Best Dehumidifiers Under $250

Snag a lower-priced, well-rated model from Consumer Reports' tests

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Some of the highest-rated dehumidifiers in CR’s tests cost less than $250.

And a great dehumidifier can capably draw excess moisture from the air, helping to prevent the spread of dust mites and various other allergy triggers that can be found around your home. It can also rid a space of musty odors while deterring a host of potential health problems that can arise from high levels of humidity. Ten models in our dehumidifier ratings deliver these results at budget-friendly prices.

When shopping for a dehumidifier, the square footage of the room it will live in should serve as a guide. In our lab tests, we break it down into three categories based on the capacity of each dehumidifier and how much water each model is supposed to remove from the air. For example, a small-capacity dehumidifier can remove up to 30 pints of moisture per day and a large model can handle 40 or more pints per day.

Below is CR’s roundup of the best dehumidifiers for under $250, including models of all sizes. For more options, CR members with digital access can view our complete dehumidifier ratings. Also, check out our picks of the best dehumidifiers as well as our dehumidifier buying guide, which offers insights into how CR tests dehumidifiers, the dehumidifier features that matter most, and what to consider when shopping for a dehumidifier for your home.

Midea MAD50C1ZWS

CR’s take: The Midea MAD50C1ZWS checks all the key boxes for keeping your basement and other damp areas dry. Water removal: excellent. Humidistat accuracy: also stellar. Noise and energy efficiency: near the top. Indeed, this large-capacity dehumidifier’s only drawback is a relatively small 15-pint tank, contributing to its mediocre score for convenience. To remove the 50 pints it’s designed to handle daily, you’ll have to empty it several times a day or buy and attach a hose to divert the water to a drain. As a brand, Midea’s dehumidifiers receive a very favorable rating for reliability and a midlevel rating for owner satisfaction in CR’s member surveys.

Whirlpool WHAD40PCW

CR’s take: The Whirlpool WHAD40PCW makes good on its promise to remove 50 pints per day, and we give it an outstanding rating for water removal. This large-capacity dehumidifier also aces our energy-efficiency test and garners favorable scores for noise, humidistat accuracy, and convenience. It features a 15-pint tank—fairly small for this category—and a built-in water pump. Whirlpool dehumidifiers earn a midlevel rating for predicted reliability and an unfavorable score for owner satisfaction in CR’s latest member surveys.

TCL TDW40E20

CR’s take: The large-capacity TCL TDW40E20 can remove 40 pints of moisture from the air per day. This dehumidifier delivers strong performance across the board, nabbing near-top-level ratings for water removal, noise, humidistat accuracy, and convenience, plus an exemplary score for energy efficiency. It has a tank size of 14.3 pints and features a digital display, a timer, and frost control. CR doesn’t have enough survey data yet to rate TCL’s dehumidifiers for reliability and owner satisfaction.

Midea MAD35S1QWT

CR’s take: The medium-capacity Midea MAD35S1QWT is the highest-rated model in all of our dehumidifier ratings. This top performer, which can remove 35 pints of moisture from the air per day, hits our water removal, energy-efficiency, and convenience tests out of the park. It also earns an excellent score for noise, making it one of the quietest in its category. It has a digital display, built-in water pump, timer, and large 37-pint tank.

Danby DDR030BJWDB

CR’s take: The Danby DDR030BJWDB offers decent performance at an affordable price. This medium-capacity model should be all you need for a typical room because it pulls more than 30 pints of water per day, earning a stellar rating for water removal. The machine is also fairly energy-efficient and quiet, though its humidistat accuracy and convenience scores are below-par. Its 7-pint tank is on the smaller side, meaning you’ll have to empty it more frequently. In CR’s latest member surveys, Danby dehumidifiers receive just midlevel ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

Black+Decker BD30MWSA

CR’s take: For the price, the Black+Decker BD30MWSA is a solid option overall. This medium-capacity dehumidifier earns a passable score in CR’s water removal test and very good grades for noise, humidistat accuracy, and convenience. Where it truly shines is in its energy efficiency, which is top-notch. Equipped with a fairly small 10-pint tank, this model has a digital display, frost control, and a timer. CR doesn’t have enough survey data from our member surveys yet to rate Black+Decker dehumidifiers for brand reliability and owner satisfaction.

Midea MAD20S1QWT

CR’s take: Our top-scoring small-capacity dehumidifier is the Midea MAD20S1QWT. This model earns standout ratings for water removal, noise, convenience, and humidistat accuracy in CR’s lab tests. It’s also relatively energy efficient, comes with a drain hose, and features some nice bells and whistles, such as a timer and an auto-restart feature that turns the machine back on to its prior settings after a power outage. It has a 28-pint tank, which is fairly large for this category.

TCL TDW20E20

CR’s take: The small-capacity TCL TDW20E20 nabs top marks for water removal and energy efficiency in our tests. It also earns solid ratings for noise and humidistat accuracy. It can remove up to 20 pints per day, but its 7-pint tank is on the smaller size, so you’ll have to empty it more frequently. This model features a digital display, frost control, and a timer.

hOmeLabs HME020030N

CR’s take: The hOmeLabs HME020030N small-capacity dehumidifier receives a strong score for noise in our ratings, and earns an excellent rating for water removal. Its humidistat accuracy is also first-rate, so you can set it and forget it, knowing it’ll reach your desired humidity level. But this model isn’t particularly energy-efficient. What’s more, its small 7-pint tank means you’ll need to empty it frequently. As a brand, hOmeLabs dehumidifiers earn a very favorable score in our member surveys for predicted reliability and a favorable rating for owner satisfaction.

Frigidaire FFAD2233W1

CR’s take: The small-capacity Frigidaire FFAD2233W1 can remove 22 pints of water from the air per day, and the tank holds 12 pints, almost twice the amount of most models we tested in this category. While it gets the job done, the humidistat isn’t as accurate as others in this category; it earns only a weak rating on that test. (For less than $10, you can purchase a hygrometer that measures humidity.) This is a basic model and doesn’t have an auto-restart feature or an alert when the filter needs to be cleaned. Frigidaire dehumidifiers, as a brand, receive midlevel ratings for owner satisfaction and reliability in CR’s member surveys.

Anna Kocharian

Anna Kocharian is a shopping editor at Consumer Reports who focuses on home, organization, and the consumer marketplace. She previously covered interior design, product reviews, and market trends as the digital editor of Domino. Anna has over a decade of experience in lifestyle journalism and has written extensively on the subject matter for publications including Apartment Therapy, Food52, and more. She currently resides in New York City.