HomeBuying Guide12 Best Air Purifiers (2023): HEPA, Portable, and Quiet

12 Best Air Purifiers (2023): HEPA, Portable, and Quiet

June 13, 2023

12 Best Air Purifiers (2023): HEPA, Portable, and Quiet

  • Photograph: Coway

    Best for Small Rooms

    Coway Airmega 200M

    For sheer simplicity and affordability, the Airmega 200M will do the job for most people's lives, houses, and budgets. The compact, attractive device easily fits into a corner of my bedroom and is effective for spaces up to 361 square feet. It saves energy with an included air quality monitor that turns the machine off when no pollution is detected and automatically increases the fan speed if it detects particles. When my dog plopped down in her bed, or when I cooked bacon with the bedroom door open, the Airmega 200M roared to life. You'll probably want to turn off the AQ monitor's bright light at night, though. —Adrienne So

    ★ Alternative: If you have an even smaller space (under 250 square feet), then get the attractive Coway Airmega 150 ($166). It's ultra-quiet, and the color-coded air monitor light and touch controls are intuitive. There's also a light that indicates when it's time to change the deodorization or HEPA filter. The third prefilter is washable. It's pricey for its size but is nicer looking and comes in a variety of colors (including pink!).

    The Airmega 200M is ideal for spaces up to 361 square feet; the AirMega 150 is for spaces up to 250 square feet.

    $197 at Walmart
    $230 at Coway

  • Photograph: Amazon

    Best for Living Rooms

    Coway Airmega 250

    Coway's Airmega 250 is the perfect size for a typical living room or den. It captures 99.999 percent of particulates down to 0.1 microns, which makes it capable of tackling wildfire smoke and big-city pollution. The washable prefilter keeps the replaceable HEPA filter lasting longer too. And, hey, it looks like the air purifier version of a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim, but in an endearingly hip way; retro without trying to look retro. —Matt Jancer

    ★ Alternative: The Airmega 250S ($373) is the smart version of the standard Airmega 250. You can conveniently view air status and control it with your phone via an app. If you find them both at similar prices, it might be worth the small upgrade.

    The Airmega 250 and 250S are both ideal for spaces up to 930 square feet

    $339 at Amazon
    $399 at Coway

  • Photograph: Honeywell

    An Affordable Big-Room Air Purifier

    Honeywell HEPA InSight HPA5300B

    This Honeywell is rated for rooms up to 500 square feet, which is on par with the other large-room air purifiers we tested. It's also lightweight and easy to pick up and move around with its built-in handle. Inside, it packs two HEPA-grade filters and an activated carbon prefilter for trapping volatile organic compounds such as cooking odors. When air quality dipped inside my apartment, the InSight quickly ramped up its fan and sucked up the odors or invisible particulates. For under $200, you get a strong-performing purifier with an automatic set-it-and-forget-it mode, plus you can tote it from room to room. —Matt Jancer

    Ideal for spaces up to 500 square feet

    $160 at Target
    $160 at Best Buy

  • Photograph: Levoit

    A Great Smart Purifier

    Levoit Core 300S

    The Levoit 300S cycles the air five times per hour in spaces up to 219 square feet, so it's great for bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens. It's marketed as a tabletop air purifier, but at almost 9 inches across, it's on the larger side, so I keep it on my living room floor. It's easy to carry around from room to room, though. It also packs a prefilter, an activated carbon filter, and an H13 True HEPA Filter that captures 99.99 percent of bacteria and mold. On top are clearly-labeled touch controls and an indicator light that changes color depending on the air quality.

    Using the VeSync companion app, you can check the air quality indoors and tinker with settings. When I was cooking salmon in my tiny studio (smoke and odor filling up the space), the app listed the air quality at 209 and labeled it as “bad.” I switched the fan to high and the quality was back down to 74 (“good”) within 15 minutes. You can also set it to automatic, which will adjust the fan speed accordingly depending on the quality. It's been super useful amid the spread of smoke in New York City due to the Canadian wildfires. I've been constantly monitoring the air quality inside my apartment via the app, which gave me some peace of mind as we waited for the smoke to dissipate. —Brenda Stolyar

    ★ Alternative: We're also fans of the Bissell 320 Max ($340). Like the Levoit 300S, it has a prefilter, an activated carbon filter, and an H13 HEPA filter. And it works with the Bissell app for monitoring. Both the digital display and app will tell you what the air quality status is too. But with the ability to cycle air 4.8 times per hour in a 366-square-foot room, it covers more surface area than Levoit's. It's also more aesthetically pleasing, with wooden feet and a place to wrap any extra cord.

    The Levoit 300S is ideal for spaces up to 219 square feet; the Bissell 320 Max is ideal for spaces up to 366 square feet.

    $150 at Amazon

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