The Best Air Purifiers
Clean indoor air is vitally important for your health. Inhaling fine particles can cause shortness of breath, respiratory irritation and worsen health conditions like asthma, chronic allergies, and heart disease. Yet, a high-quality air purifier can remove almost all smoke particles and airborne allergens such as pollen, bacteria, mold spores, and even viruses.
We've tested more than 40 of the best air purifiers available over the last 7 years, extensively using them in our homes and rigorously testing them in the lab using precision air particulate measuring devices.
While it may seem like all air purifiers are similar, our tests prove that there are large differences in their effectiveness at cleaning indoor air. In this review, we put the 11 top room air purifiers to the test, to find out how they really perform. Our tests reveal performance differences that matter in real-world situations, such as speed of removal, as well as the percentage of respiratory irritants removed. Those performance differences matter in situations where smoke, pollen, viruses, or pollutants may be continually introduced to your home and need to be scrubbed from the air.
No air purifier impressed us more than the Coway Airmega 1512HH. It earned our Editors' Choice award due to its impressive air cleaning performance and quiet, simple operation. It will run 24/7 continuously scrubbing your indoor air, and yet it is quiet enough that you can easily sleep with it running in your bedroom. It also offers great bang for your buck, with a compelling combination of low upfront cost and low operating cost. If you want the absolute best air cleaning performance or have a bigger space, the Alen BreatheSmart 45i is the one to get (but it's expensive).
We've put a wide range of the best home appliances to the test in a similarly controlled test environment. We test air conditioners and top-rated fans. We also take detailed particulate measurements of vacuum cleaners for people with allergies or who want the cleanest air after cleaning.
Editor's Note: Our air purifier review was updated on October 25th, 2024, incorporating a sophisticated lab-testing protocol with high-precision air particulate measurement device. Every product in the review was put through this new testing protocol, to ensure apples to apples performance comparison.