The 7 Best Air Conditioners of 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Top pick

This U-shaped air conditioner is the quietest and most efficient model we’ve ever tested. But the installation process isn’t fun—and can even cause some problems if you don’t do it right.

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A newer version of our long-running top pick, the Plus has improved efficiency and some minor feature upgrades. A redesigned bracket also improves the installation process (slightly).

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There are plenty of products out there that promise to “reinvent” their category — but the U-shaped Midea U MAW08V1QWT is the rare one that actually delivers. We were skeptical when it first arrived in the spring of , but it quickly won us over with its impressively quiet and energy-efficient performance. After living with the same 8,000 Btu unit for several summers, we can say with confidence that it is genuinely the best window air conditioner we’ve tested — and we stand by that even after the company issued a recall to address mold concerns. In , the company also released a slightly upgraded version, the Midea U Plus MAW08U1QWT, which offers a few small improvements but otherwise works just as well. Both the standard Midea U and the Midea U Plus are available in a variety of sizes; we think you should get whichever model is available in the size you want when you need it. Regardless of which one you end up with, just make sure the back is tilted downwards when you install it.

The Midea U is impressively powerful, without using a lot of energy. Unlike standard air conditioners, which typically only cycle on and off, the Midea U has an inverter compressor that runs at varying speeds. This means it can modulate its electrical consumption as needed, rarely running full throttle. While most non-inverter ACs have an energy efficiency ratio around 11 or 12, the Midea U is rated at an impressive 15.0. The U Plus takes it a step further: it’s the first air conditioner to achieve an EER of 16.0, making it the single most efficient window air conditioner currently available. That won’t necessarily translate to a huge amount of energy savings over the standard model, but either one will use about half as much energy as a non-inverter air conditioner that only hits the EPA’s minimum efficiency standards. In our tests, on hot days we’ve watched the energy usage on the Midea Ul fluctuate between 100 and 300 watts over the course of several hours, even though it’s rated to run at up to 710 watts. Once the room hits a target temperature, either version of the Midea U can maintain those conditions with very little energy.

It’s one of the absolute quietest ACs we’ve ever tested. One nice perk of the Midea’s U-shaped design is that all the louder hardware gets moved to the other side of the window. So while the inverter compressor already helps to temper the volume, the glass serves as an extra buffer to mute the sound even more. In our tests, it was actually difficult to get an accurate volume reading from the Midea U — it just blended in with the empty room tone, between 35 and 40 decibels. There was a slight high-pitched boost when the compressor was running on high, but even that was barely noticeable.

The Midea U’s unique design means that you can keep using your window, too. Most air conditioners require you to pull the window down against their tops to help keep them in place. But the Midea U boasts a curious U shape, with a “canyon” in the center that you pull the window down into, separating the fan on the inside from all the heavy hardware on the outside. It also has extendable side bars that lock it into place with the window frame — so you can open the window without worrying that the AC will fall out. It even has a pair of built-in locks to prevent anyone from trying to force the window open from the outside.

It’s reasonably priced as well even before you factor in the free bracket. The average cost for an 8,000 Btu Midea U is typically between $350 and $400. That’s about what you’d pay for a similarly sized AC with a standard compressor, and less than most other inverter-style units we’ve seen (even the ones without smart-home controls). And thanks to its unique design, the Midea U also comes with its own window bracket, which would otherwise cost you another $50 or so.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Some users have complained that it attracts more mold. Grit, dust, and sometimes fungal spores can be a problem with any air conditioner. But it may be more difficult to deal with, or at least more noticeable, due to the Midea's easy-to-see but hard-to-access front fan assembly. In summer , the company issued a recall on its u-shaped air conditioners; by that point, there had been at least 152 complaints about the problem out of more than 1.7 million units sold, according to the Consumer Protection Services Commission.

