Club Benefits
Dehumidifiers can be useful for everything from preventing mold to drying wet laundry, and if you buy the right one, you won't even notice as it sucks all that moisture out of the air. But, while they look pretty similar, not all dehumidifiers are worth the investment.
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.
If you're looking for the most versatile of all the best dehumidifiers, the model I recommend right now is the GoveeLife 50 Pint Dehumidifier. It is incredibly efficient at stripping moisture from the air, has a smartphone app and works with Google Assistant and Alexa.
And if you want to keep costs down without compromising on core performance, you should check out the Midea 20-Pint Cube Dehumidifier. It's easy to use, has a nested design for easy storage, has an app for when you're away from home, and the handle on the bucket makes it easy to empty.
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 was so easy to use, and the integration with Google Assistant and Alexa 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 rooms up to 700 square feet, and no matter where we placed it, the efficiency was always equally as impressive. So while we can't say it can definitely handle 4,500 square feet, it seems quite likely.
It's one of 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 quick 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
How we test the best dehumidifiers
Our testers
Dan is the former technical editor for VeloNews Magazine, and currently reviews electric bikes and home applicances 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.
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.
How to choose the best dehumidifier
There are a huge range of dehumidifiers on the market. Before choosing your favorite, here are a few factors you should consider:
Type
There are different types of dehumidifiers on the market. The most common type is a condensing dehumidifier, which pulls the absorbed air over refrigerated coils, which cools it enough the condense and separate the moisture.
Other types include desiccant dehumidifiers, which will use a water-absorbing material, and thermoelectric dehumidifiers, which operate with charged plates. Generally speaking, neither of these latter two types are as effective as condenser models, which is why Dan only recommends this type in his list.
Capacity
Dehumidifiers generally come in three sizes: large (45-50-pint capacity), medium (30-pint capacity) and small (20-22-pint capacity).
Under the old regulations, these sizes were 70, 50 and 30 pints, respectively, and you'll see such numbers with three older models above.
Noise level
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.
Features to look out for
Pint capacity — The capacity in pints relates to how much moisture the dehumidifier claims to absorb per day. The bigger the capacity, the larger and damper space it can handle.
Bucket size — Pint capacity shouldn’t be confused with bucket size however. This specification indicates how much the internal bucket can actually hold before it will need to be emptied. The larger the bucket, the less often you will need to empty it.
Drainage type — On this list you will find passive and pump drainage types. Passive types let you passively drain the water through a hose, or alternatively you can manually carry and empty the bucket yourself. Whereas pump drainage types will automatically pump the water out. Pumps are preferred as the water doesn’t need to rely on gravity alone to drain, so you can direct the hose into a sink or out of the window. However, these models do cost more than without.
Energy Star Certification — It’s always useful to look out for Energy Star Certification as this guarantees savings in terms of energy and money.
Humidity sensor — With a humidity sensor, your dehumidifier will detect relevant changes in the atmosphere and can automatically switch on and, in some cases, set its power accordingly. Those without a sensor will just be manually controlled.
Frost sensor — A frost sensor will detect the formation of ice on the condenser coils. The dehumidifier will then shut off the compressor to give the ice a chance to melt. If it continues to run with frost on the coils, this can damage the parts and make the appliance work much harder to absorb any moisture.
Auto restart — If the dehumidifier suddenly loses power, auto restart means it will automatically switch back on to its previous settings once power is restored.
Number of speeds — This relates to how many speeds the fan has on the dehumidifier. The more speeds there are, the better as it gives you greater control and means excess energy isn’t wasted.
If you're still unsure, check out these things you should know before buying a dehumidifier and how to avoid these common dehumidifier mistakes, and where the best place to put a dehumidifier is.
FAQs
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 it's 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 a 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.
