Spring’s finally arrived, and with the first actual bit of sunshine comes that stressful scramble to stay cool on a packed train or stuffy commute. You could try fanning yourself with your debit card, but there are more practical solutions: investing in one of the best portable fans.
And I’m not talking about one of those flimsy, noisy portable fans you once bought on a street corner on a city break that barely moved any air and broke within a day. Thankfully, today’s portable fans are much quieter, increasingly more powerful and come in a variety of designs, so you can prop it up on a desk, hold it in your hand or even wear it around your neck.
The best portable fans can almost rival a small desk fan, and some even edge towards air conditioner or air cooler territory, with newer arrivals like the Shark chillpill adding misting and even contact-based cooling into one single device.
As a tech critic, I spent last summer testing portable fans through multiple heatwaves, and I’ve continued putting the latest models through their paces during this early burst of sunshine. From bargain buys to feature-packed do-it-all fans, these are the ones worth buying in 2026.
Read more: We’ve found the best portable air conditioners to cool your home
The best portable fans of 2026 are:
- Best overall – Commem turbo fan: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for quiet operation – John Lewis anyday handheld fan: £12, Johnlewis.com
- Best portable misting fan – Shark chillpill: £129.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for versatility – VonHaus handheld fan: £15.07, Amazon.co.uk
- Best wearable fan – Sony reon pocket pro: £199, Sony.co.uk
How I tested
I tested each portable fan in the blazing sun, on the commute, during bus and tube journeys with limited to no air conditioning. I’ve tried them while walking outside in 30C heat, and when trying to sleep through muggy nights. I also used them at home during the day to see how noisy they were on calls and whether they actually cooled me down while I was working. Head to the end of this review to read my full testing criteria.
Read more: These are the best fans to keep cool in a heatwave
Commem turbo fan
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Best: Portable fan overall
Speed settings: 5
Weight: 200g
Battery life: Up to 20 hours
Why we love it
- Extremely powerful
- Sleek and minimalist design
Take note
- Quite noisy
If power is your priority, this turbo model is the one to beat. It’s the most powerful handheld fan I’ve tested to date, delivering such intense airflow that I’ve actually had to switch it off just to take a breather. The top speed genuinely feels like sitting in front of a small desk fan – it’s that strong.
It's also cleverly designed. There’s a near-180-degree hinge, so you can prop it up at different angles without it slipping or tipping over, and the overall look is slim and minimalist, which makes it easy to carry around or stash in a bag. While it doesn’t offer as much surface coverage as some chunkier handheld fans, the sheer force of the airflow more than makes up for it.
The battery life is generous, too. With a 10,000mAh capacity, it comfortably ran for five to six hours on the highest setting. If you’re not blasting it at full power, you’ll easily get much longer runtime by sticking to the lower speed modes. The only issue? It’s really noisy. It’s almost as loud as a hairdryer on the highest speed. If you don’t mind that, then this is the best portable fan to buy. It’s cheap, compact, and you can even attach a lanyard to loop it around your neck.
Buy now £7, Amazon.co.uk
John Lewis anyday fan
Best: Quiet portable fan
Speed settings: 3
Weight: 360g
Battery life: Up to 9 hours
Why we love it
- Quiet
- Sleek, simple design
Take note
- Not that powerful
Want something no-frills that looks pretty, is well-built and easy to use? The John Lewis handheld fan is a simple option that is super quiet, and while it doesn’t pack the same punch as some others on this list, it makes up for it with its near-silent performance.
There are three speeds to choose from, and there’s a built-in flip-out stand so you can use it hands-free on a desk or bedside table. That stand is very sturdy, and it has never toppled over. It’s just as easy to pop in your bag as any other portable fan. The battery life is good, too. You get around nine hours on the lowest setting, and it charges via USB.
It’s certainly not the strongest fan I tested, but it is the quietest. If you prioritise subtlety and simplicity over power, and want something no-frills that won’t distract you, this is a nice handheld fan, and it comes in lots of different colours.
Buy now £12, Johnlewis.com
Shark chillpill
Best: Portable misting fan
Speed settings: 10
Weight: 350g
Battery life: Up to 11 hours
Why we love it
- Fine-mist spray is fantastic
- Ultra versatile
- Strong airflow
- Even includes a cold plate
Take note
- Expensive
If you want something ultra-versatile, Shark’s three-in-one chillpill could absolutely save your summer. It doesn’t merely feature a high-speed fan like the others on this list, it also adds a misting spray and a contact-based cooling plate, so you’ve got multiple ways to cool down depending on how hot it gets.
The design is unlike anything else here. It’s built from two rounded barrels joined by a hinge, which lets you angle it precisely or fold it into a right angle to sit on a desk. More interestingly, it uses a modular system, so you can swap between the standard fan, misting attachment and cooling plate depending on what you need.