To address the issue, Midea created a new DIY repair kit to help improve water drainage from the U-shaped air conditioners. The company also offered a prorated refund to customers as an alternative. This DIY repair kit is now included with all Midea U (and Midea U Plus) purchases, and comes with several drip plugs for the rear of the unit, plus a bubble level so you can make sure that both the AC and the bracket are properly tilted backwards. There’s also an improved set of instructions—with plenty of clear warnings about the potential for mold issues—to help walk you through the installation process.

Even after just one day of testing the DIY repair kit, we were amazed at the puddle that had formed beneath our air conditioner. We were also pleased to learn that we had already been keeping our unit at the correct tilt (which could be part of the reason why we were never able to replicate the mold problem in our earlier tests). We feel confident enough that these new changes will help to further reduce the risk of developing mold in these ACs.

Even with the company’s new fix in place, we still recommend running this AC on the “auto” setting, which makes the fan run every 10 minutes to aid with moisture evaporation; this is true even in humid locations that also attract algae and other growths. Alternatively, you can run the fan manually for a few hours after the AC has finished cooling the room, which should have the same effect. We also strongly discourage you from buying an oversized air conditioner, even if it seems to make financial sense.

The installation process can be annoying. This was an issue even before Midea added the bubble level guidance to help improve drainage. To be fair, installing any air conditioner in your window, quite frankly, sucks. But the Midea U’s quirky design makes the experience uniquely frustrating.

After installing at least a dozen Midea Us over the years, I’ve learned that it can actually be a lot easier than you think—you just have to treat this model as you would a normal AC. (In other words, don’t overthink it.)

Here are a few other installation tricks I’ve learned along the way:

• Place the bracket on the sill so it’s stable-ish, but don’t lock the legs right away. Set the AC on top of the bracket until you feel it settle snugly into place.
• Locate the extendable metal bars at the bottom of the AC “canyon.” Slide them into the window tracks. Use that as your anchor.
• Slide the window down to make sure it fits into the canyon.
• Lift the window back up, and then lock everything else into place.
• Using the included hardware, secure everything as necessary for your specific window. Then while you’re at it, slap some insulation padding everywhere you can.
• But seriously: please pay attention to the tilt angle. Put that bubble level to good use.

Otherwise, YouTube is always your friend.

Runner-up

This L-shaped air conditioner is remarkably similar to our top pick both in design and performance, but you’ll need a smart to access all the controls.

The Hisense HLAWTW is remarkably similar to the Midea U in basic performance and function. But instead of being U-shaped, the Hisense more closely resembles the 12th letter of the alphabet. (Or maybe the 10th, depending on who you’re asking.) The interior part of the AC is shorter than the rear, making it look more like a mini-split sticking through a window. This doesn’t really save you any window space, but it does move all the louder hardware to the other side of the glass, just like on the Midea U, so there’s an extra buffer to keep things quiet. The onboard buttons are fairly limited, however. If you need more fine-tuned control, you can use your , or the included remote control—though there’s also something appealing about just setting the AC and leaving it alone.

The Hisense is just as efficient as our top pick—and just as quiet, too. Like other inverter-style air conditioners we’ve tested, the Hisense has an energy efficiency rating of 15.0, which means it uses about half as much energy as a standard AC of the same size. That variable speed compressor helps to keep the volume down as well, to the point that you’ll barely notice when the AC is running.

The L-shaped design means you can keep using your window. Also like our top pick, the Hisense won’t hijack your whole window for the summer. Unfortunately, the shorter interior part of the unit doesn’t actually give you back any vertical window space—it just leaves you staring at the exhaust grill in the back through the glass. But at least you can open and close the window as you please.

The Hisense is also Matter certified for better smart-home compatibility. This AC can communicate with pretty much any major smart-home system, thanks to the universal(-ish) Matter connectivity protocol. This makes for a much smoother smart-home setup process and means you don’t have to download any annoying or unfamiliar new apps if you don’t want to. There are some downsides, though: You can only connect the Hisense to one smart-home system at a time, and the controls are more limited than on the company’s proprietary app, ConnectLife.

