It’s taken some time but Shark has managed to match Dyson when it comes to putting out a fan that’s not only powerful but great to look at and a conversation piece in its own right. For all this and more, the Shark TurboBlade TF200SUK is easily one of the best fans you can buy right now.

While the TurboBlade does have a wonderfully appealing aesthetic, it’s the fan’s malleable frame that harbours its true selling point. The key portion of the fan that delivers airflow can be rotated from its default vertical position to a horizontal one, which makes it brilliantly suited for when you have multiple people sitting on a sofa, all in need of cooling.

The TurboBlade can even oscillate up to 180° which is almost unheard of and just makes the Shark fan better suited than most when it comes to successfully cooling an entire room. For a smaller room however you can always set the oscillation to either 45° or 90° in a pinch.

There are 10 airflow speeds in total so you have a good amount of flexibility over the style of cooling available, although for the moments when a heatwave is in full swing, you can toggle the boost mode to go even further. If you’re coming in from outside and you’re struggling to cool down then this is exactly the type of fan that gets you back to feeling comfortable in almost no time at all.

If you have the TurboBlade set up in your bedroom then you can easily toggle the various modes from the comfort of your covers, all thanks to the included remote control. With the control in hand you can tweak the settings to have a cooling breeze throughout the night, and set a timer to go along with it to help conserve power.

Dutch brand Duux has put out some strong contenders for this very list over the last few years, but none of them can hold a candle to the outstanding Duux Whisper Flex 2. While its name might be a bit of a mouthful, there is one key giveaway that alludes to one of the fan’s best features: it is whisper quiet when in operation.

At the lower stages of airflow, you’d have to be fairly close to the fan in order to pick up on any sound at all, and even cranking the intensity all the way up to the maximum, the Flex 2 emits the type of sound that can easily blend into the background after a few minutes, making it ideal for an office environment or a bedroom.

Also working in the Flex 2’s favour is the amount of control you have over the airflow itself. There are 30 levels of speed available, so you can have a slight breeze or a full-on gust, depending on what your needs are. There’s also a ‘Natural Wind’ mode that more closely mimics the feeling of wind touching your skin when you’re outdoors.

On top of the power available here, the Flex 2 also works great in cooling an entire room thanks to both horizontal and vertical oscillation. This is particularly helpful if you have an office where some people are sat down at their desks, whilst others utilise a standing set-up.

You also have no shortage of control options with the Whisper Flex 2, with a responsive touch panel on the device itself, a remote control and an accompanying app which lets you tweak all of the available settings entirely from your smartphone. You can even set schedules for when you would like the fan to switch on, and at what intensity, so the Flex 2 can work around your routine.

A fan isn’t just about direct cooling, it’s about shifting stuffy, stale air around and refreshing a room. That’s where the MeacoFan Sefte 10 Pedestal Air Circulator comes in. A completely new design from the company’s previous air circulators, the new model has a new motor, and a refreshed design.

Cleverly, the fan comes with two columns that lock into place. You can use none of these columns for desktop mode, or one or two to adjust the height of the fan. It’s a little slow moving between different heights and modes, but the flexibility is appreciated.

The main fan has an on/off button and fan speed selector, but you need the remote for the main features, which include three modes each of vertical and horizontal oscillation, fan speed, a night mode and eco mode (the fan speed is adjusted based on the ambient temperature).

With 12 fan speeds on offer, the MeacoFan Sefte 10 Pedestal Air Circulator can deliver everything from a gentle breeze (2m/sec at 1m) to a full-on intense stream of air (4.2m/s at 1m). Impressively this fan is quiet, moving between 36.9dB on its quietest setting (effectively background noise) and 53.8dB on its highest setting.

If you want the widest range of fan speeds and the best air circulation, this is the fan to buy.

A welcome upgrade to a classic design, the Dyson Cool CF1 Desk Fan is a new version of a classic.

While the fan retains the classic desktop design, with the round head and fanless design, there’s an immediate welcome change: physical controls on the front of the fan’s body.

