A closer comparison than it first looks — CHI takes three of the five specifications. It loses on the one that matters most.
By Scooter M., enthusiast, crease control · Published
Rowenta, for almost everyone — but not for the reasons the spec sheet first suggests. CHI actually wins three of five published figures: a larger 220 ml tank against Rowenta's 189, a faster 30-second heat-up against 40, and a two-year warranty against one. Rowenta wins on the figure that decides whether a steamer does its job: 1,875 watts in a 1.4 pound body, against CHI's 1,000 watts in 2.9 pounds. That is nearly double the power at half the weight, and no amount of tank or warranty compensates for it.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which steamer we rank first — the ranking comes from published specifications and the arithmetic on our method page. We have not tested these units. Full disclosure.
The published figures
Read from each product's own live listing, September 2026
Rowenta XCEL DR2020
CHI Deluxe Digital 3-in-1
Power
1,875 W
1,000 W
Tank
189 ml
220 ml
Heat-up
40 s
30 s
Weight
1.4 lb
2.9 lb
Warranty
1 year limited
2 year limited
Voltage
120 V
120 V
Power-to-weight
1,339 W per pound
345 W per pound
The last row is arithmetic over the two rows above it, not a published figure. It is the clearest single summary of the difference between these two machines.
Rowenta's own XCEL listing advertises a 25-second heat-up in its title while the structured specification on the same page says 0.66 minutes — about forty. We use the structured field, because that is what the maker files rather than what marketing writes, and we flag the discrepancy rather than quietly picking whichever suits the ranking.
Why power-to-weight is the deciding figure
Wattage sets which fabrics a steamer can handle. Below about 1,000 watts you have a refresher — fine on jersey, polyester and light knits, not enough to make woven cotton look pressed. The CHI sits exactly on that floor. The Rowenta sits at the ceiling for a plug-in appliance on a US 15-amp circuit.
Weight then decides whether you actually use it. A handheld is held at arm's length for the length of a session, and 2.9 pounds is heavier than every more powerful handheld on this site — heavier than the 1,875 W Conair at 2.27 pounds. So the CHI asks you to carry more while delivering less, which is a difficult combination to argue for.
The buying-a-brand-name problem
CHI is a well-known name in hair tools, and this is the most likely reason someone types this comparison into a search box. Brand recognition earned in one category does not transfer to another on its own, and the published specifications here do not support the transfer: a 1,000 W element in a 2.9 pound body is the weakest power-to-weight ratio of any handheld on this site.
That is not a claim the unit is badly made. It is a claim that you would be paying for the name rather than for output, and that several cheaper units give you more tank and more power for less. We list the CHI as the unit to skip on the handheld roundup for exactly this reason.
The third option, which is often the right one
If you have got as far as comparing these two, the Rowenta Pure Force 2-in-1 is worth a look before you decide. It matches the XCEL's 1,875 watts, carries a larger 210 ml tank, publishes a 10-second heat-up — the fastest figure on this site by a factor of three — and adds a press plate, which does the one thing no steamer can: make a crease in a collar, a cuff or a trouser leg.
The costs are honest ones. It weighs 3 pounds, making it the heaviest handheld we cover, and Rowenta publishes no warranty term for it. A plate also needs a surface, so it is not purely hang-and-go. The 2-in-1 page sets out where the plate earns its weight.
Who should buy which
The decision
If you
Buy
Want the most capability per pound
Rowenta XCEL — 1,875 W at 1.4 lb is unmatched here
Steam cotton shirts or tailoring
Rowenta, either model. 1,000 W will not do it
Want a crease as well as steam
Rowenta Pure Force — the only one of the three with a plate
Steam only knits and synthetics, and value a warranty
CHI is defensible — two years, and 1,000 W covers those fabrics
Want precise low-temperature control for delicates
CHI, on the digital settings
Care most about weight in the hand
Rowenta XCEL at 1.4 lb, less than half the CHI
The honest summary: CHI wins on paper in three places and loses the argument, because power is the specification that determines whether a steamer does the job you bought it for and the other three are comforts around it. If your wardrobe is genuinely all knitwear and jersey, and a two-year warranty matters more to you than power, the CHI is a reasonable purchase and we would not tell you otherwise.
The three machines
Ranked on published specifications. Tap a row for the full write-up; the price button goes to Amazon.
#
Product
Best for
Spec score
Price
1
Rowenta XCEL Steam Force DR2020Full 1,875W at 1.4 pounds — the best power-to-weight ratio on this site.
