The Best Diffusers For Sleep That Gently Scent Your Room At Bedtime

Material: Plastic | Run time: 2, 4, 8 or 22 hours | Square footage covered: Up to 700 square feet | Special features: Auto shut-off with timer options, antimicrobial tank

Pros:

• Scents and humidifies
• Easy to clean
• Quiet operation

Cons:

• Indicator lights can’t be turned off
• Not particularly stylish

Alo’s Aura Diffuser is an oversize pick that both scents and humidifies spaces up to 700 square feet. It has a maximum mist time of 22 hours, but presets allow you to run the diffuser for two, four or eight hours at a time, so it works well if you want to scent your bedroom before bed and have it turn off after you fall asleep. It’s an ultrasonic diffuser ,so you can expect to hear a gentle hum, but it’s quiet, and some may even find it similar to white noise. The generous tank is easy to fill and clean, and according to the brand, it’s antimicrobial to keep mold and mildew at bay. The diffuser also has a subtle ring light that runs around the top that can be turned off if you prefer. Just keep in mind that the indicator lights on the front aren’t dimmable.

Another thing to consider is its size. At about 9.5 inches tall with a 7.5-inch circumference, it’s bigger than other options on our list. It’s only available in white, and the plastic construction lacks the visual appeal of some of our other picks.

What our testers say: This is the diffuser we use in our second-story bedroom. I actually turn it on in the late afternoon and the scent is noticeable when I walk up the stairs for bed—it’s an association I’ve really come to enjoy. The only drawback is that I burn through a lot of essential oil—the recommended amount is up to 30 drops, but I love how it makes our bedroom and upstairs smell, so it’s worth it to me.

Material: Plastic | Run time: 3 to 4 hours or 6 to 8 hours | Square footage covered: Up to 250 square feet | Special features: Two misting modes, lightweight, automatic shut-off

Pros:

• Wood grain aesthetic
• Eight colors that can be set, cycled or turned off

Cons:

• Small coverage area
• Light may be too bright at bedtime

The InnoGear is the most economical diffuser on our list by far, but don’t let the low price tag fool you. This is a great ultrasonic diffuser for the money, and it covers the basics nicely. Two misting modes give you the option of running the diffuser continuously for three to four hours or using a mist/pause cycle of 30-second intervals over six to eight hours. The diffuser automatically shuts off when it runs out of water, which is important if you’re using it at night.

We like the wood grain pattern, which is available in four shades, but the same diffuser also comes in a standard white that makes the most of the light feature. There are eight mood light colors that can be cycled through, but you can set it to one or turn the light off as well. The brightness is adjustable, but some reviewers found it a touch too bright to be used at night, even at the lowest setting.

What the reviews say: “Despite its small size, the InnoGear diffuser proved to be impressively powerful,”  writes one reviewer. “It effortlessly filled my large bedroom with pleasant aromas, creating a serene ambience quickly and efficiently.” Another, who says they’ve used this diffuser for more than a year, calls it a “great product for the cost.”

Material: Metal | Run time: 4 or 8 hours | Square footage covered: Up to 500 square feet | Special features: Cordless, automatic shut-off, optional LED light with four settings

Pros:

• Portable design with charging pad
• Quiet operation
• Choice of colors

Cons:

• Weaker mist than some other options
• Some customers report charging issues

Vitruvi’s Move Diffuser is designed to be used all over the house. In fact, it can travel with you as you move from room to room. The diffuser comes with a charging pad and can be lifted off and used in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom as you please. It’s an ultrasonic diffuser with a matte metal finish and a BPA-free plastic reservoir that has a 60-mL capacity. Pay attention when you’re filling the diffuser—it doesn’t operate if you overfill it.

On Amazon, the Move Diffuser is available in white or gray. The design includes an LED light that runs around the middle of the device with four settings: On, Dim, Candlelight and Off. Those options work particularly well at bedtime.

Buttons on the back of the diffuser adjust the light and run time. The four-hour run time operates continuously, while the eight-hour option runs on and off for 30-second intervals until the water has run out or eight hours has passed.

What the reviews say: One Amazon reviewer, who says it really puts off scent throughout the apartment, writes, “[I] love that you can move it around your home without it being attached to the cord.” Another says, “I love how it looks and how easy it is to clean and for me to take it from the dining table to the bathroom and then to the bedroom.”

