Let’s talk diffusers.
Specifically, ones that both inexpensive and work flawlessly. Aesthetics are all that’s left to choose.
The sections are as follows:
All of the diffusers listed are highly recommended.
Best Essential Oil Diffusers under $15
Folk Art Porcelain Oil Warmer ($5-6)
Pros
- Very inexpensive. Under $6.
- No plugin needed (uses tea lights)
- Very aesthetically pleasing. Rustic and doesn’t look cheap.
- Distributes smell evenly
- Multiple colors available
- Easy to wash so smells don’t cross over.
Cons
- Water can evaporate before tea light burns out. So sometimes a little bit of oil is left over. You get the hang of portioning it out over time.
- Can arrive with chips in porcelain. Easy returns though on Amazon.
- To add oil more easily and it’s best to remove the porcelain bowl. If filling very high with water it can spill a little when re-hanging.
- It evaporates slowly so you’ll need a strong oil mix of oil if you want to make a whole room smell quickly.
Ceramic Tea Kettle “Oven Stove” Warmer ($11-13)
Pros
- Very contemporary look. High quality, quaint and elegant. Looks great in any room. It looks like a small replica of an antique stove.
- Great design. Keeps oils from spilling. The candle is easy to remove and replace. Gets oils/water hot. More so than most glass dish style diffusers.
- Holds plenty of water. You can burn 2+ tealights before needing to refill it.
- Durable for the price. It’s been dropped twice in my household but has yet to chip.
Cons
- It can get hot during extended use. Which makes refilling the pot a challenge. Easily avoidable though.
- Needs quality tealights to get to maximum temperature. Some have complained that it doesn’t get hot enough. This can be remedied by getting a bigger, longer lasting 4-5 hour tea lights.
Celtic Knot Soapstone Candle Diffuser ($14-15)
Pros
- The soapstone and design look great.
- It’s very small and sleek (this was a positive for me.)
- It gets hot fast and diffuses the oil very well.
- Works best with oils instead of water. (I recommend less fragrant oils like grapeseed or almond oil)
- Over time the soapstone builds up a nice patina.
Cons
- Can be challenging to use with a base of water or fragrance oil. The water evaporates quickly (this thing gets hot) and the stone is known to crack when heated at empty.
- If using water you’ll need to keep an eye on it. Tea lights will last longer than the water, so you’ll need to replace it or blow out the candle to avoid potential cracking.
- The soapstone bowl sits near to the tea light flame. This means it heats up fast and gets very hot. For me, this is a benefit. But if not prepared it can damage the diffuser.
- It’s a small diffuser. I already mentioned this in the pros, but for some people, this could be a con. The tealight is a pretty tight fit in the diffuser, so it can be a little tricky for people with big hands to place it correctly.
- It’s fragile. Don’t drop it!
Best Essential Oil Diffusers under $50
Moving on! There are a lot of great diffusers in this price range.
Nice Shop Electronic Aromatherapy Atomizer & Air Humidifier ($17-19)
Pros
- Small and compact
- Works as an ionizer, purifier, atomizer, humidifier, and diffuser.
- Diffused scents fill the room well.
- Comes with two plugs. A wall charger and a USB plugin. I plug it into my computer.
- Shuts off automatically when water gets low. One fill of water lasts 3-6 hours.
- Has a soothing LED light option that you can turn on and off. Choose one color or let it rotate through a variety of colors. It can double as a night light. (Kids love this.)
Cons
- Might be too small for some people. Works best in smaller rooms.
- Takes awhile to steam. It’s not instant like some other diffusers.
- Doesn’t hold as much water as pricier diffusers.
- Can get clogged when you add too much essential oil. Easy enough to clean though with hot water, a Q-tip and a bit of soap.
100 ml Kinps Essential Oil Purifier Air Humidifier with Timer Settings & LED colors ($31-33)
Pros
- Very efficient at diffusing oils
- Self-timer that goes to 180 minutes
- Good amount of vaporization. Not too much, not too little.
