Best Tested Portable Air Conditioners for 2024

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Best portable AC unit for small spaces

Black+Decker BPP08WTB

Best high-end portable AC unit

Midea MAP14HS1TBL

Best value portable AC unit

Haier QPWA14YZMW

We tested 10 portable air conditioners for this best list: the Black+Decker BPP08WTB, the Black+Decker BPACT14WT, the Frigidaire FHPC082AC1, the GE APCD08JALW, the Haier QPWA14YZMW, the LG LP1419IVSM (Out of Stock), the Midea MAP10S1CWT, the Midea MAP14HS1TBL, the Whirlpool WHAP131BWC and the Whynter ARC-14S. In the chart below, you can get an overview of each unit and how they compare in terms of pricing, specs and features. 

At a glance, you can see we tested some units with similar specs, while also covering a wide range of options. Not only do the prices vary from $310 to $699, but half of the units are designed to cool smaller 350-square-foot rooms, while the rest can handle larger spaces up to 500 or 550 square feet. They also vary in terms of Btu, which ranges in the units we tested from 5,500 to 12,000 Btu. 

It's worth noting here that there are currently two different standards for determining Btu capacity: the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' Btu rating and the Department of Energy's Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity Btu rating. For that reason, many manufacturer sites list both the Ashrae and the SACC ratings in their specs. 

For example, the Frigidaire FHPC082AC1 we tested has an Ashrae capacity of 8,000 Btu, while the DOE's SACC rating for the same unit is 5,500 Btu. The SACC standard was developed more recently and is being broadly adopted across manufacturers, so we use the SACC Btu capacity as the default standard anywhere we reference Btu capacity in this list. Still have questions about this? Learn more about the SACC standard here (PDF).

To test portable air conditioners, we heat a climate-controlled room to 92 degrees. After the room reaches 92 degrees, we turn off the heat and turn on the portable AC unit to cool mode, with a medium fan speed and a set temperature of 68 degrees. We run the unit for 2 hours and 30 minutes and repeat the same test twice per AC unit. We then use the data collected during the tests to measure two things:

• How consistently the portable air conditioner keeps the room within 5% of 68 degrees
• How consistently it kept the room within 5% of the AC unit's individual lowest temperature

Once we have this information, we compare the results across the units to see which ones maintained the set temperature for the longest period of time. We also look at which units maintained their individual lowest temperature for the longest time. We did this so that if a unit didn't reach 68 degrees in the allotted time, we were still able to track how consistently it maintained the lowest temperature it achieved. The higher the percentage, the better the unit performed. 

When looking at performance, it's important to note that the units we tested don't have identical specs, so direct performance comparisons aren't the only thing we consider when arriving at our list of best portable air conditioners. We also look at a unit's features and other options in reference to its price and specifications to determine its overall value. 

We also don't draw direct performance comparisons when looking at units of vastly different sizes and capabilities, say, the 12,000-Btu Midea MAP14HS1TBL versus the 5,500-Btu Frigidaire FHPC082AC1. For this reason, we compared performance results in two groups based on coverage area. Specifically, we compared the smaller Midea, Black+Decker, Frigidaire, Whirlpool and GE models (which all have coverage areas of up to 350 square feet) against each other and the larger Black+Decker, Whynter, Haier, LG and Midea models (which have 500-to-550-square-foot coverage areas) against one another.

Delving a little more into performance, you can see how long all 10 portable air conditioners maintained a temperature set point of 68 degrees. Because we're not comparing the larger units directly with the smaller ones, we've displayed the two groups in separate charts.

The Midea air conditioner performed the best, maintaining the 68 degree set point for 85.4% of its runtime. The Haier model came in second with 75.5% and the LG model in third with 74.2%. For the smaller units, the Black+Decker came in at 48.3%, followed by the GE at 39.7% and the Whirlpool model at 25.2%. 

For the second test, we looked at how consistently the unit maintained its lowest temperature. The Midea air conditioner once again outperformed the other large units by maintaining its lowest temperature for 80.1% of its runtime. The LG model came in second with 73.5% and the Haier model in a close third with 70.9%. For the smaller units, the GE model performed extremely well, closely trailing the larger Haier air conditioner at 68.9%. The Midea model wasn't far behind, at 66.2%, followed by the Frigidaire model at 57%.

In addition, we made charts to track the temperature changes of each unit over time. In the chart representing the larger units, the Midea unit's temperature dropped more quickly than the others and maintained the lower temperature for most of its run. For the smaller units, the Black+Decker unit dropped the temperature more quickly, held the lead for much of its run, and cooled to a lower final temperature.