It has better built-in drainage and airflow, too. Every air conditioner is prone to mold—that’s just what happens when you’re doing with moisture, shade, and heat exchange. But the Hisense is equipped with a series of clever cutouts in the basepan that should keep the air moving around, and help to prevent any standing water from accumulating those festering microorganisms. That’s not a guarantee, of course; as a wise man once said, “Life, uhh, finds a way.” But at least the Hisense was designed with a solution in mind to avoid the moldy pitfalls that plagued our top pick.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The onboard controls are extremely limited. Most air conditioners offer a variety of settings—usually an eco or auto mode, and a dedicated dehumidifier or fan-only option, maybe a “sleep mode” to control the light on the display. But the only buttons you get on the Hisense are one to turn the power on and off, and two to toggle the temperature up and down. The AC does have more capabilities than that, but you’ll have to use the Hisense ConnectLife app or the included remote control to get the most out of the experience. (Though the remote control feels rather clunky and antiquated, too.)

The Hisense is also lacking in some basic security features. The Hisense doesn’t have a way to lock into your window sash, or prevent someone on the outside from lifting up the window. This wouldn’t be an issue with a more traditionally-shaped air conditioner, which relies on the friction from the window to stay in place. But it makes the Hisense feel a little less secure. By contrast, the Midea U has two locking metal bars that extend all the way to the edge of the frame to keep the AC in place, along with a pair of tabs that keep the window locked in place unless you pull them back from the inside. You can screw a tab into the window frame to keep the Hisense in place, just as you would with a rectangular air conditioner—but then you can’t use your window, which sort of defeats the purpose of the L-shaped design.

Best for...

This impressively quiet air conditioner has built-in air quality monitoring and the option to turn it into a functional air purifier with an upgraded filter.

The Frigidaire Gallery GHWW085TE1 might look more like a standard air conditioner, but when it comes to quietness and efficiency, this air conditioner is on a par with our top pick from Midea. It also comes with a built-in air quality monitor, as well as the option to add one of Frigidaire’s proprietary MERV-14 air filters — which means this AC can potentially do the job of a dedicated air purifier, too.

The Frigidaire Gallery comes with a built-in air quality monitor, plus the option to add a purifying air filter. The LED indicator light on the front of the AC automatically glows in a range from green to red as a simple visual reminder of the air quality in your home. You can also view more details on the air quality in the Frigidaire app. This is a nice touch, even if it doesn’t actually improve your air. For that, you’ll need to buy a separate PureAir RAC-8 Premium Air Filter, which is specially designed to fit inside of the Frigidaire Gallery and provide MERV-14-level air filtration. That means this is the rare window air conditioner that can also pull double duty as an air purifier (even if it does cost a little extra).

It’s also quieter than any other non-U-shaped window AC we’ve ever tested. Like our top pick, the Frigidaire Gallery uses a variable speed inverter compressor, which is already typically quieter than what you’d encounter with more traditional window air conditioners. In our tests, we measured the average noise output from this AC at around 42 decibels — just 2 decibels louder on average than the Midea, and quieter than any other window unit we’ve tried by at least 5 decibels.

The Frigidaire Gallery is just as efficient as our top pick, too. Like most other inverter models we’ve tested, the Frigidaire Gallery has an energy efficiency rating of 15.0 — which, until , was the highest number possible for any window air conditioner. In our tests, it typically used between 100 and 300 watts of electricity at any given moment — less than half of its potential maximum energy use and about the same, on average, as our top pick.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The smart-home features are somewhat limited. The Frigidaire app offers very little beyond the basic remote controls: power on and off, mode settings, and scheduling options. This could be a blessing in disguise for some true Luddites, but it’s slightly disappointing compared with the robust AI-powered features in the Midea Smart Home. It also doesn’t work with Apple’s HomeKit, let alone the Matter protocol, though you can still voice control the basics through Alexa or Google Home.

