The Best Air Purifiers in March of 2023

Your house breathing will be a little bit simpler with the best air purifiers. In essence, air purifiers are made to filter out any unpleasant airborne particles, such as smoke, pollen, pet dander, and dust. Air purifiers help to create a healthier breathing environment by filtering the air, which lessens allergy and asthmatic symptoms.

To uncover the best alternatives on the market, whether you're searching for value for money or one to suit a tiny space, we examined a variety of models in both a laboratory and a house.

We recommend the best air purifiers below for your choice.

• Best overall: Blueair Blue Pure 211+

• Best value: Honeywell HPA300

• Best purchased product: Blueair Health Protect 7470i

• Best value product: Coway Airmega AP-1512HH

• Best affordable product: Winix 5500-2

1. Blueair Blue Pure 211+

Product’s Highlights

One cube-shaped air purifier consistently outperformed the others during our tests. The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto outperformed its rivals. Even while the Health Protect 7470i, it's more expensive cousin, is more flashy, it still accomplishes the same task without the added expense.

The unit we evaluated with the greatest average Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) for smoke, dust, and pollen had a room size of up to 550 square feet and was intended for large settings. One of the five reasons you need an air purifier is that it cleans the air quickly and effectively.

With a distinctive top grate and svelte pre-filter skirt that reduces much of the technological intrusion that other devices have, it is also among the best-looking air purifiers. Additionally, the white shell makes it blend perfectly with your surroundings.

It simply has one button, which can be used to cycle through all four of its modes, making setup and use devilishly easy. The auto mode is genuinely superior since it can quickly accelerate and gain power after recognizing an object in the air. The fan's night mode, which slows it down so much that it performs just marginally better than its lowest daytime setting, is one of its few drawbacks. Despite this, we believe there isn't a better air purifier available.

Pros

• Air is effectively cleaned

• Judicious with power

• Fantastic for big venues

Cons

• Greater footprint

• Lack of power in night mode

2. Honeywell HPA300

Product’s Highlights

Given its remarkable performance, the Honeywell HPA300 is a hefty beast that provides exceptional value for the money. It is a vast, round air purifier with slats all around that give it the appearance of being in a dystopian future office. This particular air purifier is quite hefty (17 pounds), so once you set it down, you won't want to move it around.

The HPA300 is a really effective machine that, in the CADR test, came in second place to the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ auto. Its three filters can effectively filter the majority of pollutants from a large room measuring 465 square feet. It did perform marginally better on dust compared to pollen and smoke, with an average CADR score of 306.

Opening the front panel and removing the plastic covering the provided filters is all that is required for setup, which we found to be rather straightforward. A fast reference manual is also conveniently tucked away at the top control panel, saving you the trouble of looking for the manual that inevitably disappears after only a few days. Although it doesn't have many options or functions, it does have a timer and a dimmer for evening use. It's unfortunate that there isn't an auto mode, though.

Pros

• Able performance

• Affordable replacement filters

• Simple to use

Cons

• Noisy

• Very high energy usage

• No auto mode

3. Blueair Health Protect 7470i

Product’s Highlights

One of the top air purifiers we examined is also the priciest and heaviest one. When necessary, it may easily and quickly increase its strength and effectively clean a room of pollutants. The Blueair Health Protect 7470i features the most obvious indicator of air quality out of all the devices, with two lights on the front, one for gas pollutants and the other for bigger particles. Those lights would become bright red whenever we started cooking, and the fan would run nonstop.

The top-tier device from Blueair has all the modern conveniences a user could desire. The device has an LCD panel on top that displays real-time data about what it is sensing, such as the current temperature, the amount of filter life left, and the relative humidity of the space. Having that knowledge is convenient, but unless you have a passion for data, it doesn't truly improve the experience. The only air purifier we examined that comes with an app is this one (Android and iOS). Every feature is easily located on one page, making it very easy to use.

Although it is a bit difficult to move this air purifier into other areas due to its weight, it is the only product we examined that comes with wheels to make moving it easier. Despite being the quietest of the group, it is important to note that it tends to consume more energy than other devices, consuming 0.241 kWh in a 24-hour period, so all that data has a cost.

