Best Air Purifier 2018 - Buyer's Guide

GermGuardian AC4825

The first thing that you usually have to compromise on when having a budget is style.

So, if you didn’t love how the last one looked, we think we might have just the solution for you. If you prefer sleek, black models of your home appliances then look no further than the GermGuardian AC4825.

We talked about the three-stage filtration system with the last purifier. One amazing thing about this air purifier from GermGuardian is that it includes that same three-stage filtration system plus one other thing: A UV-C light.

What’s so great about a UV-C light? Well, it actually has the power to kill bacteria and viruses including, Rhinovirus E.Coli, and even streptococcus.

This is the perfect air purifier if you have a bunch of little kids or people in your house tend to get sick easily. This will help to keep those airborne germs out and the air fresh and clean for everyone in the house to enjoy.

Other nifty features include:

• Nearly silent operation
• Energy Star qualification so you know it won’t run up your energy bill or harm the environment
• Odor reduction.

Also, when compared to the last unit, this GermGuardian works much better in larger rooms. It still probably isn’t best for large houses or abnormally large apartments, but it will definitely get the job done in just about any medium-sized home office or living room.

GermGuardian does offer support for this product but it’s been reported that their customer service isn’t necessarily the best.

While you never intend for anything to go wrong, you just never know and it’s nice to have the support of the company. If that doesn’t bother you, then we definitely think this is a sleek budget alternative that will look great in any home.

PureZone 3-in-1

Every single one of the air purifiers in the ‘Best Budget Air Purifiers’ section has one thing in common. Care to know?

They’re each under 100 USD at the time that we published this article! That’s three amazing options for you to get an air purifier and get any room on track to having clean, fresh air. This is our last budget option and it comes from PureZone.

PureZone is a trusted brand when it comes to air purifiers. They might not be as famous as Dyson, but if you’ve done any research into air purifiers whatsoever, then you have most likely heard of PureZone.

Alright – now for the product features.

Like the previous two purifiers, this also features a three-stage filtration system. It also features the UV-C light sanitation to offer a deeper level of clean by safely eliminating germs, viruses, and bacteria. This is a great option for use in a classroom.

There’s also a three-speed fan, an automatic timer to have the purifier shut off after two, four, six, or eight hours of continuous use, and also, a filter reset indicator! This is a tiny feature that may not seem like a big deal but can prove to be very helpful in making sure you replace the filter on time.

In turn, this will ensure you always have the cleanest air and will make the life of your air purifier last for as long as possible. This might not be the most beautiful air purifier in the world, but it gets the job done. Another thing to note is that this does dry out the air a bit.

It definitely purifies the air but if the dry air in your place is an issue, then you might want to consider a different air purifier.

Excellent Mid-Range Air Purifiers

Coway AP-1512HH

Alright alright, time to step it up. We offered three different budget air purifiers but now it’s time to talk about some excellent mid-range air purifiers. The ones in this category tend to offer a few things over the previous category: Better design, longer-lasting performance, larger room coverage, and filters that you don’t have to change as often!

These are all things that you, of course, can expect as you move up in price. We’ll see all of those categories truly maxed out in the high-end category but for now:

Let’s take a look at the best mid-range air purifiers.

Firstly, this air purifier from Coway features two sleek colors: Black and gray, and white and gold.

Either way – you can’t go wrong. On this purifier, you’ll find not only a filter change indicator but also an air quality indicator to actually let you know how well it’s working.

There’s an ionizer mode for maximum performance but also an eco-mode for more just room maintenance. Also, out of all the purifiers on the list (so far), you’ll get the most square footage out of this guy.

How much? Up to 528 square feet! That may not sound like much but when compared to 200 square feet (the last air purifier on our list), that’s about 2.5x the coverage! Really not bad.

This also features an automatic mode that will automatically adjust the fan speed depending on air quality. Is air good for now? It will automatically adjust down – ultimately saving you money and wear-and-tear on your product.

Some downsides:

• It is much bigger than a lot of purifiers out there which can make it difficult to place.
• It is also not the quietest air purifier on the market.
• With that being said – it works fabulously and will truly clean up the air in any room without any trouble.

Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover

If you are one of those people who need a name brand to feel comfortable with a purchase, then consider this air purifier from Honeywell. Honeywell has been in the game of fans and air purifiers for a very long time now.

You can trust them.

And this True HEPA Allergen Remover is absolutely no exception. Just as a gauge, this works best in rooms up to 465 square feet. One of the best parts?

This air purifier actually circulates all the air in the room up to five times per hour! That’s insane to us. That means every air particle in your room will go through this filter five times per hour.

Now that’s some clean air.

This air purifier works great for pet dander, dust, pollen, and even smoke. This purifier from Honeywell might be the best air purifier for smoke. It doesn’t only purify the air but actually works to get rid of the odor left behind by these things as well.

One thing to note, however:

When you start getting into the more expensive air purifiers, the filters start being more expensive. This is especially true of the Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover. However, with that being said – this is an extremely powerful purifier and while it’s only recommended for rooms up to 465 square feet, it’s often been reported to work in rooms up to 1000 square feet.

One other downside is that the purifier itself can be extremely loud, depending on the setting.

On low or medium settings, it sounds like a normal fan. However, on high or turbo settings and you might have a bit of difficulty holding a conversation in the same room!

If you can get past the noise and expensive replacement filters, then we think you’ll love this air purifier from Honeywell.

Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier

Perhaps you don’t necessarily need an air purifier that’s super powerful. Maybe you have a small home office or a kid’s bedroom that you want a small purifier for. This is the perfect mid-range option for people who don’t want or need to pay for all the extra bells and whistles. Don’t get us wrong: This still has all the features that you’ll want from an air purifier.

Including:

• Smart sensors that automatically adjust the strength of the purifier depending on air quality
• Three-stage air purification
• PlasmaWave Technology to eliminate odors at a molecular level
• Four fan speeds
• LED auto dim feature so you won’t be blinded at night
• And even a filter replacement indicator!

Winix has thought of everything in terms of features – especially at such a decent price. The filters are also stupidly easy to change in this and you’ll only need to do so every six months.

Downsides?

The cord that comes with it is super short. You’ll need to purchase an extension cord if you want true flexibility. Also, the remote that comes with it doesn’t work perfectly. It actually appears to be cheaply made and some of the buttons can be a bit finicky.

All in all, this is a decent air purifier and is particularly good if you have any sort of pet allergies. Seriously. It might be the best air purifier for pets or just the best air purifier for allergies in general. You could be allergic to cat or dog dander, have this air purifier in a room, and not have to worry about your allergies whatsoever.

This thing is that good. Every air purifier is going to have some downsides but if you can get past them for this one, you will be highly rewarded with fresh, breathable, clean air.

Top High-End Air Purifiers

Rabbit Air MinusA2

Alright, time for another category switch!
This time: We are in the ‘Top High-End Air Purifiers’ category.

You’re going to notice a few key changes now that we’re in the high-end category:

• Huge jump in design aesthetic
• Much more average room coverage for each purifier
• And generally much more quiet operation

A few other key changes you’ll probably notice:

• These are much larger air purifiers
• The filters for each of them are going to be that much more expensive to replace

But hey – it’ll be up to you to figure out whether or not the price is worth it.

With this air purifier from Rabbit Air you’ll get room coverage up to 815 square feet, five-year warranty and 24/7 customer support from Rabbit, and a six-stage filtration system!

That’s right – while a lot of other air purifiers only have three stages, this one has six.
Pet allergies, odors, dander, dust, toxins – anything really, will not stand a chance against this purifier from Rabbit Air.

It’s also super stylish and can easily be mounted on the wall so you don’t have to sacrifice style for function. They even have an artist series where you can choose certain designs to go on the front if you so desire.

This unit isn’t as quiet as we’d like it to be for such a high-end purifier, but we think the design alone is enough to make it worth the purchase.
If you want a sleek, user-friendly, effective air purifier – then you have come to the right place.