You’ll still need to give up a window for the summer. Every god demands a sacrifice, and the deities of air-conditioned pleasure are sadly no exception.

Best for...

This Windmill model was easier to install than any other AC we’ve tested. It has an inverter compressor and other thoughtful details that make it pleasant to live with overall.

Want more information on High Large Space Dedicated Air Conditioner? Feel free to contact us.

If you want an inverter air conditioner that’s also simple to install, easy to live with, and looks nice in your room (or at least blends better into the background), the Windmill AC with WhisperTech is the way to go.

The installation process is shockingly straightforward. After watching me install, uninstall, and reinstall dozens of air conditioners over the years for testing, my wife took one look at the Windmill 3.0 and said, “I would just buy that one.” Whereas most air conditioners require you to install a set of expandable side panels — and tenuously balance the unit on the sill as you pull down the window to try to secure it in place — the Windmill arrives in a nicely designed box with a built-in frame that handles all of the hard work for you. The well-designed instruction booklet will walk you through the rest. It’s a little more involved than simply sticking the Windmill into your window frame and closing the window — but honestly, not much.

The Windmill is easily one of the most attractive ACs out there, too. The aesthetic options for window air conditioners have historically been limited. But the Windmill offers another way. The front of the unit is sleek and simple, with the buttons and indicator carefully tucked away behind the sleek, rounded edges. The company also sells a variety of color panels, in case you want something that pops more than that muted plastic white (you can swap them out, too). Even the rear of the AC — the part that sticks out the back of your window — looks better, with a rounded white cover to protect your fingers from sharp metal exhaust fins.

This AC is just as powerful and efficient as our top pick, with great smart features. Like the Midea U, the Windmill uses an inverter compressor, which helps it achieve an impressive energy efficiency rating of 15.0. (The company also sells a version with a standard compressor, called the Windmill Air, which we previously recommended.) The app also includes a speedometer-like energy meter, which lets you track just how much that inverter compressor is working.

Windmill offers top-notch customer service, as well. Or, at least, it’s personable and helpful enough to stand out from any other AC support lines we’ve called, which are typically fine at best. The Windmill’s app and website both included direct links to TaskRabbit and other local service gig apps, in the unlikely event that you need another pair of hands to help with installation, or even same-day delivery.

It’s quiet, if not the quietest. In our tests, we measured the Windmill’s WhisperTech fan at between 40 and 50 decibels, with an average noise of around 46 decibels. So it’s slightly louder than our other inverter picks, but it’s still significantly quieter than most other ACs out there. The compressor emits a low-ish rumble (it spikes at 2,000 hertz and 8,000 hertz) that sounds similar to a refrigerator, and it’s particularly noticeable when both the compressor and fan are running at lower speeds.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You can’t control the direction of the fan. The Windmill’s design puts the fan output at the top and the upper sides of the unit. This is a nice touch if the AC is right next to your bed or couch and you don’t want that direct blast of cold air right on your face. Unfortunately, it also means you can’t aim the cold air somewhere — it all just sort of shoots up into the air and then settles across the room. This worked well enough in our tests, though it might not be ideal for everyone in every room.

Best for...

This uniquely shaped AC unit hangs down over the windowsill, delivering quiet, efficient cooling without hogging the window.

Designed for rooms of up to 450 square feet, the GE Profile ClearView PHNT10CC is both larger and more powerful than our other picks. It also preserves even more window access than you get with the Midea U, thanks to a unique design that straddles the windowsill and then hangs downward.

The GE Profile lets you use (almost) your entire window. The GE Profile is sort of the inverse of the Midea U — shaped like a lower-case “n,” with a 4-inch-tall bridge that carries the cooled air from the outside compressor to the indoor fan, which spreads it around the room. That bridge is the only thing that sits on your windowsill, so you can pull your window all the way down (less those 4 inches) and open it up again whenever you want.

