8 Quietest Humidifiers for Recording Studios or Sleeping

If you live in a dry climate, you might notice issues like allergies, asthma, or dryness of your skin, eyes, and throat.

During the cold winter months, when heating dries the air out even further, a humidifier can help you stay hydrated and reduce irritation. 

These are the quietest humidifiers on the market right now:

But you don’t want your humidifier making a lot of noise, especially if you’re using it in a delicate environment like a recording studio, a bedroom, or a nursery.

We’ve found the quietest humidifiers available which will help you get a good night’s sleep. 

The Quietest (Good Quality) Humidifiers Available:

Below are our breakdowns of the quietest humidifiers aviailable right now:

1. Homech Cool Mist Humidifier

This Homech Cool Mist Humidifier is the quiestest humidifier available at a whisper quiet 26 decibels.

It has a large water tank with a 1-gallon capacity, which gives you between 12 and 50 hours of runtime. It also shuts down automatically when the water runs out, so it won’t overheat at night. 

If you’re looking to humidify a large room, this model works well in rooms of up to 430 square feet. Its powerful 360-degree nozzle spreads mist up to a 2 feet height and gives you an even level of humidity in a larger space.

The humidifier comes with a carry handle, and the removable tank has a large opening for an easy fill-up. The size of this humidifier does have one negative, though, as it’s not easy to fit it on a nightstand or in the corner of a small studio.

Pros

• Incredibly low noise at 26 dB.
• Large capacity.
• Powerful 360-degree nozzle for even misting. 
• Removable, easy-to-fill tank.

Cons

• Large, not ideal for small rooms or studios.

2. Homasy OceanMist Humidifiers

If you’re looking for something simple and don’t want to spend hours figuring out how to get the settings right, this Homasy model might do the trick.

The dial knob is easy to operate, and there’s a built-in handle if you want to move your humidifier from one room to another. It’s also easy to clean and fill up.

As for the volume, the 28-decibel noise level is among the lowest on the market, lower than a common fridge hum. And if you’re worried about safety with plastics, this model is fully free of Bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical that has been linked to some health risks.

This model includes an automatic shutdown function when the water runs out, but there’s no timer or other advanced settings.

Another possible negative is that the water tank is small, only about 0.6 gallons. Still, you should get about a day of humidifying at mid-level misting. 

Pros

• Less than 28dB
• Easy fill-up and cleaning.
• Small size, ideal for tight spaces. 
• BPA-free plastics for safer operation.
• Automatic shutdown.

Cons

• Small water tank.
• No timer. 

3. Levoit Smart Humidifier

This smart humidifier from Levoit is great for a home but also for workspaces. It comes with a built-in essential oil diffuser to maintain a recording studio or office smelling fresh through long days. 

What customers love about this model is that it has smart sensors, so you can insert a target humidity level for your home. It’s easy to use with the smartphone app or using voice control with Alexa or Google Home. 

The tank is large, at a little over a gallon, and will give you up to 40 hours of continuous use. It has a carry handle that makes it easy to fill up, but users comment that it’s not the easiest to clean up.

The tank has some small ridges where it’s easy to get mold, so you’ll have to pay extra attention to cleaning it.

The noise levels will not exceed 28 decibels, a low hum, and the light turns off completely for a fully dark sleep environment. 

Pros

• Amazingly low noise levels which won’t exceed 28 dB. 
• Comes with an essential oil diffuser.
• Smartphone, Alexa, or Google Home operation.
• Large tank, up to 40 hours of run time.

Cons

• The water tank can be hard to clean.

4. Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier

The Everlasting Comfort quiet humidifier is ideal for those who need to cover a large space. It has a large tank of about 1.6 gallons, which gives you up to 50 hours of runtime in rooms up to 500 feet.

This means you can get up to six full nights of sleep before you need a refill. It also comes with an essential oil diffuser to give your home a nice fragrance. 

This humidifier comes with an adjustable nozzle that you direct anywhere you want to protect your walls or furniture. You can also turn off the light for a completely dark sleep environment. 

The noise is also below 30 decibels, but customers comment that there is an occasional gurgling sound. And if you don’t clean it occasionally, you’ll likely hear some humming noise as the minerals from water start building up.

Pros

• Only 30dB max noise.
• Large tank with 50 hours of runtime.
• Adjustable nozzle.
• Essential oil diffuser.
• Option to turn off the light to sleep in the dark.

Cons

• Occasional gurgling sounds.

5. Crane Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

The Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier from Crane fits 1 gallon of water to cover rooms of up to 500 feet effectively. The run time is relatively low for this size, however, at 24 hours on the low setting. 

It has an easy dial knob and automatic shutoff without water, which is key for your safety when sleeping. However, there are no advanced settings or smart humidity sensors. There’s also a low light that’s always on, so you won’t get a fully dark bedroom.  

What customers love about this model is that the tank is see-through plastic, so it’s easy to see how much water you have left at one glance. 

While many people are happy with their purchase, some do comment that their humidifier stopped working after a relatively short time. Still, most users are happy and consider this a safe and effective humidifier.

Pros

• Only 30dB max noise.
• A translucent plastic tank makes it easy to see the water level.
• Safe auto-shutoff. 
• Easy dial knob.
• Effective.

