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After testing dozens of different models, we determined which picks were most effective for allergies, pet hair, and more. Metal Sheet Filter
Marcus Reeves is an experienced writer, publisher, and fact-checker. He began his writing career reporting for The Source magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. His book Somebody Scream: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power was nominated for a Zora Neale Hurston Award. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he teaches writing and communications. Marcus received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Your home likely has airborne contaminants floating around in the air you breathe, says Kenneth Mendez, president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
"Indoor air can be full of asthma and allergy triggers including dust mites, pet dander, smoke, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors, and even pollen and air pollution from outside," Mendez says.
Everyday tasks like brushing your pet, leaving the windows open, spraying cleaners, and running a central HVAC system can contribute to poor air quality inside your house. Air purifiers can help minimize these symptoms by trapping airborne particles and removing them from the air you breathe.
We tested 67 air purifiers in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, following a rigorous methodology that evaluated their effectiveness against harmful particles, among other considerations. For more information on how we tested air purifiers in our lab, check out our testing process below.
Within minutes the Levoit not only detected poor air quality, but also filtered the air so it was cleaner than before the contaminants were introduced.
It's less effective in rooms larger than 900 square feet.
Understanding the air quality in your home can feel confusing and overwhelming, but the Levoit Core 400S Smart True HEPA air purifier makes it easy. The lightweight model works in rooms up to 990 square feet, and it uses three different filters to remove dust, bacteria, pollen, smoke, and more from your home.
In our testing, we measured a substantial decrease in VOCs, particles, and smoke with our air quality monitors (and on both high and low settings). After running for just 10 minutes, the Levoit Core 400S Air Purifier not only detected poor air quality levels but also made the air even cleaner than it had been prior to the test.
Setting up the Levoit Core's integrated app was very simple. The app shows a specific PM 2.5 (particulate matter) rating and indicates the air quality as "very good," "good," "moderate," and "bad." You can program the purifier to use different fan speeds and modes at different times of the day, schedule it to shut off at certain times, and more.
We liked that the Levoit Core's display on the device is equally easy to read, so you don't have to connect it to an app in order to use this machine. It's also Energy Star certified which means it requires less energy to operate than competing models.
While this air purifier is advertised to work well in rooms up to 990 square feet, it will take more time for the device to improve the air quality in larger rooms. We recommend purchasing multiple air purifiers if you need to use them in a space larger than 900 square feet for the best results.
The Levoit continued to impress us. It made a noticeable difference in an apartment, eliminating a persistent damp smell in the entryway. After running it constantly for six months, it performs as well as it did when we first removed it from the packaging.
We appreciate the accurate air quality readings, which change as expected when irritants such as smoke from cooking in the air are detected.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 990 square feet | CADR Rating: 260 CFM / 442 m³/h | Noise Level: 52 decibels | Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.8 x 20.5 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
In addition to low upfront costs the filter is not disposable—it can be cleaned and reused.
Removing the filter to clean released contaminants back into the room.
No matter how much air pollution your home is exposed to, you don't necessarily have to spend hundreds of dollars to keep it clean. We were impressed by the capabilities of the Kenmore 850e Air Purifier, which filtered contaminants out of the air during our tests about as effectively as models costing hundreds more.
The Kenmore reduced PM 2.5 levels in our test environment from hazardous to clean breathing air on both its lowest and highest settings (thought it was slightly more effective on high). Despite its compact size we felt the noticeable improvement in the air quality was consistent throughout the room.
The air purifier is super user-friendly, as it has a simple display to set the modes and fan speeds and turn on/off—no fancy features. After quickly consulting the guide we found the buttons easy to understand.
Even when operating on the highest setting, the Kenmore air purifier's noise level remained unobtrusive; we had to get up close to hear it, otherwise we could barely tell it was running. It's also Energy Star certified, so it'll save money on your energy bills.