- Lovely LED colors with a variety of settings.
- 100ml size means it lasts a long time on one fill.
- Small, compact and very quiet.
- Mist options. Set to continuous or 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off if desired.
- Works as a night light
Cons
- Timer only goes to 180 minutes. Some might enjoy a longer setting since 180 minutes does not use up all of the water.
- Instructions can be hard to read. But it’s simple to use.
- The cover can be hard to open. You need to slide and click it to open.
80 ml ZAQ Noor LED Litemist Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser ($38-40)
Pros
- Very easy to operate
- Works very well – as advertised
- Virtually silent when operating
- Small and Compact – about the size of a large roll of toilet paper
- High quality, sleek design. Very aesthetically pleasing.
Cons
- Can be hard to wash old scents out
- Has a small blue light that stays on unless a machine is turned off
- lemon, citronella or other citrus oils can corrode it and are not recommended unless you clean it very well.
- Doesn’t diffuse well if slightly overfilled.
- Some have mentioned longevity issues
400 ml Kinps Essential Oil Purifier Air Humidifier with Timer Settings & LED colors ($38-40)
Pros
- 400ml size means it lasts a long time on one fill.
- Very efficient at diffusing oils
- Self-timer that goes to 180 minutes
- Good amount of vaporization. Not too much, not too little.
- Lovely LED colors with a variety of settings.
- Small, compact and very quiet.
- Mist options. Set to continuous or 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off if desired.
- Works as a night light
Cons
- Timer only goes to 180 minutes. Some might enjoy a longer setting as 180 minutes does not use up all of the water.
- Instructions can be hard to read. But it’s simple to use.
- The cover can be hard to open. You need to slide and click it to open.
Deneve Brand Riverock Diffuser with Natural Sounds ($48-50)
Pros
- It’s very compact
- Holds about 100 ml
- Long lasting
- Easy to clean
- LED colored lights with on and off settings
- Good customer service
- Comes with a measuring cup
- Very quiet with sounds resemble water streaming and dropping onto rocks. The sound is soothing and non-distracting.
Cons
- No removable tray to empty it. You’ll have to unplug and carry the whole unit.
- On/off button can be difficult to click at times.
- Vapor output not immense
- Better for small rooms
- No automatic turn off or timer
Best Essential Oil Diffusers under $100
ZAQ Mirage Multi Color Essential Oil Diffuser 150 ml ($50-52)
Pros
- Quiet. You can hear some bubbling sounds, but they are soothing rather than obnoxious
- Basic and easy to use
- Does a good job of dispensing aromas
- No heat – always very cool
- Instant diffusion the second it’s turned on
- Senses low water levels and automatically turns itself off
- LED color settings allow for a cycling of colors, one steady color or no lights at all
- Long Cord
- Very lightweight
Cons
- Feels a little flimsy/plasticky (does not detract from diffusion effects)
- Some might not like aesthetic designs. It looks a little a outerspacey.
- Could use a better instruction manual. Though it is pretty easy to use.
- Can’t remove reservoir for cleaning. Though this hasn’t been a problem for me.
QUOOZ Lull Ultrasonic High Capacity Diffuser 200ml ($59-60)
Pros
- Very beautiful aesthetic and presentation
- Large 200ml size
- Mode to alternation diffusion. ex: 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off
- Very long run time.
- Two LED light settings, off and “breathing” cycle
- Quick diffusion fills room fast
- Works very quietly.
- Auto-shut off function
- Fills room nicely
Cons
- Light can be very bright is some situations
- Cleaning can be difficult.
- Oil sits on plastic
AromaFresh Aromatherapy Diffuser 300 ml ($81-83)
Pros
- Looks great with ceramic finish top
- Dual voltage power adapter
- Works very quietly
- Continuous and intermittent settings
- Long lasting
- Fancy looking color wheel with seven colors. Makes choosing colors fun.