Rather than having to use the remote (although one is still provided), the fan’s controls allow for physical control over fan speed, the sleep timer and oscillation.

This fan is also compatible with the MyDyson app, which gives full remote control (including more granular sleep controls) – it’s a welcome addition.

The Dyson Cool CF1 Desk Fan is a brilliant desktop fan, with air speeds varying between a very gentle breeze to a 2.5m/s gust of fresh, stable air. It’s also a quiet fan, ranging from 37dB on its lowest setting (background noise) up to 59.5dB on its highest setting.

There are cheaper fans, but the quality of the airflow, the range of speeds and silent operation make this the best if you’ve got the money for it.

If you’re looking for a versatile cooling fan that can be used in a variety of different ways and boasts genuinely useful extras then the Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan (FA220UK) is one for you.

The FA220UK can be set up as both a pedestal or desktop fan, providing either a whole-room or a personal cooling. To enable desktop mode, simply lift out the fan head and place it wherever you need.

This adjustable fan head is also useful as it allows you to angle and direct the airflow, regardless of what mode it’s in.

Not only that but the fan has been designed for both indoor and outdoor use, and even includes a misting attachment which gently sprays you with a cooling mist of air when you’re outdoors.

For even more convenience, the FA220UK works either when connected to mains, or solely on battery power, with an LCD battery indicator showing you when it’s time to recharge. We found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, battery life varies depending on how you use the fan, surviving up to 24-hours on the lowest fan speed and just two hours when set to the maximum.

Controlling the fan is simple and, naturally, there are a couple of ways to do this. Either use the buttons on top of the device or the included remote control which usefully sticks magnetically to the back of the fan itself.

There are five fan speeds to choose from, ranging from a gentle breeze to what our reviewer described as a “full-on wind tunnel”. On its lowest setting, we measured airflow at 1.1 metres per second when 15cm away and found the fan reached just 32.1dB of noise.

With the maximum setting enabled, we measured the airflow at 4.6 metres per second with sound peaking to 50dB which, although noticeable, is certainly not loud enough to distract or disturb.

If you’re looking for a truly versatile fan that can be used in numerous ways, has multiple speed levels and boasts extra features then we’d seriously recommend the Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan FA220UK.

The Dr. Prepare 13-inch Dual Oscillating Tower Fan is a relatively small tower fan that’s as at home on a desk as it is on the floor. Rather than having one set of fan blades, this model has two that work together. The result is more powerful airflow than you might expect from such a model.

Measured on its highest setting, we detected air flor at 1.7m/s at 1m away. At this kind of power, this fan can cool more than one person. Impressively, the fan is also quiet: just 48.5dB from 1m away, and 40.8dB on its minimum speed: that’s barely a whisper. Our only complaint is that the fan makes a slightly waspy noise in operation.

Controls are simple on this device: three power settings and three timers (two, four or eight hours). There’s no remote control or oscillation; if you want those features, look elsewhere on the list. If you want a cheap, small, tower fan, this is a great choice.

The Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower is a powerful fan and heater that can be used year-round, has an accompanying smartphone app and is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Although the Tower itself is tall, it doesn’t take up as much floor space as the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde, making it much better suited for small and mid-sized rooms.

Controlling the Tower is easy with either the included remote control or the Climate smartphone app. While both allow you to adjust the fan speed, switch between cooling and heating modes and set timers in one-hour increments, the app also lets you to set schedules and routines with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Overall we found the Tower to be impressively powerful across both heating and cooling abilities, although it does have the edge when in Heat mode. In fact when Heat mode was enabled we found that airflow from 15cm away was 40°C in both the highest and even the lowest setting.

With cooling (fan) mode, we measured air speed at 3.08m/s at its maximum setting which then fell to 1.31m/s at 1m which, although are decent scores, are trumped by more powerful fans such as the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan.
For a device that can be used all year round, the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower is a versatile choice. Although the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde can heat, cool and even act as an air purifier, the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower is a much more budget-friendly option.

If you need a fan where cables won’t reach, say to a garden on a hot day or in a tent when you go camping, the MeacoFan 260C Cordless Air Circulator is the model for you. Thanks to its integrated battery, charged via USB, you can run this model for up to 14 hours without having to go anywhere near a power socket.

