The Best Space Heaters of 2023, Tested by HGTV Editors

This little heater is perfect for personal use and small spaces. It features two fan speeds, a simple temperature-controlling knob, tip-over and overheat protection, and a cool-touch design. Available in black and white-and-black, it's one of the most stylish heater options we've seen, and this is a great choice if you want something that will somewhat blend in with the rest of your decor. Thanks to its small footprint, this heater can rest on side tables or desks as well as on the floor, so it's easy to find a safe location for it. When testing, we noticed the tip-over protection worked really well — if you simply lift the heater a few degrees forward using the hidden handle at the top while the heater is powered on, it will shut off and won't start back until you set it down to rest on the stand again. The safety features and easy-to-use operation combined with the style make this an all-around great space heater. Plus, you can't beat the price!

Our Editor Says: "Since I work from home now, this little heater is the perfect size to keep next to my desk for extra heat or even to use instead of my central heating on mild days when the weather doesn't warrant heating my entire house. Plus, I love how cute it looks!"

For another basic personal heater option for heating a small space, this Lasko electric heater is a great budget buy, too, especially if you don't care as much about aesthetics. This model has three fan speeds: low heat, high heat and fan only. It also features an adjustable thermostat with 11 different temperature settings, overheat protection and a cool-touch design. We prefer the Honeywell heater because it has tip-over protection and this Lasko model doesn't, meaning it wouldn't be a good pick to use around pets or kids, but as long as you're following recommended safety measures, this small heater is still a great basic budget buy.

Our Editor Says: "This compact heater is easy to move to different locations with ease, and I love the range of temperature settings to choose from and the cool-touch feature. I do wish it had tip-over protection, but since I don't have kids or pets in my household, the lack of that added protection is not a dealbreaker for me."

For heating a larger room, an oscillating tower heater like this Honeywell model offers more coverage than a small personal heater but still has a slim footprint that makes finding a good location for it easy. This unit features overheat protection, a cool-touch design and 360-degree tip-over protection that works extremely well, making this a great pick for homes with kids and pets. When testing, we felt the heat immediately, and it took about 15 minutes to completely heat up a 200-square-foot room. It also has a hidden handle that makes it easy to carry and an easily removable dust filter on the back for easy cleaning. While it's not the most stylish home accessory, it blends in well enough, and the functionality and safety measures make this pick well worth sacrificing a few style points.

Our Editor Says: "I love that it turns off the moment it tips over and stays cool to the touch. The oscillating function also has a great range of motion."

While most consumers with central heat or those heating a small space will probably find personal or tower-style heaters to fit their needs, a radiator heater can be a good option for anyone needing to heat a large space frequently since a radiator heater uses oil and can run for hours using very little energy. If you need to heat a large living room, accessory dwelling unit or maybe a garage or shed (as long as the heater can sit far enough away from any combustible materials), a radiator heater like this model from Honeywell will get the job done without skyrocketing your energy bill. The Energy Smart electric radiator features easy-to-use digital controls, three heat settings, a programmable thermostat and a one-to-12-hour auto-off timer. This model also features overheat and tip-over protection. Radiator heaters aren't exactly stylish, but we do like the high-gloss black finish on this model compared to other greige-colored ones we tested. On the downside, this heater is large and bulky and the cord isn't super long, meaning it's more difficult to find a good, safe location for it.

Our Editor Says: "The controls on this model are very easy to understand and features a ‘hold’ setting so you can set the temperature, just like a standard thermostat. Also, the handle on this model is large and easy to access and would make it very easy to safely move this model around a space for precision heating."