The reusable filter is both a pro and a con—it's great that the filter is meant to be cleaned every six months instead of replaced, because it means no further costs down the line. That said, removing and cleaning the filter released contaminants back into the room
Better Homes & Gardens / Emily Woodruff
If you want more detailed information about your home's air quality or a specific PM 2.5 reading, this air purifier may not be the right choice for you. It doesn't display an exact air quality reading, and there is no app for in-depth insights.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 850 square feet | CADR Rating: Not listed | Noise Level: 53 decibels | Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 14 inches | VOC Filtration: No
Better Homes & Gardens / Emily Woodruff
Better Homes & Gardens / Emily Woodruff
Better Homes & Gardens / Emily Woodruff
In addition to quickly improving room air quality, it also detects and displays room temperature and moisture percentage.
It isn't as effective in larger rooms, like your living room or kitchen.
The Dyson Purifier Cool was one of the best air purifiers we tested, significantly decreasing the number of particles in the air in just five minutes. After adding smoke and pet hair to the room, the model reduced the PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels from 999.9 to 115.2 after five minutes and to just 8.0 after 10 minutes.
The replaceable HEPA filter has activated carbon in it, which helps to capture gasses and odors, and it's capable of trapping particles like pollen, dander, and dust as small as 0.3 microns. Its 360-degree filtration system allows it to pull in air from all sides at once, so it cycles through the air more quickly than other models.
You can to see the room's air quality in real-time on the LCD screen and read a detailed report on the Dyson Link app. Since it tracks air quality over time, there's a chart of how your room's air quality has changed to help you understand potential causes. The display also shows the room temperature and moisture levels.
We raved about how quiet this machine is, even at its highest fan speed. During testing, the Dyson Purifier Cool did not make noises above 64 decibels—similar to the sound of a fan running on low. This means you'll be able to run it in the middle of the night without worrying about the noise disturbing you.
Plus, the air purifier's night mode allows the unit to run at its quietest settings and even dims the screen so the light won't wake you.
This air purifier has an Energy Star certification, so you don't have to worry about your energy bill spiking every time your device is running. It even includes a built-in fan, helping to circulate air throughout the room and keep you cool.
According to Energy Star, the Dyson Purifier Cool works best in rooms around 125 square feet, which is about the size of the average bedroom. This means it's less suitable for larger areas of your home, like your living room or kitchen.
Purchasing an air purifier can be a great way to help manage seasonal allergies since the purifier removes pollen from the air you're breathing. We noticed that we didn't have a runny or stuffy nose after using this air purifier in our home for a few months.
The Auto setting is very sensitive to changes in the air—the purifier sensed when we were painting our nails. Though it drives up the price, the fact that it doubles as a fan is a huge plus; in a small apartment with no ceiling fans, it circulates air while saving space.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 800 square feet | CADR Rating: Not listed | Noise Level: 64 decibels | Dimensions: 4.72 x 8 x 41 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
This air purifier works in rooms up to 1,560 square feet, so it's great for use in living rooms or open-concept floor plans.
The app was more difficult to set up than other models we tested.
No matter how much cleaning you do, there's likely a lot of airborne dust particles floating around your home. However, the Coway Airmega 400S air purifier can help to remove that dust from your air by trapping it in the HEPA filter so you're not breathing it in all day.
It works in rooms up to 1,560 square feet, cycling through all of the air at least two times every hour to remove dust, dander, airborne contaminants, and more. In testing, the Coway purifier quickly reduced the PM 2.5 levels from "hazardous" levels to harmless in less than 10 minutes, according to our air quality measurements.
The Coway app allows you to see detailed insights about your home's air quality, access reports over different periods of time, manage the device's settings, and more. We had trouble finding the app on our phones since this device's manual didn't include a QR code, and it took several minutes to get everything connected.
However, you can also use the Coway Airmega air purifier without the app by using the buttons on top of the machine. Because it's made for large spaces, it's a big purifier; if you've got limited floor space, this is probably not the model for you.
When set to smart mode, the air purifier will automatically change its settings to best suit the room's air quality and lighting conditions. You can also set a timer, change the fan speed, and easily see when the device needs a filter replacement.