We’ve seen small, portable models before, and they’ve usually been a bit rubbish. Not so with the MeacoFan 260C Cordless Air Circulator, which has a lot of power, reaching a maximum air speed of 2.3m/s from 15cm away. That’s enough air to give you a cooling dose of air. There are four fan speeds in total, with the lowest running at 49.7dB, or quiet enough to sleep through.

As this is a portable model, you lose out on some features that bigger models have: you don’t get a remote, there are only four fan speeds and there’s no oscillation. If you need any of these options, look elsewhere, but if you want a flexible fan you can take everywhere this is the best model that we’ve reviewed.

Tower fans are a great space saver but they often sacrifice power to get a slimmer body. Not so with the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan, which manages to deliver some of the best fan performance that we’ve seen, both up close and across a room.

At full power, the fan delivered air speed at 4.8m/s, which only dropped at 2.8m/s at one metre and an effective 1.6m/s at two metres. That’s enough air speed to keep you cool at a distance, making the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan a suitable fan to cool an entire room. Our one minor complaint about fan speed is that the lowest setting is still a relatively powerful 4m/s at 1m – we’d have liked a slightly lower minimum speed.

High fan speeds often come with noise, but that’s a trap that the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan avoids. At 53.9dB on maximum, this fan is pretty quiet for the fan speed; however, at minimum, the fan is still 53.1dB, which is a little loud for sleeping with.

There is a remote control and a display that shows you what the current temperature and fan setting is. This display is a little hard to read, but we can forgive this minor issue, given how good the fan is. Even better, the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan is one of the cheapest fans that we’ve tested, too. If you’re after a powerful tower fan at a great price, look no further.

At just under £40, the Netta 32-inch Tower Fan is a little cheaper than many other products on this list, yet it’s packed with features. As well as three regular speed settings, there are two types of airflow: natural wind mode varies fan speed to make it feel more natural; wind mode uses one fan speed.

Alongside these controls, there’s a timer (one, two or four hours) and oscillation mode (65° angle). If you don’t want to walk to the fan, then there’s also a remote control that attaches magnetically when not in use.

We found this a good fan for small- to medium-sized rooms. On its high setting, the fan reached an airspeed of 3.2m/s at a distance of 15cm. That’s good but there are more powerful fans that are better suited to larger rooms. At this speed, we found that the fan wobbled slightly, too. At 1m distance, the fan speed was still a decent 2.2m/s, providing a noticeable cool airflow. We were impressed with how quiet this fan was: at 15cm, we measured it at 66.2dB, and at 1m, it was just 50.3dB.

If you want a well-priced fan for a medium-sized room, then this one is a good choice.

We’ve been impressed with Evapolar’s previous personal evaporative coolers, and the Evapolar evaSMART is the best yet. It’s a little expensive compared to other evaporative coolers, but its smart features and envelope of cold air make it well worth the cash.

This model uses a water tank, which lasts for between four and nine hours, depending on the temperature and humidity level. In either case, it’s enough water to get you through most of a hot night.

Unlike a fan, which can’t affect the actual temperature, the evaSMART can reduce the temperature of the air it blows at you: we measured a 3C drop. This is a small amount, but the cooling envelope of air around us made us feel much cooler than if we’d just used a fan.

Air flow isn’t particularly fast. At full speed, just 15cm from the grille, we measured air at 1.9m/s, but the wind speed was unmeasurable by 1m. As this is a personal fan that physically cools the air, the evaSMART doesn’t need to blow air any faster. In fact, at times it felt too cold sitting in front of this cooler.

Although you can control the fan from its on-body controls, there’s also a smart app for remote control (including changing the colour of the light), plus Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant Skills.

It’s a touch on the expensive side, but if you want a small cooler that can keep you comfortable while you work or sleep, this one is very effective.

Sitting somewhere between an air conditioning unit and a fan, the Princess Smart Air Cooler uses a tank of water to cool the air through evaporation. This makes it more effective than just a fan on a hot summer’s day, although this model is also a powerful fan in its own right.

