8 Major Air Purifier Brands Ranked Worst To Best, According To Consumer Reports

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Air purifiers are among the small smart home upgrades that instantly make your home more comfortable. These devices improve the quality of the air indoors, which will do wonders for your family's health. However, with so many brands that make them, it could be tough to choose which one to buy. To help you out, we've determined a ranking of air purifier brands based on scores and reviews from Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization that does independent product testing and ratings, has reviewed nearly 200 air purifiers across four size categories. It has also given the manufacturers of these devices brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores. We considered all of these in ranking the major air purifier brands that met our criteria from worst to best. We've laid out the details of our methodology at the end of this article.

To support our rankings, we highlighted Consumer Reports' top-rated models for each manufacturer that showcase their capabilities. We also gathered insights from professional reviews whenever available, as well as comments on shopping platforms and social media, not just on these devices but also on the air purifier brands in general. Air purifiers are quickly becoming essential smart home gadgets, and we hope to help you make the best choice for your needs.

Of the major air purifier brands that we considered for this ranking, HoMedics placed last. It actually has the third-highest average for its review scores from Consumer Reports, with six models rated, but it also received the lowest brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores among the eight brands in this roundup. This pulled down HoMedics, which was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1987, and also makes humidifiers, diffusers, and health monitoring equipment.

The HoMedics AP-C500, which is in the large room category, and the HoMedics AP-T200, which is in the medium room category, are the brand's highest-scoring air purifiers among those reviewed by Consumer Reports. Both air purifiers are excellent at dust, pollen, and smoke removal at high speed, and over at The Home Depot, they both have a near-perfect average score of 4.9 stars out of 5 stars. Shoppers loved the aesthetics of both the HoMedics AP-C500 and the HoMedics AP-T200, as well as their Wi-Fi connectivity that enables app control and scheduling.

GermGuardian, part of Ohio-based Guardian Technologies, barely avoids the last spot in this ranking after getting the second-lowest brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores. Consumer Reports, meanwhile, reviewed 10 of its air purifiers for an average score that's good for fifth place among the brands here. This isn't enough to pull GermGuardian higher than seventh place overall, though.

The brand's top-rated air purifier, according to Consumer Reports, is the GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA, which is also the highest-scoring device among all models that we've featured in this ranking. It also got the highest score in the small room category, with excellent marks at both low and high speeds for dust, pollen, and smoke removal, as well as for noise levels at low speed and for ease of use. A review by Breathe Quality lists its "stable and strong performance" compared to its retail price of $200 as one of its strengths. That review also noted that the device gets loud at high speed and that there are issues with its smart features, such as bad connections with Amazon's Alexa.

Consumer Reports has reviewed 12 Honeywell air purifier models, more than for all other companies on this list except Blueair. Impressively, Honeywell's average score for these ratings is also in second place. However, with brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores in the lower half, the Charlotte, North Carolina, manufacturer falls to sixth place in this ranking. Redditors explained that there are fewer recommendations to buy Honeywell air purifiers over those of other brands, at least partially because they're loud when they operate. And, while Honeywell is an established brand, its devices are boring and lack innovation.

The Honeywell HPA120W is the brand's highest-scoring air purifier, and it's right behind the GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA in the small room category. It received excellent scores from Consumer Reports at both low and high speeds for dust, pollen, and smoke removal, as well as for ease of use. At Walmart.com, the device has a high score of 4.8 stars out of 5 stars, with positive feedback from customers on its effectiveness, low maintenance, and compact design.

Levoit, which operates under the Vesync Group with other smart home brands Etekcity and Cosori, is in the top half in terms of brand reliability, but in the bottom half for both owner satisfaction and average review score across five devices. The brand just misses the top half of this ranking, and over on Reddit, there is a mixture of recommendations for and against Levoit air purifiers, especially after the controversy over the misrepresentation of its devices as meeting the standards of a HEPA filter, once touted as a COVID-19 safeguard.

In the large room category, the Levoit PlasmaPro 600S-P is the brand's highest-rated air purifier, with an excellent score from Consumer Reports for dust, pollen, and smoke removal at high speed. As with the overall sentiment on the brand, reviews on the device elsewhere are divided. It has an average rating of 4.8 stars on Best Buy, with appreciation for its effective performance and smart features, but some Redditors don't like the air purifier for its relatively high price, cheap build quality, and the tendency for a foul smell to form on its filters.

