Technologies
Best Space Heaters in 2025
CNET’s experts have handpicked the top space heaters to keep you warm and cozy when the temperature outside drops.
Our Experts
Even as we enter the spring season, it can still get pretty chilly in the mornings and at night. This means that you might be finding that you’re still reaching for your space heater. Using a portable heater is a great way to warm up a single room when you need it, without having to turn on your central heating for the whole home. Modern space heaters offer improved energy efficiency and heating performance, so you can warm up your home without racking up a large energy bill. Just remember that space heaters do come with some fire risks, so be sure to check out our space heater safety guide before use.
What is the best space heater overall?
Our team found the Vornado VH2 Whole Room Heater to be the best overall space heater. It’s small but mighty, and provides consistent heat without making too much noise. In our testing, it performed well when it came to heating up and circulating air throughout the room, and its exterior didn’t overheat. Of course, we’ve found plenty of other great options worth exploring as well. Check out all of our top picks below.
Read more: Ready to Pull Out Your Space Heater? Here’s How Much It’ll Cost You
Best space heaters of 2025
- Consistent temperature
- Quiet
- Safe for pets and children
- On the larger size
Vornado’s models topped just about every best list out there where space heaters are concerned, so you can’t go wrong with a variety of Vornado products, no matter your space or heat needs this season, with the VH2 being its most consistently singled-out performer. This whole-room space heater circulates heated air throughout a medium-sized room, like a furnace in miniature, maintaining a consistent temperature without a significant space requirement. It is reported to be among the quietest models available, with several users remarking that it was quiet enough to sleep with while operating. Its plastic exterior stays comparatively cool to the touch, making it among the safest bets for households with pets and children. Vornado also offers a 5-year support term, making it easy to address technical issues should any arise.
- Doesn’t take up too much space
- Costs less
- Small heat range
At a fraction of the space imprint of the Vornado model above, and about a third of the cost, Lasko’s Ceramic Heater 754200 is an excellent starting place if you’re still in a trial mindset where a space heater is concerned. Lasko also had a preponderance of mentions for several models among review sites.
Its compact size is better suited to smaller spaces such as small bedrooms or home offices, or even desktop or counter use rather than an entire room. If you live with a perpetually warm person, as mentioned above, this may be an ideal model for creating different heat zones within the same room. Otherwise, users report that it warms up quickly and reliably — ideal for helping you get out of bed on a chilly morning — and its lightweight nature makes it especially easy to move around the house with you as your additional heat needs dictate.
- Highest user rating
- 360 degree air circulation
While the previous two models were the most singled out among product testing sites, this Honeywell model had one of the highest user ratings on retailers’ sites. The feature here that significantly sets it apart from every other model is its 360 degrees of air circulation, relying on top and bottom vents to pull in air and circulate warm air around its circumference. Several users mentioned that its multidirectional airflow made it especially useful for bedroom use to create ambient warmth in a medium-sized space without an intense, one-directional flow.
- Aesthetic design
- Sufficient heat in low and high settings
Who says fan heaters are out of style? Good news for those with mid-century decor who can’t bear the thought of an industrial appliance interrupting their curated look. Vornado’s VHeat Vintage Metal Heater manages to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, called out by basically every review site I considered. Again, Vornado’s products overall tended to top the lists of best space heaters, and this model is more than just attractive, functioning accordingly, with users reporting it delivered sufficient heat to a small space on both its low and high settings.
- Additional safety features for bathroom
- Versatile
- Good price
Of all the rooms in your house, none are as disappointing when overly chilly as your bathroom. Who wants to get out of a hot shower on a cold day and be greeted with the rude awakening of arctic air on wet skin? You can’t put just any space heater in the bathroom, which adds additional safety considerations because of the moisture element. Among those that are specifically designed to be bathroom-safe, this Dreo model was the clear winner, not to mention Amazon’s bestseller in space heaters overall because of its versatility and price. The Dreo DR-HSH004A is equipped with a special safety plug that cuts the power immediately upon contact with water, and its small footprint makes it ideal for one of the smallest rooms in your house with the biggest heat needs.
