Best Space Heaters of 2025
We've tested more than 100 models to determine how well they heat and how safe they are
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Most space heaters provide substantial warmth to drafty rooms or chilly offices for less than $100. In Consumer Reports’ space heater testing, we’ve found a number of models that work well—and some that even add a bit of style to a space—all without asking you to pay an arm and a leg.
More than style and price, safety is critical when using a space heater. It’s safest to keep them on the floor rather than on a table, so consider one with remote control, which means less stooping and squinting when knobs and dials are on the bottom of the unit. Be sure to review our space heater safety tips for more information about operating one in your home (including in the bathroom).
- Best Space Heaters for: Overall Heating Quick Heating Direct Heating
- How CR Tests Space Heaters
Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports
Best Space Heaters for Overall Heating
In our tests, smaller heaters—those designed to warm one or two people in a small space—outperformed larger models when it came to overall heating (in other words, quickly heating up a space as well as heating the people in it). Here are three space heaters that received top scores in our room-heating and spot-heating tests.
Best Space Heaters for Heating a Room Quickly
The following space heaters aced our tests for room heating, getting a top score in heating up a standard-sized room in less than 15 minutes.
Best Space Heaters for Direct Heating
These heaters scored particularly well in our test of how effectively they warm the people in the room where they’re used.
How CR Tests Space Heaters
We evaluate space heaters on how well they heat a standard-sized room in 15 minutes and how good they are at heating a person directly—our spot-heating score—in the same amount of time. “Our spot-heating test uses a mannequin wired with sensors,” says test engineer Chris Regan, who oversees our space heater ratings. “We want to know how your body will feel when you’re sitting within 4.5 feet of the appliance.”
We also test space heaters for safety, as shown above, including how hot the surface gets (so that you don’t burn your fingers) and whether the model gets so hot that it can ignite a piece of fabric (nearby curtains, for example). If you have young children or pets in your home, pay close attention to the hot-surface score in our ratings. Models that score poorly on that test aren’t included in this article.
“While a heater is supposed to provide adequate heat to warm your space—and in turn, you—you don’t want to pick a heater that could potentially burn someone who doesn’t understand that they shouldn’t touch it, even if they accidentally bump into it,” Regan says.
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