet. It’s barely audible at its lowest speed settings, and even at its awesome maximum speed it only puts out 43dB. The oscillation controls can be tricky and the 12-hour switch-off timer a little basic, but this is a superb fan that works as well as a carry-around floor fan as it does on the desk or bedside table.
Read our full Meaco Sefte 10in Table Air Circulator review
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 30.5 x 22.7 x 43.2cm; Weight: 3kg; Oscillation angle: 30 to 120 degrees (horizontal), 20 to 65 degrees (vertical); Sound level: Up to 43dB; Cord length: 1.6m; Warranty: 3yr; Power: 8-26W
9. Best budget desk fan
Honeywell HT 900E
Price when reviewed: £20 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… powerful performance on the cheap
- Not so great for… keeping the noise down
As far as budget desktop fans go, the HT 900E is a monster. The 40W turbo motor blasts out huge amounts of air at its highest speed; the 2.7m/sec gusts were enough to send papers flying across my desk, and feels a little too high for close-up use. Thanks to the 90-degree tilting fan head, it can be mounted on the wall or stood on a desk or floor.
It’s incredibly simple to use and the construction is rock solid. The one downside is that at medium or high settings it makes an unholy racket, reaching 47.5dB at full tilt. At low, though, it’s less noisy a bearable 40dB while still putting out a respectable breeze. It’s not my go-to for features or finesse, but you’ll struggle to find more cooling power for this kind of money from any other fan.
Key specs Dimensions (WDH): 27.7 x 15.9 x 27.7cm; Weight: 1.35kg; Oscillation angle: No; Sound level: Up to 39dB; Cord length: 1.6m; Warranty: 3yr; Power: 40W
How to choose the best fan for you
Will a fan cool down my room?
To start, it’s worth making one thing very clear: a fan is not an air conditioning system. While air conditioners actually cool the air, fans simply push the air around. Obviously, this means that even the most effective fan won’t cool as well as one of our best portable air conditioners, but then they’re also much cheaper both to buy and run. In the UK, with our comparatively mild, dry summers, an air conditioning unit may be overkill anyway.
Should I buy a desk fan, pedestal fan or tower fan?
Desk fans are small, portable and can be picked up for anywhere between £20 and £50 (although pricier designer models are available). Most offer an adjustable tilt so you can direct the airflow, and some have an oscillating feature to create a breeze that sweeps from side to side. Obviously, these fans won’t cool much more than a small desk-sized space.
Pedestal fans are larger, more powerful and are designed to fill a bigger space. Since they’re designed to be used at a distance, they might offer more angles, a wider oscillation range and a remote control. You can usually adjust the height, pivot and oscillation to control airflow, but they tend to be bulky so you’ll need to make sure you have enough space both for use and for storage.
This is where tower fans come in. These slimline units blast out air from a tall column, giving you the cooling power of a pedestal fan in a more compact form factor. Most tower fans also come with a remote control, but you will sacrifice adjustability.
Are fans expensive to run?
Fans aren’t generally that expensive to run, no even the most powerful models we’ve tested use around 40W when running at maximum speed. However, the most energy-efficient models we’ve tested consume under 20W at full blast and less than 5W at their lowest speed, which could make a difference to your bills if you’re running the fan all summer long.
You can also keep your costs low by using any timer features, which can be set to shut the fan off after a set period. We’ve even seen some fans that can regulate their speed according to the ambient temperature, or that have a sleep setting where the fan slows down gradually over the course of the night.
Which fans are best for sleeping?
There’s no point in having a fan to keep you cool if you can’t sleep through the noise on a hot night. Nearly all fans offer a choice of speed settings – always use the lower settings for quieter results – and some have special nighttime modes.
When it comes to sleeping through noise, we all have different tolerances, but in our experience 35-40dB is quiet; 40-45dB is bearable; and anything beyond 45dB is too loud to sleep peacefully.
More expensive fans will likely use quieter, more energy-efficient motors and blade designs, maximising cooling power while minimising noise.
What other features should I look out for?
A growing number of fans are also coming with Wi-Fi connectivity built in, enabling them to be used with an app for remote control or voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices. These features don’t tend to be as sophisticated as those you’ll find in smart lighting or heating devices, but they make it easy to control a fan from across the room.
