Recommended With Reservations
Mila Air 3 Critter Cuddler for $297: Mila makes seven bespoke filters that are designed specifically for moms-to-be, allergies, pet owners, etc. Add Mila’s built-in sensor and easy-to-use app dashboard, along with its wooden-legged modern box design, and the Mila is an immediate favorite. The more I cover air purifiers, the more go big to go quiet comes to mind. Smaller models tend to run loud on their highest settings. The Mila was not as quiet as I hoped. At full blast, the Mila hit 70 decibels on my consumer decibel reader. And at 447 CADR m3/hr, the Mila would do nicely in the average American 200-square-foot bedroom. You could run the Mila at its highest setting for CDC’s recommended five air exchanges an hour in a 400-square-foot room, but that is a far noisier air purifier. I ran the Mila in my sons’ 200-square-foot bedroom, and its auto setting adjusted correctly to the room’s air quality. And while Mila gets its outdoor AQI (air quality index) from PurpleAir, it couldn’t seem to find my PurpleAir outdoor monitor.
Briiv 2 Pro Air Filter for £399: There are big claims in Briiv’s 2 Pro Air Filter’s small package. At 2.5 pounds, the Briiv 2 Pro Air Filter is the smallest air purifier I’ve tested, though it’s far from the cheapest. The company claims that one Briiv equals the oddly specific 3,043 houseplants, and that it uses AI-powered air quality sensors. I don’t usually review air purifiers that are not CARB-certified (California Air Resources Board), but I was intrigued by the Briiv. That said, the actual space the Briiv 2 Pro can clean is extremely small. I entered the dimensions of my dining room into the Briiv’s website room calculator, and at 20 feet long by 11 feet wide with 9-foot ceilings, the room calculator summed up that I would need two Briivs to effectively clean my dining room. The calculator seems to contradict Briiv’s claim that the Briiv 2 will effectively improve the air quality in a 794-square-foot living space in just 11 minutes. I currently have the Briiv 2 in my kitchen, and the first time its indicator light went red due to my cooking, I couldn’t get the fan to activate. I ended up turning it to full blast through Briiv’s somewhat clunky app. I played around with the app, and since then, my Briiv’s fan auto-adjusts to bad air without needing my help. It also looks very cool.
Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro
Puroair 240 HEPA Air Purifier for $159: At under 9 inches tall, the Puroair 240 is a tiny air purifier. And like so many of the smaller tabletop models, it’s also loud. It might be effective in a small space, say a room about 100 to 150 square feet. And like most of the air purifiers we review at WIRED, it’s California Air Resources Board Certified or CARB-certified. I found its filter size too small to effectively clean an average-sized room. And while I still review smaller air purifiers, there are larger and quieter models on the market for relatively the same cost that have greater air exchanges in a larger-sized room. The Puroair’s indicator light is adjusted by the 240’s internal sensor and is green for acceptable, yellow for moderate, and red for poor air quality. At times I found the thin sliver of the indicator’s light difficult to see. The 240 has auto or manual mode, a timer, child lock, and filter replacement light. It also has a three-stage filter, including the tightly woven HEPA 14, activated carbon, and prefilter. Lastly, the 240’s black plastic attracted a noticeable amount of fingerprints.
Others We Tested
Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro
Vewior HQSC-50 for $59: This purifier uses both HEPA and an activated carbon filter to capture PM2.5 and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). And depending on your needs, you can purchase one of Vewior’s custom filters: pet, extra VOCs, or smoke. At under 2.5 pounds, the Vewior has a surprising number of features along with its easy-to-use control panel: filter replacement light, timer (a feature that is lost on me), and 3 fan speeds, including an almost ineffective sleep mode. And while the Vewior has a built-in sensor for PM2.5 along with a easy to read LED display, it does not have an auto mode. So depending on the PM2.5 number, fan speeds need to be adjusted manually. While the desktop Vewior claims it can exchange the air fove times per hour in a 600 square foot room, I am highly skeptical of that claim. Vewior has a cylindrical internal filter, similar to Coway’s Airmega 50, but it's several inches shorter than the Airmega. I suspect it can only do five air exchanges an hour in a space smaller than 100 square feet. That said, the Vewior has an essential oil tray aromatherapy diffuser for those who want fragrance without the negative impacts of air fresheners that may contain cancer-causing chemicals like phthalates.
