Adding essential oils into the air of your home does more than making it smell good – diffused essential oils can improve your skin, brighten your mood, and improve your overall health. To get the most benefit from your essential oils, it’s important to get the best humidifier for essential oils.
We looked at 32 different humidifiers for aromatherapy to help you find the best one. At the end of that, we landed on the Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier (Black) as our Editor’s Choice. It offers a huge 500-square foot coverage area thanks to 360-degree spray nozzles while also being quiet and fully adjustable. On top of that, we found five other humidifiers and essential oil diffusers that we think are worth a closer look.
When choosing the best humidifier for essential oil therapy, we had a lot of things to consider. We limited our search to cool mist humidifiers and looked at the areal coverage and runtime of every diffuser. We also paid special attention to customizable settings that let you control the intensity or timing of your therapy. You’ll find all six of our top picks in the table below, followed by detailed reviews of each humidifier. Our buying guide then explains everything you need to know about essential oil diffusers in order to get the best one for your needs. Finally, we sum up our three overall favorite humidifiers for aromatherapy.
More features: 360-degree rotating nozzles, blue LED nightlight, < 40 dB noise level; fully adjustable mist and steam output knob
This essential oil humidifier from Everlasting Comfort was easily our pick for the best humidifier for aromatherapy. To start, it offers a massive 500-square foot coverage area that is sufficient for your living room, kitchen, or the largest bedrooms. On top of that, the 1.6-gallon water tank means that you can run this machine for up to 50 hours before it needs to be refilled. The only downside users noted here was that the tank doesn’t fill from the top, so it can be a bit awkward to refill.
Users really liked the design of this cool mist humidifier. It’s ultrasonic, which means that the 40-decibel noise is hardly noticeable even though it’s theoretically 10 times louder than some smaller options. In addition, Everlasting Comfort designed the humidifier so that it doesn’t use a filter – and you can still fill it with regular tap water without problems. We were also happy to see that this humidifier has an automatic shut-off for when the water tank eventually empties.
The mist output on this diffuser is completely adjustable using a simple knob, and 360-degree rotating nozzles ensure that your entire room is covered evenly with essential oil spray. On top of that, we liked the blue LED that serves as a night light for your bedroom.
On the whole, users had almost no complaints about this humidifier after several months of use. Better yet, you can be confident in your purchase thanks to a two-year warranty.
More features: remote control; timer; 7-color LED light
This uniquely designed essential oil humidifier from Urpower is as much a colorful lamp as it is a diffuser. The humidifier contains an LED light that can switch between seven different colors, allowing you to add to the ambiance – as well as the air – of any room in your home.
The light makes it perfect for use on a nightstand in your bedroom, as it can double as a bedside lamp or night light. Even better, the light, along with all of the humidifier controls, can be programmed wirelessly with an included remote control. The humidifier has an auto shut-off for a low water tank, but it also comes with a timer that allows you to run it for three, six, or nine hours at a time.
However, beware that one light stays on even when the LED is off, so it’s less than ideal for very light sleepers.
The humidifier also boasts a pretty wide coverage area, of 430 square feet when you add essential oil to your mist. When running just as a humidifier, Urpower rates the machine for just 270 square feet of coverage.
All that said, there is one big catch to this humidifier – the water tank is tiny. At just 0.26 gallons, you’ll definitely need to refill the water tank on a daily basis. Thankfully, the humidifier accepts tap water and is lightweight enough that it’s easy to carry over to your sink.
More features: 7-color LED light; 360-degree oriented diffusion; < 35 dB of noise
This humidifier capable of vaporizing essential oils from Exqline stands out for offering complete control over your aromatherapy. You can use the prominent front control knob to vary the mist output, rather than be stuck with just three output levels as for most other units.
On top of that, the humidifier and diffuser comes with built-in LED strip lights that can vary between seven different colors. It’s perfect as a night light, particularly since you can completely turn off the lights with the LED button on the front of the unit when you’re ready to go to sleep.
This humidifier isn’t the quietest option we’ve seen – it puts out around 35 dB of noise. But, the low hum wasn’t a problem for most users who had this unit in their bedrooms. In addition, the 450 square feet of coverage area means that this humidifier offers enough power for even the largest bedrooms, as well as most kitchens and living rooms.