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
We continued testing the Coway in a household with four pets and humans with allergies. The smart features proved useful in our day-to-day lives. We enjoyed the ability to monitor air quality via the app. It's also compatible with Amazon Alexa, meaning you can change the settings or ask questions via voice control.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 1,560 square feet | CADR Rating: 328 (smoke), 328 (dust), 400 (pollen) | Noise Level: Between 22 and 52 decibels | Dimensions: 14.8 x 14.8 x 22.8 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
The digital display changes colors to indicate indoor air quality.
The particle sensor is difficult to clean (a screwdriver is needed to remove the cover).
Ridding your home of smoke can be difficult, whether someone you live with smokes cigarettes, your area isimpacted by wildfires, or you cook a lot. Since simply putting a wall between you and the source of smoke isn't enough to stop harmful particles from getting into your airways, an air purifier can be one helpful solution.
The Bissell Air400 Professional air purifier performed the best against smoke out of all the devices we tried. After adding smoke to an enclosed space, the device accurately registered a hazardous level of PM 2.5 on its screen, but after just five minutes it reduced the levels by more than 990 points to a healthy level again.
This is partially due to the device's three stages of filtration—a pre-filter, an activated carbon filter, and a HEPA filter. While the HEPA filter captures particles like pollen, smoke, and dander, the carbon filter is designed to capture gasses and odors in your home.
Better Homes & Gardens / Caitlin Sole
The digital display provides an exact reading of your home's current PM 2.5 levels, and the display changes colors from green to yellow to red to indicate air quality. This makes it super easy to know how clean your air is with just a glance. It's also Energy Star certified, so it runs more efficiently than other units.
On low mode, we found that the Bissell Air400 Professional air purifier is whisper-quiet at just 40 decibels, though it can be a bit noisy when run on high (80 decibels). However, even on the low mode, it drastically reduced PM 2.5 levels in a room in under 10 minutes.
We love using the Bissell Air400 to manage cooking smells and pet hair. Since there's no range hood in the kitchen, we run the air purifier when cooking to reduce the smoke in the air. It's effective at detecting changes in air quality, like when we cook or light a candle.
One downside is that the light on the front dims in Night mode, but doesn't turn off entirely, which can be annoying if you like to sleep in total darkness and want to set up the air purifier in a bedroom.
Also, in order to clean the particle sensor (the manufacturer recommends doing so every two weeks), a screwdriver is needed to remove the cover. This means we definitely perform that maintenance step less often than we should because it's a hassle.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 485 square feet | CADR Rating: 353 (pollen), 319 (dust), 313 (smoke) | Noise Level: 80 decibels | Dimensions: 12.20 x 18.9 x 27.24 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Caitlin Sole
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
This air purifier has a slim design so you can use it in a room without sacrificing tons of space.
We didn’t notice any artificial pet hair in the filter after testing, so it might not be great for pets who shed a lot.
If you own pets, you know how much work it takes to keep a tidy home with a furry friend or two sharing your space. Pet hair and dander can negatively impact air quality, but a reliable purifier captures and removes allergens from the air you breathe.
The Rabbit Air A3 is a great choice for pet owners because it’s highly customizable, with a specific filter for pet allergies. It's also very effective—in our test environment with smoke, dust, dirt, and artificial pet hair, the air purifier reduced PM 2.5 levels by 90% in 30 minutes on its lowest setting.
We observed that the purifier made an even more noticeable difference in the air quality of the room on the highest setting. The design is very sleek and intuitive, and changing the filter is incredibly easy—we couldn’t see how even a new user could mess it up.
You can also download an app to find out detailed information about your home’s air quality, change the settings, adjust the device’s mood light, and more. It comes with a mounting kit, so you can hang it on your wall if you lack floor space. It's also Energy Star certified so it won’t take up a ton of electricity to run it.
