The 7 Best Whole-House Humidifiers of 2024

Best Overall, Console

AIRCARE Digital Whole-House Pedestal-Style Evaporative Humidifier

$175 At Home Depot $180 At Walmart $175 At Lowe's

While testing the Aircare Whole-House Pedestal-Style Evaporative Humidifier, we found it easy to set up and monitor, thanks to a digital display. We also liked its attractive, compact housing that can double as a side table or plant pedestal—it’s not an eyesore. Since it’s a console humidifier, it’s evaporative in nature, meaning it uses a fan to pull water from a tank into the air and circulate it around a room. This type of humidifier is powerful enough to circulate moisture through a single-level home or apartment and has a straightforward design, which we love. 

Rather than being hooked up to an HVAC system, this humidifier only requires a standard 120-volt outlet. Simply attach caster wheels, install the float bar, fill the water tank, and this humidifier is ready to operate. This humidifier’s vents are located on the side of the unit, so you’ll want to be sure it’s not placed flush against another piece of furniture or a wall. 

The digital display will show an “F” if the water tank needs to be refilled. You don’t need to lug a water tank to a sink: To refill the tank, all you have to do is open the fill door (where the AircareIRCARE plaque is adhered) and insert the funnel before pouring water into the 3.5-gallon tank. The digital controls allow you to adjust a desired humidity level and switch between nine fan speeds. It will automatically shut off once it reaches the target humidity level. 

This unit is good for homes up to 2,400 square feet but can work for most one- or two-bedroom houses, as well as larger apartments. We noticed during testing that some parts of the home were not as well humidified as others while using this unit, especially if doors were left closed. If you have a larger space or multiple floors you need to monitor, but want a console model, we recommend purchasing an additional pedestal model for the second floor of your home. 

_{Type: Console | Dimensions: 18 x 18 x 27.25 inches | Coverage Area: 2,400 square feet | Tank Capacity: 3.5 gallons}

Best Overall, through HVAC

Aprilaire Whole Home Humidifier

$204 At Amazon $261 At Walmart View On Sylvane.com

The AprilAire Whole Home Humidifier is our best overall, HVAC-compatible pick because it’s a true “set it and forget it” model with minimum required maintenance. It is ideal for homes up to 3,600 square feet and occupies only a bit of space among your ductwork. While you can install this model yourself, it is a bit more complex than freestanding units. We also recommend contacting a professional to install this unit, especially since it includes an outdoor temperature sensor, which requires electrical work. 

The AprilAire Whole Home Humidifier is a bypass model, that uses warmth from your furnace to heat a water panel, and then the water particles travel through your home’s ductwork, similar to a steam whole-house humidifier. This humidifier’s digital display shows the humidity level, and it has indicators that light when the unit is on, the water panel needs to be changed, or a specialist should be contacted for required maintenance. 

The dual sensors (one for the outside temperature and one for relative humidity) allow for a more accurate humidity reading, and the humidifier will automatically shut off or turn on, based on your desired set humidity level. 

Keep in mind that you will need to replace this humidifier’s water panel after each season of use, but it’s less than $20 per panel. 

_{Type: Bypass, HVAC compatible | Dimensions: 15.63 x 10.25 x 13 inches | Coverage Area: 3,600 square feet | Tank Capacity: Not applicable}

Best for Large Homes

Aprilaire 700 Whole Home Humidifier

$350 At Amazon $341 At Walmart

Similar in functionality to the AprilAire 500, our pick for best overall through HVAC, the AprilAire 700 system is designed for homes up to 5,300 square feet. In addition to its two sensors and monitoring system, this model also has a built-in fan that pulls air directly from the adjoining furnace and moves it through your home.

Keep in mind that the larger square footage coverage does mean the unit takes up slightly more space than AprilAire’s smaller humidifiers, so you’ll want to accommodate its larger footprint in your installation plans. It can be mounted in multiple positions just like other units. Just be sure to account for additional wiring and ductwork. 

This humidifier is about $100 more than the 500 (our best overall, hvac), because of its size and its ability to keep an entire house of 5,300 square feet at a comfortable humidity level. One major draw of this design is its built-in drain, which helps to flush out mineral deposits, resulting in less long-term maintenance and preventing water from accumulating in the unit—this is also available on the smaller, 500 unit. 

If you have a larger, older home with poorly sealed windows and doors, this humidifier may not be able to fully humidify your space because of the air that’s escaping from unsealed cracks. However, this humidifier is capable of distributing an impressive 18 gallons of moisture per day in a tightly sealed home (the second most on this list).

