Best Quiet Window Air Conditioners from CR's Tests

These ACs from Frigidaire, GE, LG, and Midea can keep things cool and quiet while you sleep

Allen St. John, Consumer Reports Senior Home & Tech Writer.

By Allen St. John
Senior Home & Tech Writer

Nicholas De Leon, Consumer Reports Senior Home & Tech Writer.

By Nicholas De Leon
Senior Home & Tech Writer

Updated September 8, 2025

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Midea U MAW08V1QWT air conditioner in window frame — U-shaped air conditioners like this Midea can run quieter because they use your window to block out noise.

Sure, a quiet air conditioner is nice during the day, but it’s essential at night when you’re trying to sleep. That’s why, in addition to testing how well air conditioners cool a room, we also rate the noise levels of every model on both low and high settings.

The good news: Today’s air conditioners are noticeably quieter than models from just a few years ago, according to Misha Kollontai, who oversees CR’s air conditioner testing program. That’s thanks to a couple of significant innovations.

In this article

Best Quiet Window ACs for a: Small Room Midsized Room Large Room
How CR Tests Air Conditioners
How to Pick the Right Window AC

One is the U-shaped design, which allows you to open and close your window with the unit installed and puts a pane of glass between you and the compressor. Inverted U-shaped models drape over the sill like a towel, creating a similar effect. A wall is simply better at blocking noise than the lightweight panels that come with most window units.

In June, a number of U-shaped models made by Midea and other brands, including Frigidaire, were recalled due to concerns about mold growth, which can cause respiratory infections and other health problems. Midea has since updated certain models. It has also offered to repair older units with a new drain plug, which you can have professionally installed or install yourself via a simple DIY kit, both free of charge. Consumers can also request a refund.

The second innovation is the inverter AC. Traditional units run the compressor at full blast, cycling on and off to maintain temperature. Inverter models, by contrast, modulate compressor speed more precisely, reducing energy use and noise.

“Over the past several years, inverter models, which are more efficient and claim to be quieter, have become more widely available,” says Chris Regan, who preceded Kollontai as head of CR’s AC testing. “And in our ratings, inverter models tend to have the best scores for noise.”

That’s a big help for just about everyone, especially if you live in a warm climate like I do in southern Arizona, where nighttime temperatures can linger around 80°F.

But Regan says picking the right model is just part of the equation. Installation matters, too.

“This is due to how much an air conditioner can vibrate and how those vibrations spread to the window, where an old, ill-fitting sash may make more vibrational noise than a new, tight-fitting one,” he says.

Below are details on several of the quietest air conditioners CR recommends. Our full ratings allow CR members to explore more options, and our air conditioner buying guide offers additional guidance.

Best Quiet Air Conditioners for a Small Room

These top-rated models are made to cool 100- to 250-square-foot rooms and rate well for low noise indoors. These window air conditioners produce about 5,000 Btu of energy.

Best Quiet Air Conditioners for a Midsized Room

These window air conditioners are made for 250- to 350-square-foot rooms. Some of the highest-scoring models also include features like LED displays and remote controls.

Best Quiet Air Conditioners for a Large Room

These ACs are designed for 350- to 550-square-foot rooms, like home offices and living rooms. While the models emit 10,000 Btu and are larger in size, they still run quietly.

How CR Tests Air Conditioners

Consumer Reports uses a sound meter to test air conditioner noise levels on both high and low settings, which provides an objective volume measurement. But that’s only part of our extensive test program.

We evaluate room air conditioners in a custom-built climate-controlled chamber. We test three sizes of window ACs—small, medium, and large—and adjust the size of the chamber based on the room size each air conditioner is designed to keep cool. We crank the temperature in the chamber up to 90°F, then measure how long it takes each AC to lower the temperature by 10°F.

We also gauge how well an AC holds the set temperature and how easy it is to use the controls.

In addition to our performance tests, we survey more than 6,000 CR members about the brands of room air conditioners they purchased new between 2012 and 2022. Based on their responses, we rate each brand for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. And we have good news: Room ACs are one of the most reliable products we test. To see the full results, check out the most and least reliable room air conditioners. And to see the Overall Score for all the models we test, go to our air conditioner ratings.

How to Pick the Right Window Air Conditioner

Part of finding an air conditioner with a tolerable noise level is choosing a unit that’s designed for your room size. An oversized air conditioner might sound tempting for maximum cooling in a small space, but it may also run louder than you’d like.

A small room may only need a small air conditioner with a cooling capacity of 5,000 to 6,500 Btu, while a 500-square-foot living room, especially one with south-facing windows, will likely need a more powerful unit that can pump out 10,000 Btu or more. Be sure to get out a tape measure to figure out the square footage of the area you need to cool before you decide what to buy.

Once you’ve decided which air conditioner to buy, be sure you know how to install it correctly. Not every type will fit into every type of window (casement windows are generally a no-go), and you may want to consider using a support bracket, especially if you live several stories above the ground. If you rent your living space, there are additional considerations. If you’re not able to put a unit into a window, a portable air conditioner may be a fallback option.

Allen St. John

Allen St. John has been a senior product editor at CR since 2016, focusing on digital privacy, audio devices, printers, and home products. He was a senior editor at Condé Nast and a contributing editor at publications including Road & Track and The Village Voice. A New York Times bestselling author, he's also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Montclair, N.J., with his wife, their two children, and their dog, Rugby.

Nicholas De Leon

Nicholas De Leon is a senior reporter for Consumer Reports, covering laptops, wireless routers, tablets, and more. He has been at CR since 2017. He previously covered tech for Vice, News Corp, and TechCrunch. He lives in Tucson, Ariz. Follow him on X for all things tech and soccer @nicholasadeleon.