It’s not the most powerful high-end one out there but it is definitely one of the best-looking.
If you suffer from intense allergies or just want something with extreme power, then you might want to hold out and purchase a different purifier.

Dyson Pure Hot Cool Link

We don’t think we could possibly include a list of the best air purifiers without including one from Dyson.

Dyson has proven itself to be an industry leader in all things fans or suction. They have not only a line of beautiful products, but a line of beautifully-engineered products. Aside from how beautiful the Pure Hot Cool Link from Dyson looks, it actually functions as a great product.

It’s an air purifier when you need it, a cooling fan in the summer months, and a pretty efficient heater in the winter months! Not only will it heat and cool you, but it will do so with purified air.

Where else can you get cool (or hot!) clean air blown, throughout your house?

As we could expect from Dyson, this air purifier is also Wi-Fi enabled. You can actually control your air purifier and see all of the statistics about your room from an app!
It is continuously monitoring and reacting to the air quality in your room.

The lower it is, the more it works. But once it gets the quality up to an acceptable level, it’ll slow down this saves you both electricity and filters.

It also features automatic nighttime mode and voice control. This is truly an intelligent air purifier for the year 2018.
Note however that this isn’t necessarily the best machine for a standalone fan or heater.

What it excels at is this:

• Delivering purified cool air and purified warm air
• It won’t necessarily cool or heat large rooms or particularly quick, but it will do so with fresh clean air
• As long as you don’t have any unrealistic expectations in regard to the heating and cooling aspect

We easily think that this Dyson Pure Hot Cool Link Air Purifier is a beautiful machine that is well worth its price.

Are you interested in Dyson air purifiers?

We also wrote a review about the Dyson Pure Cool Link that you can read about here.

Alen BreatheSmart FLEX

If you are very particular about design, or just don’t want to have to purchase an air purifier that looks bulky and like…. Well, an air purifier.

This BreatheSmart FLEX from Alen might just offer you the best solution for that. You can place this in literally any room and it will immediately improve the look in the room.

You can put it on the floor or if you’re a bit handier, you can mount it on the wall for a sleek look. And we guarantee that you’ll be able to find a color that you like.

Know why?

It comes in 14 different colors – everything from Electric Blue to Brushed Bronze to Seafoam Green.

• There’s seriously a color for everybody
• It works in rooms up to 700 square feet
• Includes a lifetime warranty
• It is even customizable.

You can choose from four different HEPA filters that all remove dust and allergens, but are each specifically geared towards a specific task:

• HEPA Pure, which is the classic filter.
• HEPA Fresh which is perfect for when you’re cooking.
• HEPA-Silver to help with Asthma symptoms.
• HEPA-OdorCell which remains powerful odors in the air.

We are absolutely in love with the Alen BreatheSmart FLEX, we barely have any negatives to say about it! It is a bit loud but not too much louder than a boxed fan and actually sounds nice for white noise while you sleep. Alen is also known for their exceptional customer service.

In fact, with each new purchase, you can get a free phone consultation with their team to help you determine the best way for you to use your new air purifier. This is definitely in the running for the best air purifier 2018.

Perfect Air Purifier for Large Spaces

AIRMEGA 400S

Are you looking to purify an extremely large area?

Think maybe a warehouse, an open office, or maybe you just have a giant house.
If you couldn’t tell from the name, the AIRMEGA 400S might just be the air purifier for you.

While a lot of the other air purifiers really only have max coverage for up to 800 or 900 square feet,
The AIRMEGA 400S has coverage for up to 1,560 square feet!

There’s also an app you can download for either iOS or Android that will give you a ton of information:

• Speed control
• Indoor air quality report
• Scheduler
• Filter lifetime monitor

It also includes a smart mode that automatically adjusts the fan speed as the air quality gets better or worse. This is essential if using an air purifier for a large room because they use a lot of energy. Even if it shuts off for an hour per day, that can really add up in terms of energy savings.

While this is more of a heavy-duty air purifier and definitely takes up a lot of room, it still looks sleek, stylish, and expensive.
It comes in either white or a really nice graphite color that will blend in any room.

