The best air purifiers, according to the GHI
From microwaves to coffee machines, some gadgets have become a part of modern living. New to this list, as we increasingly pay attention to air quality both inside and outside our homes, is the air purifier. They can be a godsend, particularly if you suffer from hay fever or have pets.
The job of an air purifier is to clean the air inside our homes by detecting and trapping tiny pollutant particles, such as dust, pet dander (the animal equivalent of dandruff), pollen, smoke and even unwelcome odours. It does this with the help of high grade filters that can trap even the tiniest of particles.
Our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute tried a range of leading air purifiers to find the best for your home. Keep scrolling for our full reviews, but here they are in one handy list:
If you’re replacing an existing air purifier, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
How do air purifiers work?
These clever gadgets use two different filters to clean the air thoroughly, with most air purifiers claiming to remove over 99% of nasties from the air.
The first filter is usually a larger one that can be rinsed, dried and reused, and is not too dissimilar from those you find in modern cordless vacuum cleaners. This deals with the larger particles, such as dust and hair.
The second filter is much smaller and can't be washed, which means it’s disposable. On the positive side, depending on how much you use your machine, it should last a good six months.
It's this filter that catches smaller particles in the air. Some are known as a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) and filters that meet these standards can catch even the most microscopic of dust particles – generally as small as 0.3 microns, but the Dyson below claims to catch ones that are just 0.1 microns.
How to choose an air purifier
The key features of a good air purifier are simple – it needs to improve the air quality within your home, as quickly and quietly as possible.
Features: To find the right air purifier, you need to decide what you want it to do. That may sound obvious, but the Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool not only purifies air, but also cools and heats it. And if you have a specific type of allergy, you'll want a purifier that really will pick up all those minuscule particles.
Noise: If you’re going to use your air purifier at night, look for a quiet model, especially if you’re a light sleeper.
Portability: You'll need to decide where your device is going to live and whether you're going to want to move it frequently. If so, make sure it's easily moveable and isn't too heavy.
Size and reach: Check the size of the room it's going to purify. This matters hugely, as you need to ensure the machine you buy can tackle the entire space. Some, such as the Philips Series 3000I Connected AC3033/30, can purify rooms as large as 135m squared, while others only stretch to areas measuring 10m squared.
Wattage: Generally, the higher the wattage, the more energy intensive a product will be. The amount of energy a purifier consumes equates to how much it will cost to run per hour.
Our experts tested the energy consumption for all the models below, running them for an hour on their highest setting, and found that none used more than 1 pence of electricity in that time.
How we test air purifiers
To find the best air purifiers, the GHI assessed how easy each model was to set up and use, as well as its overall design and efficiency. They also analysed each product's size, weight, portability, noise levels (especially at night-time) and the size of room it could purify.
When it comes to how well air purifiers do their main job – cleaning the air – our experts carry out three tests. The first looks at how quickly each air purifier cleans the everyday air of our test room, replicating how it would operate at home when you haven't got any candles lit, windows open or food cooking.
Then the testers disperse a mixture of dust and ash into the space and measure how well the air is cleaned at intervals of 30 and 60 minutes. Finally, they spray deodorant into the room for a set amount of time and again measure how well the particles are removed from the air.
Measurements are taken using an air quality monitor that detects fine particulates known as PM2.5 (often created by the combustion of fuel), and coarser, but still inhalable ones known as PM10 (dust and pollen fall into this category).
Finally, each device was trialled by a panel of experienced purifier users who reported back on whether they noticed any changes in air quality when using it at home.
Read on for our experts' pick of the best air purifiers.
Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde
Score: 98/100
Our winner is a real statement buy. Dyson’s latest model was developed to purify larger spaces than its predecessors, and it impressed on design (it’s big yet sleek) and performance, removing most of the particles our testers threw its way quickly and effectively. In fact, from dust to deodorant, it aced all our tests in the lab and at home, and our pet-owning panel tester found it removed animal dander effectively too.
Our panel liked its unique ‘breeze mode’, which mimics the feeling of being outdoors, and you can angle its air flow to suit, too. Its auto mode also deserves a special mention for its responsiveness, ramping up purifying efforts immediately when our tester started cooking,
As with most Dyson products, it’s the detail that truly sets it apart; it has hidden wheels to make moving it around easier (although it’s still heavy and probably too big for smaller homes), and its app is intuitive and informative. Everyone found it quiet too and it used minimal electricity on test. It’s a serious investment, but it barely dropped a mark on test and has style in spades, so if you’ve got the budget and space, it shouldn’t disappoint.
