The best portable air conditioners keep rooms cool and offer a degree of air filtration. We test for cooling ability, noise, and energy efficiency.

To help you find the right unit for your space, we've tested the top options on the market. Here are CNET's picks of the best portable air conditioners for 2025.

We review split-system air conditioners (with an indoor unit on the wall, connected to an outdoor unit ... with Shop Ethical on this update to show the ratings the Ethical Consumer Group gives to each ...

Among the best air conditioners, portable units come with slightly higher operational ... my normal testing room while it was connected to a wall outlet. However, it struggled.