10 Best diffusers 2024 in the US

Even though aromatherapy has its adherents and its detractors, using a diffuser with different essential oils has clear benefits. Certain oils, such as black pepper oil or lavender, have been shown to help cigarette smokers kick their habit. Other oils can help relieve congestion due to a cold or flu. Some essential oils are proven mosquito repellents--a great alternative to harmful chemicals! And others will give your home a soothing, relaxed atmosphere.

But diffusers work on a variety of principles. Some are evaporative, allowing the fragrance of the oil to dissipate into the air. There are passive diffusers, which use reeds to disperse the fragrance, much as a solid room deodorizer. And there are diffusers that work on heat, either by means of a heating element or using something as simple as the flame of a candle. Others work on ultrasonic vibrations to agitate the oil’s molecules so that they will spread throughout the room. And yet another approach is a nebulizing diffuser, which blows pressurized air over the oil to distribute the oil’s fragrance. There are diffusers which come with accompanying LED lights, to further enhance the mood evoked by the fragrance.

To take all of these considerations into account, we’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the decision that’s right for you when selecting an essential oil diffuser. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of diffuser,

• See useful tips about the particular types of diffusers,

• Read reviews of some of the best essential oil diffusers, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of a diffuser, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

We can classify essential oil diffusers by how they dissipate the fragrance throughout the room. Some require that you put a few drops of essential oil in water, while others work on putting in a few drops of undiluted oil.

• Evaporative Diffusers: There are several styles of evaporative diffusers, which we can divide into passive and active diffusers.

  • Passive: One passive type is the reed diffuser, which is a bottle of essential oil with several reeds sticking out. The essential oil goes up through the reed and evaporates into the room. An example is the San Miguel 10-piece Cashmere Reed Diffuser.

San Miguel 10-piece Cashmere Reed Diffuser

• • Active: Heat oil diffusers use heat to promote the evaporation of the essential oil. Some work by means of an electric heating element, or a small tealight candle, to heat the oil. The oil’s fragrance will waft through the room. Another variant is the lamp ring oil diffuser. It’s a ceramic ring that you place around an incandescent light bulb. The heat of the light bulb evaporates the oil and distributes the fragrance throughout the room.

A candle oil diffuser (left) and a lamp ring oil diffuser

• Ultrasonic Diffusers: This uses electricity to produce ultrasonic vibrations, which agitate the oil and thus disperse the oil molecules in the air. The advantage here is that no heat is applied--heat which could break down the oil prematurely. An example is the Aesthetics Ultrasonic Cool-Mist Aroma Diffuser.

Aesthetics Ultrasonic Cool-Mist Aroma Diffuser

• Nebulizing Diffusers: This type of diffuser works by blowing a stream of pressurized air over the aromatic oil--much like an atomizer. An example is the Organic Aromas Nebulizing Pure Essential Oil Diffuser.

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Organic Aromas Nebulizing Pure Essential Oil Diffuser

• Wearable diffusers: You can find diffuser bracelets as well, where you put a few drops of essential oil on lava stones in a fashionable bracelet or pendant necklace. The lava stone is porous, which allows the essential oil to seep into the stone. You can wear the pendant and enjoy the fragrance of the oil wherever you go. An example is the Ttstar Lavastone Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace or the Lava Stone Adjustable Chakra Diffuser Bracelet.

Diffuser pendant (left) and bracelet

• Health benefits: Certain essential oils have an antiseptic property, being able to kill bacteria and viruses. For people with asthma or other respiratory ailments, a nebulizing diffuser will cause any dust in the room to settle. The droplets of water and oil attract the dust, which falls to the floor, making the air cleaner.  

• Easy to clean: There are three recommended methods to clean a diffuser. First, empty out any remaining oil from the diffuser. Add an eyedropper’s worth of 95% alcohol inside the diffuser. If you are using a nebulizing diffuser or ultrasonic diffuser, turn it on for 5-10 minutes. Then spill out the alcohol. A second method is recommended when there is more residue in the glass reservoir. You put alcohol in the glass container. Agitate the glass to remove the residue, and spill out the remaining alcohol. If you want to perform a deep cleaning, soak the glass reservoir in liquid soap and hot water for 30-60 minutes. Rinse, and let the parts dry.

• Noise level: Ultrasonic diffusers operate at a noise level ranging between 46-52 decibels. That’s about the level of conversation in your living room (assuming that you have a peaceful family). This way, you shouldn’t find that a diffuser will disturb your sleep.

• Coverage area: Take note of the coverage area. You can get diffusers that are for small areas, medium size areas, and large areas. One of the most effective, the Organic Aromas Nebulizing Pure Essential Oil Aromatherapy Diffuser can cover up to 800 square feet!

• Run time of the diffuser: You can find diffusers that run for 4 hours, 4-8 hours, over 20 hours, and even for unlimited use! The Aesthetics Ultrasonic Diffuser has 4 timer settings, ranging from 30 minutes to 180 minutes, as well as an auto shut-off when the water in the reservoir evaporates. The BellaMist Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser has a 70 ml water capacity, which provides continuous mist for 4 hours.

BellaMist Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser

• LED effects: Some diffusers have lighting effects as well, for an added ambiance. An example is the Aesthetics Ultrasonic Cool-Mist Aroma Diffuser, with 6 levels of LED lighting.

• Fragrances: Some retailers sell a set of essential oils together with their diffuser. For example, when you purchase the Aesthetics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Aroma Diffuser, you also get a set of essential oils: frankincense, lavender, eucalyptus, lemongrass, peppermint, sweet orange, tea tree, and rosemary oils.

• Difference between diffuser, vaporizer, and humidifier: A humidifier will evaporate water into the room, raising the humidity in the room. But it’s not advisable to add essential oils to the humidifier’s water, since it may damage the humidifier. A diffuser works with essential oil in much the same as a humidifier, just that it is specifically made for dispersing the essential oil by heat or evaporation. A vaporizer is a humidifier that boils water into steam. Some add a few drops of essential oil to the vaporizer, and then inhale the steam, as a treatment for congestion due to cold or flu symptoms. Some diffusers function as a humidifier as well. That means that if the air in your house gets dry during the winter, some ultrasonic diffusers can function as humidifier as well, restoring some moisture to the air in the room.

SpaRoom retailers of a number of oil diffusers. They focus on the aesthetic appeal of their diffusers, as well as their durability and simple operation. SpaRoom makes ultrasonic, fan, nebulizer, humidifier, and reed diffusers. They also sell essential and topical oils.

Aesthetics make an ultrasonic cool-mist aroma diffuser and humidifier. Their product comes with an 8-pack of different essential oils.