9 Best Fans to Keep You Cool This Summer

July 10, 2024 Off By

Conundrum: Your apartment is so swelteringly hot that you need to vacate it immediately, lest you sublimate into the ether. But how can you afford that casual month-long jaunt to Mykonos if your apartment is too hot to even sublet? 

Maybe you've been raw-dogging it without an air conditioner. Or you have A/C in the bedroom but your kitchen is a sauna. Have you considered, uh, a fan? They're much cheaper than an A/C unit, cost way less on your energy bill, and will leave a smaller carbon footprint to boot. How European!

It’s time to stop sweating the actual soul out of your body: I’ve picked out some of the best cooling fans on the market today and reviewed them so you can find one to suit your style and needs.

Sublet summer may have to wait until next year—but with one of our best fan picks, you’ll at least stand a chance of making it that long.

The best cooling fans

Picking the best cooling fans

The trick to picking the best fan for your needs is to consider the size of the space that you need to cool. Are you fantasizing about turning your whole apartment into a wind tunnel that feels like you’re indoor skydiving? A window unit or tower fan will be your best bet.

If you just want a fan to blast your face at your desk (while pausing intermittently to make “aAaAhhhh” sounds into it), a table fan or even a USB-powered desk fan will do the trick.

And for our germaphobes out there, as well as those living adjacent to areas that are more or less perpetually on fire, a fan/air purifier combo is perfect for blasting cool, fresh, breathable air into your living space.

Finally, if your apartment is your own private aesthetic wonderland, you can’t be having some heinous appliance hovering in your periphery and fucking up your meticulously curated vibe. That’s why I’ve included some steezy options here that look as cool as you’re trying to be.

Now, whip up an Aperol Spritz or canned espresso martini and survive the summer heat—if not the summer fomo—with our picks for the best cooling fans. 

Best overall - Vornado 660

Vornado is probably the best-known fan manufacturer in the game, with a wide range of expertly engineered products that will generally look sick in your apartment and won’t jump to their deaths off your dresser after consuming one measly dust bunny.

The Vornado 660 is a sleek, space-age unit with contrasting gloss and matte finishes and a smooth chrome glide bar that allows for maximum angleage while also kind of giving Kubrick/2001 vibes.

Not only will it look kick-ass angled atop your cocaine table, but this thing is capable of hoovering up some serious air. Amazon reviewer Brad said, “The performance is strong and meaningfully impacts the temperature of medium-sized rooms. The fan is also reasonably quiet and produces a calm white noise if used while sleeping.”

Powerful, quiet, cool-looking, and available for just under 100 bucks? Take my money.

Most stylish - Vornado Silver Swan

Listen here, Jack—if you want a fan that looks like it has a transatlantic accent to blow away the smoke from your unfiltered Lucky Strike as you lounge in your replica Eames Chair, this one’s for you.

The Silver Swan’s heavy-duty metal construction provides a nice heft that gives the fan a feel of quality evocative of a bygone era. This art deco beauty, based on a 1934 design, is sure to be the center of attention in any room—and not just because everyone’s huddled in front of it.

It’s one of the top-selling fans on Amazon, so get your mitts on this baby before everyone and their glamorous grandmother has one.

Best standing/floor fan - Lasko Oscillating Tower Fan

For just absolute cooling and air circulation for your whole apartment, look no further than Lasko’s Oscillating Tower Fan. This unit is designed to blend in rather than stand out, creating a cooler, more comfortable environment in your living space without constantly reminding you of its presence.

Its tower design means a small footprint while maxxing the airflow, making it ideal for a small space. Plus, it’s remote-controllable, with three speeds, a 7.5-hour timer, and 60 degrees of oscillation. And is it quiet? I’ll let Amazon reviewer Fadi take it from here: “This fan is QUIET. I mean, really quiet. Even on the highest setting, it produces a gentle hum that's actually soothing to fall asleep to.”

Snag one from Amazon in sleek silver or woodgrain and gray (which IMO looks pretty damn classy for a high-tech fan).

