The best humidifiers of 2023, tried and tested

While humidifiers seem like a no-brainer when winter rolls around, carrying with it lots of dry air, they’re actually great to have around all year long as they help to mitigate everything from sinus problems to allergies.

Humidifiers come in many different forms: cool mist, diffuser, top fill… The list goes on. The machines are different from air purifiers that make your air cleaner and there are a number of factors you need to consider before buying one. For instance, do you need a small humidifier to keep your skin refreshed? Or maybe you’re looking for a larger unit to keep a whole floor at the proper moisture levels. How about a humidifier to help with a congested little one? Good news: There’s a humidifier for almost every situation.

In order to find the best humidifier for your needs, we researched the top offerings on the market, diving into editorial and user reviews, comparing the latest models and pulling together a pool of the eleven top options. Once we settled on those, we tested and retested them in real-world settings using a considerable range of criteria (detailed below) over several weeks. We steamed, we cool-misted, we filled tanks, we tested for humidity levels and we cleaned the heck out of these machines to determine the best humidifiers.