There are only two "good" humidifiers for dry air - says Stiftung Warentest
18/9/2025
Translation: machine translated
A good indoor climate requires sufficient humidity. According to a recent report by Stiftung Warentest, two devices do the job well - one from Beurer and one from Xiaomi.
Mist nebulisers are a bummer, vaporisers are a hoot: that's the message Stiftung Warentest sent out after testing eight humidifiers. In a recent test (read here with a plan), eight devices were tested in the laboratories.
Two of them achieved the grade «good». Both the Beurer (score 1.9) and the Xiaomi device (2.1) are cold evaporators. In them, filter mats draw water from a tank, a fan draws in dry room air, passes it over the moist filters and blows it out again.
The Beurer convinced Stiftung Warentest with «effective air humidification» and «best handling» the most. The humidifier from Xiaomi performed even better, coming in second place. The reason: the target humidity can only be set via the app and not on the device. If newfangled stuff like an app doesn't put you off and you want the device with the best performance, then Xiaomi is still your friend.
Three more cold vaporisers with a satisfactory rating «»
Of the eight humidifiers tested, four achieved the grade «satisfactory». Three of them also work with the evaporation principle. This makes them fundamentally more hygienic than nebulisers. This is because, as the test showed, no germs get into the air during evaporation.
Of the three devices shown above, the Philips even achieved a «very good» in the category «humidification» - the only one to do so. However, it was only possible to keep it running smoothly in the test after it had been dismantled and reassembled several times. However, Stiftung Warentest may have simply tested a faulty device.
The consumer magazine also gave the Oskar from Stadler Form a failing grade. The reason: This humidifier has no display. As I know from my own experience, this is true. Instead, the Oskar has a small five-stage LED bar that you use to set the target value for the humidity. When it is reached, the lights flash and Oskar switches itself off until it is needed again. I think that's smart, but Stiftung Warentest doesn't think so.
The humidifier from Venta was also not spared a downgrade. The shortcoming here was that the water level could not be read from the outside. Regardless of this, the Venta shone with the top score of «very good» in terms of germ load.
Because this was too high in the Levoit Dual 200S, the appliance also only received the grade «satisfactory». However, this makes it something like the king of the one-eyed devices, i.e. the only humidifier that performed better than «sufficient» with ultrasonic nebulisation.
I have written more about how nebulisers work here, including care tips.
Care and follow-up costs
Whether cold evaporation or ultrasonic nebulisation: a humidifier needs care and maintenance, as Stiftung Warentest emphasises.
It's important to take care of it.
Regular water changes and descaling are necessary to prevent germs from forming. The evaporators also need replacement filters at different intervals. These are not always cheap. The device from Stadler Form has the highest annual operating costs at 247 euros. This is because a descaler from Stadler costs around ten euros. A homemade vinegar solution will also do the trick. The «Water Cube», which Stadler recommends for better hygiene, also drives up consumption costs. It costs just over ten euros. Other manufacturers do without something like this.
Apart from the consumables, the humidifiers are very frugal when it comes to power consumption. No device cost more than 14 euros per year to operate.
Header image: Beurer
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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