Best air purifiers in 2024 tested and rated - Tom's Guide
If you want clean air at home, free from pollution and pollen, then one of the best air purifiers is what you need. When running, these devices will filter airborne contaminants from your air, venting clean air back into the room. That means as well as cleaning your air, an air purifier can help deodorize the space too, but how can you tell if you're buying the right model? That's where we can help you out. We've tested a range of air purifiers to find the best.
To assess the performance, we used a certified testing method (AHAM AC-1) to calculate the CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) for each model. This shows us the rate these machines can filter the air in a measured space, with separate readings across dust, smoke and pollen, revealing the efficiency and the ideal room size for each. We checked the relevant certification to confirm these readings, and if it wasn't provided, we sent the models off to the lab ourselves, to ensure a fair test. Following this, we considered all aspects of the design, including noise, energy, ease of use (including initial set up and any corresponding app) and filter accessibility.
We compiled our results to create the following list, with recommendations for different circumstances. Whether you want a compact design to suit a kid's room, or one which will handle a large space, these are the best air purifiers.
The quick list
Already know what type of air purifier you're looking for? Here's a quick list of our winners for every category, so you can jump right into the reviews. This can save you some time if you already know that you need a compact design, or one which will offer smart capabilities. If you're not sure what you want, scroll on to see our list in full.
The best air purifier overall
The best air purifier overall in our tests, we recommend this model above all others because it gets the job done quickly and efficiently, saves energy and works well in large spaces.
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The best value for a large room
The perfect option if you're shopping on a budget, but need an air purifier which can handle a large space. While it's not exactly pretty, it will get the job done.
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The best smart air purifier
The best air purifier for anyone who wants smart connectivity and remote control via an app. There's a useful LCD screen built into the device itself.
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Most energy-efficient air purifier
Small and compact in stature, this air purifier comes with a useful eco setting which will keep energy costs low. It provides a decent clean air delivery rate (CADR) as well.
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The best air purifier for technology buffs
This air purifier stands out for featuring "Plasmawave" technology. It creates Hydroxyls to tackle any unwelcome airborne particles. Plus, it comes with a useful remote control to change settings from afar.
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The best value for small spaces
This compact air purifier is ideal for rooms up to 190 sq ft. It's simple to set up and great value for money considering how efficiently it cleans the air.
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The full list: Best air purifiers
✅ You want a strong air purifier: This air purifier achieved an average CADR of 360 across dust, smoke and pollen — the highest rating of those I tested. By comparison, the Dyson Pure Cool TP01 reached an average of 71. This means the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ can handle rooms up to 550 sq ft.
✅ You want ease of use: The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto comes with enough features to suit everyday operation, including three fan speeds, an auto mode and a night mode. It's very straightforward to operate and not overly-complicated in its design.
✅ You want to customize your air purifier: The skirt on the lower half of this air purifier comes in several colors, including pink, blue, green and gray, so you can customize it to suit your décor or personality.
❌ You're tight for space: This air purifier measures 20 x 13 x 13 inches and weighs 12.5 pounds, so it's a hefty design which will take up some room. It will be more obvious to the eye at this size as well.
❌ You want a strong night mode: Night mode effectively dims the lights on the unit and slows the fan down to reduce noise, but I found it to be on the weak side, so you might end up running the standard settings to get a satisfactory performance.
❌ You're conscious of noise: While the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto runs quietly at its lowest setting, it's among the noisiest at its fastest setting. It's not particularly noisy on the whole, but this is something to be aware of.
The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto will suit most households. It's a substantial air purifier, and offers first-rate air purification capabilities alongside a premium and simple-to-operate design. There's enough settings to cover the basics, it's attractive, and can be customized to your liking.
What you need to know: Throughout these tests, one cube-shaped air purifier stood out above the rest. The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto dominated the competition. This medium-sized air purifier will suit rooms up to 550 sq ft. It features an upright cuboid design, with a plastic upper section and a skirt fitted around the base, which acts as a pre-filter and comes in several colors. A HEPASilent filter is included, which uses both a carbon and particle layer. For me, it looked like a futuristic robot, which has a quality appearance compared to the competition. There are three fan speeds on offer as well as an auto function, plus a night mode is included for dimming the lights.
