Airdog X5 Air Purifier: The Airdog X5 tests a completely different technology using washable TPA collector plates. Performance-wise, it was slow in overall particle removal, with an average T90 of 3 minutes and 6 seconds, placing it second to last in this metric. It had a moderately high energy consumption (16.06 kWh average), and while its overall loudness was slightly high (48.19 dBA), it was noted as the quietest unit tested on mid fan settings. At $650 full price, it's more expensive than many of our better-performing options, like the Blueair Blue Pure 311i Max and Shark HP232.

Coway Airmega AP-1512HH: The Coway AP-1512HH showed moderate performance in particle removal with an average T90 of 2 minutes and 13 seconds. It was moderately quiet overall (45.19 dBA) and was the second quietest unit on low fan settings (34.99dBA). However, this model had high average energy consumption (21.84 kWh), especially at its high fan setting (59.6 dBA). At $230 full price, it could be a good option if you can find it on sale, but there are better-performing units on our list for particle removal.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: The Dyson TP09 is a multi-functional unit known for its sleek design, remote control and multiple fan settings. Although it showed relatively good energy efficiency (10.99 kWh average), it ranked last in overall particle removal efficiency among all tested models, requiring 4 minutes and 41 seconds on average to clean the air (T90). This may be due to the peculiarities of our smoke chamber test, however.

"Our smoke chamber is designed as a torture test that pushes purifiers to remove a very dense concentration of particles in a confined space as quickly as possible," said Chumbe in our air purifier lab exclusive. "Dyson's purifiers use an Air Multiplier and projection-style airflow system that's optimized for circulating air across a larger volume." Dyson's system means the air purifier won't work as intended in a smaller chamber, such as the one used for our testing, but Chumbe notes that this doesn't reflect a defect on Dyson's part. "It simply reflects how this specific fan technology behaves under our high-intensity, small-volume test conditions. "This is also one of Dyson's older air purifier models, and we're still testing the latest members of its lineup.

Levoit Core 400S-P: This unit offers good overall cleaning performance, achieving an average T90 of 1 minute and 49 seconds. It has moderate energy consumption (13.36kWh) and moderate loudness (46.76dBA overall), ranking as the third quietest in low fan settings. The Levoit Core 400S is a smart model featuring app control and visual air quality indicator rings. At $230, it's not the most expensive option and comes with useful smart features, so this may be a good option if you can find it on sale for less than $200, but the Blueair 311i Max offers better overall performance in a similar package.

Morento Indoor AP HY4866-WF: The Morento unit delivered average particle removal results, with an average T90 of 2 minutes and 11 seconds. Its energy consumption was high (18.77 kWh average). This model showed inconsistent noise performance: It was ranked the second quietest on low fan settings but was the third loudest at high fan settings. While the $121 list price isn't bad, the lackluster performance holds it back from a recommendation.

RabbitAir A3 SPA-1000N: The RabbitAir MinusA3 demonstrated decent particle removal performance (2-minute, 1-second T90). It had high energy consumption (18.62kWh) and was slightly noisy overall 47.82 dBA. This unit’s key selling point is its customizable design options, including interchangeable art panels, but that alone isn't enough to give it our recommendation, taking into account the middling performance and $750 price.

Shark HP102: This is one of the few compact air purifiers we tested in this batch. As expected, it offers solid particle filtering, along with high energy efficiency at 7.67 kWh (likely due to its size) and quiet performance at 41.48 dBA. It’s a good option for bedrooms, a nursery or home office, but the reason it stays off our main list is that with a T90 of 2 minutes and 40 seconds, it has one of the worst particle removal times we've tested, but again, similar to the Dyson this likely has to do with the specifics of the smoke chamber test. At $200 full price, we'd expect better performance.

October 2025: Added new sections on the air purifier we're currently testing and what's new in the industry.

November 2025: Tested 12 new air purifiers with our new lab tests that evaluate particle filtering, speed, noise level and energy efficiency to recommend five new products.

December 2025: Updated how we test.

January 2026: Added additional insight about why our smoke chamber test may not work well for Dyson vacuums.

Many of us also spend more time indoors during the colder months and may be airing out the home less frequently than usual. Adding an air purifier to your home can help keep indoor air fresh during the chilly season and filter out common indoor allergens like dust. That makes this time of year the perfect time to treat you and your family to an air purifier.

A trend we're seeing in 2026 is air purifiers getting smaller without compromising effectiveness. Dyson's new HushJet Purifier Compact, which we'll be testing in the lab, features an almost jet engine-like nozzle design that lets it purify a room up to 228 square feet.

