Cigar storage
How does a humidor work?
The four parts that hold the humidity, and why the wood is optional.
By Rahul Gupta, Certified Retail Tobacconist · Updated The quick answer
A humidor is a closed container with a humidifier inside that keeps cigars at a steady humidity. Tobacco takes on or gives up moisture until it matches the air around it, so the humidor's job is to control that air. Four parts do the work: the lid slows the loss of moisture, the humidifier replaces it, a Spanish-cedar lining evens out small swings, and a hygrometer shows you the reading. The wood is traditional. Besides a closed box, the humidifier is the one thing a humidor can't do without. Jump to what size to buy
In this article
What a humidor is
A humidor is any closed container built to hold cigars at a steady humidity with a humidifier. That covers a travel case that fits in a bag, a desktop box, a cabinet and a room you can walk into.
Cigars need one because tobacco is hygroscopic. It absorbs and releases moisture in response to the air around it, and it keeps doing that until it matches. Too dry, the wrapper turns brittle and can crack. Too damp, the cigar is hard to keep lit and more likely to mold. A humidor holds the air steady so the cigars stay in the condition they came in, and kept that way they can last for years. What happens to them over months and years is covered in our guide to how long cigars keep.
How a humidor holds humidity
The lid
A good lid slows the moisture leaving the box. On a desktop humidor it should close snugly without sealing completely. A little air exchange with the room is normal, and the humidifier makes up what leaks out. A loose or warped lid can let moisture escape faster than the humidifier can replace it, and then the reading keeps dropping.
The humidifier
The humidifier is the source of the moisture. Desktop and travel humidors commonly use a passive one with no power: a foam insert, a sponge or crystal gel that you fill and that gives off moisture as it evaporates. Fill it with distilled water unless the maker says otherwise, because the minerals in tap water clog it.
Two-way humidity packs work by balance instead. Boveda describes its packs as food-grade salt, purified water and a thickener that release moisture when the air is too dry and absorb it when the air is too humid, holding the box near the humidity printed on the pack.
Electronic humidifiers are the active kind. A fan moves air across a water reservoir or wick, and a humidistat switches the unit on when the humidity falls below its set point and off once it's back. They're common in large cabinets and walk-ins, and they need power.
Spanish cedar
Wooden humidors are traditionally lined with Spanish cedar. Spanish cedar is Cedrela odorata, a tropical hardwood in the mahogany family. It became the traditional cigar wood partly because it absorbs and releases moisture the way tobacco does, which smooths out small swings inside the box. It has a subtle, slightly sweet and spicy smell, and it has some natural resistance to insects, though tobacco beetles can still get through it. Inside a humidor it's generally left unfinished so the wood can work.
The same property cuts the other way. Very dry cedar can draw moisture, and possibly some oils, out of cigars, which is why seasoning a new humidor comes before the cigars go in: 84% packs closed in the empty box for 14 days, or distilled water for several days or longer.
You don't need the lining. Glass, acrylic and plastic humidors hold cigars well. Those materials don't absorb and release moisture the way bare wood does, so they buffer less.
The hygrometer
The hygrometer measures the humidity of the air inside. It doesn't measure the moisture in the cigar, and a reading of 70% doesn't mean the cigar is 70% water. Analog hygrometers use a mechanical dial and digital ones use an electronic sensor. Digital ones are usually easier to read and often more accurate, but both drift and need checking now and then.
A humidor runs without a hygrometer. You just won't know what it's doing. Keep cigars at 65% to 70% humidity and about 65 to 70°F, out of direct sun. The exact number to hold, and how to test a hygrometer, are in our guide to what humidity to set.
Is a humidor just a wooden box?
No. Spanish cedar is still widely used for cigar boxes, but a cedar cigar box has no humidifier, so nothing in it replaces the moisture that leaves.
A humidor doesn't have to be wood, either. Any container with a reasonable seal, an interior that won't give off odors and a humidifier inside will keep cigars in condition. That's where the tupperdor (a lidded plastic food container with a humidity source) and the coolidor (a cooler kept for cigars, with humidity packs) come from.
