At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Absolutely silent on lower levels
- Plug-in and cordless modes
- Replaceable battery
- Cheap to run
Cons
- No smart features
- Remote control needed to access all functions
Our Verdict
Is this the best fan I’ve ever used? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it is. It’s certainly the best model for a bedroom, where a smaller, portable fan is ideal and where its near-perfect silence will ensure you sleep well. I also love the fact that its removable, lithium-ion battery can be replaced for a longer product life and lower environmental impact.
Price When Reviewed
This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Best Prices Today: MeacoFan Sefte 8″ portable fan
Meaco is a brand with an eye for detail. It’s known for unfussy, high-quality appliances with plenty of excellent features.
The brand-new 8-in Sefte model is not only more compact and cheaper than its older sibling, the 10-in table fan , but it has some new tricks up its sleeve that make it one of the best buys for summer.
Design and Build
- Accurate thermostat
- Easy to read temperature and mode display
- Remote control with glow-in-the-dark keys
While the Sefte fan’s design is more functional than ornamental, it would blend well into in a modern home. It’s all white, except for a black grille over the blades and a round, inset display, and it’s robustly built.
When switched on, the display shows the room temperature, fan speed setting and mode – and it’s easy to read, even in the dark. But you can use the remote to switch off the display for nighttime use and silence the responsive beeps that occur when you change settings.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The fan head can be angled upwards to around 60° and angled down a little way too – and as it’s fairly light and compact (38.4 x 26.1 x 21.2cm and 2.3kg), it can stand on a shelf or table, so it’s easy to point it exactly where you want it.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
On either side of the display are the soft touch keys that make up the simple control panel. There are keys to switch it on and off, start the oscillation, turn the fan speed and down, and an ellipsis key that allows you to switch between modes. The only downside of these is that, as they only need a touch, it’s all too easy to accidentally change a setting if you adjust the fan.
But what sets this model apart from the competition is that, as well as the plug, there’s a rechargeable battery under the hood, so it can be used cordlessly. A corresponding indicator light lets you know when the battery is full, charging, at less than 20%, and at less than 10%.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It comes with a disc-shaped remote which magnetically attaches to the centre of the fan, and whose keys are glow-in-the-dark.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The remote is absolutely necessary to use all the fan’s settings, as there’s no way to set the fan timer using the controls on the base.
Meaco decided not to include smart features as a compromise to keep the price down, and in general I’d agree that smart features are often not worth it. But if you wake up blearily in the night and want to adjust the fan controls, an app is much easier to see than the glowing keys of the remote.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Still, the remote is a better option than trying to change the settings on the base. As I noted before, it’s all too easy to press the wrong key.
During my first night testing it, I attempted to turn the speed down and instead started it oscillating, much to the surprise of the cat sleeping next to me. I still have the claw marks as a reminder to keep the remote handy.
Performance and Features
- Up to 17 hours of cordless use
- Battery charges in 3 hours
- Three fan modes
The Sefte fan’s name is inspired by the Old English word for quiet or gentle – and it’s absolutely, perfectly silent, right up to its higher settings – and after that, all you’ll hear is the mild sound of rushing air.
Right now, I’m working from home and it’s 28°C in my living room but I’m perfectly cool with the Sefte next to me – and I can barely hear it. This makes it a great option for nighttime use, or during video or phone calls. And it won’t spoil your enjoyment of music or TV.
It’s quiet enough that, during testing, I unplugged it and didn’t notice it was still running (the internal battery kept it going) while I was carrying it from room to room.
It’s not quite as powerful as its 10-inch sibling. Meaco responded to feedback from users who said they never used the highest settings anyway. But it’s certainly powerful enough as a personal fan. Thanks to its deep circulating head, it delivers a pretty strong blast of concentrated air.
It has three modes: normal, where you can choose from 12 speed settings; night mode, in which the lights switch off and the responsive beeps are silenced, and the fan reduces its speed by one speed level each hour; and eco mode, which adjusts the fan speed according to the room temperature.
If you use it cordlessly, Meaco says you can get up to 17 hours of use (on fan speed setting 1, with no oscillation) before you need to plug it in again – at which point, you can use it right away. It’ll recharge in use in three hours.
I tested it unplugged and comfortably got around 11 or 12 hours of use on setting 4 before the power indicator began to glow red and I needed to plug it in.
As the lithium-ion battery is removable, you can replace it when it reaches the end of its life. This Meaco Sefte fan is as close to buy-it-for-life as you’re likely to get.
The icing on the cake is that the Sefte is very cheap to run. It maxes out at 18W, which, on my current tariff, means its costs just 1p an hour to use.
Price and Availability
It’s not currently for sale in the US, but wherever you are, we have more recommended models for all homes and at all price points in our round-up of the best fans we’ve tested.
Should you buy the Meaco Sefte portable table air circulator?
On Saturday, it’s going to be 30°C. This is a horrible prospect for me as I have a cat and I live in a third-floor apartment, which means that flinging the windows wide open all night is just not possible. I test a lot of fans but you can bet this is the one that’ll be by the bed when I’m trying to sleep. I can’t give a more honest and wholehearted recommendation than that.
Best Prices Today: MeacoFan Sefte 8″ portable fan
Author: Emma Rowley, Deputy Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Emma has been a journalist and copywriter for over 20 years and has been testing and writing about home tech and appliances for seven years. She tries out every appliance she writes about at home, and aims to recommend time- and energy-saving products that will last.
Recent stories by Emma Rowley:
- These are the best cooling fans of 2026
- Roborock’s stair climbing robot vac concept has legs (literally)
- I switched to air fryer cooking for everything and I won’t go back