Material: Plastic, diatomite | Run time: Indefinite | Square footage covered: Up to 400 square feet | Special features: Two ways to diffuse, three fan speeds, mold-inhibiting technology

Pros:

• Mess-free design with no water or mist
• Small but mighty

Cons:

• No pre-set run times
• Aroma pucks aren’t designed for use with different scents

The Canopy Diffuser is a tidy device with a small footprint—it measures just 4 x 4 x 4.2 inches. Unlike the other picks on our list, this one doesn’t use water or emit mist. Instead, it has an evaporative design that uses a fan to gently scent the air. There are three fan speeds to adjust scent intensity. You can use the brand’s scent pucks, which ship with its oils, or lift the magnetic top to invert an entire bottle of oil into the diffusion well. The pucks are designed to be used with single oils to keep the scent pure, so if you like the idea of swapping out the scent regularly, that’s the best option.

While this compact diffuser fits well on a bedside table, it doesn’t have preset run times, so you can’t turn it on before bed and expect it to automatically shut off in an hour or two. Instead, it runs until you turn it off.

What the reviews say: “I love this machine. The fact that it’s waterless makes it so nice to not have the hassle of remembering to refill it. It looks really nice on my bedside table. I like to keep it in the second setting, and it also provides a little white noise without being too much,” reads one 5-star Amazon review. Another reviewer adds, “This diffuser is small and compact—easy to hide on a windowsill or shelf. The push-button controls are simple and really only adjust the speed of the internal fan. Even the magnetic loading tray is a nice touch.”

Material: Metal, plastic, ceramic | Run time: Customizable | Square footage covered: Up to 1,000 square feet | Special features: Bluetooth connectivity, adjustable schedule, ambient lighting

Pros:

• Appealing design and available in four colors
• Covers a wide area

Cons:

• Schedule and intensity can only be adjusted in the AromaTech app
• Should only be used with AromaTech scent oils

If you have a particularly large bedroom or you’re interested in a versatile diffuser that you can use throughout the day and not just at night, the stylish Ambience Diffuser is worth a closer look. A ceramic glazed shell, available in four muted colors, houses a plastic interior and cold air-diffusing technology. It’s incredibly powerful, sending subtle fragrance up to 1,000 square feet. It’s paired with the AromaTech app (available on iPhone and Android devices), which allows you to customize when it diffuses fragrance and the intensity level. The diffuser has an ambient lighting feature as well, which can be controlled in the app or natively. It’s a nice touch for a subtle glow at bedtime, but it can be turned off if you prefer.

Keep in mind that AromaTech recommends only using its fragrance oils, which are free of parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, phthalates and other additives and meet volatile organic compound regulatory standards in California. They’re also certified by the International Fragrance Association. According to the brand, conventional essential oils may be too thick and could cause damage to the diffuser. That may be a drawback if your goal is to diffuse single-note oils, like lavender, to promote relaxation before bed.

What our writer says: I love this diffuser. Not only is it gorgeous, it works incredibly well—our home smells amazing and it’s detectable when we walk in the front door. The app is a breeze to use, and I love the convenience of setting a fragrance schedule. While I prefer to keep this one downstairs to scent the house as a whole, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in the bedroom, specifically to diffuse relaxing scents.

Material: Plastic | Run time: Adjustable | Square footage covered: Up to 600 square feet | Special features: Bluetooth connectivity, ambient LED lighting

Pros:

• Customizable schedule and scent intensity
• Ambient lighting can be turned on or off
• Compact but powerful

Cons:

• Doesn’t automatically shut off when fragrance oil runs out
• Should only be used with AromaTech scent oils

AromaTech made our list again with the AromaDream, a smaller diffuser that shares the same cold air diffusion technology as the Ambience to evenly distribute scent in rooms up to 600 square feet. The AromaDream has a more compact design, with ambient LED lighting that turns it a cool blue, a warm yellow or moves it through a slow cycle of changing shades, which can be pleasant when you’re winding down at night and doubles nicely as a night light. You can also turn the lights off entirely if you prefer. While the lights can be adjusted on the diffuser itself, the scent intensity and diffusing schedule are managed in the AromaTech app. You can customize the schedule entirely—just choose the hours and days you want the diffuser to run. The scent intensity can also be adjusted on a scale of one to five. On the downside, it keeps running even if you’ve run out of fragrance oil.

Since it’s a nebulizing diffuser, the scent is highly concentrated. Depending on the intensity level you choose, the AromaDream dispenses scent for up to 25 seconds and pauses for 90 seconds. A faint whirring sound is detectable as fragrance is dispensed.

What the reviews say: “I use a calming scent in my bedroom and have the app scheduled to turn on the diffuser right before I head up to bed,” writes one reviewer. “It’s a dream when I come into my room at night and it already smells divine. I was also pleasantly surprised by how powerful this diffuser is. I use a lower setting, because I use this in my bedroom, but the scent could easily fill a larger space if I turned up the intensity.” Another says, “I love that the diffuser can work off of a number of schedules I set, and it diffuses oils based on the size of the room it is in. I also love the warm light for the evening time.”