Turn your parched place into a plant paradise.
By John Alexander
Posted on Aug 7, 2024 1:00 PM EDT
11 minute read
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Indoor plants can reduce some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and freshen your air naturally, and humidifiers for plants turn the very atmosphere of your home into something more habitable for both of you. For plants, the currency of life is very much water, and losing it happens easily. When they open up, plants allow important molecules from the air into their leaves, they are also letting vital water out. And while this greatly oversimplifies plant life (who really wants to visualize the Krebs Cycle after high school, anyways), you should get the key idea: Plants lose water while “breathing.” And a home with dry air will bleed them even drier, which is why getting one of the best humidifiers for plants—like our best overall, the Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier—can greatly help your plants grow in a happy and healthy manner.
- Best overall: Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier
- Best design: Chivalz 6L
- Best for grow tents: AC Infinity Cloudforge T3
- Best rated: Levoit OasisMist 450S Smart Humidifier
- Best budget: GoveeLife Smart Humidifiers for Bedroom 3L
How we chose the best humidifiers for plants
The best humidifiers for plants were chosen for their ability to help in various circ*mstances. While nothing can save your plants if you aren’t following basic plant care tips, these humidifiers can certainly improve your situation.
Hey there! As mentioned in our investigation of the best microscopes for students, I have a background in the sciences, with a focus on plants. While this was by no means a Ph.D.-level education on plants, the research technician’s role is very hands-on with plants (and microscopes!), and the ability and desire to dig into the science has never left me. Plus, I think about air quality more than I’d like to admit.
The best humidifiers for plants: Reviews & Recommendations
From a dry home interior to the home greenhouse, these humidifiers will help your plants across a variety of situations. Picked for convenience, situational ability, safety, and price, there is sure to be a humidifier on this list that will service you and your plants well, whether you want a low-maintenance humidifier or just a small plant humidifier.
Best overall: Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier
Why it made the cut: What’s best for people is also best for most houseplants.
Specs
- Tank capacity: 6L
- Size: 11 x 6.7 x 13 inches
- Noise level: <40 dB
Pros
- Great for dry homes
- Up to 50 hours of operation
- Adjustable mist output
Cons
- Somewhat difficult to clean
When you’re noticing the signs of poor humidity levels in your plants (signs include damaged leaves and droopy leaves), you’re likely also noticing dry, chapped lips and other signs of low humidity on yourself. That’s because, for many ideal houseplants, there is an overlap between the humidities acceptable for home and plants. The ideal Peace Lily humidity, for example, starts at 50 percent, near the upper bound for homes. As a result, getting this humidifier, which is one of the best humidifiers for homes, will also make typical house plants happy.
The Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier runs for 50 continuous hours on low settings, making it perfect for filling up every other day when you do your check-up on your plants. It runs quietly at under 40 decibels (the World Health Organization’s recommendation for nighttime noise is 40 decibels or less) for minimal disturbance in your everyday life.
Ultimately, the point is this: If you have pretty ordinary house plants and a pretty ordinary house, you’re likely to just need pretty ordinary solutions. As long as you’re choosing hardy indoor plants, normal levels of humidity that are desirable for you are also likely the desirable amount of mist for plants.
Best design: Chivalz 6L
Why it made the cut: This humidifier offers dual mist streams and easy water tank access.
Specs
- Tank capacity: 6L
- Size: 9.4 x 12.7 x 7.4 inches
- Noise level: <26 dB
Pros
- Large, open tank
- Dual mister spouts for better coverage
- Uses filters, cleaning brush included
- Produces ultrafine mist
Cons
- No single nozzle option
The Chivalz has a great design on two fronts: its mist output and its ability to be cleaned easily. If you put the Chivalz in the middle of your plants, you’re going to have a good time with it. Its dual-spray mechanism will direct the ultrafine mist out and about the generalized area of your plant grouping better than the typical, single-spout humidifier. Still, not everyone likes this design, especially those who do not appreciate having a humidifier in their plant display and would rather “aim” mist towards the plants.
