We tested neck fans to find the best way to stay cool this summer. These wearable, rechargeable fans are hands-free and made to keep you comfortable wherever you go. We break down how they work, what features matter most, and which ones keep you cool.

A review of five neck fans found two models that excelled in comfort, battery life, and usability. The top pick offered a battery life of over five hours, multiple power settings, quiet operation, and a stylish design reminiscent of headphones. Its cooling effect primarily targets the neck and jawline, making it especially useful for outdoor activities in hot weather.

The second standout product was praised for its adjustability, allowing users to direct airflow to different parts of the neck and face. Although its battery life was shorter than the overall winner, its foldable design made it convenient for storage and transport. Both fans recycle ambient air rather than providing ice-cold cooling, but they were effective in offering relief from heat during use.

The best neck fans in 2025, tried and tested

If you've ever been on a walk in 90-degree weather or at an outdoor music festival under the sun for hours, you might have been wishing you had some sort of cooling breeze to help you. I tested five different neck fans and found two products that I actually enjoy wearing. So none of these neck fans are going to break your bank account. They're not exceeding a price point of $50, but at the same time, when you're investing in a tool like this, you want to make sure that it's going to keep you cool, that it's comfortable and easy to use, and it's going to last you a long time. So that's how I reflected on each neck fan to determine their overall value. So this is our winner for the best neck fan, and this one stood out for a few different reasons. It has a really long battery life. So when I was testing it in the controlled battery test, it lasted for five hours and 27 minutes. And compared to others in the testing pool that lasted around two hours, this has that beat by landslide. Now others in the testing pool also had similar battery capability, but this neck fan has three powerful settings and it's also not too noisy. Now I think others comparatively have strong power settings, but when I was wearing them, I could barely hear it when someone spoke to me. This neck fan, on the other hand, felt more comfortable when I was wearing it and I felt like I could hear my surroundings, which walking outdoors, I thought that was very important. I think another fun feature of this neck fan is that it's very stylish. It reminds me of Beats headphones and wearing them, it's very light. So you just put it on like this, it looks like you're wearing headphones, but you're actually having a cool breeze on the back of your neck at all times, which feels amazing in the summer. Another fun feature of this neck fan that makes it stand out is that it can light up if you press and hold the battery button. So just like that, you have a fun little light show. It's just another design element that made this one stand out out of all the others in the testing pool. So when you wear this neck fan, the vents are along the top right here, and that's what's going to push out the breeze on the back of your neck and the side of your jawline. I think something that surprised me when I was testing is I almost expected the air to hit the front of my face, but with this neck fan, that's not going to happen. You can angle it while you're wearing it if you want to try to adjust the cooling breeze, but it's really predominantly going to focus on your neck. Now, when you're walking outdoors in 90 degree weather, that's going to feel really great on the back of your neck, the sides of your face. It's going to just feel like a nice cooling breeze right there. And if you have long hair in the summer, you will especially appreciate this tool. So this is the winner for the best adjustable neck fan. Now, you might be wondering why is this neck fan shaped kind of weird? Well, that's because you can bend it and twist it into any shape you want. So we tested one other adjustable neck fan in our bunch, but this one stood out because it had a longer lasting battery life. Now, with the caveat, this battery life was only two hours and 15 minutes on the highest setting. It's not as great as our overall winning pick, but again, this tool is really great for anyone who really wants to customize where the breeze is going to hit them on their neck. So it's very simple to use. You just put it on and you can adjust the blades to different angles. And that way it can hit the front of your neck, it can get the sides. You can even move it to hit your face, which feels really great. The battery button is on the back, so you'll just press it to start the fan. And it has three different power settings. So one, two, three. Now the reason that this neck fan also secured a winning spot is because it was really convenient to use and store. So if I wanted to place it away somewhere, I would just fold it like a pretzel. And if it's really compactly in any tote bag, any work bag you have, overall, the power and the cooling capability is similar to our winning neck fan. But you have to keep in mind that this neck fan is not going to hit the back of your neck as well as our overall winner. An important note to keep in mind with neck fans is that these neck fans recycle the air around you. They're not like portable AC units where it's going to blast ice-cold air unless you are in some place with ice-cold air. Now, that said, these neck fans are still really useful in keeping you cool. It's nice to have that kind of breeze on you, especially when you're in a stuffy area. But just remember, it's not going to blast anything that's ice-cold unless that's where you are. And these are our two winning neck fans. They'll help you stay cool in the summer. As long as you have them on, you can keep a comfortable breeze on you at all times. Stay tuned for more product reviews and recommendations with CNN Underscored.

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