Cleaning the air of your home is every bit as important as cleaning the floors, furnishings, and other fixtures. A great air purifier can do that job for you, vastly improving the quality of the air in your home—and, consequently, your health—by killing airborne germs and bacteria and removing particles like dust, smoke, pollen, and other allergens. These machines are relatively low-cost, powerful enough to clean the air in large areas, quiet enough to keep in a bedroom, and so beneficial to your health that there’s really no good reason not to have one.
We reviewed dozens of air purifiers to identify the best of the best. We examined a range of factors, including efficiency, size, noise, filter type, appearance, coverage area, convenience, cost, and average customer reviews. All of these top-rated air purifiers can be purchased online at Amazon.com.
Having considered a large number of air purifiers, we chose the Molekule Mini Air Purifier as our top pick. This device is suitable for rooms up to 250 square feet in size, uses Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) nanotechnology to destroy viruses, VOCs, allergens, bacteria, and mold, takes up very little space, has a stylish and unobtrusive design, and uses an intuitive one-touch interface that makes it very easy to operate.
In This Article
The 5 Top-Rated Air Purifiers
| Editor's Picks | Brand | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Best Air Purifier Overall | Molekule Mini Air Purifier | 4.6 |
| Best HEPA Air Purifier | Winix HEPA Air Purifier | 4.6 |
| Best Budget Air Purifier | Vremi Home Air Purifier | 4.6 |
| Best Air Purifier for Large Rooms | Coway Airmega 400 Smart Air Purifier | 4.6 |
| Best Air Purifier for Allergies | Hathaspace Smart Air Purifier | 4.6 |
*Ratings are from Amazon at the time of publication and can change
Best Air Purifier Overall: Molekule Mini Air Purifier
The Molekule Mini Air Purifier isn’t the cheapest air purifier out there, but if you’re serious about the quality of the air inside your home, then this one’s truly hard to beat in terms of both the performance it brings to the table and overall value for money.
This air purifier has a coverage range of 250 square feet and is also available in larger models capable of covering up to 600 square feet. It uses Molekule’s proprietary Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) technology to destroy all kinds of air pollutants—VOCs (airborne chemicals), bacteria, mold, viruses, and allergens—at a molecular level and is capable of eliminating particles 1000 times smaller than those that traditional HEPA technology was originally designed to trap. The result, needless to say, is ambient air that’s fresher and healthier than ever before.
What we love most about this filter is its thoughtful, attractive design and simple, intuitive controls. Its 360-degree air intake means the Molekule Air Mini pulls in pollutants from all sides before destroying them and recirculating clean air. Operation is also remarkably simple thanks to its single-button controls and a Wi-Fi connectivity option that lets you control the device via an iPhone or Android app from anywhere in your home. In terms of appearance, moreover, this one’s about as attractive and unobtrusive as they come, using a sleek, minimalist design that makes it look not too similar to certain models of mini speaker.
All in all, a highly practical, space-saving, easy-to-use device that’s a bit of a looker and about as effective and efficient as they come.
Molekule Mini Air Purifier Key Features:
- Coverage: 250 square feet
- Eliminates viruses, bacteria, mold, allergens and VOCs
- 360-degree air intake
- Simple, single-button controls
- App control option
Best HEPA Air Purifier: Winix HEPA Air Purifier
The Winix HEPA Air Purifier is an outstandingly practical, easy-to-use, and customizable air purifier that takes treatment of the air in your home to a whole new level.
This HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) air purifier boasts an impressive coverage range of 360 square feet, making it a great choice for medium-sized apartments or smaller homes. It uses a three-stage purification process (Advanced Odor Control Carbon Filter, HEPA filtration, and PlasmaWave Technology) to eliminate VOCs and household odors from cooking, pets, and smoke, and to capture 99.97% of airborne allergens (pollen, mold spores, dust, pet dander, microbes, and smoke). In terms of efficiency, then, it’s a true standout amongst its peers in the sub-$200 price range.
This purifier wins our vote over all the other models on the market using a HEPA filter on account of its family-friendly functionality and its inclusion of more precise controls that allow you to customize the device to suit your lifestyle. It has a total of 4 fan speeds that let you regulate cleaning power with the flick of a switch, with its ‘Turbo’ option providing a quick, high-intensity blast that maximizes air flow and speeds up removal of pollutants, and its low and medium settings offering a steady clean that’s low-noise and ideal for home working spaces or bedrooms.
Another hugely endearing feature in this device is its use of smart sensors that continually monitor the quality of the air in your home and provide feedback on the air quality in your home on a color-coded LED indicator. Not only that, when the sensors detect a change in air quality, the device automatically adjusts fan speed to the optimal setting.
Finally, this unit also boasts an intelligent sleep mode that uses sensors to detect the amount of ambient light in the environment and adjust both the fan speed and indicator lights accordingly, thereby ensuring it doesn’t disturb your sleep.
Winix HEPA Air Purifier Key Features:
- Captures 99.97% of airborne allergens
- Coverage: 360 square feet
- Silent and low-light-emission sleep mode
- 3-stage purification/filtration
- 4 fans speeds
- Intelligent sensors detect air quality
Best Budget Air Purifier: Vremi Home Air Purifier
The Vremi Home Air Purifier is a small but remarkably powerful unit that ticks all the boxes most buyers will need ticking—and, gladly, at a very reasonable price point.
