Best Hummingbird Feeders for Backyards & Wildlife Habitats

Here are the top hummingbird feeders for any backyard birder, anyone who wants to support this keystone species, or anyone who is interested in expanding on their certified wildlife habitat.

What makes a good hummingbird feeder?

Some features that make a good hummingbird feeder include:

• Easy to clean

• Durable, high quality, lasts many uses

• Thoughtful design, ease of use

• Reasonably affordable for what the product is

• If it actually works as advertised

• Keeps other birds and pests out

1. Perky Pet Refillable Cactus Hummingbird Feeder

This hummingbird feeder is the best hummingbird feeder I have encountered thus far and is worth a notable mention. This is one of the best hummingbird feeders for the following reasons:

Pros:

• Unique and thoughtful in design

• The lid on top makes it easy to refill (keeping your hummingbirds happy)

• Hands down one of the highest quality hummingbird feeders on the market, if not the best in quality overall

• Pricey, but worth it

• Large openings make it easy to clean

• Large capacity

• Does not spill easily, if at all

• Does not let bees get the nectar

• Resilient to being knocked down or tipped over by larger birds seeking nectar

Cons:

• May not match aesthetic

I highly recommend this feeder, although I do wish they had similar quality feeders that were not in the Cactus aesthetic. It doesn't fit everyone's backyard decor, but if quirky gardens are your thing, this would be a great addition. Perky Pet is a good quality brand overall, and other hummingbird feeders they offer are normally good quality as well, but this one stands out above them all. 

2. Handheld Glass Hummingbird Feeders

These are fairly uncommon. Handheld feeders became popular with social media, however these feeders are not the cheapy plastic ones. These ones are really durable and I recommend these for a few reasons:

Pros:

• Affordable high quality feeder, can buy multiple to put in many locations

• Easy to refill with rubber top

• Best for humid and sheltered areas, but good for dry and sunny as well(rubber will dry out though)

• Unique feeder

• Easy to clean

• Does not spill easy

• Does not break easily, if dropped(I have dropped the same one several times on rocks and concrete before, and it now has a crack in it)

• Don't necessarily need a spot to "hang" this feeder, offers more versatility

Cons:

• Small capacity, needs to be refilled often

• Rubber can dry out (but they still work)

• Bugs will get to the sugar water

• No perch, but hummingbirds will still rest on the edge

I highly recommend these feeders as well to supplement your backyard wildlife habitats. These are great because you can spread them in many different locations since you don't need a spot to hang them.

3. Perky Pet Garden Bottle Hummingbird Feeder

This is another Perky Pet hummingbird feeder, however this one isn't as good as the first one. This one has other qualities to it that make it good as well though. Here are some of the reasons this one is recommended:

Pros:

• Unique design and aesthetics

• Quality is good, flowers are metal

• Fitting for a garden

• Much better alternative to plastic feeders

Cons:

• Hard to clean, need a bottle brush

• From my experience, hummingbirds don't like this one as much it seems

• No perch, however hummingbirds will still rest on the edge occasionally 

• Metal seems to rust fairly quickly

This one is recommended mainly due to the garden aethestic and being a higher quality option offered by Perky Pet. It seems to be more universal and fitting appearance for most backyards, however it is not as good as the first one on the list in terms of functionality. There are others that Perky Pet offers that are similar, kind of an in between this one and the other one, however this one I feel represents more variety offered by Perky Pet for hummingbirds. 

Overall, these 3 hummingbird feeder choices would be the best for anyone starting out or adding to their collection of hummingbird feeders for their backyard. Additionally, some other options are mentioned below as well. 

Other hummingbird feeders to mention that didn't quite make the top 3, in order from best to worst:

• Perky Pet Blue Hummingbird Feeder

  • Close 3rd, seems to have been discontinued, but didn't attract many hummingbirds despite always being full

  • Quality, but didn't attract hummingbirds, maybe due to the color

• Artistic Copper Hummingbird Feeders

  • Good quality, unique, however slightly expensive, and plastic red pieces wear out faster than the copper

  • Fully copper/metal options would be better

• Small Mason Jar Hummingbird Feeder

  •  Not a bad idea, but quickly doesn't work as hummingbirds can't reach the sugar water

• Yellow Swirl Glass Orb and Metal Hummingbird Feeder

  • Rusts easily, really hard to fill and clean and overall just not practical

  • Beautiful and unique, adds a nice pop of color

• 3D printed Hummingbird Feeder Bottle Attachment

  •  Seems good, but doesn't quite work. Needs some additional design. 

  • I recommend this as a project for learning or experimenting only, it will need some tweaks for more success

• Plastic Generic Hummingbird Feeders 

  • Extremely cheap, they can get the job done, but invest in something better.

  • These cheap feeders are an extreme hassle, and you will constantly be repairing them or throwing them out.

  • Plastic tops and bits don't quite hold the feeder well, constantly falling off or being blown off by wind gusts.

  • I recommend the Handheld Glass Hummingbird Feeders over these 100%