The 13 Best Fans You Can Buy Before It Gets Hot Again (2026)

Zafro Cozy Tower Fan for $90: This is an interesting tower fan with a hidden digital display and a cheerful little electronic chime when it turns on and off, reminiscent of a Samsung washing machine. It’s a little quieter than Dreo’s Nomad One, but it’s taller and therefore easier to drop, although the dimensions of the airflow grille are about the same. However, if it goes on sale for less than the Nomad One, it will be worth snapping up.

SwitchBot standing circulating fan for $130: This is the first fan from a company known primarily for robotic vacuums, with a brushless motor, adjustable height, and a USB-C rechargeable battery. It’s lightweight and quiet, registering around 30 decibels on my decibel scale, and has rare Matter compatibility with the optional SwitchBot Hub 3 bridge ($120). The Dreo TurboPoly 508S is the same price and offers better build quality, but if Matter compatibility is important to you, the SwitchBot is a great choice.

Dreame MF10 (bladeless) $300: When I tested the Shark TurboBlade T-shaped fan last year, I thought it was weird. (“Are we sure that’s a fan? Isn’t it a windmill? A speaker? Some kind of high-tech ionizer?” she wrote at the time.) The Dreame MF10 is a similar bladeless design, but with curved blades that move independently or together up and down and side to side like a gyroscope. It even has the same sturdy, tip-resistant base as the Shark, which locks into place but for some reason will never open again, despite having lock and unlock icons. The MF10 isn’t a very hardcore fan, but if you’re specifically looking for a bladeless model, this is an affordable option that’s quiet and offers plenty of features, including a nice curved remote that magnetically sticks to the top.

Antarctica Star T36 Tower Propeller for $70: The 36-inch tower fan (it also comes in a 42-inch model)’s claim to fame is a temperature sensor that automatically adjusts wind speed and volume, an unusual feature at this price point. It also has six speeds and a remote control. The automatic adjustments reminded me of the slightly distracting “Nature” setting some fans use (this one also has that setting), which will randomly raise and lower the wind speed to mimic a breeze. If you need an increase in wind speed, I prefer to use the remote control to operate it. The fan itself looks a lot like a Minion with its black “hat” and circular display that looks like glasses, but it comes in white, grey, black or pink, if that’s your thing. If you’re in the market for a sub-$100 tower fan, I’d stick with Dreo’s Nomad One, which runs about the same price and has noticeably better build quality.

Vornado Box Fan Model 80X, $100: While most people who need a box fan, frankly, will head to Walmart or Home Depot and get one for $20, you should realize that there is a Rolls Royce of box fans. “It has 99 speeds,” the brand rep told me when he came out. “Yes, right,” I thought. But this thing sure is Actually it has 99 speed, It can be accessed via the up and down buttons. I have no idea under what circumstances one would need that many speeds, but here it is. It also has a kickstand to reduce oscillation, a digital display, and a timer from 1 to 12 hours. Plus, the silver-and-black casing looks good, as if you intended to keep it in your home, not a relic from that summer your air conditioner broke during a heatwave.

Photo: Kat Merck

Shark TurboBlade (no blade) for $250: Although this 2025 bladeless model is described as a tower fan, it doesn’t look or act like any tower fan you’ve ever seen. It is more evocative of a windmill than a propeller, with a horizontal bar mounted on an overlapping base, like a large “T.” The bar’s articulated ends feature air vents, and each end can be bent straight up, down, or at any point in between for completely customizable air direction. The entire bar can also be turned vertically to look like an “I”, if you prefer a long, thin breeze rather than a long, thin breeze. It has all the usual features you’d expect from a fan at this price, including 10 speeds, oscillation, a magnetic remote, and three settings, including “sleep,” which makes sense because the TurboBlade, in its “T” configuration, is about the right bed height. It’s a great option if you need air to flow in different directions at once, but be warned that it makes a fairly loud jet engine-like sound, which is noticeable even on low settings. There is now also a TurboBlade Heat + Cool ($400)which adds a 1,400-watt heater to the middle, but WIRED reviewer Matthew Korfhage tested it and didn’t find the heat feature to be worth the extra $150.

Drew 519 tower fan for $99: With a round display on top that gives a somewhat vintage look to the speedometer, this was Dreo’s first brushless fan. This means that it uses an electronic system rather than physical brushes in its DC motor, extending its life and ostensibly requiring less maintenance. It’s no slouch at 1,100 cfm and features nine speed settings, plus all the goodies you’d expect from a mid-range smart fan, including a timer, sleep mode, remote control, and the ability to operate through the Dreo app, Siri, Alexa, and Google Home. It’s still a solid fan, but it’s a bit less powerful and more expensive than Dreo’s Nomad One.