Its inverter compressor will help you save on energy in a larger room. With a certified energy efficiency rating of 14.7, the GE Profile is a fraction of a point less efficient than our other inverter air conditioner picks. At 10,000 Btu, it’s also more robust than our other picks. So in a smaller room (less than 350 square feet), it might not save you as much on energy (but it will save you some!). In a larger room, though, you’ll notice the difference.

It’s incredibly quiet. Like our top pick, the GE Profile moves all of the noisy hardware, like the compressor, to the outside of your room, so your window acts as an extra buffer to keep things even quieter. That compressor can still make some low rumbling sounds, particularly when it’s first revving up or if it vibrates against the house or window frame.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You’ll probably need two people to install it. For the most part, the installation process is easy — you just place the AC so that it straddles the window and tighten a few things so it stays put. As a result of this unique design, however, the GE Profile has to be extra long in order to fit around the window frame. This makes it a little cumbersome, like balancing an air conditioner on a barbell.

The controls on the GE Profile can be annoying. The basic controls are all haptic touch buttons — yet there’s very little feedback, so you’re not always sure if you’re touching the right spot. More often than not, I found myself instinctively tapping the LED indicator lights instead. And speaking of those indicators: They shut off automatically after a few seconds of non-use. Which is great! Except then you can’t tell if the AC is actually on. And it runs so quietly that you can’t always hear it, either.

It takes up more room inside your home. The GE sticks out about 9 inches into the room and hangs down another 7 inches from the windowsill. This isn’t great if you’re hoping to install it behind a couch, or you want to use any of that wall space underneath the window (such as for a side table). Consider it a trade-off for retaining use of your window.

Budget pick

This standard AC unit gets the job done at a reasonable price — although the sound can be a little grating, especially at lower fan speeds. You can also upgrade the air filter.

The Frigidaire FHWW084TE1 is the latest in a line of traditional window air conditioners that we’ve been recommending (on and off, under various model names) since . Each iteration of this AC provides the same consistently reliable performance at an affordable price. It’s not quite as efficient as an inverter AC, and it is slightly louder than our other picks. But it’s affordable and widely available. The model is also compatible with Frigidaire’s MERV-14 air purifier filters, which was enough to persuade us to reincorporate it as a budget pick.

This Frigidaire has the highest efficiency rating of a non-inverter air conditioner. With an EER of 12.0, the Frigidaire FHWW084TE1 is simply the best standard AC you can find. It’s not as powerful — or as quiet — as our other picks. But it will get the job done and likely do it better than the older air conditioners you might be used to. (Energy Star updated its efficiency standards in so that this model is no longer technically certified, but it’s still the most efficient option you can find below that level.)

You can also use this model as an air purifier. In addition to the standard dust filter that you find on every window air conditioner, the Frigidaire FHWW084TE1 also has a slot that can fit one of the company’s PureAir RAC10 Premium air filters, which provide MERV-14 air filtration. That means this AC can do the job of a good, dedicated air purifier, cleansing your air of particles and pathogens as it cools you down. You’ll have to buy these filters separately though, which means an additional cost. Keep in mind: This AC uses a different size filter than our other Frigidaire pick, but they both provide the same level of air purification.

The Frigidaire is lighter and easier to install than our other picks. No AC is easy to install, but the Frigidaire FHWW084TE1 is one of the least bad to deal with. It has a slightly smaller chassis and a more-centered weight distribution than our top pick, and it weighs about 10 pounds less, too. Also, instead of screwing in, its side curtains slide in, which can save you a few minutes of work and a whole lot of frustration.