The only thing we and users would like to see is a larger water tank. The 0.4-gallon tank isn’t tiny, but you will have to refill the humidifier every day or two, especially if you keep the mist output high. Helpfully, it’s extremely simple to refill the tank, as you can pour in water from the top of the unit.
More features: Intelligent Sleep Mode; ≤ 28 dB noise level; 3-level mist output
This small but capable cool mist humidifier from Levoit is incredibly quiet. It produces just 28 dB of noise when running, which is almost imperceptible unless the humidifier is right next to your head while you sleep. Better yet, the humidifier is designed to work in your bedroom – it even has a Sleep Mode. In that setting, the unit powers off all of its display lights to avoid distracting you from sleep and will automatically maintain a preset humidity throughout the night.
Users liked the design of the tank on this unit, which fills directly from the top. It’s also BPA-free, which is a plus for truly reaping the health benefits of diffusing essential oils. The only thing to watch out for is that the tank is pretty small. At just 0.5 gallons, you’ll probably have to refill this humidifier every day or two.
Controls on this diffuser are relatively minimal. You can switch the mist output between three different intensity levels, but that’s about it.
Users found that the humidifier is extremely easy to clean and maintain. There’s no filter to worry about, and you can fill it with tap water without any issues. Plus, Levoit backs up your purchase with a two-year warranty.
More features: 28 dB noise level; 3-level mist output
This larger humidifier and essential oil diffuser from Homasy offers enough cool mist to cover up to 538 square feet of your home. That’s a ton of coverage and makes this humidifier perfect for conditioning homes in drier environments. Plus, the 1.2-gallon tank is large enough that you can go several days without having to refill it.
When it does come time for a refill, users found that the top-fill design makes it incredibly easy to top off the tank. Additionally, essential oils can be added to an additional aromatherapy nozzle that’s simple to fix onto the mist output nozzle.
Users also appreciated that this humidifier is very quiet. Homasy rates it as producing just 28 dB of noise, which is silent enough that it didn’t bother most customers who had it on their nightstands while sleeping.
The main complaint we have about this humidifier is that it’s not very customizable. There are only three options to vary the output of the cool mist. That makes it best suited for humidifying large areas, but the humidifier can be a bit much for overnight use in a smaller bedroom. Unlike the Levoit humidifier, it doesn’t have a sensor to help regulate humidity at a set value.
More features: 7-color LED light and 15 lighting modes; 4 timer settings; 2 mist output settings
This budget-friendly humidifier and essential oil diffuser from VicTsing has a lot to offer for bedrooms. First of all, the design is unique and very attractive. For a very low price, this is a classy fixture to add to your nightstand. Users also liked the small LED light strip around the base of the humidifier, which switches between seven different colors and offers a total of 15 different lighting modes. It’s perfect as a night light, particularly for baby’s rooms.
The water tank on this humidifier is very small, so don’t expect to get much more than about a night’s worth of runtime out of it. Thankfully, users found that the humidifier is easy to refill simply by moving it over to your nearest sink.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the coverage area of this humidifier is not particularly large, either. It’s rated for 323 square feet, although users noted that it is better suited to medium-sized bedrooms between 100 and 200 square feet in area.
Still, the controls on this unit are a big plus. It comes with four timer settings and two different mist output settings. Users also loved how quiet the diffuser is, and many used it as a humidifier for their baby because it is BPA-free and completely safe.
Now that you’ve learned more about our six favorite essential oil humidifiers, how do you decide which one is the best fit for your needs? And is a cool mist humidifier the right option for your aromatherapy? In our buying guide, we’ll answer these questions as well as highlight the features you need to know about when choosing a humidifier for essential oils.
Humidifiers on their own are a great addition to your home. Especially if you live in a drier climate, adding moisture back into your home’s air can help reduce the feeling of having a dry, scratchy throat or a stuffy nose. In addition, added humidity can help kill viruses in the air so that you and your family can live healthier.