Externally, this looks like a regular fan, although there’s a difference when you look at the base: this holds a 3.5-litre water tank, which can also hold the two provided ice packs (these go in your freezer and cool the water in the fan).

A small pump sucks up water and trickles it down a membrane inside. As the fan blows air over the water, it evaporates, cooling the air. We measured a drop in air temperature blown of 2°C, which isn’t as powerful an effect as with an air conditioner, but is an improvement over a fan.

Plus, the Princess Smart Air Cooler costs a lot less to run than an air conditioner. We measured power and this air conditioner will cost around 2p per hour to run at current costs.

The Princess Smart Air Cooler is a powerful fan, too. At 1m away, the fan is capable of blowing air at between 2.5m/s and 4.1m/s, so you can feel its full effect even in a larger room. We didn’t find this fan noisy, but it does have a slightly annoying whine to it.

We found the Princess Smart Air Cooler easy to control, with all of the options you need on the front panel and the remote. Plus, this is a smart fan, so you can control it via the decent app, which also provides voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

If you’re looking for a powerful fan that will blow colder-than-room-temperature air and doesn’t cost a fortune to run, this is a great choice.

If you’re looking for a compact table fan that’s easy to use and powerful, yet quiet enough so that it shouldn’t disturb you, then the Duux Globe is a fantastic choice.

While the Globe does lack some of the smart features found in its pricier counterparts, it sports everything you need to keep cool and comfortable at home. With a curved fan head that rests on a neat conical base, the Globe can sit atop desks and most surfaces without taking up much space.

Although we deemed its touch-sensitive controls basic, with only three speeds to choose from and a timer that only counts down from just one or three hours, the included remote control does cover more features, including adjusting the swing.

Overall we were left impressed by the Globe’s airflow and measured its windspeed at 2m/s from 15cm away at its lowest setting, which fell to a gentle 1.1m/s when measured from a metre’s distance.

At full power however, the Globe propelled air at up to a whopping 4.6m/s from 15cm away. At this speed, the Globe sounded at 65dB, making it a reasonably quiet fan for the level of power provided. In fact, we found that when out of the air flow, the figures fell to 35.9dB, making it a seriously quiet fan with the level of power included.

Even with such power, the Globe is extremely efficient and consumes just 6W of energy when set to full speed.

The Acerpure Cool AC551-50W is a mighty two-in-one appliance that works as both a fan and an air purifier. 

Its appearance might appear somewhat clunky, with a small fan on top of a fairly big purifier but this is actually a thoughtful design that enables the fan to oscillate horizontally and vertically. 

While this version doesn’t have a germicidal UV-C lamp like the AC553-50W alternative, it still sports a four-stage filter with PM2.5, PM1 and volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors. At this price, these filters are seriously impressive.

Controlling both the fan and purifier is via touch-sensitive controls and display on the device, which enables you to configure different speeds for both. While the fan can be turned off independently, there isn’t an option to switch the air filter off which means it’s always running unless you turn the whole device off. 

You can also connect the air purifier to the Acerpure app via a shared Wi-Fi network, however we must say this proved to be a seriously underwhelming and frustrating process. Not only was it tricky to set up but the app was slow to reflect air quality readings from the purifier’s onboard sensors. Hopefully an update will fix this in the future.

Otherwise, we were seriously impressed with the purifier’s performance. During our testing we found the Acerpure Cool managed to bring the PM2.5 sensor down from the maximum 999 level within just four minutes. After eight minutes, the room air was deemed “moderate” and, finally, after 13 minutes the room was almost free of particulates. 

If you don’t want to splurge on a standalone fan, then the Acerpure Cool AC551-50W is a brilliant option as its built-in purifier can be used year-round. While we had difficulties with the app, the purifier improved a room’s air quality within 15 minutes while the fan’s 10 speed settings offered versatility.

If you regularly move between working from home and working in an office, and you just want a reliable desk fan that can be easily transported between those two locations then the Duux Rize is one of the best picks out there. With a built-in battery that’s rechargeable via USB-C, this is one of those rare fans that can truly operate anywhere.