It's also interesting that more companies are beginning to incorporate other capabilities into their air purifiers to make them more functional. Dyson is notable for this, with its air purifiers incorporating cooling, heating and humidifying capabilities. We've also seen unique models from other companies like Blueair, which incorporates a pet bed into its PetAir Pro air purifier to help reduce shedding and allergies and the EyeVac Air, a unique combo air purifier that incorporates an automatic dustpan into its body. I'm currently testing it next to the litter box for my three cats.

To help inform our air purifier picks, we gathered 12 of the newest and most popular models at the CNET Labs product testing facility in Louisville, Kentucky, where we put them through a rigorous set of tests.

When evaluating our scores for air purifiers, we took into account particle removal ability, energy efficiency, loudness, price and features. Each unit is given a score out of 10 for each criterion, then receives a weighted final score out of 10.

After we test air purifiers, we also evaluate the top performers for an Editors’ Choice award as the best purchases for most consumers. The evaluation is based on quantitative and qualitative factors, such as particle removal, energy efficiency, noise level, price and unique features. We also evaluate purely quantitative test results from our rigorous methodology to determine a Lab Award winner. In this case, we have two lab award winners for particle removal at different fan speeds.

How we evaluate air purifiers:

• Particle Removal (30%): The average amount of time it takes for an air purifier to remove 90% of the particles from our test chamber.
• Energy Efficiency (20%): The average energy measured in kilowatt hours used by the air purifier; we also calculate it over the course of a month.
• Overall Loudness (20%): The average noise level across low, medium and high fan settings.
• Price (20%): We consider how affordable or expensive an air purifier is. Most of our recommendations range between $300-$800, depending on size.
• Features (10%): We consider features like app control, remotes and design elements that help it fit into a room.

The particle-removal test

The air we breathe isn't just air. In truth, it's a combination of human-generated and naturally occurring particles. The former is composed mostly of urban, industrial and automotive emissions of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and combustion byproducts, and the latter is mostly represented by smoke from forest fires, sulfates, soot and matter from volcanic activity around the globe. 

According to the EPA, some of these microscopic solids and liquid droplets, which can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals, are so tiny that it's almost inevitable to inhale them.

Fine vs. coarse particles

In terms of smoke, seasonal allergens and dust, an important consideration in buying an air purifier is whether it has an automatic mode. Certain air particles do not remain consistent throughout the year or even throughout the day. “Auto-mode purifiers can automatically ramp up the speed when the pollution is higher,” says Jie Zhao, head of Delos Labs, a human health tech company.

While different kinds of particulate matter are indistinguishable to the air purifier itself, according to the experts we spoke to, an important consideration for particles such as pet dander is energy draw, because that type of pollutant theoretically remains consistent in your home and necessitates constant use of an air purifier. 

“It's more on the consumer experience and user interaction, having it running all of the time, versus the fundamental scientific principle,” says Zhao, when determining what makes an air purifier most suitable for pets. 

We test our air purifiers against fine and coarse particles. Coarse particles, PM10 and PM2.5, which are particles of less than 10 and 2.5 micrometers in diameter, respectively, pose the greatest risk to human health, since once inhaled, they allocate deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream, impairing the proper functionality of the lungs and heart. At PM2.5, these include combustion particles, organic compounds and metals.

"That's the size that can go into our body, into our lungs and go into our bloodstream," said Zhao. "That is the number one environmental risk factor globally. It kills about 6 million to 7 million people a year," he said, due to cardiovascular or respiratory problems brought on by particulate pollutants.

PM10 includes dust, pollen and mold. Large coarse particles are greater than PM10 and include fine beach sand (PM90), which is less of a concern because it doesn't usually enter the lungs. However, they can still irritate your eyes, nose and throat.

Fine particles are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. These include ultrafine and nanoparticles, which have diameters of less than 0.1 micrometers.

Smoke chamber test

Our custom air purifier test chamber uses a clear-view front panel made of plexiglass and gloved-hand access, allowing us to manipulate the air purifiers safely. It also includes a particle counter holder for our control device, two fans that ensure proper mixing of the air and smoke inside the chamber, vent ports that maintain a small amount of fresh air at all times, an ignition port to light up the smoke bombs from outside the rig and an exhaust port that removes the remaining smoke safely from the chamber and the building after each test.