This is significantly more expensive than any others on our list (close to 1000 USD at the time of this article), so if you don’t need it specifically to purify a large space – we recommend getting something smaller. AIRMEGA really has provided the best solution for purifying large spaces.

Buyer’s Guide

We know.
There are what seems like endless options when it comes to air purifiers.

It can seem confusing and it can be overwhelming. And it can seriously be exhausting trying to figure out which one is the best! Of course, which one you purchase is going to completely depend on your exact needs.

However:
With that being said, we still think there are a few essential things when it comes to air purifiers that you can use to guide your purchasing process.

HEPA Filter

Is this filter a HEPA filter?

They’re essentially industry standard at this point when it comes to air purifiers. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air and they’re extremely efficient. They’re the best at removing odor and truly trapping dust particles to ensure consistently clean air.

Auto Mode

This is an important feature to us, especially for larger air purifiers.

What this does will automatically adjust the fan speed to the air quality in the room.

Like we’ve mentioned before:
If the air quality is good, the fan speed will go down. The air quality drops, then it will automatically kick back up until the room is completely clean.

Timer

This isn’t essential but it is nice to have.
Can you set it to turn off partway through the night or a few hours after you leave? It’s not great to leave it on all night, so it can be nice to have one that has an automatic timer.

Coverage

Of course, one of the main things you should be looking out for is coverage!
How much actual square footage does it cover?

The maximum is always just that – the maximum. You can actually use it in smaller rooms for more efficiency. If you use a large capacity air purifier in a small room, it will simply circulate the air that many more times per hour providing you with cleaner air.
This can be a good option if you suffer from allergies.

Conclusion

Alright, so with so many great options – which one is the best air purifier?

We’ve had everything from budget air purifiers to high-end but each has been in the running!
We’re looking for which one offers the best performance, most features, best design, and most overall value when compared to the price.

Which air purifier did we choose? For us, the answer was clear.

We had to go with the Alen Breathesmart FLEX. It combined the best of aesthetics but also functionality.
It comes in a ton of different colors, offers great coverage, isn’t too loud, is energy efficient, and even comes with a lifetime warranty.

For us, it was clear.
Yes, they are a bit more expensive we can’t deny that, but they provide a lot of value for what you’re buying. You’re spending a lot, but you’re getting a lot. This is a very high-quality machine that will serve you for years to come.

Are you allergic? Then you should definitely check our Allergy Season 101 guide 

Air Pollution Infographic

FAQ

What Should I Look For in an Air Purifier?

First, you should think about which air purifier that suits your specific needs. Each air purifier may have something unique not to mention different quirks and features. That’s why we recommend that you take a closer look at what you want to achieve.

Do you want to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke, fungus, or mold? Are you more interested in getting rid of allergens such as pollen, fur, and dust particles?

Air purifiers also come in different sizes so you should also consider how big it is and how effective the air purifier is for different room sizes.

How Much Room Will an Air Purifier Cover?

Air purifiers are made to cover different room sizes depending on their size and capability. To know which air purifier suits your needs you need to learn more about some of the terminology used when talking about the specifications of air purifiers.

CADR or Clean Air Delivery Rate; CADR indicates the volume of filtered air delivered by the air purifier. A larger number of CADR means that the air purifier filters a larger amount of air faster.

ACH or Air Changes per Hour; Indicates how frequently the air purifier filters or changes the air in a given amount of space per hour. 1-2 air changes per hour will result in air that is clean, but not as clean as it could be. For Allergy relief, we recommend at least four air changes per hour.

CFM or Cubic Feet per Minute; This number basically means how many cubic feet of air is going through the air purifier per minute. This number is a crucial decider when choosing an air purifier as a higher CFM provides with better air purification results.

How Long Should I Run My Air Purifier?

For best results, it is recommended to run your air purifier continuously. While this may decrease the lifespan of the filters, it certainly pays off in terms of healthier and cleaner air for you and your family.

If you are worried about electricity cost, get a purifier with air quality detector. When it detects the air quality in your home is dropping, it will turn itself on automatically.

Do I Have to Spend a Lot of Money to Get a Good Air Purifier?