Not only does the Chivalz have a large, wide-open tank for easy water pouring, but that tank can also be easily accessed by the user. Plus, it comes with a cleaning brush and uses filters to aid the machine in pushing out clean, safe moisture into your air. In other words, both your plants and people will feel better with this humidifier around.
Best for grow tents: AC Infinity Cloudforge T3
Why it made the cut: This is perfect for more advanced growing outfits.
Specs
- Tank capacity: 4.5L
- Size: 6.8 x 6.8 x 14 inches
- Noise level: Not rated
Pros
- Complex, fine-tuned controls
- UIS connectivity
- 10 levels of control
Cons
- Need a grow tent setup
Whether you have a dedicated setup for hard-to-handle tropical plants or want to try your hand at sustainably growing “other” plants at home, if you’re using a grow tent, you probably want a dedicated humidifier. Shoving the average humidifier inside won’t feel too great at the end of the day. For this, you’ll likely enjoy this humidifier from AC Infinity. It connects with other products in AC Infinity’s UIS platform for a smart growing system that can take away at least some of the guesswork from you. This also makes the complex controls, which include 10 levels of humidity control, more approachable. If you’re curious about the system, you can also connect with other users for questions and advice on the surprisingly active AC Infinity subreddit.
Best rated: Levoit OasisMist 450S Smart Humidifier
Why it made the cut: People love this smart humidifier.
Specs
- Tank capacity: 4.5L
- Size: 12 x 6 x 10.8 inches
- Noise level: <26dB Sleep Mode
Pros
- Smart Bluetooth controls with humidity targets
- Beautiful appearance
- Possible to create schedules
- Works with smart home voice assistants
- Surprisingly powerful
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
One of the best-liked humidifiers, this Levoit humidifier looks beautiful with a wood-style top and a clean, white exterior. When combined with customizable lighting colors, it can easily add to the ambiance of your plant display. While clearly still a tool, it will likely appeal more to your sense of style than other humidifiers on the list.
Another advantage of this humidifier is its ability to sync up with (at least somewhat) your smart-home devices, as it connects to your Wi-Fi router and has voice-activated controls, making it your best splurge. Furthermore, you can set humidity targets and schedules via the VeSync companion app to give you a complete sense of control over how your home is being humidified.
Finally, despite its appearance, the Levoit OasisMist is quite powerful, sending mist up to nearly four feet into the air. It is capable of running up to 45 continuous hours and works for rooms between 215 and 430 square feet. The only downside for this power and the smart features above is that this humidifier is slightly more expensive than the average one. Still, humidifiers typically aren’t too expensive anyhow, so if you like the convenience and the loo, it’s worth it.
Best budget: GoveeLife Smart Humidifiers for Bedroom 3L
Why it made the cut: This small humidifier provides incredible value in a small body.
Specs
- Tank capacity: 3L
- Size: 7 x 14.8 x 8.5 inches
- Noise level: 24dB
Pros
- Pairs with a hygrometer for precision control
- Over 24-hour tank size
- Has scheduling enabled
- Won’t keep you awake at night
Cons
- Best for small rooms
When it comes to a budget humidifier, you don’t have to look for worse quality at all. This humidifier from GoveeLife is intelligent, connects with smart systems, allows scheduling, and even includes voice control features, making it the best value. Plus, you can connect it with select hygrometers (an instrument to measure the amount of humidity or moisture in the air) to get a finer level of control over your humidifier’s performance.
Then what is the catch? The GoveeLife Smart Humidifiers for Bedroom 3L is on the smaller side, at least in output and tank capacity. You’ll want to nestle it amongst your plants as best you can for maximal effect. But at this low price, combined with its hi-tech features, you should be highly satisfied with its performance.
What to consider before buying humidifiers for plants
When it comes to humidifiers for plants, they’re actually more like humans than you might think. And by that, we mean that they don’t really care too much (don’t use a plant mister or outdoor misting fans on your indoor plants, though) about the way they receive humidity, so long as they do receive it. Nonetheless, here’s what you should consider.
