A space heater can provide some extra warmth in a drafty room or chilly office. In Consumer Reports’ space heater ratings, we identify multiple models that work well and some that even add a bit of style to your space. We also found that you don’t have to pay a premium for top performance—many models we rate highly cost less than $100.
Safety is critical when using a space heater, so be sure to review our safety tips for operating a space heater in your home (including in the bathroom). It’s safest to keep space heaters on the floor rather than on a table, so consider one with a remote control, which means less stooping and squinting when knobs and dials are on the bottom of the unit.
In This Article
Best Space Heaters for Overall Heating • Best Space Heaters for Heating a Room Quickly • Best Space Heaters for Direct Heating • How CR Tests Space Heaters
Before you shop, consult our space heater buying guide for expert tips as well as some basic considerations (a space heater won’t necessarily save you money on your heating bill, for example).
More on Space Heaters
Best Space Heaters for $100 or Less
Quietest Space Heaters
Space Heater Safety
Is It Safe to Use a Space Heater in the Bathroom?
Another consideration is noise. A machine that makes a racket can be annoying if you’re running it while trying to watch TV or work. Most of the space heaters in CR’s ratings earn a very good or excellent score in our noise test, and those that did worse typically had other shortcomings.
Below, grouped by task and in alphabetical order, are space heaters that excel at both heating a room and directly heating a person—as well as models that aced either one task or the other. For safety’s sake, we did not include models that scored poorly in our hot-surface test, meaning their heat-exhaust outlet can become hot enough to cause a burn when the heater is operating on its highest setting. For even more options, see our comprehensive space heater ratings.
Best Space Heaters for Overall Heating
In our tests, smaller heaters—those designed to warm one or two people in a small space—outperformed larger models when it came to both quickly heating up a space and heating the people in it. Here are three that performed admirably in both these tests.
Best Space Heaters for Heating a Room Quickly
The following space heaters aced our tests for room heating, getting a top score in heating up a standard-sized room in less than 15 minutes.
Best Space Heaters for Direct Heating
These heaters scored particularly well in our test of how effectively they warm the people in the room where they’re used.
Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports
How CR Tests Space Heaters
We evaluate space heaters on how well they heat a standard-sized room in 15minutes and how good they are at heating a person directly—our "spot-heating" score—in the same amount of time. “Our spot-heating test uses a mannequin wired with sensors,” says test engineer Chris Regan, who oversees our space heater ratings. “We want to know how your body will feel when you’re sitting within 4.5feet of the appliance.”
We also test space heaters for safety, as shown above, including how hot the surface gets (so that you don’t burn your fingers) and whether the model gets so hot that it can ignite a piece of fabric (like nearby curtains, for example). If you have young children or pets in your home, pay close attention to the hot-surface score in our ratings. Models that scored poorly on that test are not included in this article.
“While a heater is supposed to provide adequate heat to warm your space, and in turn you, you don’t want to pick a heater that could potentially burn someone who doesn’t understand that they shouldn’t touch it—even if they accidentally bump into it,” says Regan.
Mary H.J. Farrell
As a senior editor at Consumer Reports for more than 15 years, Mary H.J. Farrell reported on all manner of vacuums and cookware, as well as microwaves, mixers, freezers, and fans. Starting in the mid-1990s, she held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. One of her earliest jobs was at Good Housekeeping.
Keith Flamer
Keith Flamer has been a multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports since 2021, covering laundry, cleaning, small appliances, and home trends. Fascinated by interior design, architecture, technology, and all things mechanical, he translates CR’s testing engineers’ work into content that helps readers live better, smarter lives. Prior to CR, Keith covered luxury accessories and real estate, most recently at Forbes, with a focus on residential homes, interior design, home security, and pop culture trends.