We've also tested this air purifier's more premium counterpart – the BP04, awarding it one of our 2024 VIP Awards. It has a souped up filter that claims to remove more NO2 and a CO2 filter. It's just as high-performing, but with an even higher price tag.
Air Pro Air Purifier
Score: 96/100
This sleek air purifier achieved full marks for all three of our air quality tests – it’s seriously effective. Really, we could leave our review there. But, like our winner, this is another premium buy with a price tag to match, so we think it's worth exploring the features.
Testers liked how intuitive it was to set up and use, whether they controlled it via the app (where you can access detailed information about your air quality) or by voice. There are six settings, plus an auto one that will detect changes in air quality and adjust its power accordingly. At its max, it’s not the quietest, but it was barely noticeable on its lowest setting, recording 39dB in the lab, which is similar to the ambient noise of a library. So, it’s a good one for bedrooms too.
Finally, a note on its filters because won't see a reference to HEPA in the specs below. That’s because Molekule has created its own unique ones, which it says not only collect particles but destroy them too (including mould). This has been tested and approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US for added peace of mind. It’s an impressive buy.
Pure 5000 Compact Air Purifier for Home
Score: 96/100
This compact, slate grey air purifier boasts lots of innovative features including a breeze filter, which AEG claims will remove 99.97% of pollutants from the air, an ‘active carbon layer’ to absorb cooking and damp dog smells, and an odour sensor designed to detect and reduce any hazardous gas or solvents in the air.
It also has a ‘night mode’ that automatically dims the LED display and powers down the fan when you’re ready for sleep, and it connects to the AEG Wellbeing app so you can monitor filter usage.
This device definitely lived up to its impressive billing – our experts liked the chic design, clear display, responsive controls and easy-to-follow instructions. When it came to performance, they rated it “exceptionally good” at filtering normal air and removing dust and ash. It was also quiet in use, even on its highest setting. Our panel liked being able to see a graph of the machine’s progress, and praised the “stealthy” night mode.
The filters aren’t the cheapest and it doesn’t have castor wheels for moving around, but due to its compact design, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Series 3000i Connected Air Purifier AC3033/30
Score: 96/100
With its smart design and easy-to-read LCD screen and app, this is one for tech lovers – it can be voice controlled via your Alexa or Google Home, or the Philips Air Matters app. The app also offers handy alerts, such as letting you know when it's time to change a filter.
Our experts found it effectively cleansed all the pollutants in our test, reducing everything, from dust and ash to intense deodorant fumes, down to negligible levels within the hour. In fact, other than our winner, it was the only purifier awarded full marks for keeping day-to-day air free from particulate matter.
Our panel echoed our lab findings, reporting that it "noticeably improved air quality within 30 minutes". Note, however, that this was one of the largest and heaviest models on test, so you'll want to give it a permanent spot in your main living space.
Air Mini+
Score: 94/100
A compact version of one of our runners-up, this is elegant and very effective. Despite its smaller stature, it cleared dust, ash and aerosol pollutants with ease, improving our air quality to better levels than when our experts started. It wasn’t quite as powerful as the Air Pro, but the difference was very small.
Set-up was easy, thanks to the clear instructions (which was helpful, as the on-purifier controls took a bit of deciphering), and it has the same intuitive features as its larger counterpart. The strong handle makes it pleasingly portable, and the filters are easy to fit and remove.
It’s an investment though, and, when on maximum power, testers recorded highs of 70 decibels. But with five settings to choose from, you should be fine to run it at night without disturbing your sleep.
Blue Max 3350i
Score: 93/100
With its pared-back style, straightforward set-up and intuitive app control, this air purifier should fit right into any home. Testers liked the detailed manual, its range of three fan speeds and quiet night mode. It’s also lightweight, which means moving it around isn’t too much of a struggle, despite a lack of handles.
When it came to performance, it quickly started cleaning the air in our lab, returning it to a healthy level within half an hour. It’s also quiet in use. Our panellists at home said it made a noticeable difference to their air quality, including one hay fever sufferer who found it improved the quality of his sleep.
