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APPLIANCES › SMALL HOME APPLIANCES

The Best Air Purifier

By Tim Heffernan
Updated March 7, 2023

Photo: Connie Park

FYI

We have tested and reviewed the Molekule Air Pro

and Air Mini+, and will be reviewing several other
purifiers soon.

March 2023

Air purifiers are fundamentally simple

machines—little more than a fan and a
filter—but a great one can improve your
life by reducing airborne allergens such
as pollen and mold spores and capturing
bacteria, viruses, and smoke from
wildfires and other sources. To qualify as
great, however, an air purifier doesn’t just
need to work well; it also needs to be
robustly engineered and thoughtfully
designed. To us, that means the air
purifier should be powerful enough to
clean the air in a large living room or
playroom, quiet and dark enough for you
to sleep near the machine in a bedroom,
and inexpensive enough that it’s
reasonable to have several units spread
throughout your home. After nine years,
during which we’ve tested more than 50
different air purifiers, we believe that the
exceptional Coway Airmega AP-1512HH
Mighty is the best among them—as we
have since 2015. That said, as strong as
the Mighty is, its performance is not as
singular as it once was, and in recent
years many other air purifiers have
closely approached our high standards. If
you prefer the looks, cost, or other
features of our also-great picks, know
that they match this Coway model in
purifying performance.

Things to know

Purifiers for all

We have picks for living rooms, bedrooms,
and large spaces—and for special cases
such as VOC removal.

How we pick and test

We seek the sweet spot of performance and
price when choosing purifiers to test. And we
run them through the wringer.

Good for wildfire smoke and viruses?

Yes, HEPA purifiers capture both smoke
particles and airborne viruses very
effectively, but most do not meaningfully
reduce combustion gases.

Big-brand takedowns
Has Molekule been showing up in your social
media feeds? Same here—but don’t believe
the hype. Ditto for IKEA’s eye-catching but
weak Förnuftig.

Our pick

Coway Airmega AP-1512HH

Mighty
Effective, efficient, and
inexpensive
Perfect for bedrooms, playrooms, and living
rooms, the AP-1512HH is one of the best
performing, most durable, and most economical
purifiers we’ve tested.

$199* from Amazon

(white)

$165 from Amazon

(black)

$199 from Walmart

(white)

$179 from Walmart

(black)

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

Within 30 minutes, the Coway Airmega 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 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 AP-1512HH’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 its energy efficiency and
only-once-a-year filter replacement keep its
running costs lower than those of many
competitors. The AP-1512HH’s compact form,
quiet operation, and ability to shut off its display
lights make it especially well suited to bedrooms.
During our long-term use, we’ve repeatedly
confirmed that it performs like new even with
filters used continuously for a year or longer.

Runner-up

Coway Airmega 200M

Different look, same great
performance
The 200M and the AP-1512HH are virtually
identical in performance, but the 200M has an
appearance that you may prefer, and it’s a great
alternative if you find it at a lower price.

$197* from Walmart

(white)

Price drop

$197 from Walmart

(black)

price drop

*At the time of publishing, the price was $175.

The Coway Airmega 200M is made by the same

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

Also great

Winix 5500-2
Exceptional performance, brutalist
design
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.

$145* from Amazon

$145 from Walmart

$176 from Home Depot

*At the time of publishing, the price was $149.

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. That’s
actually marginally better (as in, 0.3% better)
than the results we got from the Coway Airmega
AP-1512HH Mighty, but in practice the difference
is insignificant: Both machines, when used
continuously as they are in most homes, drop
particulates to near zero in under an hour and
keep them there. We still prefer the AP-1512HH
for its lower energy consumption, smaller visual
footprint, and manual display-shutoff feature—
the Winix’s display shuts off only when it’s on its
lowest fan speed, so if you want a dark bedroom,
you have to give up a lot of air filtration—but it’s
a close race. The similar 5300-2 and C535
(which is exclusive to the Winix store and
Walmart) lack a few of the 5500-2’s features but
perform just as well and may be available at
lower prices.

Also great

Winix AM90
Exceptional performance, modern
style
Essentially a 5500-2 in a sleeker housing, the
AM90 also shares that model’s few shortcomings,
namely higher energy consumption and the
absence of a display shutoff.

$223* from Amazon

$240 from Walmart

*At the time of publishing, the price was $225.

Another Winix air purifier, the Winix 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, which is the only color option). It
adds Wi-Fi capability and a rudimentary app,
and it typically costs a bit 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

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

$220* from Amazon

$250 from Lowe's

$250 from Best Buy

*At the time of publishing, the price was $250.

The Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto is similar in

capabilities to the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH
Mighty and the two Winix models, as 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 lowest setting, and Blueair recommends
replacing the filters every six months, pushing
yearly replacement costs above those of the
Coway and Winix machines.

Also great

Levoit Core 400S

Great performance plus voice
control
As effective as our top pick, the Coway AP-
1512HH, but usually a bit more expensive to run,
the Levoit Core 400S adds voice control via an
app, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant.

$220 from Amazon

$189 from Walmart

$290 from Home Depot

The Levoit 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 Airmega
AP-1512HH Mighty.

Upgrade pick

Blueair Blue Pure 211+

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

$298* from Amazon

$298 from Walmart

$300 from Best Buy

*At the time of publishing, the price was $317.

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 Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty, it works
faster to achieve and maintain low particulate
levels in such challenging rooms. The combined
up-front price and running costs of the Blue Pure
211+ are much higher than those of the AP-
1512HH (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
AP-1512HH is usually a better option.

Budget pick

Levoit Core 300

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

$100 from Home Depot

$99 from Amazon

$90 from Walmart

If you need to clean the air in a space of around

200 square feet or less, the Levoit Core 300
(sometimes listed as the Levoit VortexAir) 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 office. On medium, it
reduced them by more than 92%. It’s attractive
and compact, measuring just 14.5 inches tall and
8.5 inches in diameter, and thanks to its display-
shutoff feature, it won’t interrupt sleep with
bright lights. 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
Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty over the long term.
And it doesn’t keep pace with the AP-1512HH 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, an especially energy-efficient
small-space purifier, and a truly smart air
purifier. We also discuss the much-hyped IKEA
Förnuftig in its own section.

Everything we recommend

Our pick Runner-up

Coway Airmega Coway Airmega

AP-1512HH 200M
Mighty Different look,
Effective, same great
efficient, and performance
inexpensive $197* from
$199* from Amazon Walmart
(white) (white)
Price drop
$165 from Amazon
(black) $197 from Walmart
(black)
$199 from Walmart
price drop
(white)
*At the time of
$179 from Walmart publishing, the price was
$175.
(black)
*At the time of
publishing, the price was
$190.

The research

Why you should trust us

Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan has been at

Wirecutter since 2015 and has overseen this guide
since then. Since 2017, he has conducted extensive
real-world testing of air purifiers in his New York
apartment and in Wirecutter’s New York and Los
Angeles offices. Tim has also lived with most of
our picks, running them 24/7 for months—
sometimes years—on end in his apartment. That
experience has helped him gather objective data
on their long-term purifying performance and any
mechanical degradation. It has also helped him
make informed judgments on factors such as ease
of maintenance and operation, the presence or
lack of distracting noises or lights, and simple
visual impact—the so-called little things that, if
done wrong, make what should be a nearly set-it-
and-forget-it appliance into a daily annoyance.

John Holecek, who co-wrote and performed

testing for previous versions of this guide, holds a
master’s degree in earth science, with a focus on
climate, aerosols, and analytical chemistry. He has
conducted laboratory tests for Wirecutter’s air
purifier reviews since 2014. Since 1999, he has
studied particulate air pollution for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and in
the private sector.

What can an air purifier do for

you?

HEPA air purifiers do one thing and do it very

well: remove fine particles from the air. They
rapidly filter out the most common airborne
allergens, including dust and pollen; mold, mildew,
and fungal spores; pet dander; dust mites and
their excrement; soot from automobiles; and
tobacco, marijuana, and wildfire smoke. HEPA
purifiers also capture airborne pathogens,
including bacteria and most if not all viruses. For a
detailed discussion of how air purifiers handle the
coronavirus, see the following section.

Air purifier owners offer extensive, almost

universal testimony that the machines improve
their sleep, reduce their allergies, or lessen their
asthma symptoms, and recent studies have begun
investigating an association between particulate
pollution and degenerative brain disorders,
including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s
disease. Air pollution from US combustion
emissions alone results in 200,000 premature
deaths a year, according to a 2013 MIT study.

However, in the US air purifiers cannot be

marketed as medical devices. That’s because it is
exceptionally difficult to disentangle the known
air-quality impacts listed above from other
environmental and genetic factors that influence
health.

HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters don’t

capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs, or
more broadly, odors and fumes). To reduce them
you need significant amounts of an adsorbent
(usually activated carbon, which chemically binds