Buying the best essential oil diffuser? Smart idea. These handy devices are a smart yet simple way to fragrance the air inside your home – all whilst using natural essential oils. No flames, no hazards and best of all: you can use these devices over and over again, by refilling their water tank and switching up the essential oil drops you use.
Essential oil diffusers are now considered to be so popular that they also make a design statement. Plus, selected models even double as a bedtime light – and others play soothing sounds to help you unwind. There are even essential oil diffusers that can be used as an alarm clock, as well as suitable options for your car that are battery-operated. It's safe to say there's a whole load of essential oil diffusers to choose from, so we're here to help you pick from the best.
We've listed (and tried and tested) everything from simple essential oil diffusers to luxury options below, so keep scrolling to take a browse through them all and make your final decision. This might just be the best thing you buy for your home this year, especially as far as guests are concerned – we get lots of compliments on ours.
For more ways to scent your home, we have chosen the very best home fragrances and popped them into a guide, which includes candles, reed diffusers and more.
The best essential oil diffusers
The Ellia Adore diffuser is by far the best essential oil diffuser out there. Why? It ticks all of our boxes and is packed with features to not only scent your home but to illuminate and even create a sense of calm through music. Yes, this essential oil diffuser doubles as a light, and you can select from a range of colours to flood your room with the appropriate coloured mood lighting. Not just that, but it can play a range of relaxing sounds to help you unwind or even fall asleep. Back to diffusing: the Ellia Adore can fill your home with scent for six hours continuously, or 12 hours intermittently. Simply fill its 150ml water tank with water and a few drops of oil and control this device using the remote control for your convenience – and from afar. It will automatically switch off should the tank become empty, and it even has an elegant ceramic cover so as to look the part when in use or even whilst switched off.
This Amazon bestseller has more than 8,000 4.5-star reviews behind it, as well as a seal of approval from us. Whilst it's admittedly not the best looking essential oil diffuser, it's undoubtedly flooded with features since it can scent your home whilst doubling as a light. This light function can be any of 7 colour choices to suit your mood – or the colour of the room it's inside. You can adjust its misting mode and select between intermittent (green light) or continuous (red light), with the latter lasting for 6 hours of use. Though it is made of plastic, this plastic is BPA-free! How can we forget about its price tag? It's even budget-friendly so you can buy a few to scatter around your home, if you like.
If it's an essential oil diffuser for your car that you are after, then this one from Neom should be your first choice. Why? It's battery-operated and it fits inside your car cup holder. Plus, it comes in a range of colours including pretty pink, and it doesn't require any water to work – only essential oils. This also means it needn't be cleaned, which will make your life a lot easier. Press one button to start intermittently scenting your car with 100% natural fragrance. Not only for use in your car, but this essential oil diffuser could also be used to fragrance a bathroom, an office or you could move it around your home from room to room throughout the day. It's USB-powered so easy to charge, and it can be used for an impressive 50 hours once fully charged.
This Esteban electronic aromatherapy diffuser doubles up as an alarm clock, so it's safe to say that rivals all others as our best bedside option. Especially if you’re short on space, or if simply want something that’ll earn its footprint by waking you up as well as sending you off to sleep. Want to be woken up with a lovely fragrance? You can preset it to come on in the morning. Plus, the top of this device has a lovely LED glow to it, which is useful as a gentle alternative to traditional alarm clocks. Whilst powered on, you can select this device to diffuse for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes, 180 minutes or non-stop – for 5 to 7 hours. Control this essential oil diffuser with help from the touch-sensitive keys.
Not many essential oil diffusers boast the good looks of a vase, but the Ellia Blossom diffuser could easily pass as an objet d’art with its simple ceramic pottery and wood design. Easily the most elegant diffuser on our list, this Ellia model is as functional as it is pretty. Perfect for a bedroom or hallway. It gives off a fine mist for soothing, non-intrusive alleviation of dry eyes and tickly coughs. Plus, it comes complete with a starter kit of sweet orange oil and peppermint oil, the former said to boast cleansing and uplifting properties, while the latter is cooling and refreshing in the face of overheating and congestion, so you can get started straight away and let the aromatherapy do its thing.
Don't get on with essential oils? The Asakuki diffuser is for you: use it without any oils for a relaxing air purifying experience. If you suffer from dry skin or allergies, this is a great product. Its fine mist will noticeably purify the air and get rid of unpleasant odours at home. Plus, aesthetically the whole device glows in a choice of five pretty colours. It also makes hardly any noise whilst both purifying and supplying light, with users comparing what noise it does produce to the gentle trickling of a water feature. This makes it suitable for nighttime use. It's also a lovely and simple Scandi-style design so as to blend in with your home decor.
Searching for an air purifier for your home? Read our best air purifiers guide for our top picks.
Some essential oil diffusers take centre stage in a room, but not the Muji diffuser: this one is unobtrusive and characteristically minimalist – the best of Japanese design. Designed with small homes in mind, this will sit perfectly on a small bedside table or desk and will complement most decorating styles. The ambient glow this diffuser produces is so pretty that you will want to use it as a reading light even when you're not using it as a diffuser. Most essential oils diffusers double up as humidifiers, but the Muji produces more of a cool, dry mist, which is great if you don't want to add too much extra humidity to your room. Whilst it's not the quietest model on our list, the sound it does make is rather pleasant – like a very small water feature.
Where to buy essential oils?
You can either buy essential oils along with your essential oil diffuser or separately. Some devices are only recommended for use with the brand's fragrances, for example, this applies to Neom reed diffusers. Otherwise, you can buy essential oils anywhere from Amazon to your local supermarket. If you're a first-timer, then we suggest buying an entire set so that you have a few scents to switch between as the seasons change. We own and love the PHATOIL Essential Oils Set from Amazon – these are therapeutic grade and budget-friendly. Shop more essential oils below.
What to consider when buying the best essential oil diffuser?
Design
A far cry from plug-in air fresheners which can be bulky, plasticky and unsightly, these standalone diffusers are all designed with aesthetics as well as functionality in mind. Curvy shapes and premium materials are the order of the day, no matter where you’re planning on putting your diffuser.
Size
This will all depend on where your new essential oil diffuser will live, but be sure to measure the one you're eyeing up to ensure it's the right size for you. There are compact options for bedside tables and smaller rooms such as hallways, or larger essential oil diffusers for bigger spaces. Usually, the larger the device, the bigger the water tank – and the longer it can continuously or intermittently fragrance your home. If you're looking for something to hide away behind a book, choose a compact option – there are lots out there.
Time on
Consider the number of hours the machine will work for before turning off, whether continuously or intermittently switched on. This is important as if this number is low, you'll need to keep refilling the water tank which can be annoying.
Construction
Last but not least, we've you might want to bear in mind the material of the reed diffuser you want to buy, for aesthetic reasons. Whether it's plastic, wood or ceramic is down to you. Several of our plastic options are BPA free too.