Pros

• Fantastic performance

• Has a lot of features and information

• Sleek and contemporary appearance

• Quiet

Cons

• Can be challenging to maneuver

• High level of energy use

4. Coway Airmega AP-1512HH

Product’s Highlights

The Coway is undoubtedly an iPod Shuffle clone, but if you can get past the archaic Apple style, it's a fantastic air purifier.

It has an integrated auto sensor, a crucial component of top-tier air purifiers. Without it, you're forced to run your purifier at its maximum speed for the finest filtration while racking up a big electricity bill. Additionally, it was the only purifier we tested with an environmental setting. This implies that the machine will switch to standby mode if the air quality remains unchanged for a predetermined period of time, saving you countless kilowatts and hundreds of dollars on your energy bill.

It had an average CADR of 240, performed similarly for dust, smoke, and pollen, and was suitable for rooms up to 384 square feet in size. When you consider how small it is, that performance is rather impressive.

The cost of changing the filter on this purifier is a drawback, though. The cost to change the filter every six months to a year, which is $57.49, is a little under a quarter of the original cost.

Pros

• Tiny footprint

• Eco mode is accessible.

• Energy effective.

• A three-year guarantee

Cons

• Loud

• Difficult to move around

• Replacement filters that are pricey

5. Winix 5500-2

Product’s Highlights

The Winix 5500-2 performed admirably, falling slightly short of some of the other options on our list. It is the sole gadget that makes use of "Plasmawave" technology, which is rather new. This is based on the idea that it produces hydroxyls that quickly bond to other molecules, neutralizing the air more quickly. As a result, it obtained an average CADR score of 240, which is similar to the Coway Airmega and suitable for rooms up to 360 square feet.

You're in luck if you want to see how your purifier is affecting things. A light that will glow red, yellow, or green based on the air quality at any given time is part of the design. Additionally, it has auto and night settings to accommodate your specific requirements. Don’t anticipate inexpensive filter replacements however. These were on the more expensive end, costing slightly under $80 per filter.

However, this air purifier offers good filtration and an auto-sensor that reacts quickly. Additionally, it is one of the few products we examined that includes a remote control, making it simple to program from a distance. It stands out in any room with a simple design despite only being available in black. With its beeps and boops, it has unmistakably Star Wars vibes.

Pros

• Innovative technology

• Air quality gauge

• Has a remote control

Cons

• Costly filters

• Large, unadorned design

1. What do air purifiers actually do?

If you're wondering how air purifiers operate, they all basically use a strong fan to draw air in and pass it through one or more filters (HEPA). Before the air is circulated again, these filters capture and remove particles and impurities as the air flows over them. Some air purifiers feature UV filters as well, which use light to kill germs and mold that are smaller molecules.

Check out our advice on lowering allergies in your house if you want to take things a step further.

2. Must I get a smart air purifier?

Some contemporary air purifiers, like the Blueair Health Protect 7470i, can be Wi-Fi connected and associated with a smartphone app. By doing so, you can remotely manage the air purifier and make adjustments like adjusting the fan speed or creating a schedule. The app for some air purifiers will also break down the air quality and allow for more accurate monitoring.

This can help you understand what's in your air much better and show you the impact your air purifier is having on it. For instance, you may view the various particulate matter concentrations as well as any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen dioxide using the Dyson air purifier app. So that you can identify where any air contaminants have increased, this is frequently shown as a chart.

3. Does buying an air purifier make sense?

Although air purifiers are made to remove and sanitize air pollution, how well they operate and are worth the money depends on the particular model you purchase. Checking the product description for a clean air delivery rate is vital because not all air purifiers are designed to eliminate every allergen (CADR). The ability to capture airborne particles increases with CADR. A high CADR can also be determined by air purifiers that have a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. In any event, when it comes to purifying your air, air purifiers are significantly more effective than houseplants.

The best chance that an air purifier can improve the atmosphere in your house is if you choose one that has a track record of CADR effectiveness and is appropriate for the allergens you want to remove. However, you can always choose a model that displays live statistics, either on the air purifier or on your phone, if you want to see the actual impact your air purifier is having.

In addition to other contaminants, the best air purifiers are made to eliminate indoor air pollution from sources such as cooking, vehicle emissions, and wildfire dust. The president of the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America explains that when these airborne particles enter your lungs, they may irritate your respiratory system or precipitate allergic reactions. We visited health and filtration professionals to learn more about air purifiers and what you need to know before buying one to assist in directing your search for the best air purifiers that meet your needs and budget.