Best budget fan - Dreo Bedroom Fan

For many of us, a vintage-inspired work of art or a high-tech climate control interface just isn’t in the budget—those dollars, should they manifest, might be better spent on that aforementioned Mediterranean escape anyway.

The Dreo bedroom fan is a no-frills, high-quality table fan that moves a lot of air, is super quiet, and even comes apart easily for cleaning, which will allow it to run for years and years with regular maintenance. At just under $40, that’s an investment even the most out-of-touch Boomer parents will approve of.

Plus, it looks a lot like the much-pricier Vornado, and some reviewers on Amazon say it runs even quieter.

Best smart fan - Dreo Smart Air Circulator Fan

If you’re sick of big tech’s “innovations” constantly threatening to despoil the beautiful home we call the internet, you might occasionally feel the impulse to just tell your smart speaker, “OK Google—blow me.” Turn that dream into a reality with the Dreo Smart Air Circulator Fan. 

This smart fan from Dreo has all the perks of their standard bedroom fan, including Dreo’s WingBoost technology (capable of a mind-blowing 70-foot gust), 90-degree horizontal and 120-degree vertical pivot range, and crazy-quiet blade action. But the kicker is that it’s equipped with voice control (Google- and Alexa-compatible) and a slick mobile app that you can use to control a host of high-tech functions like speed, wind modes, timer, and more.

Priced just marginally higher than the standard bedroom fan, it’s a sweet deal—if, that is, you’re capable of opening your phone without getting sucked into a terminal doomscroll.

Best fan/purifier combo - Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde™ TP09 purifying fan

If the word “formaldehyde” in this product’s name kind of freaks you out, have no fear—the Dyson TP09 seeks not to embalm you in your bedroom like a mummy in its tomb. Au contraire, this rather snazzy fan/purifier combo uses a formaldehyde sensor and HEPA filters to detect and remove harmful particles and gasses from your precious breathin’ air, cooling you and your space all the while.

It has a fan mode and a direct purifier mode, so you can purify without cooling in the chillier months. The integrated MyDyson app makes it easy to control and monitor your air quality from your phone.

It’s a bit pricier than our other picks, but with not one but two useful household functions, it can serve you year-round—worth it!

Best desktop fan - Koonie Clip on Fan

Even if you’re chained to your desk all summer, you can still feel some semblance of an ocean breeze on your face with the Koonie Clip on Fan. This nifty little battery-powered fan is USB-rechargeable, comes in your choice of four colors, and clips onto whatever you’ve got—desk, table, chair, hippopotamus couch…

It even has a built-in LED lantern so you can clip it to the headboard, letting you catch up on some spicy Harry Potter fanfic while keeping it as cool as the dungeons of Azkaban. Great for camping, too!

Best portable fan - Gaiatop Mini Portable Fan

Sometimes, we’re forced to leave our cozy, insufferably hot apartments to find food and other supplies. But when starvation and boredom rear their ugly heads, driving us out into the similarly hot streets, you can still keep your cool with the Gaiatop Mini Portable Fan.

For just under $10, you can own this three-speed, rechargeable battery-powered, “super cute fairy wand.. for stylish girl women”—as the Amazon listing puts it so aptly and dare I say gorgeously. It is, in fact, a stylish little gadget, though, one that also includes a base for desktop use and a wrist lanyard for added portability. Bonus: it’s sure to make you some new “friends” on the subway!

Best window fan - Vornado TRANSOM Window Fan

We’ve established by now that Vornado makes dope fans. The Transom window fan is no different: powerful and quiet, with four speed settings and a reversible mode that allows you to blast the stank ass air out of the room after your roomie cooks up a nasty meal. 

Its slim chassis is simple to install and minimally obtrusive, allowing you to keep whatever view/sunlight you might be lucky enough to have access to. And it’s efficient, using relatively little energy for the powerful blast it creates—saving you mucho moolah in the long run.

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