The Best space heaters are winter’s rear guard, the last line of defense against goose bumps and cold feet. Though not a great way to heat a whole home, space heaters can be indispensable for a late-evening movie night, a workbench in a chilly garage, or the home’s odd corners that refuse to heat. And if you live in an apartment building where you don’t control the heat, it may be your only way to feel OK in January.
But safety and reliability are prime concerns, and so is a lot of dodgy and opaque marketing about “Hyperamics” or whatever-wave technology. So I turned down my thermostat and tested dozens of space heaters to find the ones that’ll warm you up as quickly and quietly and safely as possible.
Alongside our blessedly balanced and quiet top pick, the Dreo Whole Room Heater 714 ($100), we also sorted out which heaters might best suit specific needs, from the best bathroom heater to a space heater that doubles as an air purifier.
Our Top Picks:
- Dreo Whole Room Heater 714
- De’Longhi Dragon Oil-Filled Radiator
- Lasko Ellipse Ceramic Heater
- Dreo Solaris 718 (Large Room)
Dreo Whole Room Heater 714
The Dreo Whole-Room Heater 714 is the best answer to what I’ve been searching for in a space heater ever since I started testing them. I want simple things: safety with reliable tip-over and overheat protection, quiet operation, and full 1,500-watt power to heat a room quickly and evenly. I also appreciate having a remote control without being dependent on it, precise digital temperature control with an accurate thermostat, and a design I don’t mind looking at all winter. These may sound like basic requirements, but finding them all in one heater is surprisingly rare.
The Dreo 714 checks every important box with thoughtful design and solid performance. It’s a modern take on the classic fan heater, capable of oscillating both horizontally and vertically for better heat distribution. Its counter-spiral grill spreads warmth evenly, and though not as quiet as the near-silent Vornado MVH, it’s still impressively hushed. The thermostat actually works—likely thanks to its dual-chamber design that separates the temperature sensor from the heating elements. Add in details like muteable beeps, dimming displays, cool-touch housing, memory for previous settings, and silent oscillation, and it’s hard not to like this heater. It’s not flawless—the on-device controls are low and hard to see, and the Dreo logo sits on one slightly hot spot—but overall, it’s one of the best compact heaters you can get.
| Heater type | Forced air, electric resistance |
| Heating/cooling modes | Three heat settings: 900, 1,300 and 1,500 watts. Three fan settings. Thermostat-governed eco mode. |
| Thermostat | Yes, digital. (Separate thermostat for overheat shutoff) |
| Remote/app | Remote |
| Timer | No |
| Safety features | 45-degree tip-over sensor, overheat shutoff |
| Operating noise | 38-48 decibels |
De'Longhi Dragon Oil-Filled Radiator
Oil-filled radiators like this Dragon from De’Longhi are a different beast from the resistive heaters on this list. The Dragon contains a reservoir of temperature-stable, diathermic oil that circulates within the radiator. The oil takes a little while to heat up, but when it does, the large thermal mass means that the heat radiated by the Dragon is stable and even. The Dragon is also a large device, 2 feet tall and more than a foot deep, and its entire surface gets quite hot to the touch.
So why would you ever prefer it to a resistance heater like the others on this list? Silence, and evenness of heat. Aside from a somewhat irritating beepiness on the control panel, the Dragon is utterly silent while in operation. The temperature regulation on its thermostat ends up being quite accurate, though it may take more than an hour to stabilize its gentle heat all over the room. But when it’s stable, it’s stable.
Anecdotally, oil-filled radiators also seem to dry out the air less than a fan-blowing ceramic. But especially, the Dragon’s great for bedtime. The hot oil inside the radiator keeps emitting heat even after you’ve turned it off, which means you can turn it on an hour before bedtime to warm up the room, then shut it off before you sleep and still remain toasty. The Dragon’s antifreeze feature also makes it a great tool for greenhouses and basements, turning on whenever the ambient temperature reaches 41 degrees or lower.
| Heater type | Oil-filled radiator |
| Heating/cooling modes | Three power settings, from 750W to 1500W |
| Thermostat | Yes, digital |
| Remote | No |
| Timer | Timed turn-on or shut-off, half-hour to 24 hours |
| Safety features | 45-degree tip-over trigger, overheat shutoff |
| Operating noise | Inaudible |
Lasko Ellipse Ceramic Heater
This little ceramic number from Lasko was the space heater I kept reaching for while testing dozens of other space heaters. It’s not the most obvious choice: It doesn’t heat a room evenly, its grill surface gets wackily hot, and the thermostat is an inside joke. I’m not sure I’d run it near babies or small dogs.
And yet I still kept voting for it with my cold, cold feet. Why? Because this little thing can radically change my whole experience of life within about 15 seconds of being turned on. It brings the heat, as they say, though mostly within an 8-foot radius. Within that manifold, it’s like living inside a hair dryer, which is more pleasant than it sounds. You’re warm and lovely from your heart-cockles to your cankles.
On the safety front, the device’s tip-over and overheat shutoff work as quickly and as well as any heater I tested. The remote control is a welcome convenience to turn down the heat blast whenever I start to feel like a roast duck.
| Heater type | Forced air, ceramic electric resistance |
| Heating/cooling modes | Three heater power settings, from 900W to 1500W |
| Thermostat | Yes, digital |
| Remote | Yes |
| Timer | Tmed shut-off, half-hour to 12 hours |
| Safety features | 45-degree tip-over trigger, overheat shutoff |
| Operating noise | 48–52 decibels |
Dreo Solaris 718 (Large Room)
I have mixed feelings about tower heaters. In theory, towers are great because they’re tall and people are tall, and so the heat they release is closer to our heads. But in practice, heat rises all by itself, and compact heaters with the same power work just as well. Meanwhile, towers topple easily; their tall silhouette makes them conspicuous in a room, and they can be more difficult to clean.
But this low-key conical Dreo Solaris 718 has won me over a bit, despite its nonzero resemblance to a Dalek from Doctor Who. It’s among the most wondrously silent heaters I tested—nearly inaudible at its lowest setting and still restrained at full steam. So far, it’s also free from cheaper oscillating heaters’ tendency to groan or squeak while rotating from side to side.
It heats quickly and distributes its warmth to the whole room; its housing stays approachably cool. Alas, the built-in thermostat is just as wonky as most other space heaters on the market, so you’re better off using the remote to choose among the Solaris’ five steady heat settings.
| Heater type | Forced air, electric resistance |
| Heating/cooling modes | Five power settings from 750W to 1500W. Three fan settings. Eco/thermostat mode |
| Thermostat | Yes, digital |
| Remote/app | Remote |
| Timer | 1 to 12-hour timed shutoff |
| Safety features | 45-degree tip-over sensor, overheat throttle and shutoff |
| Operating noise | 38–42 decibels |