Your plants
Do your plants need a humidifier? While some plants, like tropical plants, are obviously going to do much better with a source of humidity, not all plants are going to be that way. Take desert-dwelling plants like cacti, for example, and you’ll realize that you may end up needing to choose between humidifiers and dehumidifiers for your plants. At the end of the day, your succulent (despite its thick, juicy leaves) will benefit much more from the deployment of one of the best dehumidifiers than any of the above-mentioned humidifiers for plants.
Size and output
Let’s think strategically for a moment about your plants, the humidity they need, and their placement. This may drastically affect the size and output requirements you have for your humidifier.
Remember, humidity-needing plants aren’t needing humidity because they’re sucking up the air’s water. In fact, they need humidity because they lose water to the air. When their stomata open, water comes out. And dry air pulls that water out, in a diffusion effect, quite quickly.
Grouping your plants together will create a higher local humidity, reducing this pulling effect. If you have a lot of plants grouped together in jungle fashion, the need for a large humidifier with high output is greatly reduced, and you may wish for a smaller humidifier that can be hidden behind others. Consider grabbing some pest-deterrent plants to add to this grouping to make it even healthier.
Tank capacity
This one is more about you than your plants. Having a larger tank of three liters or more will aid you greatly in your routine if you want to provide consistent humidity to your plants. Humidifiers of this size will provide around a day or more of humidity and, as such, will be rather convenient for you. You’ll be able to “water your humidifier” around the same time as you do your daily plant watering check.
Timers and controls
At its most basic level, a humidifier will just run until there is no water left. If you have tropical plants or want a lot of humidity, that’s a pretty good deal. But if you want to stretch out the water level, fear getting your house too humid, or want to mimic the high early morning humidity of nature, then you might want more robust controls.
Some humidifiers come with a built-in timer that gives you more precise control over when the humidifier runs. Though you can always use a smart plug for a similar effect, this gives you great control over your humidifier without extra hassle. This is also great for reducing noise.
Other humidifiers may have built-in hygrometers or the option to pair with a hygrometer for activation and deactivation based on local humidity. This ability is especially pertinent if you’re worried about over-humidifying your house.
FAQs
Q: How much does a humidifier for plants cost?
A humidifier for your plants should cost somewhere between $30 and a little over $100. Generally speaking, the best humidifiers for plants are not exceptional when compared to general humidifiers, as the use cases overlap greatly, and the differences that set a humidifier for plants apart are minimal.
Q: Do plants grow better with a humidifier?
Some plants will grow better, or at least have a better chance of thriving, with a humidifier. Plants that thrive in high-humidity circ*mstances will do best with them. Remember that plants that are advertised as ‘for the home’ are less likely to need humidity support until the winter, when homes dry out. Note that succulents and cactuses are actually harmed by increased humidity.
Q: Can I use an essential oil humidifier for plants?
It is likely best not to use your humidifier’s essential oil feature for your plants. While research on the effects of essential oils on plants shows that these oils can prime plants to fight pests and fungal outgrowth, it also shows they can cause phytotoxicity, or the restriction of plant growth and healthy development. As a result, it is best to keep your plants’ humidity control and pest control separate, at least for the present.
Final thoughts on the best humidifiers for plants
- Best overall: Everlasting Comfort Cool Mist Humidifier
- Best design: Chivalz 6L
- Best for grow tents: AC Infinity Cloudforge T3
- Best rated: Levoit OasisMist 450S Smart Humidifier
- Best budget: GoveeLife Smart Humidifiers for Bedroom 3L
Getting one of the best humidifiers for plants doesn’t have to be difficult, and your plants can thrive with little extra effort after you get one. Remember, the most important thing for your indoor plants is getting the right amount—not too much and not too little—in your plants’ soil. (That is unless you’re going for a home hydroponic garden, of course.) Humidity will always come second to that, so don’t stress too much about it.