This device measures just 15.5 by 8.7 inches but is one of the most effective air purifiers out there in the sub-$200, let alone sub-$100 price range, using a three-stage purification process (ultra-fine pre-filter, HEPA filter, activated carbon filter for odor reduction) to trap 99.97% of pollen, dust, allergens, pet dander, and other airborne pollutants down to a tiny 0.3 microns in size.
Given that so many air purifiers on the market offer comparable effectiveness, what makes this one worthy of the title of best budget model out there?
Firstly, this unit is fantastically easy to use, boasting simple, intuitive controls that allow you to turn the device on and off and adjust the fan speed with just a single button. Secondly, its intelligent, user-friendly design means it has set-it-and-forget-it functionality, mainly thanks to its live air quality indicator that measures and displays changes in air quality by color, the filter’s 180-day runtime, and an auto-activated sleep mode that kicks in at night when its sensors detect a decrease in ambient light.
All told, a shoo-in for buyers keen to get as much bang for their buck as possible.
Vremi Home Air Purifier Key Features:
- Coverage: 300 square feet
- 360-degree aerodynamic air intake
- Traps 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns in size
- Eliminates odors
- Quiet sleep mode (28 decibels)
- Built-in pollution sensors
- Built-in 1 to 8-hour timer
- 1-year warranty
Best Air Purifier for Large Rooms: Coway Airmega 400 Smart Air Purifier
The Coway Airmega 400 Smart Air Purifier is the ideal choice of air purifier for owners of larger homes or for use in offices, conference rooms, gyms, or yoga and pilates studios. In short, if you have a large amount of air in need of purifying, this is the device to do it!
While this device’s 1,560-square-foot coverage range is sure to prove the starting point that brings buyers to the table, it has a lot more going for it than size and power alone and it’s the details that are most likely to seal the deal. The Airmega 400 uses a dual filtration system that consists of a pre-filter that captures larger particles and pollutants and a proprietary Max2 filter. The latter of these filters is actually a 2-in-1 hybrid, combining both an activated carbon (odor-eliminating) filter and a True HEPA filter that together remove up to 99.97% of particles and reduce more than 99% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fumes such as NH3 and CH3CHO.
To make things as easy and hassle-free for you as possible, Coway also throw in a very handy LED pollution sensor that lets you know how clean or dirty your indoor air is throughout the day and a Smart Mode feature that automatically adjusts fan speeds according to the room’s air quality.
One of the most endearing characteristics of this unit compared to other large models is its low operating noise. Even when the fan is set to max speed, the Airmega’s decibel level remains at an impressively low 43.2 decibels, which is around 2-5 decibels lower than other air purifiers with a similar coverage range.
While Airmega 400’s larger dimensions and 25-pound weight make it less suitable for anyone with limited space in their home or who plans on shifting the unit around frequently, for everyone else, it’s a winner!
Coway Airmega 400 Smart Air Purifier Key Features:
- Coverage: 1,560 square feet
- Dual filtration system
- Weighs 25 lbs.
- Measures 14.8 x 22.9 inches
- Energy efficient Smart Mode
- Air quality monitor
- Max noise 43.2 decibels
- 1-year warranty for internal malfunctions; 5-year warranty for electronic parts
Best Air Purifier for Allergies: Hathaspace Smart Air Purifier
The Hathaspace Smart Air Purifier is an outstanding choice for buyers in the market for a device that covers all bases to an exceptionally high standard.
This unit has a coverage range of 350 square feet and completely replaces the air within that space up to two times per hour. It also uses a 5-in-filtration system that’s as comprehensive a germ, bacteria, and allergen assassin as anything else out there. These five filters consist of the following: a nano cold catalyst filter that removes larger particles like dust, pet dander, and chemicals; a cellular activated carbon filter that absorbs and remove smoke, odors, gases, VOCs; an antibacterial filter that takes out germs and bacteria; a true HEPA filter that eliminates 99.97% of airborne pollutants like dust mites, allergens, pollen, pet dander, and mold spores; and, finally, an ozone-safe ionizer that releases negative ions which fill air particles and odors with an electrical charge that makes them easier to trap. In short: while some purifiers send their best soldier to clean the air in you home, this one sends a whole army!
Pleasingly, the Hathaspace Smart Air Purifier also scores very highly on convenience and practicality, using a smart air quality sensor that detects and displays indoor air quality, an auto mode that automatically adjusts fan speed based on the reading of the sensor, a virtually silent sleep mode, and a remote control that lets you operate the unit without having to get out of bed or leave the couch.
Hathaspace Smart Air Purifier Key Features:
- Coverage: 350 square feet
- Destroys allergens
- Eliminates 99.97% of airborne pollutants
- 5-stage filtration system
- Air quality monitor
- 18 decibels in sleep mode
- 2-year warranty
If you’re in search of a device that can clean the air in your home effectively and efficiently, these top-rated air purifiers are a great choice. For more home cleaning products, check out our reviews of the best mops and the best stick vacuums.