- Low key, responsive buttons
- Leak-proof, no condensation
- Large 300ml reservoir with clear marked fill lines
- Very easy to use
- Ultrasonic diffusing
Cons
- Circular dome not entirely flush looking with the base
- Power adapter insert is on the bottom which can be a bit annoying, though more visually appealing
Aromis Professional Grade Aromatherapy Diffuser (Orbis Nox Merus) ($98-100)
Pros
- Very eloquent and stylish.
- Constructed with one solid piece of wood and a solid piece of blown glass.
- Extremely effective at diffusion.
- Essential Oils do not touch any plastic. Only glass.
- Utilizes nebulization that dispenses pure oil vapor, no carriers
- A wide variety of options/models
- Easy to clean
- Runs at a variety of speeds
- No need for heat or water – only need to add pure essential oils for diffusion
- Glass mechanism rather than plastic
- Well packaged
- Quiet operation
- Fantastic customer support
Cons
- It’s not hard to clean but should be done regularly.
- Doesn’t work well with thick oils. This is a limit to nebulization.
- No auto shut off functions.
- Can be difficult to replace dysfunctional parts.
10 thoughts on “Tips for Choosing the Best Essential Oil Diffuser [with reviews]”
Hi. My name is Mr Michael
White .and I will
Iike to know what is the best essential oil to use for ……memory……..1 therapeutic oil…..2..pure essential oil ………rosemary…..are………peppermint oil….please help me
My wife really wants an Essential Oil diffuse for Christmas but I have no idea where to find one. There are so many places to choose from and there are so many different kinds as well. This helped though and I hope that I can find one soon.
Thanks for this post! It really narrowed it down for me. I want to go for a nebulizer to get the maximum therapeutic benefits I found similar to the one you listed. I just have one question for you. Do you know how many square feet the diffuser will actually spread aroma?
Thanks,
Jessica
Foollow up comment: I found a really nice nebulizer using the Bernoullis Principle which requires no heat or water to convert pure essential oils into fine mist and is good for rooms of up to 1000sf/ft.
Where did you find it and what is the name? Please ^_^
A debt of gratitude is in order for this post! It truly limited it down for me. I need to go for a nebulizer to get the greatest remedial advantages I discovered like the one you recorded. I simply have one inquiry for you.
Essential oils definitely have therapeutic properties but they need to be used in the right way. I’ve used essential oils for acne treatment and it has worked really well. The right type of diffuser is very important to get the full benefits. You have to use a nebulizer, not a regular diffuser that mixes the essential oils with water. Nebulizers can break down the essential oils to only 3 microns which will reach deep inside your lungs and will give you the max therapeutic benefits.
Kudos Loren for the excellent guide and a fantastic EO website altogether! Do you do the site design yourself? All of your imagery and graphics are really well done and the information you provide is great too! I know from experience – because I also have a site about essential oils and diffusers. And I gotta tell ya, you don’t look like the typical person who is into essential oils. For one – you’re a dude! It’s refreshing to see somebody like you blogging about this stuff. And two – you’re young-ish – judging by your picture. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Marcy, Cheers.
I recently purchased a PureSpa Natural, which is a diffuser from PureSpa Enrichment. I became interested in this diffuser after reviewing the PureSpa website which states: “with whisper quiet operation, PureSpa Natural runs softly in the background so it does not disturb the peace of your home or office”.
The facts are, this diffuser operates quietly for several hours, then makes an annoying dripping noise. Apparently, condensation builds in the cone of this diffuser that drips into the water reservoir / tank. The dripping noise is not peaceful, it is a very disturbing and annoying sound. Most likely this is a design defect.
Customer service at PureSpa provided the following explaination: “Condensation will build up inside of the unit and drip back down into the water tank. This is unavoidable … a diffuser may not be the right product for you. As an alternative, you may want to consider using it during the day, instead of when you sleep.”
When I requested a refund or replacement per the warranty, the company refused. They advised that I did not purchase directly from their company (item purchased via Amazon) so I should “reach out to the vendor you purchased from.”
If you are selecting a diffuser, my recommendation is to consider products from other companies. I would not purchase another product from this company.