Best reed diffusers: 11 sweet smelling buys for your home

Like lighting, scent goes a long way in setting the ambiance in your home. While candles show off their scent when lit, the best reed diffussers constantly emit low-level fragrance. They're a great choice for those who want to enjoy their favorite scent, but not feel overpowered by it, all day long. 

Whether you want a different reed diffuser in every room in the house, or are looking for a signature fragrance for your home, we bet you'll find one you love in our list of the best reed diffusers. They've been tried and tested by the team at RealHomes – some of us like florals, some heady sandalwood and others fruity scents – so we're confident they smell heavenly, whatever your tastes.

Need more guidance? You can read more on choosing the right reed diffuser at the bottom of this page. Can't decide whether you want a reed diffuser, candle, or oil diffuser? See all the best home fragrance in our buyer's guide. 

The best reed diffusers

Take up Jo Malone’s invitation to 'decorate with scent' with the perfumer's best-selling  English Pear & Freesia, a fruity-floral scent that encapsulates early autumn beautifully.

Scent
The combination of juicy King William pear with the delicate white flower scent of the freesia and a base of earthy, woody patchouli is a real winner.  

Packaging
Encased in a glass bottle, the reed diffuser comes with 10 reed sticks. The bottle and sticks will come wrapped in an iconic Jo Malone box tied with a grosgrain ribbon, making it a perfect gift.

What we like about it
It's unusual, but subtle enough that it won’t give you a headache or overpower the room. A cult favorite, we think this makes a wonderful first foray to the world of home fragrance, which makes it our top pick.

What we don't like about it
If you're after a strong-smelling diffuser, this isn't the one for you. 

If you're looking for a reed diffuser that makes as much of a style statement as it does a scent one, this CB2 reed diffuser is the perfect pick.

Scent
A little bit woodsy, a little bit fresh, this scent is subtle and a just-right balance of masculine and feminine. While the top notes are mostly citrus, the middle notes of tobacco and lavender give it a slightly rich, but nowhere near overpowering, scent.

Packaging
Arriving in a sleek black box that mimics the minimalism of the bottle itself. the scent sits in a beautifully elegant glass cylinder. filled with plants and a single red rose. The diffuser comes with black rattan reeds.

What we like about it
Apart from the fact that this CB2 reed diffuser looks great on display, it was created in collaboration with Bright Endeavors, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides job training for young moms. It's also value-priced at $29.99.

What we don't like about it
Nothing!

 Skandinavisk, a Scandinavian scent purveyor, is popular in Europe and it's not hard to see why. They've taken a home fragrance genre everyone seems to be doing and have managed to do a unique take on it. In this case, the fruity-floral scent gets a Scandi update.

Scent
What makes this fragrance so beguiling is the realistic, juicy strawberry note. Not a bubblegum-like imitation, but recognizable strawberry. The delicate florals and the oakmoss add structure, making the fragrance more grown-up, but it's a sweet and innocent scent at heart.

Packaging
A delightful white ceramic bottle with signature engravings. Simple but beautiful.

What we like about it
This fragrance is fresh and sweet, but won't overwhelm your home. You can also get this in a candle version, and even matching hand and body products. Totally gift-worthy.

What we don't like
The price! We wish we could afford to have one in every room of our house. 

The easiest way to create a tropical hothouse atmosphere in your home, no matter the season. 

Scent
The name of the Gingerlily scent diffuser is not really accurate: this is a gorgeous tuberose fragrance through and through. Tuberose addicts will know that this is a powerful, heady smell that is not too dissimilar to jasmine. There's a bit of cedar in the background to keep the scent from becoming too strong. 

Packaging
Simple and elegant – a clear glass bottle with Molton Brown branding.

What we like about it
The scent is exotic and uplifting, and is guaranteed to fill even a large room

What we don't like
Small rooms may struggle with this, as it really is quite powerful. Avoid in rooms without windows.

New Zealand brand Ashley & Co produce eight different fragrances across a range of 50 products. Founder Jackie Ashley's products are inspired by a childhood spent in Hong Kong and travelling to exotic places. Expect fun names like 'Parakeets & Pearls' and 'Bubbles & Polkadots' and wealth of beautiful spices and botanicals to suit all tastes, including wild jasmine, mandarin peel and mimosa. 

