The Best Air Purifier - The New York Times

Our pick

Coway AP-1512HH Mighty

Perfect for bedrooms, playrooms, and living rooms, the Mighty is one of the best-performing, most durable, and most economical purifiers we've tested.

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Within 30 minutes, the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty reduced heavy smoke pollution in a 135-square-foot, 1,215-cubic-foot New York office by as much as 99.6%. In past tests, it performed equally well in a 200-square-foot, 1,600-cubic-foot New York City bedroom. And when we tested it during ongoing smoke conditions in a vast Los Angeles conference room of nearly 10,000 cubic feet—more than twice as large as the Mighty's specs would seemingly allow—it cut particulate pollution by almost 70% in an hour. It's a great value, at an up-front price often lower than $200 (and about $470 over five years, adding in electricity and replacement filters). The Mighty's compact form, quiet operation, and ability to shut off its display lights make it especially well suited to bedrooms. In long-term use, we've repeatedly confirmed that it performs like new even with filters used continuously for a year or longer.

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Runner-up

Coway Airmega 200M

The 200M and the Mighty are virtually identical in performance, but the 200M has an appearance that you may prefer, and it's a good alternative if you find it at a lower price.

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*At the time of publishing, the price was $200.

The Coway Airmega 200M is made by the same company as the AP-1512HH Mighty and is virtually identical to that model in every important respect, namely the controls, noise, and performance. Their filters and even their faceplates are interchangeable. And like the Mighty, the Airmega 200M has a display-shutoff feature that lets you dim its lights, something we value highly for bedroom use. The Airmega 200M has a square grille rather than a round one—but that's the only major physical difference. If you prefer the Airmega 200M's looks or if you find it at a better price, we recommend it just as highly.

Also great

Winix 5500-2

The Winix 5500-2 is an exceptional performer, but its stark look, lack of a display shutoff, and slightly higher electrical use are (minor) shortcomings.

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The Winix 5500-2 is an exceptional performer on particulates, capturing 99.9% of the smoke in our test room in just 30 minutes on high and 97.2% on its medium-high setting, where it emits an easy-to-live-with 40 decibels. In both cases, that's a bit better than the results we got from the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty, though in practice the differences are insignificant: Both machines, when used continuously as they are in most homes, will drop particulates to near zero in under an hour—and keep them there. We still prefer the Mighty for its lower energy consumption, smaller visual footprint, display-shutoff feature, and more attractive look, but it's a close race.

Also great

Winix AM90

Essentially a 5500-2 in a sleeker housing, the AM90 also shares that model's few shortcomings, namely no display shutoff and higher energy consumption.

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*At the time of publishing, the price was $220.

Another Winix, the AM90, uses the same HEPA filter as the 5500-2 and delivered virtually identical performance in our testing. It has a more contemporary design that many people are likely to find more attractive (if you prefer white—the only color option). It adds Wi-Fi capability and a rudimentary app, and it typically costs a few dollars more than the 5500-2. The almost identical Winix AM80 lacks the AM90's Wi-Fi capability and comes only in dark gray.

Also great

Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto

Delivering exceptional performance in an attractive form, the Blue Pure 311 Auto suffers only from a lack of a display shutoff and higher running costs.

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The Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto is similar in capabilities to the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty and the two Winix models. It reduced smoke levels by 99.9% in 30 minutes on high and by 94.2% on medium. Its auto function, which Blueair introduced to the Blue Pure lineup in late 2020, monitors your room's air quality and adjusts the fan speed accordingly. And it has other features we like, including notably quiet performance, terrific energy efficiency, and a control panel that automatically dims after you adjust the settings. This model is also particularly attractive, with a tweedlike, washable cover that's available in several muted colors (it arrives in gray; you can purchase the other colors separately). Two minor knocks against it: The air-quality indicator lamp, a bright blue LED, shuts off only when the unit is on its slowest setting, and Blueair recommends replacing the filters every six months, pushing annual costs to $80 (versus about $50 for the Coway and Winix models).

Also great

Levoit Core 400S

As effective as our top pick, the Coway Mighty, but usually a bit more expensive to run, the Levoit Core 400S adds voice control via an app, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

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*At the time of publishing, the price was $190.

Levoit's Core 400S offered solid performance in our testing, removing 99.1% of smoke particles in 30 minutes on high and 96.3% on its third of four speeds—the highest at which it produces less than 50 decibels of noise. If you want a basic smart air purifier, it's an attractive option, as it connects with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control, in addition to having its own app. But it's typically more expensive than our top pick, the Coway Mighty, up front.

Upgrade pick

Blueair Blue Pure 211+

The Blue Pure 211+ aced our tests, and its ability to move extremely high volumes of air makes it our pick for large spaces.

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*At the time of publishing, the price was $300.

The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ is our choice among air purifiers for large spaces of up to 650 square feet, especially when the space involves open floor plans or high ceilings. With the ability to filter more air per hour than our top pick, the Coway Mighty, it works faster to achieve and maintain low particulate levels in such challenging rooms. The up-front price and running costs of the Blue Pure 211+ are much higher than those of the Mighty (totaling about $1,150 over five years), but that's comparable to the costs of most other large-space purifiers we've looked at. It was an exceptional performer in our testing, and it's quiet and attractive to boot. All that said, unless you really need to clean a particularly large space, the quieter, smaller, and more affordable Coway Mighty is usually a better option.

Budget pick

Levoit Core 300

In a small bedroom, dorm room, or office, the compact and affordable Levoit Core 300 performs extremely well and looks great.

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If you need to clean the air in a space of around 200 square feet, the Levoit Core 300 is a solid and inexpensive purifier. It was impressive in our tests, reducing particulates by more than 97% on its high setting in 30 minutes in a 135-square-foot New York City office. On medium, it reduced them by more than 92%. It's attractive and compact, measuring just 14½ inches tall and 8½ inches in diameter, and its display-shutoff feature means it won't interrupt sleep with bright lights. At around $100 to purchase, it's also the cheapest up front of all our picks. But it's not terribly energy efficient: Running it 24/7 on medium consumes about $300 of electricity over five years, and seven new filters in that period cost $180, making this model slightly more expensive than the Coway Mighty over the long term. And it doesn't keep pace with the Mighty or the Blue Pure 211+ in larger rooms.

In a new section, we cover a few other purifiers that fit specific needs, including a purifier for handling VOCs, a super-energy-efficient small-space purifier, and a truly smart air purifier. We also discuss the much-hyped IKEA Förnuftig.

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