Best Portable Air Conditioners of 2024
Portable ACs don't cool as well as window ACs, but they can still help keep you comfortable
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Although they deliver only mediocre performance in our tests, portable air conditioners—or portable ACs—account for almost 20 percent of the room air conditioner market, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
A portable AC might be your only choice if your house lacks central air conditioning or you live in a building that either prohibits window ACs or has window configurations that make them difficult to install.
Best Portable Air Conditioners
How We Test Portable Air Conditioners
In our air conditioner tests, we measure how long it takes a portable model to lower the temperature of a test chamber from 90° F to 85° F. That takes an average of 20 minutes. By comparison, the best window air conditioners can cool the room by 10° F in about 15 minutes or less.
“You may not be getting what you think when you buy a portable model,” says Chris Regan, who oversees CR’s air conditioner tests. “It’s difficult to compare the cooling to a window AC.”
But the news about portable ACs isn’t all bad. In CR’s brand reliability survey, two brands—Frigidaire and Honeywell—earned a top rating of excellent for predicted reliability, and two other brands received a score of very good. Owner satisfaction, which is based on the proportion of our members who are extremely likely to recommend their AC, wasn’t quite as high, with most brands earning a middling rating.
We test portable ACs from brands including Emerson, Friedrich, Frigidaire, Honeywell, LG, Midea, Whirlpool, and Whynter. If you’re looking for additional information on ACs, check out our air conditioner buying guide.
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