Our homes are often a space for relaxation, with particular rooms such as bedrooms (as some essential oils can really help your sleep) and bathrooms being key places to recreate an at-home spa atmosphere. Aromatherapy and home fragrance is an easy way to do this; traditionally by lighting candles and adding reed diffusers.
How to create a relaxing space...
Another addition to add to your home fragrance kit is an essential oil diffuser. They diffuse scented water molecules throughout the air and, unlike reed diffusers, you can often control the level of scent in your home. (They're also less of a fire hazard!)
Many also come with extra features, such as nightlights, or are portable. Fill them with calming oils such as lavender, or more uplifting scents such as grapefruit. Read on for our pick of the best essential oil diffusers...
Best essential oil diffusers in 2024
Tisserand Aromatherapy Aroma Spa Diffuser
Cast a gentle scent through your room with this lightweight diffuser that features mood lighting in a range of shades to suit your space. Easy to fill up, there is a clear line to show the maximum water level.
Pair with Tisserand’s pre-blended diffuser oils or create your own bespoke mix with their essential oils. Simply add your chosen oils, plug in and press once for mist at 30-second intervals or twice for a constantly flowing stream. We loved the chic shape and the ultra-fine mist, with the only sound being a tiny tinkle of water as it condenses.
Mabb Leaf Blue Ceramic Electric Aroma Diffuser
Adorned with delicate climbing white leaves, this powder blue diffuser looks adorably pretty and is perfect as a bedroom accessory when not in use – it’s one of the most stylish diffusers we’ve seen. The tank sits under the ceramic casing which slides off and is easy to fill.
A steady, visible stream of mist is emitted with no delay, and you can choose from time settings ranging from half an hour to up to three hours of mist. You can also select colour lighting of your choice: green, blue, white or yellow. This diffuser happily bubbles away as it mists creating a lovely, calming sound.
NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini - Essential Oil Diffuser
Unlike many electric diffusers, this one doesn’t have a water tank – instead, simply insert the essential oil bottle straight into the diffuser. This makes it super quick and easy to set up and use, and gives you a concentrated burst of fragrance as the oil isn’t diluted. You also don’t need to empty and clean the water tank after each use.
We love that it’s lightweight, compact and USB-rechargeable so can be moved to wherever you need it; you could even take it in the car. It does make a low, buzzing sound when diffusing, but as this is intermittent it isn’t very obtrusive.
AromaWorks USB or Battery Electric Diffuser
Take this portable diffuser in your luggage or bag: it’s compact and won’t spill, as instead of a water tank you drop essential oil onto a refill pad. However, we did have to use a lot of essential oil for the aroma to be released.
Unlike other portable options, it isn’t rechargeable so runs on either a USB cable or AAA batteries – we found the USB cable to be the quieter choice. It’s not powerful enough to scent a whole room, but we love it as a travel accessory, and the mood lighting makes baths more luxe.
ESPA Aromatic Essential Oil Diffuser
Five minutes after we had this stylish diffuser out of the box it was ready to go. It is more or less silent – just a gentle trickle of water which is very soothing. While you can have it on constantly, we liked the 30 second-interval setting, which sends subtle bursts of scented mist into the room.
You can also have the light on (choosing from soft, or very soft) or off – it casts a little light from around the base and the top, which adds beautifully to the ambience of a room, and would also be nice if you like low light as you drift off to sleep. The power cable comes out the side of the machine – you can tuck it back, but it does mildly affect the overall aesthetic of an otherwise elegant diffuser.
Airwick Essential Mist Diffuser
If you’re looking for a budget diffuser, then the Airwick will tick your box as it is great value. This is a battery-operated device though, so factor that cost in too. It takes three AA batteries and claims 135 days of fragrance on a ‘low’ setting.
It’s easy to insert the fragrance and operate the three intensity settings, but there isn’t as much control on this diffuser as its wired counterparts. We sampled lavender, one of five choices on offer. The smell was intense and perfumed, so keep it on ‘low’ for short bursts only – but it would be a good option to keep a space smelling fresh during a spring clean.
This Works Travel Diffuser
This small but powerful portable essential oil diffuser is designed to be taken anywhere. USB-chargeable, this diffuser has a run time of four hours. You only need to use 5-10 drops of essential oil on a refill pad (rather than inserting a bottle) and the scent lasts throughout the day and night.
The fan has two settings, on or intermittent, and has a gentle buzzing noise – which could be distracting if you’re a sensitive sleeper. When taking the diffuser apart to insert the refill pad you need to make sure that the unit is fitted back together well, otherwise it can become noisy. This is a handy option for the home, office or on the go.