Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.
Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The Vornado fan offers what most are looking for in desk fans, with three speeds, ranging from powerful to moderate. Read More
Although it may not look it, this fan puts out an impressive amount of power and volume. It comes with adjustable speed levels and angles. Read More
This USB-powered desk fan has a unique design, and it's touch-operated. It is low-power, but that makes it quiet and sensible. Read More
This fan's flat design makes it small, lightweight, and portable, without sacrificing power. Its dial can be set freely, offering a range of speeds. Read More
Whether it's in your home or at your office, desk fans can be a real quality of life improvement. Desk fans are an energy-efficient solution to a home air conditioner (at least up to 90°F), and they can help you stay cool at work when the office isn't quite chilled down to your liking.
Whether a desk fan is a constant companion at your desk or provides you with white noise and a comfortable breeze as you fall asleep, finding the perfect one for your needs can be tough. To find out the best desk fans for different situations, we brought them all into our labs for testing, so we can recommend the best performers.
Based on our lab testing, the Vornado Pivot Personal Air Circulator (available at Amazon for $19.88) is the best overall desk fan, offering the perfect mixture of wind speed, quiet operation, variable settings, and aesthetics. While it is our favorite overall, there are a lot of great picks on this list you may like even better.
These are the best desk fans we tested ranked, in order:
The Vornado Pivot was the best overall desk fan, with a small footprint and settings that offer a good mix of strong breeze and quiet operation
Hello! I'm Mark Brezinski, and I've been testing and reviewing consumer tech for over a decade. At Reviewed, I’ve developed testing for dozens of different categories, from smart phones to headphones to full-size fans and more.
Point A was directly in front of the fan, point B was 3 ft. away, and point C was 6 ft. away. We also took measurements 4 ft. away from points B and C (points D, E, F, and G).
To test fans, we set up a closed-off testing area to isolate our measurements from any external airflow. Once the fan was up to speed, we took measurements at seven different points in the room: three directly in front of the fan, and four to the sides.
We measured average wind speed at each of these points during a 30-second window and calculated the volume of air being moved (cubic feet per minute, or CFM). We performed the same tests again with oscillation on (if applicable), and recorded the average air movement at each measurement point over five full oscillation cycles. On average, we recorded desk fan wind speeds between 3 and 21 mph.
While a fan’s ability to move air is its primary function, we also tested other aspects of the fans’ performances as well. We measured how much energy the fan required to run at full capacity, both with and without oscillation. We utilized our headphone testing lab to isolate exactly how much noise the fan makes at each of its speeds. We also tested how easy and intuitive each fan’s interface felt to use.
While desk fans can have all kinds of different designs, you can clean most of them in the same way. Start by unplugging it, then remove the grating covering the blades. From there you can use a vacuum to get rid of the majority of dust clinging to the blades, then use a damp paper towel to mop up the rest.
In short, no. Oscillation is where the fan rotates on its base to help spread a breeze around. If you’re trying to disperse smoke or provide air coverage for a wide area, oscillation might make sense for a full-size fan. Desk fans, on the other hand, rarely have the power necessary to leverage oscillation to any particularly meaningful end. Our measurements showed almost all wind movement had dispersed after a few feet.
While oscillation did allow some desk fans to distribute airflow across a wider area, the amount of cooling breeze felt by a single, stationary person will be greatly reduced. Almost across the board, we recorded speeds of less than 2 mph at our closest side measurement points (spots D and F in the diagram). At the two points flanking the 6-foot mark (spots E and G in the diagram), the breeze was barely perceptible and didn't even register on our anemometer.
Yes. In general, fans are pretty inexpensive to run. They use about 100 times less energy than a traditional air conditioner.
Desk fans use even less—about 1% of the energy of a full-size fan. We find this is true across the board, so energy efficiency isn’t a meaningful differentiator between the fans we tested.
Given how energy efficient fans are, in almost every instance you should use one instead of a traditional air conditioner. The only exception to that rule is when temperatures are above 90°F, because at that point or hotter they actually exacerbate the effects of heat stress.
Good powerful airflow
Breeze feature
Remote control
Most settings are fairly noisy
Less portable than other desk fans
High speed
Adjustable angle
Cheap components
Loud
Touch-operated
Quiet
Slow
Adjustable
Oscillating
Powerful
Loud
Time mode
Low speeds
Loud
Odd design
Mark Brezinski is a senior writer with over ten years of experience reviewing consumer tech and home appliances.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
Shoot us an email
