Best Bathroom Exhaust Fans With Lights
A bathroom fan that just moves air is doing half its job — the good ones also light the room and disappear into the ceiling, sound-wise.
Most bathroom fan failures aren’t about airflow at all — they’re about noise loud enough to make you skip using it, or a light so harsh it’s unusable at 6am. The best combo units hit a CFM number that actually matches your bathroom’s square footage, run under 1.5 sones so you forget they’re on, and pair that with lighting you can dim or shift in tone. A few go further with built-in heat or Bluetooth, but ventilation and quiet operation still have to come first.
- Match CFM to square footage, not the box A bathroom under 50 sq ft needs roughly 1 CFM per square foot; anything larger or with a separate toilet room needs 80-110 CFM to actually clear steam before it hits your mirror and drywall.
- Sone rating matters more than wattage Anything above 1.5 sones gets loud enough that people leave it off during showers, which defeats the whole point — check the sone rating, not just the CFM number.
- Heaters and speakers are nice, but ventilation is the job Bundled heaters and Bluetooth speakers are genuinely useful add-ons, but a fan that undersizes CFM to fit a fancier feature set will leave you with a mildew problem in six months.
- Dimmable or tunable LEDs beat a single hot bulb A fixed bright light is fine at noon and brutal at 2am — models with dimming or adjustable color temperature actually get used the way they’re designed to be used.
Best Overall: Panasonic FV-0511VFL1 WhisperFit Bath Fan + Light
Pick-A-Flow switches between 50, 80, or 110 CFM on the fly, and the dimmable LED doubles as a soft night light so you’re never blinded at 2am.
- Pick-A-Flow lets you set the actual CFM once during install instead of guessing before you buy
- Dimmable LED works as a functional light and a low night light without installing a second fixture
- Panasonic’s WhisperFit motors are consistently the quietest in this category
- Single housing covers small and mid-size bathrooms, so it’s a safe pick if you’re not sure of your exact CFM need
- Costs more upfront than basic fan/light combos with fewer features
- No heater, so it’s not a fit for cold-climate bathrooms on its own
- Dimming requires a compatible dimmer switch, which is an extra part if you don’t already have one
Runner Up: Broan-NuTone Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Heater
A 1300-watt heater warms the room the instant you flip the switch, and 3-CCT LED lighting shifts from bright daylight to warm nightlight glow in one f
- Instant heat means you’re not standing in a cold bathroom waiting for a space heater to catch up
- 3-CCT lighting shifts from daylight-bright to warm without swapping bulbs
- 80 CFM at 1.5 sones is quiet enough to leave running the whole shower
- One unit replaces what would otherwise be three separate fixtures
- The heater draws real power, so expect a noticeable bump on the electric bill if used daily
- Requires a dedicated circuit in many installs due to the heater’s amperage
- Bulkier housing than fan-only units, so it needs more ceiling clearance
Best Budget: Broan-NuTone 678 Ventilation Fan and Light Combo
A no-frills 50 CFM fan and 100-watt light combo that installs in under an hour with snap-in duct connectors, built for budget bathrooms up to 45 sq ft
- Snap-in duct connectors make this one of the fastest fan/light installs you can buy
- Trusted Broan-NuTone build quality at a genuinely entry-level price
- 50 CFM is plenty for bathrooms up to 45 sq ft, which covers most powder rooms and half baths
- Simple design means fewer parts that can fail down the line
- No dimming or color-temperature adjustment on the light
- Runs louder than premium picks, noticeable if your bathroom is next to a bedroom
- Underpowered for larger or steam-shower-heavy bathrooms
Best Premium: Broan-NuTone ChromaComfort with Bluetooth Speaker
A 24-color LED light and Bluetooth speaker turn shower time into ambiance, controlled entirely from your phone or the included wireless wall panel.