The airflow is super strong, far more powerful than most portable fans I’ve tried. But the best feature has to be the fine-mist spray attachment. It feels like a cold spritz for your face, and feels so, so nice when it’s hot out. You fill up the attachment with cold water and screw it on. The cooling plate attachment is interesting – it’s essentially a handheld version of Sony’s reon pocket pro, delivering instant relief when pressed against your neck or wrist. It’s super cold, feeling like a mini ice pack.
It’s not cheap, and the cooling plate drains the battery much faster than the other modes, but it’s the best-designed, feature-packed portable fan I’ve tested.
Buy now £129.99, Sharkninja.co.uk
VonHaus handheld fan
Best: Versatile portable fan
Speed settings: 5
Weight: 1.38kg
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Why we love it
- Good amount of power
- Doubles up as a phone stand
- Not too loud
Take note
- Doesn't sit well when folded
- Lanyard is a bit fiddly to put on and use
VonHaus’s £11 fan doesn’t look like much, but it’s a decent fan. It’s small, rechargeable and actually quite powerful, with five speed settings that range from gentle breeze to face blast. While the design is simple, with one button on the front and a slim build, making it easy to chuck in a bag, it also has a lot of different use cases.
It comes with a neat little base, which turns your fan into a phone stand, handy for travelling, and you can also wear the fan around your neck using the included strap. It’s a nice touch, even if the lanyard’s a bit fiddly. One hack I found is that it sits more securely against your chest if you keep the stand clipped to the bottom, helping to stop it from bouncing about as you walk.
You can technically prop it on a desk at different angles thanks to the hinge, but it’s not the most stable. The rounded body and button placement make it tip over unless you get the angle just right. That said, battery life isn’t bad. It lasts up to 10 hours on the lowest setting. It’s not silent, especially at higher speeds, but it’s one of the quieter ones I’ve tested and gets the job done.
Buy now £10.99, Vonhaus.com
Sony reon pocket pro
Best: Wearable portable fan
Speed settings: Multiple cooling levels and automatic "Smart" mode
Weight: 194g
Battery life: Up to 34 hours
Why we love it
- Super quiet
- Comfortable to wear
- Cools your upper spine down really fast
- Comes with a temperature sensor tag for automatic adjustment
Take note
- Super pricey
- Doesn't always stay glued to your neck if you move
- Battery life not good at maximum power
The Sony reon pocket pro isn’t a portable fan in the traditional sense. It’s a wearable device that sits on the back of your neck and acts a lot like air conditioning. It doesn’t blow air, and it won’t stop you from sweating, but it cools that upper spine portion of your back really fast, and somehow, that’s enough. It’s a bit like a permanent ice pack attached to your neck.
While it only cools one spot, there’s actual science behind why that works. The upper part of your spine is one of the body’s thermoregulatory hotspots, meaning a chilled neck can trick your brain into feeling cooler overall, even if you’re still sweating elsewhere.
There’s also a companion app to control it remotely, but you can also control it using the buttons on the device itself. A separate pocket tag sensor comes included. It can be clipped onto your bag or belt, feeding in ambient temperature readings to automatically adjust the cooling power as you move from place to place.
This newer model is chunkier than the last, with a larger cooling plate and much better battery life, though it does only last about five to six hours on full blast, similar to other portable fans. It is comfortable, but it’s not super discreet, and still sticks out of my T-shirt if I don’t have perfect posture (as in when I’m not sitting or standing up straight). It’s also sometimes difficult to mould it to your spine, so that it stays there when you’re moving.
It didn’t stop me from sweating in 30C heat, but if you’re on the bus or the Tube, it will cool your body down quickly and quietly, and all hands-free. But at £199, it’s not cheap. Still, I never wanted to take it off.
Read the full Sony reon pocket pro review now
Buy now £199, Sony.co.uk
What’s the best portable fan?
If you’re after an affordable and effective fan, the Commem turbo fan is hard to beat. It’s compact, shockingly powerful and can be propped up in loads of positions. The only issue? It’s noisy as anything. The John Lewis anyday fan feels more premium and is the quietest of the bunch, though it’s a bit heavier, and isn’t quite as powerful as others on this list. I’m obsessed with Shark’s chillpill because of its sheer versatility and included fine-mist spray feature, but it’s not cheap.
How I tested portable fans
I assessed each fan on several criteria, and if it failed to meet these, I did not include it in this guide:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Alex Lee is The Independent’s senior tech critic. Alongside reviewing the latest launches from the likes of Apple and Nintendo, he’s also been reviewing everything to do with cooling your home down and air treatment since 2021. Alex has consulted experts on what to look for in cooling tech, and always takes into consideration everything from performance and value to design and usability when testing.
He’s got particular expertise when it comes to cooling devices, having tried and tested everything from Sony’s wearable fan and Dyson’s best fans to the best portable air conditioners and air coolers. Beyond his experience in real-world testing, Alex is the perfect candidate for this test since he runs warm, making him a harsh critic.
Need something stronger to beat the heat? Take a look at our tests of the best fans