Design: This model provides enough settings to cover basic necessities. The three fan speeds offer a decent range, and the auto function means it's able to self-adjust the speed to suit the quality of the air. As a consequence, this air purifier will only use as much energy as required. The night mode is a useful function, but I did find the power more lackluster than I would have expected on this setting.
Performance: This air purifier scored best for its CADR; achieving 353, 347, and 380 respectively for smoke, dust and pollen. That means it will make quick work of all sizes of airborne particles. It also means it can handle a decent room size of 550 sq ft — making it more than adequate for a large bedroom or living room. It scored average marks for noise produced, as it was fairly quiet on its lowest setting (35.6db), but on the noisier end of the spectrum at its loudest (60.8db). It was reasonable in terms of electricity consumption as well, using only 0.159 kWh over the course of 24 hours on auto mode. By comparison, the Levoit Core 300 required 0.7 kWh over the same period.
Ease of use: This air purifier is very easy to use with one button to cycle through every setting — although the air quality indicator light is less than obvious with a blue light meaning good, and red meaning bad, and orange somewhere in between. Changing the filters couldn't be more simple either, just remove the top of the device via the buttons on each side. Changing the filter is one of the 7 ways to get more out of your air purifier.
Value for money: At around $300, this air purifier isn't the cheapest, but it's also not the most expensive. The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH by comparison is $200, while the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i will set you back over $450. Replacement filters are $70 though, which is pricey.
Read the full review: Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | At $300, this air purifier is average | ★★★☆☆ |
| Design | Offers the basics, but lacks extra features | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Top of the class | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | Straightforward and user friendly | ★★★★★ |
The best value for a large room
✅ You need to cover a large space: This air purifier will suit rooms of up to 465 sq ft, which is pretty sizable. And thanks to its CADR scores of 300, 320 and 300 for dust, smoke and pollen respectively, it will filter your air both quickly and effectively.
✅ You want good value for money: Considering its price of $150 and the capacity of 465 sq ft, this air purifier is excellent value for money. Plus the replacement filters only cost around $40, which is good value as well.
✅ You want something easy to use: The touch-based control panel on top of this air purifier is very easy and intuitive to operate. Plus there's a quick reference guide included to help get you started.
❌ You want an auto mode: This air purifier lacks an auto mode, which means it will stick to whatever fan speed you set it to, rather than adjusting based on the quality of the air. That means you could be using more or less power than is actually necessary.
❌ You want to save on energy: The Honeywell HPA300 consumed a lot of energy during my tests — using 1.002 kWh over 24 hours on the standard setting. This was the highest energy reading I'd seen in these tests, and translates to over $40 a year.
❌ You like peace and quiet: This air purifier is quite a noisy operator, producing some of the loudest decibel readings in my tests on both the lowest and highest settings (41 and 59.6dB).
The Honeywell HPA300 might not be the prettiest to look at, but it's straightforward to operate and will get the job done. Just keep in mind there's no auto mode, and it's not ideal in terms of noise or energy consumption.
What you need to know
The Honeywell HPA300 is a bulky beast of a device that offers strong performance considering its reasonable price. It's a large oval air purifier with slats all around, measuring 22.3 x 20.0 x 10.8 inches. It's pretty heavy at 17 pounds, and I found the exposed lip on the base was sharp enough to scratch your legs as you move it. So this is the kind of air purifier you won't want to move around once you set it down. It suits rooms up to 465 square feet, making it ideal for larger spaces.
Design: Its settings are admittedly limited, offering four different fan speeds (including a turbo mode), as well as a timer for two, four or eight hours. There's also the option to dim the device for night time operation. Indicators are included to check the three HEPA filters and activated carbon pre-filter within. However, there's no auto mode, which is a shame, so you'll have to manually change the fan speeds.