- 110 CFM handles even large or steam-shower bathrooms without breaking a sweat
- 24-color LED and Bluetooth speaker turn a utility fixture into an actual amenity
- Wireless wall panel and phone app control mean no extra wiring for the smart features
- Still holds a quiet 1.5-sone rating despite the higher CFM
- The most expensive fan-only option on this list
- Bluetooth pairing and app setup add a step non-tech-savvy owners may not want
- Colored lighting is a novelty most people use occasionally, not daily
Best for Cold Climates: Delta Breez Radiance with Heater & Thermostat
A 1300-watt heater with thermostat control keeps cold-morning showers comfortable, backed by a brushless DC motor rated for 70,000 hours of quiet 1.5-
- Thermostat control means the heater cycles on its own instead of running the whole shower
- Brushless DC motor is rated for 70,000 hours, well beyond typical AC fan motors
- 1.5 sones keeps it quiet even with the heater engaged
- Combines ventilation, heat, and light in one housing for laundry rooms and baths alike
- Thermostat adds another control to wire and learn compared to simple on/off units
- 1300W heater still needs adequate circuit capacity, same consideration as other heated models
- Light output is functional but not adjustable in color temperature
Side-by-side comparison
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Best Overall
Panasonic FV-0511VFL1 WhisperFit Bath Fan + Light,
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Runner Up
Broan-NuTone Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Heater Quie
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Best Budget
Broan- NuTone 678 Ventilation Fan and Light Combo
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Best Premium
Broan-NuTone ChromaComfort Bathroom Exhaust Fan wi
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Best for Cold Climates
Delta Breez Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Light, Heate
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| CFM Rating | 50/80/110 (adjustable) | 80 | 50 | 110 | 80 |
| Noise Level | Ultra-quiet (WhisperFit) | 1.5 sones | Standard | 1.5 sones | 1.5 sones |
| Built-in Heater | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Light Type | Dimmable LED | 3-CCT LED | 100W standard bulb | 24-color LED | Standard LED |
| Notable Extra | Pick-A-Flow CFM selector | Thermostat-free heat | Fast snap-in install | Bluetooth speaker | Thermostat control |
| Price | $188.99 | $139.99 | – | $180.13 | $135.96 |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
What to look for in Bathroom Exhaust Fans With Lights
What CFM do I actually need for my bathroom?
Use 1 CFM per square foot as a baseline for bathrooms under 100 sq ft. A 7×10 bathroom needs about 70 CFM, so an 80 CFM fan gives you headroom. Larger bathrooms, or ones with a separate toilet room or soaking tub, should go with 100-110 CFM units like the Panasonic or the ChromaComfort.
Is a built-in heater worth it over a separate space heater?
Yes if your bathroom gets genuinely cold in winter — a ceiling heater warms the whole room evenly and doesn’t take up floor space or create a trip hazard. The Broan-NuTone and Delta Breez models here both run 1300W heaters, so confirm your circuit can handle the load before installing.
Do I need an electrician to install these?
Basic fan/light swaps on existing wiring, like the Broan-NuTone 678, are manageable for an experienced DIYer. Anything with a built-in heater, thermostat, or new circuit requirement — like the Delta Breez or the Broan-NuTone heater combo — is worth hiring an electrician for, since heater units draw enough current to need proper circuit sizing.
How much noise reduction actually matters in real use?
A jump from 4 sones to 1.5 sones is the difference between a fan you tolerate and one you forget is running. Since ventilation only works if you actually leave the fan on, the quieter units on this list — the Panasonic, both Broan-NuTone heater/premium models, and the Delta Breez — all sit at or near 1.5 sones for exactly that reason.
The bottom line
- Panasonic FV-0511VFL1 WhisperFit — the safest pick when you want reliable, quiet, adjustable ventilation without compromise
- Broan-NuTone Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Heater — best when cold mornings are the main complaint and you want lighting flexibility too
- Broan-NuTone 678 — the budget choice for small bathrooms that just need functional ventilation and light
- Broan-NuTone ChromaComfort — for anyone who wants their bathroom fan to feel like a genuine upgrade, not just a utility
- Delta Breez Radiance — the long-term, thermostat-controlled option for consistently cold climates
The Panasonic WhisperFit earns Best Overall because it covers three CFM needs in one quiet fixture with usable dimmable lighting. If your bathroom runs cold, either Broan-NuTone heater model or the Delta Breez solves that specific problem well; if you just need something that works, the Broan-NuTone 678 gets it done for under $90.