The Rabbit Air2 purifier has five filters, including a HEPA filter to remove 99.9% of particles 0.3 microns in size, an activated carbon filter for trapping airborne chemicals and household allergens, and a customizable filter. In addition to the pet allergies filter, there are filters for germs, odors, and toxins.
Better Homes & Gardens / Cathie France
Since the machine is designed to work in spaces up to 1070 square feet, it's versatile enough to work efficiently in most bedrooms, living rooms, and home offices.
During testing, we didn’t find that the filters collected any of the synthetic pet hair, so it may not be ideal if your furry friend sheds a lot. However, its effectiveness at improving the overall air quality in a short period of time leads us to believe that it would still lessen the negative effects of potential pet-related allergens.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 1070 square feet | CADR Rating: 315 (Pollen), 262 (dust), 257 (smoke) | Noise Level: Between 20 and 51 decibels | Dimensions: 18.9 x 19.7 x 8.4 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Cathie France
In addition to being highly effective at cleaning air quickly, it has an impressive suite of user-friendly features.
This unit is not Energy Star certified.
Instead of purchasing multiple appliances to keep your home clean, cool, and comfortable, the Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde is a space-saving, three-in-one option. In addition to being a powerful air purifier, it also has a built-in humidifier and a fan that oscillates to provide cooling to the whole room.
When placed in our enclosed test environment with smoke and pet hair, the Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool quickly filtered out airborne particles and reduced the PM 2.5 levels to a healthy rating in just five minutes, according to our measurements. We loved how easy it was to operate, thanks to a sleek control panel.
Sensors continuously analyze the air and diagnose pollutants in the room, then display live PM 2.5 levels on the screen so you can monitor your air quality in real-time. The HEPA filter will capture 99.97% of airborne particles from the air, then seal these particles away so they can't escape out of the device.
For even more detailed information and setting control, you can connect the device to the Dyson Link app or even pair it with your Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant.
To use the humidifier and purifier features without the cold breeze, simply turn on the backward airflow, which diverts the air through the back of the fan instead of the front. We appreciate how versatile the settings are, and like being able to change the speed and direction of the fan.
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
It also has a handy night mode for quiet operation while you're sleeping and a remote control that allows you to change settings from across the room.
Keep in mind that, while this air purifier has tons of helpful features that make it well worth the price, it's not Energy Star certified. This means it will use more energy to operate than other models with an Energy Star certification.
After consistently using this air purifier, we experienced fewer allergy symptoms than usual. Despite running it 24/7 for six months, it continued to perform as if it were brand new. The device made such a difference in our old, drafty house and cut down on pet dander in the air, while the humidifier decreased dry skin.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 400 square feet | CADR Rating: Not listed | Noise Level: Not listed | Dimensions: 36.33 x 11.02 x 12.23 inches | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
You can schedule this air purifier to run at different times throughout the day using the app.
Its boxy shape takes up a lot of space in your home.
If your home features an open-concept design, it can be tricky to find an air purifier that can efficiently filter through all of the air inside the room. That's why we liked the Winix 9800 Large Room True HEPA air purifier. It's designed to remove particles from the air in rooms as large as 2,420 square feet in just one hour.
One of our favorite aspects of this device is the detailed information it gathers and displays within the connected app. You'll be able to see the specific air quality at any time, assess how your room's air has improved or declined across several months, set up times for the purifier to run, and more.
During testing, it quickly removed dust, dander, and smoke particles from the air in as little as five minutes, reducing the PM 2.5 levels from 800 to 6.5. While didn't suck up any of the pet hair we'd strewn about, this didn't seem to impact its ability to clean the air and trap airborne particles.
It has a washable pre-filter, a True HEPA filter, and an activated carbon filter to reduce odors from cooking, pets, and more. You can change settings either in the app or directly on the machine, using clearly marked buttons to increase fan speed, connect to WiFi, view the air quality, and turn on night mode.
Better Homes & Gardens / Ivy Ford
The unit is also certified by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and by Energy Star, so it's guaranteed to work in large rooms without using up a ton of electricity. Since it works in such large spaces, the Winix 9800 air purifier takes up a bit more space in your home than other air purifiers we tested.
