A good dehumidifier can make damp rooms more comfortable and help keep moisture, condensation and mould under control, but the right model depends on the space you need to treat, alongside noise, drainage, ease of use and useful features such as app control.
That's why we spent hours testing the best dehumidifiers in real-life damp basements and moldy bathrooms, measuring everything from noise level and ease of emptying to how quickly they can bring the humidity level in your home down to a manageable level.
The GoveeLife 50 Pint Dehumidifier is our top pick for its fast, effective performance and smart-home support, while the Midea 20-Pint Cube offers a more affordable, compact alternative that's easy to use. For larger rooms that need serious moisture removal, the Frigidaire 50 Pint is the better fit. For more expert advice and in-depth reviews, I've got you covered in this guide.
Dan is the former technical editor for VeloNews Magazine, and currently reviews home appliances (like dehumidifiers) and electric bikes for Tom's Guide. He hosts two podcasts on his site, Slow Guy on the Fast Ride: one is about cycling and other outdoor activities, while the other looks at mental health issues. Dan lives outside of Denver, Colorado with his family.
Best dehumidifiers you can buy right now
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Best dehumidifier overall
The GoveeLife 50 Pint Dehumidifier has a large capacity and is very quick at removing moisture from the air. That gives it its place among the best dehumidifiers, and while it is exceptionally good at its core function, it is so easy to use, and the integration with Google Assistant and Alexa is so useful, it's hard to recommend anything else.
Govee says it can handle spaces up to 4,500 square feet, which is pretty big, and more than most homes really need. We tested it in rooms up to 700 square feet, and no matter where we placed it, the efficiency was always equally impressive. So while we can't say it can definitely handle 4,500 square feet, it seems quite likely.
It's one of the few dehumidifiers that have a focus on more than just energy efficiency too; it's made of 20% recycled materials and uses the R32 refrigerant, which has lower emissions than most other common refrigerants found in dehumidifiers. There's a hose included, too, so you can run it in continuous mode without manual drainage.
The unit managed to bring our basement bathroom from 90% humidity down to 35% in just 34 minutes, compared to three hours for the Midea 20-Pint Cube Dehumidifier and 40 minutes with the Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier. So it is incredibly quick. The tradeoff is that it can be quite noisy (70 dB) and it generates a fair amount of heat.
You can connect the dehumidifier to Wi-Fi and use the Govee Home app to control the unit and check on its progress. It was easy to use and means you can adjust settings or turn it on/off even when you're not at home. Plus, the connection to Google Assistant and Alexa means you can use voice commands as well.
- Read our full GoveeLife Smart 50 Pint Dehumidifier review
Best budget dehumidifier
The Midea 20-Pint Cube Dehumidifier has a (slightly) more aesthetic design than most dehumidifiers, which are like rectangular white boxes. This model is more like a cube that tucks neatly into smaller spaces, and it has a nested design so that you can make it more compact for storage between uses.
If you grab the handle on the top, lift it out of the bucket and rotate it 90 degrees before slotting it back into the bucket, built-in supports keep it expanded at full size, allowing you to store 20 pints of water in the bucket. There's a window so you can see how full it's getting too.
We found it really easy to empty the bucket when the time came: lift the unit using the top handle, place it on the floor, and pick up the (now full and heavy) bucket by its handle and go empty the water down the drain (or in your garden). There are three fan speeds, basic controls on the top and an auto-defrost mode.
During our testing, we found the dehumidifier was pretty quiet (around 55 dB) but did make a slight metallic sound during use, kind of like the sound of an air conditioner. It was impressively quick to remove moisture, taking a basement bathroom down from 85% humidity to 35% in around three hours.
The Midea Air app is a useful companion as it has more alerts than you get on the machine itself, like notifications for a full water tank, preset tank level shut-offs and real-time room humidity measurements. It's easy to set up and use, and actually worth downloading because it offers more than the device itself can.
- Read our full Midea 20 Pint Cube Dehumidifier review
Best dehumidifier for large spaces
The Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier has a pretty large capacity, making it ideal for larger rooms (up to 1,200 square feet) where you're taking a lot of moisture out of the air. It tackles the humidity pretty quickly and even works well in particularly damp rooms. Unusually, there's no companion smartphone app, either.
Whether this is a positive or not depends on your viewpoint. It keeps things simple, but leaves less room for customization or remote management when you're in a different room or away from home. So, really, this model is best if you have large, damp spaces you just need to set and forget.
This is especially the case because it is large (25 inches tall) and heavy (41 pounds). That sounds like it'd be hard to move around, but there are wheels and a handle; just expect that carrying it up or down stairs might be a bit of a challenge. Once in position, you get to choose: bucket or continuous drain by hose.
There isn't a hose included, but you can pick one up from your local hardware store for very little and then run it to a drain. Then the unit will just happily sit and remove moisture from the air until you go to the machine and turn it off, or you can set the auto-off function for when the bucket is full if you're not using a hose.
After taking a shower in a basement bathroom, the humidity reached 90%. The Frigidaire Dehumidifier managed to drop that to just 35% in an impressively quick 40 minutes. It is a bit on the loud side, though, running at around 60 dB, so it may be a bit of a headache if you're using it in the room you're in.
- Read the full Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier review
Also tested
Best Dehumidifiers: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a dehumidifier?
You may need a dehumidifier if a room regularly feels damp, suffers from condensation or mold, or stays humid after showering, cooking or drying laundry indoors. It can also improve comfort in muggy conditions by lowering indoor humidity. It is most useful where moisture cannot clear easily, such as a basement or a poorly ventilated room. Before buying, rule out leaks and serious ventilation problems, too.
Over time, water can cause damp, rot wood and degrade electrical equipment. Plus, it can make breathing harder, which could worsen health conditions like asthma. The longer the moisture hangs around, the more likely it'll create mold buildup, which can be dangerous to breathe in and damage your home.
