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The Whynter Elite ARC-122DS offers good cooling for a great value. While small, it doesn't have any handles, which hurts its portability. Read More
The LG LP1419IVSM can cool down an entire room, quickly. Its short stature and pocket handles make it easy to move and it can be controlled via app. Read More
The LG LP0621WSR performed well on just about all of our tests. It has decent portability and handling, and rolls smoothly over carpet. Read More
The Whynter ARC-14S offers some decent cooling at a reasonable price. As a bonus, its parts are eco-friendly as well. Read More
This portable AC unit cools small rooms well but is relatively heavy and somewhat ungainly to move around. Read More
As temperatures rise, you may find yourself looking for relief, especially if you don’t have central air. A portable air conditioner could be the solution you’re looking for.
Portable air conditioners and window AC units can cool spaces quickly. Window air conditioners are heavy and can be a pain to install, but the best portable air conditioners can be moved from room to room. In addition to being more flexible than window ACs, portable air conditioners are also easier to store.
We’ve been conducting hands-on testing of portable air conditioners for years, taking note of their ability to cool rooms and other key factors, such as how loud they are and how easy they are to use. As the name suggests, portability weighs heavily in evaluating these AC units.
After testing top-rated portable ACs from brands like GE, LG, and Frigidaire, the Whynter Elite ARC-122DS (available at Amazon for $362.55) rose to the top as the best portable air conditioner, because it offers superior cooling, room coverage, and great value. Another great value is the LG LP0621WSR (available at Amazon). Less than expensive than the Whynter, our best value pick performed well overall during our testing.
While the Whynter and LG are both great portable air conditioners, our testing found other exceptional ACs that may be better suited to your needs, including an AC for large rooms and a smart portable AC with an app we really like.
Good cooling
Great value
No real handles; hard to pick up
Cools down a whole room fast
Smart features
Easily movable from room to room
Some parts feel flimsy
Cools down the room quickly
Quiet operation
Controls can be unresponsive
Eco-friendly parts
Decent cooling performance
Was slow to cool a whole room
Extra temp and humidity sensors
Excels at cooling large rooms
A multitude of features
Weighs in at 83.3 pounds
Btu is important when looking for the best portable air conditioner because it measures how much warm air a unit will be able to cool. However, there are more factors to consider when looking for a portable AC. Here are some things to think about.
A portable air conditioner's ability to cool the air is measured in Btu. A British thermal unit is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The higher the Btu rating, the more heat an AC can remove from the air.
When shopping for portable air conditioners, you will see a Btu ASHRAE or Btu DOE measurement. Btu ASHRAE is the Btu the AC unit outputs, while Btu DOE is how cool it may feel given the loss of some cooling through the hose and ventilation system.
Contrary to their name, portable air conditions are not always that portable—these AC units can be heavy and large.
All of the AC units we tested for this guide weighed more than 40 pounds and some were more than 70 pounds. Even if a unit has handles and casters, moving a 70-pound AC unit from room to room can be difficult.
We recommend you consider how and where you’ll use a portable air conditioner before purchasing.
Portable AC units are slightly louder than traditional window units since they don't funnel as much noise directly outside. If you are concerned about how loud your air conditioner is, check how many decibels (dB) the unit produces. Most portable air conditioners land around 56 dB, although some may be slightly quieter or louder.
While the specifics will change unit to unit, this is generally how air conditioners remove heat from the air.
An air conditioner takes in hot air from around the room (or outside) and passes it over coils filled with coolant. The coils extract heat from the air, then blow this cooler air back into the room. An AC unit exhausts its heat out the back of the device (window units) or through a ventilation tube (portable air conditioners).
This cooling process produces condensation, which either drips out the back of the device, drains into a reservoir you need to empty, or pushes through a single hose that you can run to a nearby drain, depending on the unit.
When looking for the best portable ACs, you’ll see two cooling power measurements listed—Btu ASHRAE and Btu DOE. That may cause some confusion, but we can clear things up for you.
ASHRAE stands for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, a group that, among other things, publishes heating and cooling standards. With portable air conditioners, the ASHRAE figure is higher because it measures overall Btu.
However, portable AC units give off heat as they are working, and they also lose some cooling power through the hose and ventilation system, making them less efficient than window air conditioners. That’s where the Btu DOE measurement comes in.
Mandated by the Department of Energy, Btu DOE reflects the real-world cooling power. If you’re going to only look at one figure, we recommend looking at the Btu DOE number, as that’s going to give a better idea of how it will perform in your home.
Usually, when people ask this, they're referring to what Btu rating to buy for a room of a given size. A larger AC unit is likely overkill in a small space and will cause you to spend extra money on energy consumption.
To help maximize your unit’s energy efficiency, consider the Energy Star square footage chart for Btus based on room size. With portable ACs, the numbers below should be compared to a unit’s DOE figure, because that factors in cooling loss from the hose and ventilation system.
Both portable and window ACs have their pros and cons. Your decision comes down to how much you prioritize portability and easy setup versus efficiency.
Portable air conditioners offer the perk of quick and straightforward installation, plus the freedom to move them around. They're designed to be easily wheeled into different rooms, with a simple setup involving a vent hose to connect to a nearby window. No heavy lifting is required, and you're good to go in just a few minutes.
The flexibility of portable ACs means you can have one unit and shift it where needed. Want to chill your bedroom at night and then keep your home office cool during the day? No problem.
In contrast, setting up a window air conditioner can be a workout. They're heavy and require additional hardware to secure them properly in the window. You might need a hand getting it into place and holding it steady while you work on sealing everything up. Once it's in, you're not likely to want to move a window AC until the heat waves are over.
Despite the hassle of installation, window ACs are more efficient than their portable counterparts. They're designed to keep the hot part of the condenser cycle outside, making it easy to shed heat without it getting back into your home.
Portable ACs, on the other hand, vent heat through their window exhaust hose. While effective at cooling, they're not as energy-efficient since not all the heat leaves along with the vented air. Plus, if air is leaving your place, it's got to be replaced, usually with warmer air from outside, which adds to the energy drain. So, while portable air conditioners cool you down, they're not as easy on your energy bill.
Every portable air conditioner underwent the same testing regimen, addressing performance and user-friendliness.
A cooling test was our performance indicator. We outfitted our testing chamber (200 square feet) with temperature sensors placed at the center of each of its four walls, with a fifth sensor in the middle of the room. We set up a control sensor outside the room.
First, we heated the room using a space heater and let each unit run for two hours, taking measurements every minute from our sensors.
The resulting data lets us see how quickly the portable air conditioner can cool down the whole room, and it verifies how good each unit is at spreading its cooling air around the room.
Beyond this performance test, we also assessed the usability of each portable air conditioner. We observed slight variations between the units we tested. Each has roughly the same control layout and is equally easy to use, set up, and move around.
Features were also relatively minimal, with most units including a physical remote control and some Wi-Fi capabilities.
We did observe one main difference: overall size and weight.
Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.
Dr. Dave Ellerby
Chief Scientist
Dave Ellerby has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester. He has 25+ years of experience designing tests and analyzing data.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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