Best Air Purifiers of 2023 - Consumer Reports

How We Pick the Best Air Purifiers
Our engineers find that many of the models we run in our labs can ace our tests at high speed with no problem. It's often how much debris these machines can capture when not on full blast that's a challenge. The best air purifiers in our ratings are capable of clearing the air even on low settings—and they do it without making a racket. What's more, they feature an intuitive design, so you don't need a PhD in particle physics to operate them. And it's a breeze to move them from room to room, maneuver the controls, and change filters. In March 2023 we also began folding a brand's owner satisfaction and reliability ratings into a model's Overall Score. These ratings are based on Consumer Reports' 2022 Summer Survey, in which members reported on 8,377 air purifiers purchased between 2012 and 2022.

How We Test Air Purifiers
To test air purifiers, we inject smoke and dust particles into a sealed chamber to assess how well each model removes particles between 0.1 and 1 micron. (Human hair has a diameter of roughly 100 microns.) Using a particle counter, we measure the change in particle concentration as the air purifier runs for 15 minutes at the highest speed and then at a lower speed. And because these machines are designed to run day and night, we measure noise levels, in decibels, at every speed, and calculate annual operating costs for filter replacements and energy use to run the machine 24 hours a day.

We recently tested 13 new models (including those from Air Doctor, Blueair, and Levoit) in our in-house lab. Five of the models scored so well on our tests that they landed on the CR Recommended list. But none of them did well enough to shake up our "Best of the Year" list, although two came very close.

We also recently tested a popular social media hack—a DIY air purifier—in the lab. (There are a few things you should know before trying it at home.)