_{Type: Evaoporative, HVAC compatible | Dimensions: 15.91 x 10.34 x 18 inches | Coverage Area: 5,300 square feet | Tank Capacity: Not applicable}

Best Smart

Honeywell Home HM750A1000/U Electrode Steam Humidifier

$1,041 At Amazon $1,289 At Build.com View On Alpinehomeair.com

The smart features and convenience offered with the Honeywell Electrode Steam Humidifier make it an especially appealing steam option for homeowners, especially with larger homes (it’s capable of distributing up to 11 or 22 pints per day of water). For starters, this humidifier can be connected to other Honeywell Home thermostats, so if you already have one installed, you can easily adjust the humidity based on your home’s temperature reading. 

For an even more comprehensive understanding and control of your home’s central air, this humidifier can also be connected to an app, which allows you to monitor and adjust your home’s temperature and humidity from your phone. We also like this humidifier’s compact size and versatility: It can be installed directly on a duct or wall, based on what’s best for your home’s layout.

All of these smart features come at a higher cost, especially since this humidifier runs on steam, so it uses an internal heat source to boil water and then push the resulting steam through your home's central air ducts. However, if closely monitoring your larger home’s humidity is important to you, this humidifier makes it easy. 

_{Type: Steam, HVAC compatible | Dimensions: 18 x 10 x 7 inches | Coverage Area: 5,000 square feet | Tank Capacity: Not applicable}

Best Budget

AIRCARE 836000HB Evaporative Humidifier

$123 At Home Depot $125 At Walmart

A portable evaporative console humidifier is a budget-friendly solution to a smaller home’s humidity needs. We like this model from Aircare because of its large water tank capacity, impressive coverage capabilities, and simple-to-use control panel. This humidifier is set on caster wheels, so you can easily push it around a room or between areas of your home when needed. It also has a digital display that shows the current humidity level, and two dials are available to adjust the three-speed motor and desired humidity level. 

We also like that this model has a water refill and check filter indicator, which help you understand your humidifier's maintenance needs. The water tank is also easily refilled through the front grate on the unit, so you won’t have to worry about carrying the 6-gallon tank to a sink.

Unlike our best overall, console pick, this model cannot be used for additional tabletop storage because of the fan located on the top of the unit. However, we do like that it has a good coverage area—2,300 square feet, just 100 square feet less than our best overall, console—for $50 to $75 less.

_{Type: Console | Dimensions: 21.5 x 13 x 17.75 inches | Coverage Area: 2,300 square feet | Tank Capacity: 6 gallons}

Best for Small Homes

AIRCARE D46 720 Designer Series Evaporative Humidifier

$150 At Home Depot $50 At Lowe's $150 At sylvane.com

This evaporative humidifier from Aircare is a great option for apartment or home renters who cannot install a humidifier with their HVAC system. Aside from its attractive design and minimal floor footprint, we love that this evaporative humidifier is capable of adding 3.52 gallons of water to your indoor air per day. The four-speed motor makes it easy to adjust the rate at which your home’s air is humidified.

This humidifier has two 1-gallon water tanks, which are easy to refill and re-install on each side of the unit. Keep in mind that Aircare does recommend using distilled water with this humidifier to prevent mineral buildup on the filters. Check filter and refill status indicators are also incorporated on the digital display, so you know exactly how to maintain this humidifier’s long-term performance. Just keep in mind that it has a 1,200-square-foot coverage area, so if you have a larger home, our best overall, console model is a better choice. 

_{Type: Console | Dimensions: 26 x 15 x 10 inches | Coverage Area: 1,200 square feet | Tank Capacity: 2 gallons}

Best Portable

Vornado Evap40 Evaporative Humidifier

$119 At Amazon

The Vornado Evap40 4-Gallon Evaporative Humidifier is one of the more compact, yet powerful console whole-house humidifiers on the market. As we mentioned with the Aircare pedestal humidifier, our best overall, console pick, this model from Vornado is not going to be the best option for multi-story homes or homes larger than its maximum coverage area. However, we think this is a great option for anyone living in an apartment less than 1,000 sq. feet, or anyone looking to just humidify a living area or bedroom. Plus, it weighs less than 10 pounds (the lightest console option on our list), which makes it easy to pick up and move from room to room as needed.

This model has two control dials that allow you to adjust the humidity and fan speed. The multiple fan speeds allow you to adjust the humidifier’s power based on your home’s temperature and specific humidity needs day-to-day. We also like the dual-tank design, which makes this model easier to refill than other consoles that just have one larger (and more difficult to carry) tank.

This humidifier does not have a carrying handle or caster wheels, so you may need an additional set of hands if you need to move it from room to room when it’s filled. 

_{Type: Console | Dimensions: 13.5 x 19.5 x 10.5 inches | Coverage Area: 1,000 square feet | Tank Capacity: 4 gallons}