The Best Fans to Buy Before It Gets Hot Again

If you don’t think you need a new fan, you might want to reconsider. Even if the dusty old pedestal fan you've been carting around for 25 years is still kicking, modern fans can do a lot more than just blow air. They're smarter, quieter, and far more versatile than they've ever been, with new tech features that would have seemed like science fiction even five years ago.

The Dreo TurboPoly 707S has radar that can track where someone is in the room and redirect airflow as they move about, while the company's 508S model can provide mood lighting in more than 1,000 hues. There are bladeless fans, fans just for fitness purposes, and ones that can mist or cool your skin with a cryo-inspired metal plate. I've been covering fans at WIRED for almost two years, and I'm always on the lookout for the latest and most interesting fan technology.

If you know of a cool fan you want me to check out, let me know in the comments. If you're looking to take your fan on the go, be sure to check out WIRED's companion guide to the Best Handheld and Wearable Fans. For more ways to keep your indoor air quality cool and under control, check out our guides to the Best Indoor Air Quality Monitors, Best Air Purifiers, Best Humidifiers, Best Dehumidifiers, and Best Window ACs.

Updated June 2026: I've added new pedestal fans from Dreo and Coway, a new handheld fan from Aecooly, and ensured up-to-date links and prices. Vornado's bare-bones 660 air circulator was my top pick in this category for the past two years. It could sit on either a table or on the floor, ensuring bulk air movement through Vornado's proprietary Vortex Action (which my colleague Matthew Korfhage described—accurately—as “a fancy name for spinning a fan into a spiral grate oriented opposite to the action of the fan”).

There was no remote, no oscillation, and its buttons on the top activated its three speeds. It got the job done with a minimum of fuss, but darn if it wouldn't have been nice to have a remote. From my mouth to Vornado's ear, apparently, as earlier this year, the brand released the Vora 8, which is basically an upgraded version of the 660.

It's stronger (1,100 ft/m max wind speed to the 660's 1,083 ft/m), with 10 speeds, three airflow modes, an aromatherapy pad for the center button, and—blessedly—a remote. It also oscillates vertically as well as horizontally, and it's got a backlit touch display on the base. Note that there's no smart option on offer for now.

I did find myself missing the simplicity of the 660 a little bit while trying to learn all the fiddly new features and settings of the Vora 8, but otherwise, it's around the same price and an improvement in every functional capacity. Dreo’s flagship PolyFan 704S has been the brand’s most popular pedestal fan for years, but I didn't have the best luck with my test unit (see below). Plus, I found the fan to be heavy, unwieldy, and difficult to move around compared to competing models.