Best Bathroom Exhaust Fans of 2025

As a category, these fans perform better in terms of airflow than fans built to fit a 3-inch duct. These models do a good job of evacuating air through the duct while keeping noise low.

Smaller, 3-inch ducts simply can’t conduct as much air as quickly as larger, 4-inch ones. But that doesn’t mean these fans aren’t effective, especially if you have a relatively small bathroom (roughly less than 50 square feet).

To choose which bathroom exhaust fans to test, we identify a range of popular residential models, including top sellers on Amazon and reliable brands available from appliance retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Many are competitively priced. Others are more expensive and boast additional features, like a built-in night light or Bluetooth connectivity. 

We test fans in a range of cubic feet per minute (CFM)—many at 110 CFM (for larger bathrooms), and some at lower CFMs (for smaller bathrooms). It’s important to note that you can use a fan with a higher CFM in a smaller bathroom if the duct fits. 

CR’s lab engineers evaluate the fan’s performance, providing a score for airflow and another for noise—the two fan qualities that matter the most:

• For our airflow test, we hook up all the fans to the same length of straight piping (10 feet) and measure the output of air at the opposite end. Some of the fans we test are built for 4-inch ducts, and some for 3-inch ducts.
• For our noise test, we listen to all the fans run at a consistent distance from each other and score the fans relative to each other. The quietest fan will receive a 5 out of 5 rating, and the rest will be scored according to that standard.

A bathroom exhaust fan works by pulling in air from the bathroom and sending it outside via a duct that runs through the ceiling or wall. So, a good exhaust fan relies largely on good airflow. Good airflow, in turn, depends on the ductwork in your bathroom and the speed of the fan.

The more bends in the duct, the more resistance there will be to the airflow—so, to a large extent, the effectiveness of your exhaust fan will depend on the shape of the ductwork in your home. 

The size of your duct also matters. Bathroom exhaust fans are designed to fit a particular duct size. Generally, fans built for larger air ducts produce better airflow. Newer bathrooms tend to have vents with 4-inch ducts or larger, while older bathroom vents tend to have 3-inch ducts. You can renovate to upgrade your duct size, though that will require professionals and a chunk of money. More important, if you have a smaller bathroom (around 50 square feet or smaller), that smaller duct size—and the fans built for it—may work quite effectively for you anyway.

As for a fan’s speed, it’s a measurement of airflow velocity in CFM. Most fans on the market run at only one speed. While it may seem logical that a fan running at a higher speed trumps a fan at a lower speed, you might not see that big a difference in effectiveness between the two, especially in a smaller bathroom. A higher fan speed could also be noisier.

If your bathroom was built to accommodate an exhaust fan, it was probably installed before you moved in. If it’s working well to remove moisture and odors, there’s no need to replace it—though you certainly can if it’s particularly noisy, or if you want to upgrade to a model with extra features.

But if your bathroom stays humid and stuffy long after a shower even with the fan running—or if mold starts developing on the walls or ceiling, or paint starts deteriorating—you should replace it. You should also be extra careful if you notice a burning smell when you turn the fan on: That could indicate an electrical issue, and you should avoid using the fan until you’ve had an electrician inspect it.

If your bathroom doesn’t currently have the infrastructure for an exhaust fan (ductwork, a vent in the ceiling, and electrical wiring to operate the fan), you would need to start by consulting a contractor. If the infrastructure is already in place, you can purchase and install the fan yourself or call a professional (usually an electrician, an HVAC tech, a general contractor, or a handyperson with experience in this type of project).