It comes with all of the smart features you need, if you want them. The Frigidaire app is generally reliable, and the smart-home integration offers simple, natural language voice commands (which is something that’s surprisingly hard to come by). The built-in Wi-Fi is easy to set up, too, and we haven’t encountered any notable connectivity problems over the years. If you don’t care for the smart integrations, the Frigidaire FHWC083TC1 is essentially the same unit but without the Wi-Fi, and it usually costs even less.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It sounds more like a standard air conditioner. In our tests, when it kicked on audibly, it still measured below “normal” conversation levels; on its loudest setting, with the compressor and fan running on high, it put out only about 55 decibels of noise, including a low, mechanical growl. While this makes it louder in comparison with our inverter AC picks, it’s still quieter and less annoying than any of the other standard ACs we’ve tested.

The Frigidaire FHWW084TE1 is without a doubt the best low-cost window air conditioner available. But if you’re looking to save even more money — and possibly help the environment as well — a secondhand air conditioner can work just as well, provided it’s no more than about 10 years old.

Portable air conditioners

Portable air conditioners are so popular now that we’ve given them their own guide. They’re also big, ugly, and expensive, and they can never cool a room as efficiently or effectively as a window or wall AC. But if you want something that you can wheel from room to room, or if your windows don’t support any other option, we have some recommendations in that guide.

Through-the-wall air conditioners

Picking the right through-the-wall air conditioner can be a little tricky, but getting a universal-fit, rear-breathing AC is the path of least resistance. Also known as true wall air conditioners or wall-sleeve air conditioners, these units work with nearly any existing wall sleeve (the technical term for the metal box that juts out through the wall). We haven’t tested any of these models, but the LG LTCER looks like a reasonable bet. It’s more affordable than its chief competitor, a Frigidaire model that costs anywhere from $70 to $120 more but offers no obvious advantages (at least on paper). Kenmore sells a wall AC, but it’s just a rebadged version of the Frigidaire. You might be able to find a cheap wall-sleeve AC made by Midea and sold under various brand names (including Arctic King, Comfort Aire, and Westpointe), but they’re generally not available through major retailers.

Also: No, you should not put a regular window AC unit through your wall, unless the documentation specifically says that the machine is suitable for a wall installation. The vents on a typical window unit aren’t positioned to breathe properly in a standard wall sleeve, so a window unit installed that way can’t work as effectively or efficiently and will burn out its compressor much sooner than it should.

Casement air conditioners for sliding and crank-open windows

This style of air conditioner installs into a horizontal-sliding window or a crank-out window. Such models are more expensive than typical double-hung-window units, but they cost about as much as a good portable air conditioner and work more efficiently. The Frigidaire FFRSSE is one of the few widely available models we consistently see. It comes with everything you need for installation in a sliding window, though if you’re installing it in a crank window, you’ll probably need to buy (and cut) a piece of plexiglass.

Unfortunately, casement-window ACs don’t actually fit into all slider or casement windows. The model we recommend needs an opening of about 15 inches across, 21 inches tall, and 24 inches deep. So if your windows are narrow or don’t crank all the way open, you might have to go with a portable AC anyway; a portable AC needs an opening of only about 6 inches across, 12 inches tall, and maybe 2 inches deep, so it’s a lot more flexible.

Central air and mini-split ductless systems

Central air conditioning systems are complicated, permanent installations that are too unique to each individual house for us to cover comprehensively. However, if your home already has a central AC system installed, we do have a guide to furnace and air conditioner filters to help you find the most effective way to remove particulates from the air in your home; we generally recommend the Nordic Pure MERV 12. If you’re shopping for a new system, please see our advice on buying a heat pump.

A ductless mini-split air-conditioning system typically consists of one or more wall-mounted indoor units that connect to an outdoor compressor. They also require renovations to your home, but they’re much easier (and cheaper) to retrofit into existing construction than a fully ducted central-air system. Mini-split systems are more powerful and more efficient than a collection of window units, and they will ultimately leave your home with much less clutter (and more usable window space). However, they can be expensive, with installation costs upwards of five figures (though some local utility companies offer rebates to offset those costs). If you’re intrigued by the idea of a ductless mini-split AC, we have some advice to help you figure out what will work best for your specific home.

This article was edited by Harry Sawyers.

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