Scent
We tested the Vine & Paisley scent which is made from vanilla and sandalwood – fragrances which on their own have a tendency to be too powerful, but combined create a lovely sweet smell of vanilla that is well grounded by the earthier smells.

Packaging
The minimalist black bottle would fit well into lots of room schemes and even the box it comes in, with its slick typography ,is beautiful in its simplicity – a lovely present for a fragrance-loving friend. The box is also recyclable and biodegradable.

What we like 
This reed diffuser is strong enough to ward off nasty whiffs without being overpowering. Apart from winning in scent delivery and length of use (up to six months of fragrance), this reed diffuser looks super stylish and is cruelty free which ticks a lot of boxes for us.

What we don't like
You will want to buy the whole set – body lotion, surface spray, hand cream and candles. Yes, your home will be one harmonious zing of scent, but it will be a rather expensive habit. Ashley & Co products are at the higher end of our budget so the price is the only thing putting us off.

Looking for an affordable reed diffuser to fill your home with fragrance? This natural essential oil blend from AromaWorks is hard to beat on value for money.

Scent
This simple, all-natural scent is pure genius: the cheerful and zingy citrus notes of lime blended with the spicy and fresh mint, and then rounded off with lavender and bergamot for extra depth. So serene and lovely.

Packaging
Simple and effective: a frosted glass jar and natural reeds. 

What we like
This home fragrance is proper value for money: it's natural, it smells great, and it's only $12. 

What we don't like
Nothing. This is an all-around winner.

When it comes to Tom Dixon’s decadent home fragrance, we’d all do well to take what we think we know about diffusers and disregard it completely. 

Scent
The scent is masculine and fresh, promising to transport you to 'a drive through a giant redwood forest in a '52 Bentley with tattered leather seats' (we don't mind if we do). Put more simply, this is a gorgeous bergamot-based fragrance: like you father's best cologne. 

Packaging
We're not sure what we think about the new packaging: some will find it a little too futuristic, but it will look great in contemporary homes or in bathrooms.

What we like
The wow factor: everything about this diffuser screams 'expensive'. A perfect gift.

What we don't like
Well, there is the fact that it is very, very expensive for a reed diffuser. Worth it if you want to impress, though.

The Dr Vranjes Rosso Nobile Diffuser has been in our home fragrance collection for a long time, and it really deserves its place in the hall of fame of reed diffusers. This elegant and easy-going fragrance just lasts, and lasts, and lasts, without ever becoming overpowering.

Scent
Although it's described by the brand as a recreation of the smell of red wine, it's basically a very, very sophisticated take on a red fruit scent. Perfectly suited to someone who's been after a realistic, grown-up fruity fragrance without the bubblegum effect you get with some of them. 

Packaging
As elegant as the scent: the faceted glass bottle, the deep red juice inside, and the black reeds are just so perfectly poised.

What we like
We say it's pretty much impossible to dislike this lovely, wholesome fragrance; it will never give you a headache.

What we don't like
Dr Vranjes products are not cheap, though you may get it cheaper in Europe.

When is a reed diffuser not a reed diffuser? When it’s Tom Dixon’s unique charcoal Earth Scented Diffuser stick version, of course. If you want to fragrance your home but are reluctant about diffusers, this luxury buy may well change your mind. 

Scent
The scent, as well as the design, is created in a way that’s beautifully masculine, with mint and cedar mingling to create a fresh, green scent. 

Packaging
Part of a series on the four elements, this Earth diffuser is our favorite, with its opaque black jar and matching charcoal reed, making it the best choice for people who don’t ordinarily like the look of traditional ones. It also comes with one big  charcoal diffuser stick.

What we like
The bottle is definitely a huge selling point here for us. It's a big statement and even when empty, you could keep it for decorative purposes if you don't want to refill it. Also, on that subject, refills are available so you don't have to purchase the entire thing again.

