So our first and best advice is to buy a window unit, which can be both cheaper and more effective at cooling a room. In our portable air conditioner tests, we measure how long it takes a unit to ...

Our best budget portable air conditioner is designed for rooms up to 250 square feet but cooled the 550-square-foot testing room by more than 2 degrees in the two-hour testing period. That's ...

It's important to remember, portable air conditioners while powerful are not meant to cover large areas or rooms. They work best for single room cooling and even smaller apartments or condos.

This high-end, portable air conditioner has a dual-hose design for efficient cooling. Pros: The dual-hose design effectively ...

The EcoFlow WAVE 2 portable AC is not your typical air conditioning and heating unit. It is smart, portable, full of features ...

Of course, ACs aren’t exactly cheap, especially if you can’t really install one of the split units that are out there, which is why portable ... room. This is considered a smart air conditioner.

Having the best portable air conditioner in your ... will provide a more even temperature and breeze to your room. Putting your air conditioner near a heat source is one of the worst things ...

"One of the best portable air conditioners I’ve used. Definitely worth every cent," raved a fan. "It cooled down my bedroom room real quick. (The) outside temp was around 32°C (and) it got my ...

The best portable air conditioners keep rooms cool and offer a degree of air filtration. We test for cooling ability, noise, and energy efficiency.

Now, let's talk testing. The process of testing window air conditioners is identical to how we tested portable AC units. First, we heated a climate-controlled room to 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

We've tested the top options to help you choose the best one for your needs. Here are CNET's picks of the best portable air conditioners for 2025.