You don’t have to worry about it running out of power either as it can last for up to 15-hours on a single charge, which is more than enough to get you through the working day. Even though it’s small enough to fit within a tote bag, you can lengthen the stem and tilt the fan upwards, giving you more range of airflow that works well if you have a standing desk.

Of course, regardless of any extra capabilities, every desk fan needs to bring the power where it counts and thankfully the Duux Rize is no slacker when it comes to keeping you cool. There are four stages of airflow but even at the lowest setting, you’ll still be getting a wonderfully cooling breeze that covers a good amount of space.

When cranking the power all the way up to its maximum setting, we were able to pick up on a powerful 3.1m/s air flow from 15cm away, which can bring your temperature down in next to no time. It’s also surprisingly quiet too, so you won’t run the risk of annoying your coworkers whilst the Duux Rize is on.

As a final point, there is an on/off oscillation mode available on the Duux Rize which, when paired with the added height available via the stem, can allow the device to take on the persona of a room fan when needed. Alternatively, this means that you can help to spread the airflow across two desks rather than just one.

While the Duux Rize is arguably the best portable fan on this list, the MeacoFan Sefte 8″ Portable Battery Air Circulator is a great alternative that trades some portability in favour of more powerful airflow and a few extra settings. You won’t be fitting MeacoFan’s device into a tote bag anytime soon, but we think the trade-off is well worth it.

Even just to look at the MeacoFan Sefte 8”, you can tell that this is a desk fan that means business. It has no less than 12 airflow settings, so you have a wide range of options to suit a light breeze or a full-on gust depending on how hot the room is. One feature we absolutely loved, and would appreciate more manufacturers adopting, is the Eco mode which automatically sets the airflow based on the room’s temperature.

Although being a larger desk fan, the Sefte 8” still boasts a stylish design that uses a wonderful two-tone aesthetic to stand out. You can even angle the fan upwards to offer a reprieve from the heat if you’re at a standing desk.

In spite of its many features, what arguably impressed us the most was MeacoFan’s consumer-friendly practices. For starters, the battery on the Sefte 8” is fully replaceable so there’s no need to upgrade to an entirely different fan once the battery starts to go, and there’s a three-year warranty included as standard.

There’s even a remote that magnetically attaches to the centre of the fan itself when not in use. With the remote in tow, you can change the airflow levels, activate oscillation and more. If you do misplace the remote however then the built-in control panel on the base of the Sefte 8” can also do the job.

As much as we love the Shark TurboBlade TF200UK, there’s no denying that when the winter months start to rear their head, much like with any fan, it goes largely unused or simply put away until the following year. Thankfully, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat TH200UK solves this problem by providing a device that can be used all year round, regardless of the temperature.

Aside from looking a lot cooler than your average fan, the blade system works really well for directing airflow to where you need it to be. Just rotate the fan to your liking and you’ll enjoy a cooling gust right away. In fact, when using the fan at full power, we were impressed to see 1.9m/s of airflow from a distance of one metre, and when you factor oscillation into the mix, this fan works well for cooling a bedroom or living room.

Of course, during the colder months of the year, you can just swap over to the heat mode and feel the chill slip away as you settle in and relax. If you live in a flat or house without heaps of storage then having an all-in-one device like this can be a big win, and it’ll save you from having to pick up a fan and a heater separately.

One handy feature where energy consumption is concerned is the built-in thermostat which helps to regulate the temperature between 16°C and 32°C. This is especially helpful when using the heating element as you won’t need to have it switched on constantly as it’ll trigger when it’s needed. For anyone looking to keep better tabs on their energy consumption, this is a big win.

There’s no app to use with this device, although that might be preferable to some who don’t want yet another smart home app installed on their phone. Instead, the TH200UK has a remote control included which makes thing easy, giving you quick access to the various modes and airflow speeds onboard. While the TH200UK is definitely a bit pricier than most options on this list, its year-round versatility is hard to match which is why it’s a solid investment.