Written They are two different animals with different benefits. Your evaporative cooler, or swamp cooler, utilizes a drip system that keeps an interior pad wet that a fan then forces air through. Through the miracle of evaporation, the air is cooled and humidified as it passes through the wet pad. Additionally, the air is cleaned of particles because the wet pad acts like a filter.The benefits of an evaporative cooler are that it uses much, much less energy than a typical air conditioner. To run the swamp cooler you’re basically just running a fan. For dryer climates, the swamp cooler slightly humidifies the air making it more comfortable. It also “cleans” the air by forcing it through the wet pad that acts like a filter.An actual air conditioner will cool a room much more effectively than a swamp cooler. Additionally, most A/C units have a thermostat on them where one can set a desired room temperature. The swamp cooler just has fan settings like a normal fan. For this increased cooling from an air conditioner, you’re going to pay a much higher energy cost.