Best air purifiers 2024: tested for cleaner, healthier air at home

The best air purifiers are designed to cleanse the air in our homes. They can capture and remove harmful particles in the air, such as allergens, smoke, dust, and pet dander, from our living spaces, creating a much cleaner, healthier environment.

Air purifiers can be a genuine life-changer for anybody who has pets, suffers from allergies, or lives in a busy urban area. We found that air purifiers do help with allergies, especially those with HEPA filters, and they can make a huge difference to your quality of life at home.

Smaller air purifiers are ideal for bedrooms and kids' rooms, while the bigger machines are equipped to handle much more open spaces - and, occasionally, entire homes. There are anti-odor models that can replace bad smells with fresh ones, and antibacterial purifiers that can destroy the germs that they capture.

As H&G's home tech editor, and both an asthma and allergy sufferer, I know what to look for in an air purifier. For many, they're essential appliances to have, so we've tested, reviewed and rounded up the 10 best air purifiers you can buy today. We've ranked these air purifiers based on coverage, filtration, design, and the all-important price.

The quick list

We'll get into the specifics in a minute. For now, these are the best air purifiers at a glance.

 The best air purifiers 2024

The best air purifier

Outside of its excellent performance on tests, the Shark NeverChange Air Purifier MAX boasts something new in the world of air purifiers. It has pre-filters, that Shark refers to as Debris Defence filters, that are wipeable and washable, protecting the HEPA filter within. Because of this, the NeverChange MAX avoids those recurring filter replacement costs that most air purifiers demand.

Not only is the NeverChange MAX the best air purifier overall, it's also the best for large spaces. At 1,400 square feet, it has the biggest coverage of any air purifier we've tested and we found that it covers large spaces exceptionally well. After a long cooking session, the air purifier had cleaned an entire upstairs' air quality from 33% to 100% in under 30 minutes.

The air purifier's front display shows your room's air quality as a percentage. This is thanks to Shark's Clean Sense IQ detection tech, which also detects the number of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10-sized particles in the air. This data might not be as detailed as the Molekule Air Pro's, but it's enough to see how at-home activities like dusting, cooking, or opening the windows affect your air quality.

For any product to be the best, it has to be accessible as well as offering helpful features. The NeverChange MAX currently retails for just over $300, which is hundreds of dollars cheaper than some of the other premium air purifiers in this list (like the Dyson Purifier and the Molekule Air Pro). Its plastic aesthetic might not be attractive for everybody, but this is the kind of air purifier that'll genuinely make a big difference at home while being affordable in both initial and recurring costs.

Read our full verdict in our Shark NeverChange Air Purifier MAX review.

Best value air purifier

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The Coway Airmega Aim has powerful filtration for the price. Utilizing pre filters, a True HEPA filter and a deodorization filter - the air purifier is equipped to deal with everything you'd expect from one, without the $100s+ price tag.

It looks a little different to many common air purifiers. It doubles up as a fan, allowing you to 'aim' purified air where you need it. It can oscillate up to 80 degrees and tilt vertically up to 90 degrees, and our tester Gabriella found that 'when the unit is aimed downwards, it pulls pet hair and micro particles up and purifies them.'

She also noted a significant reduction in unwanted smells, particularly from her cat's food bowls and bedding. And, 'the unit operates extremely quietly, especially in auto and eco mode,' although for the purifier to cool you effectively, it'll need to be set to airflow speed 3, which becomes a bit noisy.

But the bottom line is that the Coway Airmega Aim does a great job of improving indoor air quality, removing dust particles from the air, and overall contributing to a cleaner living environment - all for just over $100. Plus, it looks a lot less bulky than most other air purifiers.

You can find more detail in our Coway Airmega Aim review.

Best premium air purifier

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An air purifier is what I like to call a home comfort appliance. It might not be necessary, but it's nice to have. Cooling fans and humidifiers fall under the same category.

Purchasing each of your home comforts individually can cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. With the Dyson Purifier Humidify + Cool Formaldehyde fan, you get three functions in one machine, for $1000. Not too bad, when you think about it.

Since this fan is remotely operated, you can use it from anywhere in the house. Once you've downloaded the app and filled the humidity reservoir, you won't need to touch it again.

You don't need to understand environmental science to use this fan. The in-app air quality reports are written in plain English and translated into simple graphs for more visual learners.