Types of humidors
Humidors come in four main kinds, by size and use.
| Type | What it is | Humidifier | Where it's used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | A small case, sometimes molded plastic with foam inside, built to keep cigars from being crushed | Small; commonly passive | Carrying cigars to the course, a lounge or on a trip |
| Desktop | A lift-top box, traditionally lined with Spanish cedar, sometimes with a tray and a hygrometer | Passive, or electronic in larger ones | A personal collection at home |
| Cabinet | Doors, drawers or shelves instead of a lift-top lid | Passive or electronic | Larger collections |
| Walk-in | A humidified room | Electronic, with hygrometers around the room | Cigar shops and lounges, and some homes |
A travel case needs less humidification than you might expect. The space inside is small, a tight case loses moisture slowly, and an overfilled humidifier may sit right next to the cigars. Some rugged cases add a pressure-relief valve so they open easily after a flight.
A walk-in works on the same principles at room scale, with active humidification and hygrometers in more than one spot, because conditions change from one part of a room to another. Ours is kept at 70% relative humidity, with about 65°F as the target, which adds up to 135, the rule our shop goes by.
"Electric humidor" can mean two different things. One is a cooled cabinet, often called a wineador, built like a wine fridge with compressor or thermoelectric cooling. It controls temperature, and it still needs a humidifier unless one is built in. The other is a humidor fitted with an electronic humidifier, which controls humidity and is especially useful in larger desktop humidors and cabinets. Check which one a listing describes before you buy.
Do you need a humidor?
It depends on how many cigars you keep and how long they wait.
- If you buy a cigar or two at a time and smoke them soon, you don't need one. A sealed container with a two-way pack covers the gap, and our guide to short-term storage without a humidor says how long that holds.
- If you buy by the box, or keep several boxes or a mix of lines, you need somewhere with a humidifier.
What size humidor should you buy?
Buy a little bigger than you think you need. A humidor's stated capacity is an estimate, often counted with smaller cigars. Long cigars and thick ones (a big ring gauge) take more room, and the tray, the divider and the humidifier take some too. Xikar says its 60-count travel case fits 40 to 60 cigars depending on their size. Extra room lets air reach all the cigars, and it leaves space for the collection to grow.
Then match the type to how you smoke. If you smoke at home, start with a desktop box. If you carry cigars to the golf course or on trips, add a travel case sized for the longest trip you take.
We sell these three online:
| Humidor | Type | Holds (maker) | Inside | Comes with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craftsman's Bench Dynasty humidor | Desktop | Up to 65 | Spanish cedar | Humidifier, hygrometer, divider |
| Craftsman's Bench Laredo humidor | Desktop | Up to 90 | Spanish cedar | Humidifier, hygrometer, divider |
| Xikar 60-count travel humidor | Travel | 60 (40 to 60, by size) | Urethane foam in a molded ABS shell, no wood | 60-count humidifier, pressure-relief valve |
Xikar doesn't list a hygrometer for its case.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a humidor cost?
Our in-stock humidors online ran $49.95 to $129.95 when we checked on October 24, 2026. Two humidors of the same size can differ a lot in materials, construction and price.
How often do you refill a humidor humidifier?
There's no fixed schedule for a refillable humidifier. Top it up with distilled water when the hygrometer reading starts to fall. How often that happens depends on the lid, the room and the season, and dry winter air means more often. Boveda says to replace its two-way packs every three months.
Do cheap humidors work?
They can. The lid and the humidifier decide it more than the price does. To check the lid, close it on a strip of paper at a few points around the edge. If the paper drags when you pull it, the lid is making contact. On a less expensive humidor, also look the cedar over for sap before the cigars go in. Sap can stick to wrappers and damage them.
Are acrylic humidors better than wood?
For keeping cigars, neither one wins. Acrylic doesn't absorb moisture, so a tight acrylic box loses less and needs less topping up. Unfinished cedar evens out small swings and adds its smell. Choose on how you'll use it.
What's the difference between cedar and Spanish cedar?
Spanish cedar has no botanical tie to true cedars; it's a relative of mahogany. The aromatic red cedar used in closets and cedar chests is a different wood with a much stronger smell, and it doesn't belong in a humidor.