10 Best Humidifiers That Give Our Editors Allergy Relief (2025)

You never think you need a leg up on spring until the pollen arrives (hello, hay fever), but the best humidifiers offer much-needed relief for allergy sufferers throughout the year. The right relative humidity can decrease allergy symptoms by adding moisture to the air, which soothes dry nasal passages and sore throats, as well as reduces inflammation, making it easier to breathe and alleviate congestion.

Below, our staffers and contributors provide a rundown of some of their favorite models they’ve tested over the last couple years in city apartments with clanky radiators, during particularly brutal spring allergy seasons and beyond. We walk you through the many types of humidifiers we’ve tested, their bells and whistles, along with how to choose the right model depending on your room size. We even interview Ratika Gupta, MD, a board-certified allergist at ENT and Allergy Associates in Brooklyn, to answer your FAQs. So sit back, relax, and get acquainted with all the best humidifiers for your needs.

Our Top Picks for the Best Humidifiers:

Best Humidifiers, Overall

One of our top picks is the Levoit Dual 200S Smart Humidifier. It looks like a stylish water jug, but it’s actually a smart appliance with a 25-hour run time before it needs to be refilled. It comes in at almost half the price of its larger cousin, also on this list. The portable Levoit Dual 200S can hold 0.79 gallons and can cover up to 290 square feet. Since it fills from the top, the highly portable humidifier is both leak-proof and easy to fill and clean, and it’s compatible with essential oils (note: Dr. Gupta suggests avoiding diffusing scents via your humidifier). Even though it’s economically priced, the Levoit Dual 200S has a built-in humidistat that can automatically detect if the room is too dry or too humid and adjust the mist levels accordingly. The cool mist humidifier can be controlled via Alexa and Google using the brand’s VeSync app, and there’s a scheduling feature where you can set when to turn it on and off. In addition, the Noise Defender design lets it operate quietly.

It’s significantly more expensive than most of the other humidifiers on our list, but the Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde PH04 (tested by our commerce director Rachel Fletcher) also does a lot more, actually reducing the number of appliances you may need in your home. It captures pollutants in the air while also measuring moisture levels in the air, and then produces hygienically humidified and purified air—all while cooling the room like a fan. The Dyson is also fully sealed to HEPA H13 standards, which means it can remove 99.95% of particles in the air.

In addition to maintaining the target level of moisture in the air, our favorite feature is that the air purifier/humidifier also sucks up formaldehyde, a colorless gas which can be emitted by paint, furniture, carpets, household cleaners, fireplaces, and even plywood. You can also control it with the remote, via the Dyson Link app, or use voice assistants. The Deep Clean cycle can be activated at the touch of a button, and removes any mineral build-up.

The Clorox Ultra Clean Cool Mist Humidifier is unique in that it uses a UV LED light in the base to destroy bacteria and mold—both in the water and on the water tray. On the lowest setting, it can run for up to 40 hours. “This Clorox humidifier has been my first go around with a humidifier in my space, and it hasn’t disappointed,” says senior commerce editor Nashia Baker. “Best of all, it is super quiet (barely a whisper!), so I can keep it running and barely hear a peep,” she adds. There are no filters to replace in the cool mist humidifier, but an additional perk is the aromatherapy oil diffuser. The nightlight can be changed to one of seven different colors or it can be turned off, and simple controls on the front, along with the built-in hygrometer, make it easy to operate the device.

Most humidifiers provide a numerical indicator on the control panel. The Dreo 6L Smart Humidifier does that, but also features a large 4×2″ color-coded humidity indicator that I can clearly see from across the room. The panel changes colors (shades of orange for dry, green for comfort, and blue for wet) based on the humidity level detected in the room. The whisper-quiet humidifier has a noise level of 28 decibels and a maximum run time of 60 hours. It’s also easy to clean, since the six-liter top-fill water tank has a carry handle for easy transport, and the mist pipe is detachable.

Williams, our resident humidifier expert and tester, notes that there are a warm mist and cold mist option for all seasons—and it has a dual aroma pad tray for those who like to use essential oils. The smart humidifier can be connected to Wi-Fi, then controlled via smartphone.

