In my official test of the best hair dryers, the BaBylissPro Nano Titanium Dryer had excellent performance and quality at a solid price point, earning it the best value spot on my list. Read on to learn more about this affordable option.

The best value hair dryer should be low on frills yet equipped with features that smooth your hair and protect it from damage. It should deliver the temperature and speed settings you need without being too loud, heavy or uncomfortable to hold up in one hand as you style with the other. After testing 10 hair dryers, I found that you can get all this for under $100. The BaBylissPro Nano Titanium model is a relatively inexpensive styling tool that does everything you need it to do well.

It may be low on frills, yet this BaBylissPro model is equipped with all the right features to ... [+] smooth hair and protect it from damage.

It may not have a fancy matte finish and eye-catching accents, newer-style push button controls or extra volume-boosting modes—but you don’t need those to give yourself a great at-home blowout. Here’s why I loved this budget-friendly pick.

Temperature options: 3 | Speed options: 2 | Controls: Front of handle | Attachments: 1 concentrator | Ions: Yes | Warranty: 1 year

A great hair dryer has at least 1600 watts and three heat and fan speed settings. The 2000-watt BaBylissPro Nano Titanium has three temperature and speed options, which is exactly what stylists recommend in a blow dryer for flexibility in styling hair. In fact, Doward told me that BaBylissPro is what she uses at her salon. Some versions (like our best overall pick, the T3 AireLuxe) offer more temperature settings, but three should be sufficient for most people. Plus, the Nano Titanium also has a cool shot setting to set styles and add a sleek finish.

Nano titanium refers to the coating on the grille of this blow dryer, which the manufacturer says is ... [+] designed to smooth hair.

Hairstylists tend to prefer simple toggle switches for speed in the salon; they don’t want to accidentally press a button mid-use and alter the temperature. The BaBylissPro Nano Titanium hair dryer has exactly these type of user-friendly controls. They’re on the front of the handle, so they’re easy to adjust while styling if desired, but not so easy that you might do so by mistake. The interface on this model isn’t fancy, but it is very intuitive. I found that I prefer button controls myself, but I didn’t consider these to be a deal breaker—especially considering the price difference.

The BaBylissPro has a classic cold shot button that you have to hold down continuously, whereas pricier models have a single-press button. But I rarely actually use this feature—I should, since it’s helpful for setting the shape of hair, which is especially useful for fine hair that doesn’t hold curl well—so it doesn’t matter that much to me.

The BaBylissPro Nano Titanium hair dryer has classic toggle switch controls, which are all located ... [+] on the front of the handle.

This styling tool also comes with a concentrator nozzle that is pretty remarkable. Most hair dryer attachments fit into the nozzle. They can be a little difficult to snap into place and then off again, especially when they’re hot—making it really easy to burn your fingers. This one slides over the nozzle. It’s much easier to use than most other blow dryers’ attachments.

This was also one of the lightest and quietest models I tested, weighing around one pound and putting out 75 decibels. This is similar to models that cost three times as much.

Compared with the other blow dryers I tested, the BaBylissPro Nano Titanium has the best features for a budget dryer. It has a better build quality and more options than the less expensive Remington and Conair models I used. It also has slightly higher wattage, which can help it dry hair faster if you have coarser strands. You’ll want to be sure to use a lower temperature setting if you have fine or chemically-treated hair. However, it has fewer heat options than most, comes with fewer attachments and has older style controls, including a cold shot button you have to press continuously.

I’ve been writing about beauty for the past decade. I’ve watched the world’s top hairstylists do Karlie Kloss’s hair at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (RIP), and I’ve sat in the chair myself and learned techniques from many of the best in the business. I also have always been into styling my hair myself (even if I don’t do it everyday). I was obsessed with hair and makeup as a teen thanks to my after-school hobbies: competition cheerleading, dance and musical theater. I got a lot of practice backstage—so much so that I’ve done my friends’ hair for their weddings, and was able to use my skills during testing.

I dried my hair with the BaBylissPro Nano Titanium blow dryer once after letting my hair air dry, and again using the tool without the concentrator to rough dry it. I then slipped on the concentrator to finish styling it. My hair looked sleek and shiny afterward with no flyaways.

I also measured the noise level of the hair dryer turned on using an app on my phone, and I dropped it on my sink to check its durability. It was quiet—about 75 decibels—and it didn’t scratch or crack, and its filter cap didn’t come off.

The Nano Titanium hair dryer's filter has a cover that won't immediately crack or break off if you ... [+] drop it.

Finally, I sent the dryer off to my family’s hairstylist, Lola Doward, to test on clients in her New York City salon. She gave this one a nine out of ten, saying it’s great for all hair types and especially easy for a beginner to use. “It’s very powerful—it seemed to cut my blow drying time in half,” she says. “It has great control on the nozzle, and you don’t have to continually go over sections of hair with the brush.”

Yes, many professional stylists use BaBylissPro heat tools. The brand is owned by Conair Corporation, which also makes Conair hair dryers. Our pro tester Doward preferred this dryer to all the others I tested, including the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer.

It’s the type of negative ion technology used in this hair dryer. Each manufacturer has its own marketing lingo, but as far as I can tell, it all works basically the same way in practice. In theory, negative ions help combat frizz and smooth hair, which can also help it dry faster. Besides the added convenience of reducing styling time, it also lowers the potential excessive heat damage to hair.