We’ve tested this whole range from Blueair. At a glance, here are their scores and what sets them apart:
Blueair 3250a: Scored 92/100 and designed for rooms of 48m2; lacks app compatibility
Blueair 3250i: Scored 91/100 and designed for rooms of 48m2
Blueair 3450i: Scored 87/100 and designed for rooms of 103m2
Hot+Cool Formaldehyde Purifying Fan Heater
Score: 93/100
This Dyson's versatility hugely impressed our panel, as it's able to blow both hot and cool air, as well as purify. Its multi-purpose design means it saves on having to store three large separate machines, and no one can argue with the brilliance of that. As for its purifying prowess, it proved a trusty buy, whether facing ash or deodorant, leaving the air cleaner after an hour than it had been before we started both tests.
Testers liked the way it creates an air quality report for you to monitor in real time on the LCD screen. It's also straightforward to operate, thanks to a remote control and app. And it ranked as one of the most energy efficient machines on test, using a mere 0.003 kilowatts running on its highest setting for an hour – that's less than one pence.
Though expensive, you do get three products in one. If you're planning to sleep with it on, note that it got noisier on speed settings six to ten.
NeverChange5 Air Purifier HP150UK
Score: 92/100
This air purifier has built-in anti-odour technology, which releases a fresh floral and citrus scent so your air is both cleaner and sweeter-smelling. Testers found it worked well and liked the effect. In terms of air quality, it removed dust and pet dander from our test room very quickly but took longer to deal with deodorant particles.
Our experts praised its clear control panel and sizeable air quality display. They found it easy to set up too, and thought the instructions were helpful (there’s a start-up guide in the box with the rest accessible online). But it’s not the most portable, as there’s no handle or obvious area to grip onto.
There’s a good selection of modes, timers and air speeds though, so you can tailor it to your home. And the filters are designed so that you only need to change them up to every five years. They were simple to fit and remove for cleaning too.
For even bigger spaces, there’s also a MAX version, which caters to up to 130 square metres.
AP330W UK Air Purifier
Score: 92/100
Whirlpool’s machine has an auto function that constantly measures air quality and then adjusts its settings for the most effective air purification. Real-time air-quality feedback is also available via its clear, uncluttered interface. Another USP is its integrated UV light technology, which helps eradicate any bacteria or viruses from the air that passes through the purifier, so it’s not reintroduced to your home.
Our testers found the controls responsive, the troubleshooting instructions were detailed and filter maintenance was simple. It was easy to set up and use and it put in a stellar performance when purifying everyday air and filtering out dust and ash, making a noticeable difference to the air quality. That said, it didn’t fare as well with deodorant particles compared to other models we tested.
Its sleep mode dims the display lights at night, but its noise can be distracting unless it’s on its lowest setting.
Clean Air Mini Aroma
Score: 86/100
There’s something spa-like about this minimalist air purifier from Russell Hobbs, making it our top pick for soothing you to sleep. It’s quiet, and while it’s busily (and effectively) cleaning the air around it, it can also disperse essential oils via a hidden aroma pad. Testers found this feature was fiddly to access at times, but once they added a few drops, the scent would linger for a long time.
Back to its main job, it was easy to set up and removed dust, ash and deodorant from the air quickly, leaving the room feeling notably fresher. While lightweight and relatively compact, it proved sturdy too. Time to plug it in, add a few drops of lavender oil, and drift off.
The verdict on air purifiers
If budget is no object, then our winning Dyson Big+Quiet Formaldehyde Air Purifier looks great and will cleanse the air in even the biggest living rooms with no trouble.
For something more affordable, the AEG Pure 5000 Compact Air Purifier would be a good bet. It's not cheap, but it offers great performance for a few hundred pounds, as opposed to Dyson’s £850 price tag.
Our best air purifier under £100 is the Russell Hobbs Clean Air Mini Aroma. It’s effective but small, making it better suited to more compact rooms.
why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing the latest home appliances for 100 years, so when we spotted the rise of air purifiers, we knew we had to examine them in the lab and share our verdict with you.
Blossom Boothroyd, our homes testing manager, carefully created the testing protocols, and Hannah Mendelsohn, our homes editor, has written hundreds of home appliance reviews, so knows all the right questions to ask in the hunt for the very best air purifiers.
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