The Dyson impressed on test, particularly as a humidifier. This machine cleans itself, using UV light to kill any bacteria in the reservoir.

The only real downside is the size. Three feet tall and one foot wide, the Dyson is on the larger side. You can't hide it, and you might struggle to store it in smaller spaces.

You can find more detail in our Dyson Purifier Humidify + Cool Formaldehyde review.

We've also reviewed the less-expensive Dyson Purifier Cool TP09, with similar features but without the humidifier.

Best multi-function air purifier

The Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 combines three separate appliances: an air purifier, a fan, and a heater. Moreover, rather than just blowing warm or cold air, it produces purified heat and purified cooling, taking it a step further than traditional fans and heaters.

Considering this is three appliances in one, a retail price of $399.99 is more than reasonable. Our tester Aleenah found that, aside from being able to cool you, the fan mode was excellent at airing out rooms, particularly the kitchen after a long cooking session.

The heater works quickly; it was able to raise the temperature of an 80 square foot room by 4 degrees in 9 minutes. The temperature change was more noticeable than typical space heaters she's used in the past.

The purifier itself is powerful and 'virtually silent,' and was not at all distracting when on calls, cooking or reading. After the air quality had once lowered down to 60%, it was able to reach 100% in 30 minutes.

The Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 oscillates across all three of its modes (fan, heat and air). Air purification happens in all modes, but in eco mode it'll automatically adjust based on the room's air quality, and return to the lowest setting once it's reached 100%.

This is everything you'd need from an air purifier, and more. It is however limited to room sizes of 500 square feet, and lacks handles for when you're carrying it room to room.

You can find more detail in our Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 review.

Best air purifier for air quality detection

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Two feet tall and one foot wide, this is a little machine that can purify large areas. The Molekule Air Pro can cover and clean spaces up to 1,000 sq. ft. That's twice the size of a standard studio apartment.

Most air purifiers incorporate HEPA filtration technology to capture all sorts of small particles and pathogens. The Air Pro has a HEPA filter, and a PECO filter, too, which claims to destroy pollutants at a molecular scale. This machine breaks down dust mites and mold spores, bacteria, and viruses and turns them into harmless gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor.

These filters won't last forever, and you'll need to replace them every six months. This machine is only compatible with Molekule-certified filters, which come at a premium price.

The Air Pro keeps track of each impurity it encounters and logs them all in the Molekule app, under 'Air History'. Here, you can view the changes to particle levels in the last five minutes or over the past four weeks.

The Air Pro works hard and keeps noise to a minimum, with a noise range of around 30-65 dB. That's somewhere between a whisper and a normal conversation. At its lowest speed setting, the Air Pro should be suitable for sleep.

That is, if you aren't sensitive to light. On top of this machine is a pulsing blue UV light. It's just a little dot, but it can be irritating.

The Air Pro isn't perfect. It's a little high-maintenance and it's less suitable for bedroom use. But if you're looking for a purifier to clean large spaces, you won't find a more powerful machine.

You can find more detail in our Molekule Air Pro review.

Best smart air purifier

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This air purifier is designed by three dads, living amongst the smog of Shanghai, who wanted cleaner air for their kids. When they couldn't find a machine that met their needs, they made their own: the Mila Air Purifier.

You can measure and adjust the quality of your air inside the Mila app. Once you set the fan speed on a sliding scale of 1% to 100%, the machine will take care of the rest.

Mila also monitors for mold growths and carbon monoxide leaks to prevent accidental poisoning. The app explains it all in clear language, using words (and emojis) you can understand.

This machine comes with custom filters to suit specialist needs. Whether you're an animal-lover who's looking to rid your air of pet smells and shed hairs, or a new parent who wants to protect your child's delicate immune system, Mila's got a filter for you.

It can be a little overwhelming to have so much information at your fingertips. If you suffer from health anxiety, you might want to shop elsewhere, or at least minimize your Mila screen time.

This fan has something for everyone. And, as smart tech goes, the Mila Air Purifier is pretty affordable. It's cute and compact to boot, so it will look just as good in your child's nursery as in your family room.

Best air purifier for pet-owners

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Air purifiers aren't the most attractive appliances. Many are big and bulky, designed with function rather than form in mind. At least Samsung have added a little style to their Bespoke Cube. With curved edges and a cross-hatch design, the Cube is cute and compact, so it should sit pretty in any corner.

The Cube incorporates 360-degree air purification for whole-r