The main upside of this air purifier has been its ability to limit nighttime coughing after running it continuously in our bedroom. Its boxy dimensions made it more complicated to put in a room without being noticeable (we had to rearrange furniture).
The size is the biggest downside, but it's also worth noting that we were unable to figure out how to set up the app due to lacking instructions. That said, operating it manually worked well for us as the machine itself is pretty user-friendly.
Product Details: Room Size: Up to 2,420 square feet; AHAM verified up to 500 square feet | CADR Rating: Not listed | Noise Level: Not listed | Dimensions: Not listed | VOC Filtration: Yes
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
The combination of effectiveness and clever features makes this a great value for the money.
During testing, the Fabreze scent continued to linger after 30 minutes.
If your goal is to purify the air in a smaller room in your house, you don't need to splurge for a massive unit designed for a much bigger space. There are many small air purifiers on the market that will effectively filter the air in your home without costing a fortune.
The Levoit Core 300S air purifier aced our lab tests when it came to removing smoky incense from the test environment, reducing PM 2.5 levels to a good range, and eliminating particles in the air within 30 minutes.
Since we used the same size room as we did with much larger units, we expected it to take much longer to remove toxins from the air. However, it worked almost as quickly. We did find that the Fabreze scent lingered after the testing period, so it might not be the best for eradicating odors.
We love how compact it is at just under 9 inches in diameter and 134 inches tall. It circulates air five times per hour in rooms up to 219 square feet. This means it will constantly and efficiently keep up with dust, dander, mold, and other particles. For larger rooms up to 1200 square feet, it will circulate once per hour.
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
The compact model connects to the VeSync app, which lets you remotely check the air quality in the room and set a schedule for the purifier, and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. We didn't have time to test out these smart features yet, but they're always a welcome addition.
It comes with a three-stage HEPA filter, and there are three customizable options for replacements when it's time for a new one: a pet allergy filter for those with pets, a filter designed to absorb toxins, and a smoke-removing filter.
We were also impressed by the low noise level; we could barely hear it on the lowest setting, but even on high it was hardly louder than a standard refrigerator. For this reason, we don't think it would make a great white noise machine.
A lock button feature will keep the air purifier locked in on the current settings so that curious kids or pets can't mess with the functionality.
We tested the Levoit Core 300s in a house with four cats and it did seem to improve the general air quality (we set it to auto and leave it on 24/7). It kicks into a higher setting when it detects changes while cooking, which is useful for preventing a sensitive smoke detector from going off.
Product Details: Room Size: 219 square feet | CADR Rating: 240 m³/h | Noise Level: Between 48.5 and 55.4 decibels | Dimensions: 8.66 x 8.66 x 14.17 inches | VOC Filtration: No
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
It's slim enough to fit in an SUV cup holder for easy use on the go.
The power button (also used to toggle through settings) is not as sensitive as we would like.
The Medify Air MA-10 Air Purifier is cleverly designed. Built to use on the go, it has a profile so slim it fits in an SUV cup holder. To turn the purifier on and toggle between the three settings, all you need to do is press the single button. There's even a handle on top to help you carry it from place to place.
While you won't find any bells and whistles here—not even a timer—the simplicity is the point. It's an affordable and user-friendly choice that we found much easier to navigate than many other models we tested.
The device is compact and best for small spaces or targeted use, such as at your desk, near a litter box, or in a small nursery. That said, we were impressed with the results during testing—the MA-10 made a noticeable difference in the air quality, dropping the PM2.5 about 90% within 30 minutes.
Running the purifier diminished the smell of air freshener and incense, and removed visible particles of sawdust from the air. Plus the results seemed pretty consistent throughout the room. The one area where we found it lacking was pet hair filtration, as it didn't seem to pick up much, if any, in the filter.