What we don't like
Other reed diffusers come with several sticks so that you can control how much fragrance it emits. So the more sticks, the stronger the scent. This one, however, only has one huge stick, so you can't control how strong it is. It's also expensive.

Made with a pure natural base and naturally derived essential oils, Good Natured Soy Reed Diffuser in Avocado Mint is a great pick if you have children or pets running around and you’re worried about chemicals in fragrance, especially in open containers.

Scent
With notes of lime, mint, and eucalyptus, the this fragrance is at once relaxing and rejuvenating – and reminds us a bit of a mojito in a jar. Fun and fresh!

Packaging
Housed in a simple clear glass vessel, this diffuser comes with three reed sticks included and it's packaged in a neat cardboard box.

What we like
The subtlety of it. In a large room it offers just a hint of fragrance, and in a small space like a bathroom it provides a noticeable scent without feeling like you stepped into a cloud of air freshener.

What we don't like
This diffuser isn't the one for you if you're after something strong as it's quite subtle. 

The best way to describe this scent is warm and cozy without being heavy (you know, like when you walk into a house that's had a pumpkin spice candle burning all day? It's not like that).

Scent
This West Elm reed diffuser is tantalizing and zesty but also rich and sophisticated thanks to a combination of mandarin, rose essence, and night-blooming jasmine with notes of tonka bean, sandalwood and Madagascar vanilla.

Packaging
The glass bottle is wrapped in a gold-tone angled brass container, which gives it an on-trend look. You'll be happy to display it in full-view on a bookcase or mantle.

What we like
The scent, for one, but also that this little diffuser is like two purchases in one. When the scent is gone in a few months, the brass vessel can be repurposed as a pencil holder or catchall. It's also made in the U.S.A.

How to buy the best reed diffuser

Refillable
With candles, once they’re gone, they’re gone. Not so with reed diffusers, which can be topped up with new fragrance oil when it's run out. Just make sure that when you buy a diffuser refill you discard your old reeds, as they’ll be saturated with all the scent they’ve soaked up from the first round of oil and won’t soak up any more. 

Safety
Reed diffusers are also a better bet if you have safety concerns – candles can't be left burning unattended, or around children or pets. Fragrance diffusers are safer, but be careful choosing the fragrance, as some oils may be toxic. Also, they don’t ‘tunnel’, which is the frustrating phenomenon where candles burn in a hole down the centre, leaving loads of unused wax along the sides.

Scent
So now you know why to buy a diffuser, which one should you buy? If you don’t know what you like, choosing a fragrance can be the hardest part of shopping for a scent diffuser, but looking for individual scent families is a good place to start. 

Florals are fairly self-explanatory, and while some of them might get a bad rap for being overdone, our floral picks are all combined with fruity and fresh notes to keep things modern. For a more unexpected home fragrance, consider something from the woody or spicy families, or on the other end of the spectrum, a fresher, 'greener' scent.

Are reed diffusers safe for pets?

Love a reed diffuser, but heard about the potentially toxic effects on your pet? It's not just a scare tactic: dogs and cats have a much stronger sense of smell than we do and can be overwhelmed by strong scents. Moreover, if they are exposed to strong perfume over long periods of time, it can make them ill by damaging their livers. Here are some solutions:

1. Limit the use of your reed diffuser to parts of the house your pet doesn't spend much time in, for example your home office or bathroom. 

2. If you do want to keep using a reed diffuser in the main room, keep the space well ventilated and allow your pet access to the outdoors. Consider putting the diffuser away for the night. 

3. Some natural fragrances are safe for pets, notably the oils of rose, jasmine, and lavender (we mean only to inhale, of course, never to ingest). Look out for natural and organic reed diffusers that use these calm florals, and avoid anything citrus or pine fragranced. 

What is the best reed diffuser you can buy?

Our top pick is the Jo Malone London English Pear & Freesia. It's luxurious, fresh, comes in an elegant-looking bottle and it has notes of pear, freesia, amber and patchouli. We also love the CB2 Bergamot & Fir reed diffuser; it has a beautiful bottle, a sophisticated scent, and it's under $30.

More home must-haves:

• The best home air fresheners
• The best winter-scented candles
• How to make a reed diffuser