Adding essential oils to your humidifier gives you even more benefits. That’s because different essential oils offer different benefits, such as added energy or focus. By diffusing these oils into your home’s air, you can breathe them in throughout the day.
You can also use an essential oil humidifier to better enjoy your home. For example, lemongrass oil is a deterrent to bugs. So, you can add lemongrass oil to a humidifier and put it on your porch to enjoy the outdoors without being eaten alive.
Most humidifiers for aromatherapy use cool mist rather than heat because heat can eliminate the therapeutic properties of essential oils. The temperatures required to boil water damage the molecules that give essential oils their unique properties. So, it’s critical to use cool mist humidity, which doesn’t involve heating, whenever you are diffusing essential oils into the air.
When choosing the best humidifier for essential oils, the first thing you need to consider is the size of the room your want to aromatize. Depending on your needs, you may want to place the humidifier in the kitchen, in an office, or in a bedroom – or move it between the three.
In any case, your humidifier should be rated to cover an area that is at least the size of the largest room you plan to put it in. If the room is larger, the essential oils will diffuse so much that you will lose out on many of the benefits of aromatherapy.
The humidifiers that we reviewed cover a lot of different room sizes. The Levoit model, with 260 square feet of coverage, is enough for most bedrooms and offices. The 500-plus-square-foot coverage of the Homasy and Everlasting Comfort humidifiers may be better suited to a large kitchen or living room.
Many people prefer to let their essential oil humidifiers run throughout the day or even around the clock. So, it’s very helpful if your essential oil humidifier can run for many hours without running out of oil or water.
Runtimes vary widely, from just 10 hours on the Urpower humidifier to up to 50 hours on the Everlasting Comfort humidifier. Keep in mind that this isn’t essential, as you can always replace the oil and water more frequently.
In an ideal world, aromatherapy machines wouldn’t make any noise at all. However, in reality, the process of producing a cool mist does create a small amount of ambient noise.
Most people won’t notice this sound after a few days of using a humidifier, but it’s crucial to consider how important quietness is to you when choosing an essential oil diffuser.
Several of the humidifiers we reviewed, including the Homasy and Levoit models, produce just 28 dB of noise – so quiet that you probably won’t be able to hear them from the next room in your house. However, as the coverage and runtime of your humidifier increase, so too does the size of the motor. The Everlasting Comfort humidifier produces almost 10 times more noise, so it will be noticeable if you are standing within a few feet of it.
Essential oil humidifiers are designed to become a fixture of your home, so you want to be sure that they will run for years to come. All of the humidifiers that we reviewed come with at least a one-year warranty to protect your purchase. The Everlasting Comfort and Levoit humidifiers double that warranty period to two years.
Many of the features that differentiate essential oil diffusers are related to ease of use. For example, the Everlasting Comfort humidifier include a dim LED light that can be used as a nightlight if you keep the humidifier in your bedroom. Many of the units we reviewed can be used for both humidification and aromatherapy, which increases their versatility.
You should also look for helpful controls like knobs to control the intensity of diffusion. An automatic shut-off when the humidifier runs out of water is pretty essential. Also, check whether your humidifier comes with filters, and whether they are simple to change.
You can use a wide variety of essential oils with your humidifier – most do not have any strict limitations or predefined sets of oils that they will work with. Common oils include lavender and chamomile, which are used for relaxation; sweet orange, which offers energy in the middle of the day; peppermint, which increases focus; and lemongrass, which deters bugs from entering your home.
Our three overall favorite humidifiers for essential oil therapy are the Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, the Urpower Humidifier, and the Exqline Aroma Humidifier. We feel the Everlasting Comfort humidifier is the best humidifier for essential oil therapy. It offers a 500-square-foot coverage area, ultrasonic mist generation, and a simple refill with tap water. On top of that, this humidifier has one of the largest water tanks we’ve seen, so you don’t have to worry about constantly refilling it. The Urpower Humidifier is as much a colorful lamp as it is a diffuser. The humidifier contains an LED light that can switch between seven different colors. The Exqline Humidifier is one of our favorite models for its controls. You can use the prominent front control knob to vary the mist output, rather than be stuck with just three output levels as for most other units. On top of that, it comes with built-in LED strip lights.