Coway Airmega 250 for $308: The Airmega 250 has a decently large footprint, but it’s rated to clean a 930-square-foot room twice an hour. That’s why I put it smack dab in the middle of the first floor of my home to clean the air in my kitchen and living room. Every time we cook, the Smart mode automatically detects unhealthy particles in the air and ratchets up the fan’s power. It also recently did this when I had someone patch some drywall in my mudroom. (This mode works with the help of a PM10 and PM2.5 particle sensor.) The fan at its highest setting isn’t that loud—I measured it at 60 decibels standing right in front of it. There’s a Sleep mode if you want it silent. You get the usual controls, like timer functionality and replacement indicators for the filter. Speaking of, the Airmega 250 uses a true HEPA filter that needs to be replaced once every six to 12 months. This, combined with the washable prefilter that you should be keeping clean every two weeks and the activated carbon filter, allows the air purifier to remove 99.999 percent of ultrafine particles down to 0.01 microns, or so Coway says. It’s super easy to remove these filters to clean and swap them out. The whole system is roughly 21 pounds, so you can move it around fairly easily. Coway offers a three-year warranty. The Coway AirMega 250S is the same model but with Wi-Fi functionality, so you can control it via an app and see more details. The last thing I need is another app, but maybe you don’t mind. —Julian Chokkattu
Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max for $550: Standing at just under 2 feet tall, the NeverChange Max can be placed as close as 3 inches from a wall, making it a good fit for crowded spaces. It also has an air exchange of nearly five times per hour in a 216-foot space. The Max has a HEPA filter to capture fine particles in the air along with an activated carbon filter to trap odors and gasses, as well as Shark's own “Odor Neutralizer Technology”—a small cartridge that's filled with an Ocean Breeze “fragrance pod.” It looked like solid perfume, but the scent reminded me more of an interstate service area than the beach. When I moved the Max next to my cats’ litter box and turned it on to the highest setting, it rid the room of any cat odor in less than a minute. It works. The Max touts that its owner can save $300 in filter costs in the first five years, as Shark's filter lasts 10 times longer than some other filters. Reading the fine print, this is only true when the Max is used in 300-square-foot room. I’ve written about bespoke air scores in air monitors, and I have the same issue here with Shark’s air quality grades. The Max isn’t smart-home compatible, nor does it have an app or remote control. And at nearly $300, the Max only has a two-year warranty. Still, because of its easy setup, low maintenance, ability to operate so close to the wall, and possibly useful odor neutralizer technology, it's perfect for a dorm room.
Shark NeverChange Air Purifier for $250: A lot of what was true for the Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max is true for the line’s smaller NeverChange. It has an air exchange of nearly five times per hour in a 130-square-foot space. And while I couldn’t find a seal from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, or AHAM, on the NeverChange, it meets the standards for measuring the clean air delivery rate, or CADR, for a room that size, like a bathroom or laundry room. And it’s in those rooms that cat owners often tuck away their odor-causing litter boxes. And like the Max, the NeverChange uses a HEPA filter to capture fine particles along with an activated carbon filter to trap odors and gases. I tested the matte black finish that didn’t collect pet hair and was impervious to fingerprints. The NeverChange also has “Odor Neutralizer Technology,” a small cartridge that is filled with a “fragrance pod.” Like the Max, NeverChange touts the same cost savings in only replacing the filter every five years. In the fine print, those savings are only true when the NeverChange is used in 135-square-foot room, again the size of a large bathroom or laundry room. Still, because of its small size, its ability to operate so close to the wall, and the possibility of useful odor-neutralizer technology, I would recommend it to all my fellow cat ladies and cat gentlemen.
Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro
Oransi AirMend True Carbon for $280: While other AirMend models are made for HEPA filters, the True Carbon doesn’t have a HEPA. Instead, it has a 3-pound activated carbon filter. There's a remote but no internal sensor, so raising the fan speed is a manual operation. It took a few tries using the remote, as there is a small lag time as the fan adjusts to different speeds. I appreciated the magnetic remote holder on the top of the purifier. It’s quiet on most settings and has an easy-to-miss minimalist design, blending into most spaces. The True Carbon is for those that need serious odor removal. I placed the True Carbon next to my two cats’ heavily trafficked litter box and within half hour it eliminated the smell. I knew it was working when my son couldn’t detect an odor. I could see the True Carbon being an essential appliance for smoker households, kitchens that retain smells, or cat owners. It’s surprisingly effective, but this is for VOCs and odors. The True Carbon is HEPA-less—it cannot capture fine particulates from the air. What you gain with a supersized activated carbon filter, you lose in standard air purifying ability such as removing PM2.5. That might be fine for your needs. Oransi also makes a wall mount and handy travel bag sold separately.
PurOxygen P500i for $170: This machine cleans the air of a smaller-than-average-sized room, and its easy-to-read display, app compatibility, side handles, and unique all-in-one filter make it easy to like. I usually stay away from small-room air purifiers due to their loud noise and less-than-ideal air-cleaning power. And while at its highest setting, the P500i reaches up to 50 decibels, it operates quietly at lower speeds and can effectively clean the air in a home office or a room smaller than 200 square feet. The purOxygen utilizes a combined filter that has a prefilter that can be un-velcroed and hand washed, an activated carbon, a HEPA 13, along with a cold catalyst filter. A cold catalyst, also known as the low temperature catalyst filtration, can cause a chemical reaction that can break down gases, like VOCs, and convert them to less harmful substances. And while the P5001 is California Air Resources Board or CARB-vertified as a mechanical air purifier, the EPA does not recommend catalysts in air purifiers due to their limited effectiveness.
Coway Airmega IconS for $475: Coway continues to make some of the prettier air purifiers, as you might have noticed in this guide, and that continues with the Airmega IconS. It looks like an end table, and so I keep it right next to my couch. The star of the show is the Qi wireless charging pad, so when I sit down, I just plop my phone right on the purifier to let it recharge. Any phone with wireless charging support should work, though you may need to take your phone case off. Like all Coway purifiers, it’s powerful—it cleans the air in spaces up to 649 square feet—easy to control, and simple to clean. This version is Wi-Fi enabled and voice-controlled. —Medea Giordano