Crane Drop Review

The Crane Drop performs well as a humidifier for small rooms (100 square feet or less). But in that capacity, it is outclassed at almost every turn by other similarly-priced options.

Performance Comparison

Humidifying Performance

The Crane Drop earned an average score in our humidifying testing, which is quite respectable for a humidifier of this size. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes for this model to bring our testing room to 45% humidity and topped out at a humidity of 51.2%. This makes it slightly more powerful than a few other budget-oriented models, but the differences are likely negligible and would be hard to differentiate without a fancy humidity meter. This appliance is suitable for small bedrooms, or even a larger bedroom if you don't mind turning the humidifier on a couple of hours before bedtime.

Ease of Cleaning

The Crane Drop is small enough that there isn't too much area to scrub, but it can sometimes be tricky to get all the nooks and crannies. In the end, it earned another average score in this metric. The water tank's opening is 2 inches wide, making access a bit difficult. You'll need a long-handled brush to reach every part of the tank. Apart from that, cleaning is fairly easy. The instruction manual calls for a half-hour soak in a white vinegar solution, and many of the harder-to-clean components are dishwasher safe. We spent 15 minutes getting this machine completely clean (not including soaking time), which was on par with most other models.

User Friendliness

The Crane Drop was again an average performer in this metric. It has a simple, single-knob control panel that lets you turn the unit on and select a mist level. The tank opening is only 2 inches wide, and the tank is somewhat tall, so it may not fit in shorter sinks.

Operating Cost

The Crane Drop is quite economical and earned a higher score in our operating cost testing. It uses a decent amount of electricity for a humidifier (0.02kWh per hour), but its low list price led to a low estimated lifetime cost of $108.

Should You Buy the Crane Drop?

Considering its tiny stature, the Crane Drop is a fairly high-performing humidifier. However, its average list price and average performance can't compare with other models with similar or lower prices that perform much better overall.

What Other Humidifiers Should You Consider?

The Crane Drop is a fairly good, low-cost humidifier, but if you're looking for a budget option, other models are superior. In particular, the Honeywell HUL520B has a similar small stature, costs less, and is a better value overall. If you want to step up to a full-sized humidifier to suit a larger space, you cannot go wrong with the top-performing Levoit LV600HH.