Adding a dehumidifier to your home can help prevent all of that. The machine extracts the water from the air, condenses it and places it in a tray for you to pour away. Some even have hose outputs so you can send that water directly to the drain. Many models are portable, so you can wheel them around the house as needed.
What size dehumidifier do I need for my room or basement?
Choose a dehumidifier based on both the size of the space and how damp it is, rather than room area alone. Larger or persistently damp rooms generally need a higher-capacity model, like the GoveeLife and Frigidaire, while a small bedroom or lightly humid room may be better served by a smaller unit, such as the Midea.
As you'll find, 20-pint, 30-pint and 50-pint models are common size bands. Along with checking the size of your room, consider how badly it's affected by damp. If it's a lot, even in a smaller space, it's best to get a larger volume.
Do dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity?
Dehumidifiers can add a lot to your electricity bill when they run for long periods, but the cost depends on the model’s power draw, how many hours it operates and the humidity setting. A larger or harder-working unit will not necessarily be the cheapest to run simply because it removes moisture faster.
Look for an appropriately sized unit and use a realistic target humidity rather than running it continuously without need. Energy-efficiency certification can be a useful comparison point, but check the current specification and local rebate eligibility rather than relying on older labels alone.
Can I use a dehumidifier in a bedroom?
Yes, you can use a dehumidifier in a bedroom, but noise, heat output and tank capacity should shape the choice. A quieter model and an appropriate capacity are preferable if it will run while you sleep; we suggest considering a noise level of around 50 dB or below for quiet rooms.
Place the unit according to the manufacturer’s clearance guidance and use the target humidity or timer controls where available. If you cannot run a drain hose safely, choose a tank that will not need frequent emptying overnight and rely on its automatic shut-off when full.
What happened to the Energy Star program?
In 2025, the Trump administration proposed scrapping the Energy Star program, which standardizes energy efficiency ratings. If a device meets the standards, it receives an Energy Star certification, and federal agencies, states and utility providers often offer rebates on certified products.
In early 2026, it was confirmed that the program wouldn't be scrapped, but would move from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Department of Energy (DOE). This took effect in mid-2026 and, so far, it looks like it'll operate as it did before. But while its future was up for debate, many providers pulled rebates.
There are fewer opportunities now to claim money back on certified products, and most providers will now only offer rebates as part of larger home energy efficiency projects. Still, if you buy an Energy Star-certified device, you know it hits an efficiency standard that'll keep your energy bills down.
Many of the best dehumidifiers we've tested were certified under Version 5 of the standard. In October 2025, Version 6 was released to the world, and this effectively resets the list of certified devices. Anything validated under Version 5 is no longer actively certified, and so wouldn't be eligible for rebates.
But if you buy one of these previously-certified products, you'll still find it labelled with the Energy Star badge, as companies are allowed to 'sell-through' existing stock without removing these labels. So although all the dehumidifiers we've tested are efficient, they don't necessarily hit the most up-to-date standards.
How to choose the best dehumidifier
Although all dehumidifiers take moisture out of the air, there are differences between models. Before you decide on the best dehumidifier for your home, it's worth thinking through exactly what you need it to do, the type of technology it uses, and what it does with the wastewater extracted from your home.
There are three main types of dehumidifiers: desiccant (water-absorbing material), thermoelectric (air passes over electrically charged plates) and condensers. The last style is generally the most effective, and the only one we recommend. These cool the air to turn the moisture into liquid and put it in a tray for disposal.
Because the water needs somewhere to go, you have a choice to make between a storage tray and a model with automatic drainage or a hose. The latter types mean you can feed the machine directly into a drain and can theoretically leave the dehumidifier running for as long as you need.
That's not always practical, though, like if you need it in your bedroom. So then you'll need a machine with a large enough capacity to store the water you need without having to empty it too frequently. Most models have an auto-shutoff for when the tray gets full, so it won't start leaking back out into the room.
Dehumidifiers generally come in three sizes: large (45-50-pint capacity), medium (30-pint capacity) and small (20-22-pint capacity). Often, as the size increases, so does the price. This tray size is different from the capacity you'll see listed on the machines in pints; that relates to the amount of water it can theoretically extract in a day.
If you’ll be placing a dehumidifier in a quiet room, such as a bedroom or home office, where you need to fall asleep or concentrate without being disturbed, consider the noise level of the dehumidifier before you buy. Aim for a dehumidifier with a decibel level of around 50 decibels or below; anything above this level will be louder.
How we test the best dehumidifiers
The way we test the best dehumidifiers is pretty straightforward; we use them. We bring them home, set them up and let them pull moisture from the air to see how they perform. That's the core of what we do, but we pay attention to other areas too.
Since you might want to move a dehumidifier to several rooms in your home, we look at how heavy it is, whether there are handles for easy carrying and if the unit has wheels. Then there are the often overlooked aspects, like how long the power cable is and, if the unit can drain, does it come with a hose and of what length.
You can find dehumidifiers that have buckets to empty, hoses to expel the water into a drain and even a pump for improved drainage. Depending on which setup the model uses, we test it out and see how easy it is to get rid of the water. And for bucket units, is the bucket easy to carry when full?
Almost all dehumidifiers have a digital display or buttons on the top of the unit so you can adjust settings or set target humidity levels. We check how easy those are to program, but also install any companion apps and play around with the features and connectivity to see if it's straightforward and reliable.
We try to standardize our testing, and Dan tests most of our dehumidifiers. He runs the shower in his basement bathroom to get the humidity up to around 90%, then he tests how quickly the unit can bring it down to 35%. For accurate readings, Dan compares the humidity against an Amazon Alexa air quality monitor.