The chamber isn't hermetically sealed, but it's tight enough to ensure that no hazardous amount of smoke escapes to the surroundings. Our mission was to create an environment in which we exposed each air purifier unit to particle-saturated air of roughly the same concentration to assess how quickly and efficiently they get the air back to breathable conditions.

We made custom smoke bombs, which are made of 50% potassium nitrate (KNO3), 40% sucrose (sugar) and 10% sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and included a safety fuse for igniting it at a distance. The sugar acts as our fuel source, while the potassium nitrate acts as an oxidizing agent and the baking soda ensures that our dry mixture sustains a slow and even burn.

Using the GreyWolf PC3500 Particle Counter, we were able to verify that 0.5 grams of our smoke bomb dry mixture produces roughly between 590 million and 610 million particles per meter cubed. The device is able to count particles of different sizes, including PM2.5 and PM10, and it logs this data once every 15 seconds. Although we're able to count particles of different sizes individually, it's the total number of particles we care about, which is the sum of all particles of different sizes.

We prepared a 0.5-gram smoke bomb, which is ignited via the ignition port after installing the air purifier and ensuring proper sealing. Once the air in the chamber becomes particle-saturated (greater than 580 million particles/m3), we turn on the air purifier in question. The data extracted from the GreyWolf PC2500 Particle Counter allows us to accurately track the impact that the air purifier has on the particle count in real time.

Noise level

Using a decibel meter, we measured how loud the air purifiers are at their low, medium and high fan settings. This is particularly important if you plan on having your air purifier on in your bedroom overnight and you don't want it to disrupt your sleep. We perform this test in our sound-controlled studio to make sure that the decibel meter records only sound from the air purifiers, excluding other possible sources.

To give you a frame of reference, a quiet whisper is about 25 decibels. A normal conversation can range from 60 to 70 decibels. A vacuum cleaner ranges from 65 to 80 decibels. A subway train 200 feet away is as loud as 95 decibels. With most of our air purifiers no louder than 65 decibels, even at maximum fan setting, you're typically looking at a noise level that's on par with a normal conversation.

Energy consumption

To answer this question, we used a device called Kill-a-Watt and measured how much power each air purifier consumed at different fan settings. Knowing the energy draw for your air purifier could make a difference to your energy bill.

Blueair Blue Pure 511: The Blueair Blue Pure 511 air purifier is an effective model in its own right. In our particle-removal test, the Pure 511 cleared our smoke-contaminated test chamber air back to non-hazardous conditions in less than 20 minutes at its lowest fan setting. Every other small-size air purifier we tested took at least 35 minutes to clean the air in that same test. The Pure 511 led the way on the high setting too, clearing the room in a category-leading 7 minutes, 30 seconds. Its low energy draw is the determining factor here, with among the lowest energy requirements of any air purifier, drawing just 0.0135 kilowatts per hour, even on its highest setting. Your best bet for larger spaces, regardless of pollutant type, is still either the Blueair Blue Pure 311i Max or Coway Airmega 400s above, but for a space such as a bedroom where your pets stay with you at night, the Blueair Blue Pure 511 is a decent choice.

Levoit Core Mini: Most air purifiers run within a decibel range of 33 and 55 decibels, depending on the model and setting. For comparison, that’s the difference between a light rainfall -- easy to sleep through -- and a normal conversation volume -- less easy to sleep through. Noise might be a determining factor, then, if you’re looking to literally rest and breathe easy by running an air purifier in your bedroom. The quietest of the bunch is the Levoit Core Mini, whose tested volume was only 37.2 decibels, even on its highest setting. (Most other models demonstrated 44 decibels and above.) As a purifier, the Levoit Core Mini isn’t the most powerful, but is suitable for a small bedroom. It can clear 378 square feet in an hour, but only to a particle size of 0.3 microns. This is the industry requirement for HEPA filters, but many other models offer better outcomes. In addition to its extremely quiet running volume, however, it also has the lowest energy draw, at 0.0061 kilowatts per hour, the smallest footprint and the smallest price tag, making it a reasonable investment if you’re looking to try out an air purifier in your bedroom or other small space.

Germ Guardian AC4300: The Germ Guardian AC4300 had medium air-clearing performance among the air purifiers we tested, clearing 612 square feet in about an hour, with a median Clean Air Delivery Rate between 99 and 116 decibels, depending on the particulate matter in question. It is suitable primarily for small spaces, with a slightly higher energy draw than those of a similar volume, but a lower running noise level. For those whose primary concern is pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, however, this is an effective model with a relatively small footprint and a modest price tag.