7 Best Portable Air Conditioners of 2023

Our Good Housekeeping Institute product experts start by shopping the current marketplace to identify top-selling portable ACs that you’re most likely to find at stores and online. Next, we identify brands that have performed the best and proven the most reliable through years of AC testing at the Good Housekeeping Institute. We also consider newer brands with unique features or innovations.

Our most recent hands-on evaluation mainly took place in our Lab, where our engineers and experts spent more than 40 hours testing around ten new models and analyzing scores of technical data. In order to run the units, we exhausted their heat hoses through a flexible duct that goes straight into the ceiling of our Lab (pictured), preventing any heat leak and allowing us to get proper temperature measurements. We also tested some units at home over a six-week period to better evaluate them in real-world conditions. Our engineers consider a variety of factors, starting with ease of setup. We take into account how intuitive the user manuals and other instructions are.

Performance testing also covers multiple factors. We first check to see how close the air temperature coming out of the AC is to our set point. Next, we measure air speed with an anemometer. This tells us how quickly the AC can cool a room. We also test how much power each device consumed using a Kill-a-Watt electricity usage monitor; energy-efficient portable ACs earn extra points. Knowing that portable ACs are often used in bedrooms, we check decibel ranges at various fan speeds using a sound meter.

Portable ACs work by removing the air from a room, cooling it, expelling it back into the room and exhausting the leftover heat through a tube typically connected to a window. There are three main types of portable ACs on the market. While some might be more expensive, depending on the size of the area you are trying to cool and the environment you are in, one could be more beneficial than another.

✔️ Single-hose: The most typical portable AC, a single-hose model draws in air from the room, cools it and expels extra heat through a hose. By connecting the hose to the window outside, you only get the cool air within the room. At the same time, because there is only one hose, the AC draws in more air from the room to cool down the internal components that have gotten hotter due to constant cooling. This creates a negative pressure within the room, which essentially means that air will try to come in through any openings (door, cracks, window, etc.) at a higher rate than normal. This, in turn, makes the AC work harder to cool that extra air. Therefore, it is so important to properly seal the window after installing the portable AC. These are typically cheaper than dual-hose units.

✔️ Dual-hose: Dual-hose ACs work slightly differently than single-hose units and are more efficient. Dual-hose portable ACs utilize both an intake hose and an exhaust hose, both of which connect to the same window. The exhaust hose doesn’t do anything differently; it is still used to expel extra heat. The intake hose has two main uses: It prevents negative pressure and cools down the internal components of the machine. Bringing in external air to cool the system instead of air from within the room bypasses the negative pressure issue, which is why dual-hose units can cool bigger rooms and tend to have a higher energy efficiency rating. This is also why dual-hose units tend to be more expensive than other portable ACs.

✔️ Evaporative cooler (EC): This is a very different type of portable AC and only technically makes this list because 1. It is portable and 2. It’s meant to cool an area — but it is not the same design as either of the above. ECs do not have exhaust tubes or intake tubes. They use the process of evaporative cooling to cool a space. The only internal moving part of the EC is the fan inside. An EC typically contains a water reservoir and cooling pads. When the fan draws in hot air across the cooling pads that have absorbed water from the reservoir, the water slowly evaporates. That process of evaporation creates cooler air which is then expelled back into the room. ECs use much less energy than any other AC type, as they do not have internal parts that do the cooling. As it doesn’t need any form of proper exhaust, you can use this in any space and even outside.

While useful features and aesthetics are nice, most importantly, you'll have to find a portable air conditioner with the correct British Thermal Units (BTUs) for your use case. BTUs are how air conditioner capacity is measured and it equates to a particular room size for cooling. Choosing the right power is essential: Too strong and you’ll waste unnecessary power, too weak and you’ll likewise use too much energy continuously running the machine on full power and may still end up feeling too warm. That's why the DOE recommends an average of 20 BTUs for each square foot of living space.