Winix is solidly in fourth place in this ranking. Its brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores are both in fourth place among the brands, and the average of its review scores from Consumer Reports is also in fourth. The South Korea-based manufacturer, which also makes other home appliances, just slips into the top half in this roundup over Levoit, though some Redditors warn of unreliable motor bearings in Winix air purifiers.

For Winix, the air purifier with the highest score from Consumer Reports is the Winix 9800 in the large room category. The device, which received an excellent score for dust, pollen, and smoke removal at high speed, is also featured in Air Purifier First's review of Winix air purifiers as the best option for large rooms. This is echoed by Redditors, who said that the Winix 9800 is great for big areas, such as the kitchen and the living room.

Alen, a Texas-based brand with a specialization in high-performance air purifiers for residential and commercial use, comes in at third in this ranking. Among the eight brands we considered, it actually has the lowest average review score from Consumer Reports for six models, and it's in the bottom half for brand reliability scores. However, it's ranked first for owner satisfaction, which is enough to pull Alen into the top three. This can be seen in Reddit threads, too, as the brand's air purifiers are widely recommended for their quiet operation, efficient energy usage, and lifetime warranty as long as you only use Alen filters.

The Alen BreatheSmart 75i is the brand's highest-scoring air purifier from Consumer Reports. The device falls under the extra-large room category, and it received solid scores for dust, pollen, and smoke removal at high speed, and for ease of use. These are also listed as some of the air purifier's pros in TechRadar's review, which also mentioned its great app support for remote control and air quality insights. A Redditor added that the Alen BreatheSmart 75i is durable, as it has been running continuously for five years in auto mode, only turned off to vacuum the exterior screen or to replace its HEPA filter once a year.

Similar to Alen, South Korea-based Coway breaks into the top three despite having the second-lowest average review score for eight models from Consumer Reports. This is because it received a near-perfect score for brand reliability to rank first in this metric, and it's tied for second place in owner satisfaction. There's high praise for the brand among Redditors because of its high quality, great value, and excellent customer service.

Coway may have a low average review score, but the Coway Airmega ProX shares the distinction with the GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA as the highest-rated air purifier that we've featured in this ranking. It's on top of the extra-large room category, with excellent scores for dust, pollen, and smoke removal at both low and high speeds. Tom's Guide noted that the air purifier doesn't have app support and doesn't work with smart home voice assistants. It's also fairly large and expensive compared to other models on this list, but the Coway Airmega ProX's powerful performance (it can cover up to 4,000 square feet) and double HEPA filter design make it a standout.

For this ranking, we give the crown to Blueair. The Unilever-owned brand, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, is second in brand reliability, tied for second in owner satisfaction, and first in average rating despite having the most devices reviewed by Consumer Reports at 14 models. According to Redditors, air purifiers made by Blueair feature solid build quality and high dependability, though filter replacements are expensive.

Blueair's top-rated model is the Blueair Mini Restful, which is a unique device under the small room category. Not just a simple air purifier, the Mini Restful also features a sound machine to help you sleep and sunrise light, all tied to a clock. It also received excellent scores for dust, pollen, and smoke removal at high speed and ease of use as an air purifier from Consumer Reports, and T3 describes it as "the perfect bedroom accessory" as it cleans the air while you sleep, then provides light and an alarm that wakes you up more naturally. It definitely belongs on the list of gadgets that could replace your morning alarm!

First and foremost, for this ranking, we considered manufacturers as major air purifier brands only if they have at least five models that were reviewed by Consumer Reports. This meant we had to skip popular consumer electronics brands like Dyson and LG, as their wide presence across different types of devices meant they didn't have enough air purifier models to meet this benchmark. 

After selecting the major air purifier brands, we calculated the average score for all their models that were reviewed by Consumer Reports. We then took the average of that number, the brand reliability score, and the owner satisfaction score for each manufacturer. The results determined their positions in this ranking.

For the top-rated model of each brand, we chose the device with the highest rating from Consumer Reports across all four categories: extra-large room (650 square feet or more), large room (350-650 square feet), medium room (150-350 square feet), and small room (150 square feet or less). We searched for reviews from reputable websites for additional insights on these air purifiers and for comments on shopping websites and social networks about these devices and brands.