One concern with humidifiers is where to place it. Sometimes a device can take up valuable counter space. However, the Levoit Oasis Mist 1000S is tall enough at 28.7 inches high that placement is not a problem. Williams tested this device as well, saying that the generous water tank with a wide opening means less frequent, easier refills. The mist levels are adjustable, and, along with other indicators and controls, are displayed on the LED touch screen. The humidifier also has several control options either on the machine itself, via the remote it comes with, or through the accompanying Levoit app for hands-free voice control.

Commerce writer Julia Harrison swears by this humidifier from Levoit, which she praised for its ability to discreetly humidify the air. “I have no control of the radiator, which is either not on and I’m swaddled in no less than three blankets, or it’s blasting air so dry and hot, desert air seems moist. I was waking up a salt and vinegar chip and blowing rocks from my nose every morning, so I called on Levoit.” This humidifier runs all evening without any noise or light that might disturb sleep and it has four settings to moisten the air to your liking, as well as a timer and a sleep setting. Harrison likes to set it on high for the full evening to counteract the dehydration of her radiator, and has found that in the morning, the tank is still two-thirds full. She has a medium-sized bedroom (in New York this means space for a queen bed, a desk, and a dresser) and finds it hydrates the air perfectly. Another benefit is its large tank, which holds six liters of water and doesn’t require a daily refill, even when you use it on its high humidity setting.

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More Humidifiers We Recommend

While she loves her Levoit 300S, Harrison’s head was slightly turned by this sleek model from Dyson, similar to Fletcher’s dual-air purifier and humidifier, but without its formaldehyde-minimizing qualities. The one-gallon tank gives up to 36 hours of hydration, and HEPA filtering captures 99.97% of unwanted air particles. It’s also silent and offers cooling capability—fan mode for direct cooling with up to 90° of oscillation, breeze mode to mimic a light breeze, and backward airflow mode to purify and humidify without cooling you. “I use this in my room and find it to be exactly what I need—a powerful humidifier and purifier to keep kitchen smells and dust out of my tiny room, and I love the feeling of the light breeze on my face overnight. It feels like having a window open year-round,” says Harrison. The tank is also incredibly easy to refill and clean, as it has a bucket that easily detaches from the humidifier.

Levoit makes some of the best air purifiers on the market, and the same holds true for their humidifiers. The LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier can hold 1.5 gallons of water and has a 50-hour run time before the tank needs to be refilled. And since it’s filter-free, you don’t have to worry about the cost of replacing them. The humidifier, which has an automatic shutoff, can cover large rooms up to 753 square feet and functions as either an ultrasonic cool mist humidifier or a warm mist humidifier, so it can be used no matter the season. The humidity sensor can even detect how damp a room is and make adjustments automatically. As Dr. Gupta pointed out, it’s best if you don’t use essential oils in humidifiers, but there is an aroma box for adding them, in addition to aroma pads, and even a cleaning brush. It’s also really easy to control the Levoit LV600HH via the touch controls on the machine or by remote control. Levoit doesn’t list the noise level, but Williams, our tester, described it as “whisper-quiet.”

The Levoit OasisMist Smart Humidifier is another stylish and well-performing device. Functioning as both a warm mist humidifier and a cool mist humidifier to improve your indoor air, you get up to 45 hours before the tank needs to be refilled. The water tank has a spacious opening that is easy to fill, and it also has a handle for easy transport. If you connect it to the VeSync app, you can remotely control the device (turning it on and off, changing the mist settings, and scheduling timers). For example, you can schedule it to turn off when you leave for work and then turn back on at 5:00 p.m. so it’ll start misting the air before you return home. You can also add essential oils to the aroma pad to create a diffuser. The noise level is a low 26 decibels, which Williams describes as basically nonexistent.

Blueair makes some of our favorite air purifiers, so we were delighted to learn that they’ve also expanded into humidifiers. This mist-free, top-fill device’s invisible mist technology doesn’t create white dust or water residue, which Williams says is a particularly great feature for keeping furniture clean. The humidifier uses an antimicrobial wick filter (good for six months at a time) that’s designed to capture the minerals that cause white dust, while the wick filter also traps pollutants.