✔️ When to size down in BTUs: If, after you calculate, your BTU range is between two sizes offered, opt for the smaller unit: Using too powerful of an AC can be detrimental to the cooling and the comfortability of the room, as it won’t properly de-humidify while cooling. While you’ll have to run a smaller AC for longer, it will still be more efficient, and thus use less power overall.

✔️ When to size up in BTUs: It's important to recognize that not all rooms are built the same. You’ll want to size up if your AC is in a room with:

• High ceilings that create more space that needs to be cooled
• High traffic — more people means more heat generated
• Lots of sun (e.g. you live in Florida or Arizona or have lots of windows)
• Near the kitchen with lots of heat-generating appliances

A note on BTU measurements: Previously, BTUs were indicated with a measurement based on testing standards from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). BTUs were measured based only on an ambient temperature of 80º F, and while this rating is still used to sell products, a more accurate BTU rating is the newer scale known as Seasonal Adjusted Cooling Capacity (SACC), a recent standard introduced by the Department of Energy (DOE).

SACC is a rating of BTU per hour that is meant to portray the capabilities of the machine more accurately by providing a weighted average based on a variety of test conditions, not just an average use case (think a combination of normal usage, a muggy day, a particularly hot or dry day, etc.). New SACC ratings will show lower maximum BTUs than previous ratings. So an AC that previously had a 14,000 BTU ASHRAE rating may now have a SACC rating closer to 10,000 BTU to more accurately reflect cooling in a range of conditions.

If you have the ability to window-mount, you’re likely going to have more success cooling a room with a window AC unit. You may be able to find comparable portable AC units to those that have to be wall or window mounted, but you’re likely going to pay more for them.

✔️ Portable ACs are easier to move. Portable air conditioners are easier to move about (they're on wheels after all). Window ACs need to be properly secured, held in place and connected to the window (some even require you to drill into the frame). A portable AC comes with all the equipment necessary to easily transfer from as long as you have access to a window to vent the exhaust hose.

✔️ Portable ACs fit more window types. Another benefit of the exhaust hose is that it allows a portable AC to connect to multiple different window types. While window ACs only work for vertical windows, portable ACs work with horizontal sliding windows as well. Portable ACs can also work with smaller window types that may not fit a window unit.

✔️ Portable ACs are noisier and heavier than window ACs. They do tend to be louder, since all their mechanicals are sitting right there in the room, instead of out the window. They can also be larger than their counterparts, weighing up to 80 pounds.

✔️ Portable ACs take up more square footage than window ACs. In terms of the size of the unit, a portable AC unit will take up floor space, so it’s important to make sure you have the extra square footage for one. You want to place the unit away from walls so the airflow isn’t restricted, but that will likely mean a longer hose and more space taken up. For proper efficiency, you need to make sure the exhaust hose is as straight as possible as kinks can limit the effectiveness.

In most cases, yes — unless you opt for an evaporative cooler. Units without exhaust hoses are called evaporative coolers, which require a large amount of water or ice to cool the space, ideal in dry climates where humidity levels are low and the air is hot. But the majority of portable ACs do not work without an exhaust hose. The machines must be vented to the outside because they are extracting hot air that you want to be released outside of the room. You can choose to vent through a window (most common), wall, ceiling or even a door.

For many decades now, the Good Housekeeping Institute has provided expert reviews and advice on all things home-related, including portable air conditioners and other HVAC equipment. This project was spearheaded by Rachel Rothman, Chief Technologist & Director of Engineering at the Institute. For more than 15 years, Rachel has put her training in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics to work by researching, testing and writing about products across the home improvement and HVAC space, doing cross-category tests for air conditioners, as well as air purifiers, heaters, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and more.

Rachel worked closely with Dan DiClerico, Director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab. Dan brings more than 20 years of experience to the Institute, having reviewed thousands of products and regularly engages with heating and cooling contractors to get their professional insights into related product categories.

Alec Scherma, Test Engineer at the Institute, also assisted on the project. His background in mechanical engineering and HVAC consulting help to provide testing expertise and knowledge on the different types of HVAC equipment one can purchase.