The interesting number here is a ratio. Every other 1,875W handheld we looked at is published between two and three pounds; this one is 1.4. Over a rail of shirts that difference is the whole experience.
Note a conflict inside Rowenta's own published data: the listing title advertises a 25-second heat-up, while the structured specification field on the same page reads 0.66 minutes — about 40 seconds. We score the specification field, because that is the figure Rowenta files rather than the one it markets. If you buy it expecting 25 seconds, expect to be disappointed by fifteen.
The 190 ml tank is small, and Rowenta pairs it with a stated 10 minutes of continuous steam — an honest figure rather than an optimistic one.
Good
1,875W at 1.4 pounds — the best power-to-weight figure here
Removable tank, so you refill at the tap rather than over the sink
10.8 inches tall, so it lives in a closet rather than a cupboard
Not good
190 ml is a small tank even by handheld standards
Rowenta's own title and specification field disagree about heat-up time
One-year warranty against Conair's two
Who should not buy it. Skip this if you want one machine that presses as well as steams. It is a pure vertical steamer with no plate — the Pure Force is the Rowenta that does both.
2. Handheld · Nothing we would recommend it for
CHI Deluxe Digital 3-in-1
The skip. A digital display and a two-year warranty do not answer 1,000 watts in a 2.9 pound body.
This is the weakest power-to-weight figure in the whole set: 1,000 watts in a body heavier than the 1,875W Conair. Whatever the display is doing, it is not making steam.
The two-year warranty is genuinely good and the 220 ml tank is respectable. Neither fixes the arithmetic.
We include it because a roundup where everything is recommended recommends nothing, and because it is the unit most likely to be bought on the strength of a brand name earned somewhere else.
Good
Two-year published warranty, matched here only by Conair
220 ml tank is adequate
Digital temperature settings, which some fabrics genuinely benefit from
Not good
1,000W in a 2.9 pound body — the worst power-to-weight ratio here
Heavier than every more powerful handheld in this set
Buying a hair-tools brand for a garment steamer is paying for the name
Who should not buy it. Skip this one outright. The Beautural gives you more tank and more power for less, and the Conair gives you nearly twice the wattage at less weight.
3. Handheld · One machine instead of two
Rowenta Pure Force 2-in-1 DR8822
Steams vertically, presses horizontally, and publishes the fastest heat-up in this set by a factor of three.
Ten seconds to steam is the lowest published heat-up of anything on this page. If the thing that stops you steaming is the wait, this is the answer to it.
The horizontal plate is the real argument. A steamer relaxes a wrinkle; only contact and pressure will put a crease into a trouser leg or flatten a collar point. This does both, which is why for most wardrobes it genuinely replaces an iron and a board.
Three pounds is heavy for a handheld, and that weight is the soleplate. Judge it as a small iron that also steams, not as a light steamer that also presses.
Good
10-second published heat-up, the fastest on this site
Vertical steam and a horizontal press plate in one body
210 ml tank, larger than most 1,875W handhelds
Not good
Three pounds — the heaviest handheld here
A plate needs a surface, so it is not purely hang-and-go
Wider footprint than a pure steamer to store
Who should not buy it. Skip this if you only ever steam hanging garments. You would be carrying the weight of a soleplate you never put down.
Questions people actually ask
+Is Rowenta or CHI better for a garment steamer?
Rowenta, for almost everyone. CHI publishes a larger tank, a faster heat-up and a longer warranty, but Rowenta's XCEL delivers 1,875 watts at 1.4 pounds against CHI's 1,000 watts at 2.9 — nearly double the power at half the weight, and power is what decides which fabrics a steamer can handle.
+Is the CHI garment steamer worth it?
Only if your wardrobe is knitwear, jersey and synthetics, and the two-year warranty or the digital temperature settings matter to you. At 1,000 watts in a 2.9 pound body it has the weakest power-to-weight ratio of any handheld on this site, and it will not make woven cotton look pressed.
+Does CHI make a good clothes steamer?
The build is not the issue — the specification is. A two-year published warranty is genuinely good and only Conair matches it here. But brand recognition earned in hair tools does not transfer, and cheaper units offer more tank and more power.
+Which Rowenta steamer should I buy?
The XCEL DR2020 if you want the lightest full-power handheld, at 1,875 watts and 1.4 pounds. The Pure Force 2-in-1 if you also need a crease — it adds a press plate and a 10-second heat-up, at the cost of three pounds in the hand and no published warranty.
