Best quiet desk fan (or other small fan)?

December 8, 2018 10:16 AM

What is the best quiet desk or other small fan? Priorities (in order of importance): quiet, small, sturdy build quality, long lasting, effectiveness at moving air, aesthetics, and price. I would usually just buy what Wirecutter recommends for a purchase like this but their fan reviews emphasize volume of air being moved, not quietness. I’ll put this fan either on my desk at work or under it to move the stale warm air around my cube.
posted by fieldtrip to Shopping (6 answers total)

It sounds as if you may be interested in a normal fan so this may be unsuitable but I was positively surprised by my little usb fan. It actually makes just enough of a difference to go from my brain is melting and I can’t concentrate to it’s warm but bearable and it is definitely quiet.
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:36 AM on December 8, 2018

Best answer: I have this Vornado desk fan (the medium size) - while it may be overkill for your needs I can attest that at the lowest speed it's just about silent and even at the second-lowest speed it's still whisper-quiet. The top two speeds make a typical amount of noise but it sounds like you wouldn't be using those anyway. It does move plenty of air, so the small version might work for your situation. Vornado seems to have a good reputation for reliability.

In my general experience, fans with fatter rounder blades seem to make less noise than fans with more narrow and pointy blades, if that helps your search any.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:43 PM on December 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

I like this small Vornado fan.
posted by merejane at 7:15 PM on December 8, 2018

Nthing Vornado--I bought this Vornado fan (different base than merejane's link, otherwise identical) for my office, and I liked it enough to buy another for my home.
posted by box at 6:06 AM on December 9, 2018

Seconding the Zippi. I got one for my office because it’s so quiet. The fan blades are made of fabric, not plastic or metal, which is why it doesn’t need a protective cage around them.
posted by ejs at 8:50 AM on December 9, 2018

I also have that first linked Vornado and can confirm it is very quiet, and also very cute. Honestly I wish it was a bit louder sometimes so I could use it for white noise (I have it in my office).
posted by ananci at 2:32 PM on December 9, 2018