Cons

• No advanced settings or sensors. 
• Some users have had issues with durability.

6. Aircare EA1201 Console Evaporative Humidifier

If you need to cover a truly large space, this Aircare EA1201 Humidifier might be the right one.

It’s ideal for humidifying an entire house or up to 2,400 square feet, and the water tank holds 3.5 gallons for up to 45 hours of continuous runtime. It also has a humidity sensor that shuts off automatically when your house is at the right humidity level.

This model is great for spaces with sensitive equipment, such as recording studios, because it has a super wick that eliminates impurities and minerals from the water. This means you won’t get any white dust gathering on furniture, walls, or technical equipment. 

All of these features and the massive size do mean that the price of this model is higher than that of some of the other models. It’s also somewhat big and clunky compared to other models, and you can’t remove the tank to fill it up or clean it.

Pros

• Max 30dB noise output.
• Massive size, covers the entire house. 
• 45-hour runtime.
• Absolutely no white dust.
• Includes humidity sensors and shuts off at the right level.

Cons

• Relatively high price. 
• Non-removable tank.

7. Pure Enrichment MistAire Silver Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

For those who need complete darkness to sleep, this humidifier from Pure Enrichment is a great pick.

It has a night light, but if you turn it off the power light turns off, as well, so you’ll have zero light from the power button or display. It’s also whisper-quiet. 

This humidifier is compact, so it’s ideal for use in tight spaces. However, the small size comes with a caveat, the small water tank. It’s about 0.4 gallons, but still enough to get you through the night. You’ll get about 25 hours on the lowest setting and 12 hours on the highest.

The plastics on this model are completely BPA-free, so you can use this humidifier without having to worry about your or your family’s health. But, given that this model doesn’t include a filter, it can leave a little bit of white dust on your furniture when using unfiltered water. 

Pros

• Less than 32dB.
• Completely dark when you turn off the night light. 
• BPA-free plastics.
• Compact size for small spaces. 

Cons

• Small water tank and low runtime.
• Can leave some white dust on your furniture.

8. TaoTronics TT-AH019 Humidifier

The Taotronic TT-AH019 smart humidifier is easy to use with Alexa or an app on your smartphone and gives you up to 30 hours of continuous use.

It has three different mist settings and built-in humidity-measuring, so you know what level you’re currently at.

Although it’s the loudest humidifier we feature on this page it is still incredibly quiet at less than 36 decibels (officially quieter than a library!), and it doesn’t make any gurgling sounds. It has a timer, and it also shuts off automatically if the water runs out.

If you want to keep the humidifier in a kid’s room, it comes with a blue night light to make them feel safe. You can turn it off if you prefer sleeping fully in the dark.

This model also has replaceable filter cartridges that purify the water, which helps you avoid white dust from forming on your furniture.

A negative is that the smartphone app doesn’t have memory, so you’ll have to insert your settings every time. The humidifier itself, however, does remember your settings.

Pros

• Smart humidifier you can control from your phone.
• Automatic shutoff and timer.
• Three humidity levels. 
• Water filter.
• Night light.

Cons

• One of the noisier humidifiers at 36db (though that is still very quiet!).
• The phone app doesn’t have a memory for settings.

What to Look for in a Humidifier

If you’re still not sure what to look for, here are some tips for choosing between these quiet humidifiers. 

Sound Level

The first thing to think about with quiet humidifiers is the sound level.

The models in our review go from 24 to about 38 decibels, which is about the level of a whisper. 

Maintaining the humidifier clean will help keep it in optimal operating condition. If your humidifier gets clogged with minerals and dirt from the water, it’ll likely make more noise.

Area of Coverage and Runtime

If you just want the humidifier for your bedroom, small recording studio, or office, you can go with a model with a small water tank. For larger areas or for humidifying an entire house, a tank with over a gallon of capacity will be the better pick.  

A larger tank will usually give you a longer runtime, so you don’t have to fill it up every night. 

Maintenance

If you want to keep the maintenance easy, make sure your humidifier has a removable and easy-to-clean water tank. Some, especially bigger ones, need to be filled from the top, and draining and cleaning them will be a little tougher.

Filter 

Some quiet humidifiers come with a built-in water filter. This will be especially helpful if your water isn’t extremely clean and helps keep your house smelling fresh. 

A filter will also help eliminate the white dust that tends to form on the furniture close to the humidifier.

It forms because of the minerals and other small particles in the water and is usually easy to clean up. Still, if you want to keep everything exceptionally clean, opt for a filtered model.

Other Features

Some quiet humidifiers are simple, but others come with timers, sensors, or smartphone apps that allow you to turn them on from a distance.

Others have separate containers for essential oils, so you can fill your home with a nice fragrance. And what about a built-in night light for your child’s room?

Automatic shutoff when the humidifier runs out of water is also an important feature that prevents the humidifier from overheating. All the quiet humidifiers in our review include it, and it’s essential for safe sleep, especially in a kid’s bedroom.

The Winner

Our top pick in this review of the quietest humidifiers is the Homech Cool Mist Humidifier.

At only 26dB the noise will be almost imperceptible!