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Speaking of the filter, swapping it is as simple as unscrewing the lid, popping out the old filter and sliding in a new one. This should be done approximately every six months. One downside? The power button isn't the most sensitive, making the purifier harder to turn on and change settings for than we would have liked.
Product Details: Room Size: 79 sq. ft. every 60 minutes, 40 sq. ft. every 30 minutes, 20 sq. ft. every 15 minutes | CADR Rating: 5 CFM | Noise Level: Between | Dimensions: 8.1 x 2.7 x 2.7 | VOC Filtration:
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
When shopping for the best air purifiers for your home, consider which models improve the air quality of a room most efficiently while remaining easy to use.
Based on our tests, the Levoit Core 400S Smart True HEPA Air Purifier stood out because it rapidly removed smoke, dust, and dander from the air, provided helpful insights through the connected app, and was super simple to operate.
For larger rooms, we recommend the Winix 9800 Air Purifier, which quickly cleans particles out of the air and is designed to work in spaces up to 2,420 square feet.
We have been testing air purifiers in our Des Moines, Iowa lab for over a year, using a pre-determined methodology to put some of the top air purifiers to the test and see which ones improved the air quality most efficiently.
We exposed the air purifiers to smoke, artificial pet hair, and dust in an enclosed space, then tested different settings and measured the air quality of the room periodically using an air quality monitor.
This helped us determine which models were able to remove particles in the air, how long it took to do so, and what particles each purifier was unable to capture.
Additionally, we carefully examined each air purifier to determine its quality and overall value compared to its price. We tried all of the settings and noted anything that stood out compared to others on the market, including any features and reports offered via a connected app.
After gathering our insights, we created a list of the top air purifiers for allergies, dust, smoke, and more. Once our lab tests were complete, we took the top-performing air purifiers home and tested them for up to six months, operating them every day to see how well they worked in the real world.
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
One of the most important factors to consider when shopping for an air purifier is the size of the room you intend to place it in. The larger the room, the more powerful your purifier will need to be in order to effectively cycle through all the air and remove particles.
According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, an air purifier's efficiency rating (clean air delivery rate, also known as CADR) should be equal to two-thirds of your room's area. This means that a room with 120 square feet should have a CADR rating of at least 80 to work effectively.
You may also want to consider purchasing an air quality monitor in addition to an air purifier so you can make sure your air purifier isn't working too much or too little in your space.
The best air purifiers have a variety of settings and features to help you understand and improve your room's air quality. When we tested air purifiers in our lab, we tried out every feature the devices offered to determine how well they worked and if they were actually valuable.
Many air purifiers offer app connectivity so you can read reports on how the air quality of your room has changed over time, change settings remotely, and even check the moisture and temperature levels of your room.
Your air purifier should also have multiple fan speeds that can be controlled directly on the device, a display that shows your room's air quality, and a light that will turn on when the filter needs replacing.
"[Another] rating you need to check is the MERV rating of the air filter," Mendez says. "This minimum efficiency reporting value measures the size of the particles the filter will remove. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filtration. HEPA filters are normally rated MERV 13 or above."
Depending on the size of the room and how much space you have, you will likely also need to consider the air purifier's dimensions. The larger the room, the more space the air purifier will take up, so be sure to look at the size of the device you're considering to make sure you have space for it.
Keep in mind that the size of the air purifier itself doesn't always indicate how powerful it will be; for example, our best overall pick, the Levoit Core 400S, is rather compact but one of the most effective models out there for rooms up to 990 square feet.
When testing the Honeywell HPA 104 Hepa Air Purifier in our lab, we found that it took more time to remove particles from the air than other models. It also didn't have app connectivity and only worked in rooms up to 155 square feet, so we chose to feature other units on our list.
Though we liked the compact size and lightweight design of this portable air purifier, we found that it wasn't very effective. While many models reduces PM 2.5 levels from hazardous to good in under 10 minutes, the levels remained hazardous with the mini air purifier(though they decreased slightly).