- Cooling and heating for year-round use
- Air purifier
- Sleek design
- Pricey
While several space heaters here have a fan-only option for cooling during the warmer months, Dyson offers one of the few models that not only has both of these features but works as a HEPA air purifier as well. Dyson’s products typically demand a higher price, and this is no exception, but it is perhaps worth it, given its one-and-done functionality and sleek design. This dual model had the highest user satisfaction rating among retailer sites, with many people pointing out that it was especially ideal for allergy sufferers, as well as lauding its year-round utility.
- High user ratings
- Capable of heating a whole room
Tower-style space heaters, and especially those that oscillate like this DeLonghi Ceramic Tower Heater model, are some of the best options for heating a large space such as a larger bedroom or living room. Their radiant heat is capable of reaching more space both vertically and horizontally because of its size and functionality. This model also had one of the highest user ratings among retail sites, with many users mentioning how quiet it ran, and singling out the utility of the remote control and digital display, which is a less common feature among the space heaters I researched. Several also commented how this space heater felt like it was capable of heating the whole room, rather than just delivering heat to its immediate surroundings.
How we evaluated space heaters
Our list of space heaters was aggregated from numerous review sites for those models that were most frequently mentioned, as well as bestselling models at major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart and Bed, Bath & Beyond. I researched the space heaters in this list by analyzing specs and user reviews, diving deep for mentions of persistent issues, and considering the available features and functionality compared to price as a measure of each model’s overall value. I focused primarily on those models that had extremely high user ratings, typically 4.5 and above with at least 1,000 ratings.
While I didn’t bring every model home and perform extensive hands-on testing, I was able to examine most models in person to get a feel for the design, footprint and intuitiveness of its controls.
Space heaters compared
| Vornado VH2 | Lasko Ceramic 754200 | Honeywell HHF360V | Dyson HP01 | DeLonghi Tower | Vornado VHEAT Vintage | Dreo DR-HSH004A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settings | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Heat element | Forced air | Ceramic | Forced air | Forced air, oscillating | Ceramic, oscillating | Forced air | Forced air, oscillating |
| Adjustable thermostat | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Tip-over protection | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Overheat protection | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Additional features | None | None | None | Sleep timer, HEPA Air Purifier | Timer, remote control, ECO mode | Adjustable head | Remote control, safety plug, ECO mode |
| Dimensions, (DxWxH, inches) | 9.5 x 11.8 x 11.9 | 6 x 3.7x 9.2 | 8 x 8 x 11.5 | 6 x 8.7 x 24.9 | 7.5 x 8.7 x 23.6 | 13.7 x 11 x 8.7 | 10.3 x 6.7 x 5.5 |
| Energy draw | 750W/1,500W | 900W/1,500W | 1,500W | Not available | 1,500W | 750W/1,500W | 900W/1,000W/1500W |
| Price | $90 | $31 | $35 | $530 | $110 | $146 | $60 |
Space heater buying advice
Space heater price
Most electric space heaters that operate solely in that function (and not as a dual air purifier) are priced below $150, with many models on this list costing less than $100. Several smaller, well-regarded budget models may even run you less than $50. The size of the unit, additional features, number of settings and heating element all contribute to the overall cost of a space heater.
Space heater size
There are no standard sizes or shapes for electric space heaters, and most of the space heaters I researched did not specify the square footage for coverage, other than to mention its capacity to heat a «small to medium» space or to specify room types such as a bedroom or office. Space heaters may be indicated as tabletop, floor or bathroom models and many also come as tall but narrow «tower» models, which may or may not oscillate, that have a smaller footprint and therefore a smaller horizontal space requirement.
Types of space heaters
While this list consists only of electric space heaters, (as opposed to water- or oil-heated models,) there are several different mechanisms that electric space heaters may utilize to create heated air.
Fan-forced: Fan-forced space heaters circulate air by pulling it into the unit and passing it over a heating element, typically metal coils, expelling the heated air through exhaust vents in the unit.
Infrared: Infrared bulbs are those which convert electricity into radiant heat. This is the least common type among the space heaters we included here, but no less effective.
Ceramic: Ceramic space heaters utilize electricity to heat a ceramic plate within the unit, which then emits radiant heat into the air, with or without the additional use of a fan.
Space heater FAQs
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Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.
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Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.
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The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»
Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.
Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.
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Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.
‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’
Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.
The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.
Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.
This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.
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OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.
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AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.
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Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.
‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’
A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.
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‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’
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