No, you don’t. An expensive air purifier might not always be the best solution for you. A high-end or top-of-the-line air purifier may have extra features or a neater design, but why pay extra money for something that doesn’t do a better job than a more affordable one?

However, there are cases where you can’t avoid spending big bucks for an air purifier.

If, for example, you need to purify the air in a large area, then you will need to buy a big and powerful air purifier. That, of course, will cost you more. Still, you should only spend your money on an air purifier with features and performance rating that suits your needs.

What’s the Difference Between True HEPA and HEPA-type Filter?

HEPA is short for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. A HEPA filter is made to trap 99.97% or airborne particles measuring 0.3 microns in diameter or greater as stated in the US standard (DOE-STD-3020-2005).

A HEPA-type filter, on the other hand, is only capable of trapping particles measuring 2 microns in diameter or greater. In short, a true HEPA filter can trap a particle roughly 7 times smaller than what a HEPA-type is able to do.

Most of the air purifiers you’ll find in the market use HEPA filters and a small number use HEPA-type filters. Naturally, any air purifier with true HEPA filter is more effective in trapping airborne pollutants than purifiers with only HEPA-type filter.

“So, HEPA- type filter is useless, right?”

Not quite. If you’re living next to a construction site or a busy freeway and you wish you could vacuum your home less often than you do now, a HEPA-type filter will suffice. Same thing if you only have problems with pet dander, hair, and fur. However, if you have an allergy, asthma, or other respiratory problems, you should go with true HEPA filter air purifier.

Can HEPA Filters Remove Odor?

No, that’s the job for an activated carbon filter. The reason why activated carbon is so effective in removing odor is that it is very porous. A single gram of it can have surface area well beyond 500 square meters or about 5400 square foot. This immense surface area allows it to absorb odor-causing particles effectively.

The combination of activated carbon pre-filter in tandem with HEPA filter in air purifiers is proven to be very effective in trapping tobacco smoke. If you have a smoker in the house, make sure you buy an air cleaner with activated carbon pre-filter.

Note that activated charcoal and activated carbon are different names of the same thing. Some manufacturers just prefer to use one term to the other.

Is an Air Purifier Hard to Maintain?

Filter cleaning and replacement are two common maintenance work you must do to ensure an air purifier performs as intended. Consumer complaints about air purifier performance are often linked to consumers themselves failing to clean the filters regularly.

A filter usually last 3-4 months before replacement is required. This, however, vary between brands and models.

The maintenance requirements should not intimidate you. The process is usually as simple as putting the filters under running water or vacuuming them. Some models enclosed all of its filters in a single cartridge/cassette to make it very easy to replace.

Should I Get a Humidifier Too?

There are cases where people say using an air purifier in their bedrooms overnight makes them wake up with dry throats in the morning. To overcome that, they use a humidifier along with the air cleaner.

However, saying that an air purifier can make the air dry is a misconception.

There’s nothing in an air purifier that is capable of sucking humidity out of the air in your bedroom. When air passes through the filters, only the airborne particles are trapped. The filters do nothing about the moisture in the air.

So why do people wake up with dry throats?

We can say with absolute certainty that none of those people sleep in an airtight room. That means cold air can freely get into their bedroom at night. With the air purifier running, the air circulation is improved. As a side effect, cold air from outside gets inside the bedroom a lot easier.

Now, colder air holds less moisture than warmer air. When a large volume of cold air mixes with warmer air inside the room, the humidity drops. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why people wake up with sore throats in the morning.

If you’re one of those people who are sensitive to humidity drops, we do recommend running a humidifier along with the air purifier.

All This Air Purifier Nonsense Has Me Even More Confused

Well, technically that is not even a question, but fear not! We have for you, the consumers, an easy-to-read buyers guide that will guide you through a variety of air purifiers, whether it being the best high-end purifiers, the best budget air purifiers, or somewhere in between.

Didn’t Find What You Looked After?

We have written about many different air purifiers for example, Filterless Air Purifiers, Air Purifiers for allergies and Air Purifiers for smoke. Just to name a few