While we loved the design and durability of the Levoit Core P350 Pet Care True HEPA Purifier, we weren't as impressed by its other features, and there was no app integration. Additionally, it was not as quick to remove dust, pet dander, airborne contaminants, and smoke.
Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson
Air purifiers are a great solution to improve the quality of the indoor air you breathe on a daily basis, but they aren't all equal when it comes to capturing pollutants.
When we tested air purifiers in our lab, we exposed them to smoke, dander, and pet hair, then checked the air quality over time to see how well each device captured and removed these pollutants from the space.
The best air purifiers will have a HEPA filter that removes 99.97% of pollen, dust, airborne contaminants, mold, and any particles that are 0.3 microns, according to the EPA. Since this is the most penetrating particle size, HEPA filters work even better on larger or smaller particles.
While you should make sure any air purifier you buy has a HEPA filter, as other types of filters may not work as well, additional filters can be useful when they are combined.
"Note that there are no widely used performance rating systems for portable air cleaners or filters designed to remove gasses," says Tim Carroll, EPA spokesperson. "Activated carbon filters can be effective [for removing gasses], provided that there is a large amount of material used in the filter."
You should plan to change your air purifier's filter every 6 to 12 months, though this can depend on how much pollution is in your air and how often you run the machine. Many air purifiers have a filter change light to indicate when to replace the filter, eliminating any guesswork.
Some air purifiers will require that you purchase replacement filters. Some, like our budget pick, the Kenmore 850e, have reusable filters that will need to be cleaned about as often as you would need to replace a filter on another model.
If possible, you should leave your air purifier on at all times, as this allows it to continuously remove particulate matter and more accurately detect how your air quality changes over time. Many devices have fan settings, timers, and sleep mode to customize how and when the device runs.
Naturally, keeping an air purifier running constantly will have an impact on your energy bill. Many air purifiers are Energy Star certified, meaning they cost less and are more efficient to run than models that are not certified.
Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock
Though your air purifier shouldn't be treated as the number one defense against illness, it can minimize your exposure to airborne illnesses, according to Mendez.
"Indoor air quality also matters for the transmission of airborne infections, such as influenza, measles, or COVID-19," Carroll says. "Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) affects everyone, especially the most vulnerable—children, the elderly, and people with health conditions like asthma and heart disease.
In addition to using an air purifier, Carroll recommends trying to address indoor air quality solutions at the source. This includes opening doors and windows to help remove contaminants like dust, airborne contaminants, or other irritants and using a bathroom or kitchen fan.
"Strategies must be adapted to specific pollutant problems. Ventilation is generally counterproductive for pollen, for example, or in the case of wildfires," Carroll says.
He adds, "Mold is best controlled by keeping building materials dry and keeping relative humidity below 60%. Surface cleaning (vacuuming or damp wiping) helps control accumulation of dander and other allergens in dust."
Erin Mayer is a commerce editor at Better Homes & Gardens. She is in charge of editing and updating all air purifier content and has extensively researched dozens of popular models on the market. She also specializes in vacuums and other home categories.
Samantha Jones is a former associate commerce editor at Better Homes & Gardens, writing and editing stories about the best patio furniture, pillows, robot vacuums and other home products worth buying. For this story, she spent weeks researching important features of air purifiers, then compared her findings with insights gathered from our lab tests in Des Moines, Iowa. She also interviewed Kenneth Mendez, president and chief executive officer of AAFA, and Tim Carroll, representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, for their expertise on this topic.
Next to all of the products on this list, you may have noticed our BHG Recommends seal of approval. Products that earn the seal have been put through rigorous testing to make sure they're worth a spot in your home. We buy most of the products we test ourselves, but occasionally we are provided samples by companies if buying isn't an option. In these cases, we use the same testing criteria we use to test the purchased products.
Looking for more products that have earned our BHG Recommends seal of approval? Check out our picks for everything from picnic blankets to humidifiers.
Morawska, Lidia et al."How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?" Environment International. 2020.
Dutch Weave Wire Mesh "Mold Course Chapter 2: Why and Where Mold Grows." United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2022.