Performance: A truly powerful device, the HPA300 scored second to the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ auto on the CADR test. With an average CADR score of 300, 320 and 300, it performed slightly better on dust versus pollen and smoke and would suit rooms of up to 465 sq ft. However, that performance comes at a price, because it consumed more energy than any other air purifier I tested, at 1.002 kWh over 24 hours, and it was on the noisier end of the spectrum, producing 59.6 dB on its loudest setting. The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i produced just 48dB on its highest fan speed by comparison.
Ease of use: Air purifiers don't get much easier to use, with a touch-based control panel and a quick reference guide to remind you of the basics. However, setting up this air purifier at first and replacing the HEPA filters when required is admittedly fiddly. I found fitting the front cover back into place to be awkward.
Value for money: Ultimately, at $150, this air purifier is a good value for the money up front, and the replacement filters are also a good price at $40. However, it's worth keeping the cost of energy in mind to run this machine to get that amazing performance. You could end up paying back for it over time with regular use.
Read the full review: Honeywell HPA300
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Great price overall, but energy use is high | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Simple and adequate, but no auto mode | ★★★☆☆ |
| Performance | Strong CADR, but poor energy and noise ratings | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | User friendly and intuitive | ★★★★☆ |
The best smart air purifier
✅ You want a good performer: This air purifier scored 270, 275, 280 for its CADR with smoke dust and pollen respectfully. This puts it in the higher end of the spectrum for those I tested.
✅ You want more data and features: This air purifier provides plenty of data on its LCD screen, including the local temperature, filter lifetime remaining, and the relative humidity of the room. Plus, it offers smart connectivity so you can control it remotely.
✅ You want a quiet operator: The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i scored well for noise produced, reaching only 35.3 dB on its lowest setting and 48dB on its highest. The night mode helps reduce noise and light in the dark as well.
❌ You have a budget: This is one of the more expensive air purifiers I've tested, with an MSRP of over $750, although it can often be found on sale at around $500. Replacement filters will set you back $90 as well.
❌ You care about energy consumption: While it's not as bad as others I tested, the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i still consumed 0.241 kWh over 24 hours, which is more than average. So all that extra data does take its toll.
❌ You want a portable air purifier: At 27.6 pounds, you're not going to want to move this air purifier around often. While it does come with a pair of wheels to help with the task, it's still cumbersome to shift to a new location.
Blueair's HealthProtect 7470i has all the technological bells and whistles anyone could ever want, including smart connectivity and extensive data on the air quality. It also provides an impressive performance when it comes to air purification, and is quiet in use, making it ideal for those who need to concentrate. However, for all of this it's quite an expensive and heavy device.
What you need to know
The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i offers a very modern and sleek design, with a white casing measuring 27.2 x 11.8 x 11.8 inches. In my opinion, it looks like it's straight out of a science fiction film. It's the heaviest air purifier I've tested, weighing 27.6 pounds — so it's not the one for you if you're after something portable, despite the built-in wheels to help with this. I found it overwhelming and cumbersome to move around. It comes with an abundance of features, including smart connectivity, which allows you to monitor and control it via your phone, and would suit rooms of up to 418 sq ft.
Design: This air purifier comes with three default fan speeds, although the app will give you access to more, as well as an auto and night mode. It's got an LCD screen on top of the device that gives you up-to-date information on what it's sensing including the local temperature, filter lifetime remaining, and the relative humidity of the room. Plus, with two lights on the front — one representing gas pollutants and the other for larger particles — this air purifier has the clearest indicator of air quality I've seen and it's quite satisfying to watch it change in real time. It comes with a unique HEPASilent Ultrafilter as well as a "GermShield" mode that claims to activate when it's in a "germ-prone environment".
Performance: With a CADR of 270, 275 and 280 across smoke, dust and pollen, this air purifier is a strong performer which will suit rooms of up to 418 sq ft. It would perhaps suit those who struggle with pollen allergies the most due to its excelled perform...
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