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Loading...Thirteen air purifiers spanning $32 to $1,200 were run through the same set of measurements: airflow at low and high fan speed with an air speed meter and Pitot tube, power draw at both speeds, and noise on high against a 37.7 dB shop floor. Filtration was then measured three ways — a sealed 3 ft by 4 ft by 2 ft box filled with smoke and sampled with a particle counter after three minutes, the same box loaded with carpet dust and sampled after two minutes, and a real 240 sq ft room seeded with burnt-toast smoke, air mixed by a fan, measured after 30 minutes.
Airflow explains most of the spread, but only up to a point. Past roughly 130 CFM the machines all clear visible smoke in well under a minute, and what separates them is filter efficiency — the unit that moved the most air did not win the smoke test, and the $1,200 machine did not beat the $180 one.
Best Performance
Cleanest air in the smoke box at 115 particles, and the most particles removed in the 30-minute room test at 3.9 million.
Best Value
Best medium-size pick. Cleared the smoke box in 32 seconds and removed 2.7 million particles in the room test, for about $100.
Best Compact
Pick for small spaces. Best of the three compact units: 31 CFM, 5,604 dust particles remaining, and 7.62 W on high speed.
| Name | Purchased for ($) | Link | Made In | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coway | $229.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
Tied for second overall. Highest airflow in the lineup at 293 CFM, fastest to clear visible smoke at 24 seconds, and a clean sweep in the dust test. Draws the most power at 75.7 W. | ||||
| Dyson | $1200.00 | Search on Amazon | Malaysia | |
Tied for second overall and by far the most expensive. Second quietest on high at 48.7 dB, best low-speed airflow at 83 CFM, and second-cleanest smoke result at 135 particles. | ||||
| Fulminare | $32.00 | Search on Amazon | China | |
Ultra-budget compact purifier weighing 1.87 lb. Extremely low power draw at 2.32 W and the quietest unit here at 45.4 dB, but the weakest performer in every filtration test. | ||||
| AroEve | $45.00 | Search on Amazon | China | |
Compact low-cost purifier that moves about twice the air of the Fulminare at 23 CFM. Better filtration for it, but still far behind the full-size models. | ||||
| Levoit Mini | $50.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
The standout among the three compact purifiers. Most airflow of the small units at 31 CFM and the best compact result in both the smoke and dust box tests. | ||||
| GermGuardian | $100.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
A large jump in capability over the compact models, with dual outlets totaling 136 CFM. Excellent smoke-box and dust-box results, though relatively loud at 60.9 dB and power-hungry at 52.7 W. | ||||
| Levoit 300 | $100.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
The value pick and the best medium-size purifier in the test. Cleared the smoke box in 32 seconds and left 310 particles, matching machines costing twice as much. | ||||
| Mooka | $103.00 | Search on Amazon | China | |
Solid mid-pack performer at 117 CFM, with 372 particles left after the smoke test and a clean sweep in the dust test. Moderate power draw at 26.08 W. | ||||
| Blueair | $140.00 | Search on Amazon | China | |
Unusually efficient airflow per watt, moving 125 CFM on just 14.68 W. Strong 30-minute room cleanup at 3.1 million particles removed, though mid-pack in the sealed-box smoke test. | ||||
| Winix | $180.00 | Search on Amazon | Thailand | |
Overall winner. Cleanest air in the smoke box at 115 particles, most particles removed in the 30-minute room test, and zero residual dust. Noisy on high at 63.1 dB. | ||||
| Levoit 200 | $190.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
Large-format unit that moved 291 CFM, second only to the Coway, and stayed quiet for its size at 57.9 dB. Second place in the 30-minute room test. | ||||
| PuroAir | $199.00 | Search on Amazon | China | |
Respectable large-room purifier at 142 CFM, but it trailed the leaders with 632 particles left in the smoke box and only 1.9 million removed in the room test. | ||||
| Shark | $250.00 | Search on Amazon | Vietnam | |
Moves modest air at 101 CFM but filters well for its size, capturing all the dust in two minutes and leaving 313 particles in the smoke box. Very low power draw at 16 W. | ||||
Lower is better
Prices at the time of testing. The Dyson costs nearly five times more than the next most expensive purifier, while the Levoit 300 delivers full-size performance at about $100.
Air volume on the highest fan speed; higher is better
Coway produced the most airflow at 293 CFM, with Levoit 200 a very close second at 291 and Winix third at 270. The GermGuardian figure is the combined total of its two outlets at 68 CFM each.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coway | 293 |
| 2 | Levoit 200 | 291 |
| 3 | Winix | 270 |
| 4 | Dyson | 221 |
| 5 | Levoit 300 | 155 |
| 6 | PuroAir | 142 |
| 7 | GermGuardian | 136 |
| 8 | Blueair | 125 |
| 9 | Mooka | 117 |
| 10 | Shark | 101 |
| 11 | Levoit Mini | 31 |
| 12 | AroEve | 23 |
| 13 | Fulminare | 13 |
Air volume on the lowest fan speed; higher is better
Dyson moved the most air on the lowest setting at 83 CFM, ahead of Levoit 200 at 59 and Levoit 300 at 39. Low speed is the setting most purifiers actually run on overnight, and the ranking there looks nothing like the high-speed order.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dyson | 83 |
| 2 | Levoit 200 | 59 |
| 3 | Levoit 300 | 39 |
| 4 | GermGuardian | 30 |
| 5 | Winix | 24 |
| 6 | PuroAir | 22 |
| 7 | Coway | 17 |
| 8 | AroEve | 16 |
| 9 | Mooka | 16 |
| 10 | Shark | 16 |
| 11 | Levoit Mini | 12 |
| 12 | Blueair | 8 |
| 13 | Fulminare | 5 |
Measured on the highest fan speed; lower is better
The three compact models all stayed under 8 W, with Fulminare using just 2.32 W. Coway drew the most at 75.7 W. Blueair and Shark stand out for moving real air on very little power — 125 CFM on 14.68 W and 101 CFM on 16 W.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulminare | 2.32 |
| 2 | AroEve | 5.27 |
| 3 | Levoit Mini | 7.62 |
| 4 | Blueair | 14.68 |
| 5 | Shark | 16 |
| 6 | Mooka | 26.08 |
| 7 | Dyson | 36.21 |
| 8 | Levoit 200 | 49.39 |
| 9 | PuroAir | 49.77 |
| 10 | GermGuardian | 52.70 |
| 11 | Winix | 58.31 |
| 12 | Levoit 300 | 58.95 |
| 13 | Coway | 75.70 |
Measured against a 37.7 dB ambient floor; lower is better
Fulminare was quietest overall at 45.4 dB, but it is also the smallest fan here. The more useful result is the Dyson at 48.7 dB — second quietest in the whole lineup despite being the largest machine. Levoit 300 and Coway were the loudest at 64.8 and 64.4 dB.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulminare | 45.40 |
| 2 | Dyson | 48.70 |
| 3 | AroEve | 49.90 |
| 4 | Levoit Mini | 52.90 |
| 5 | Shark | 54.20 |
| 6 | Levoit 200 | 57.90 |
| 7 | Blueair | 59.30 |
| 8 | GermGuardian | 60.90 |
| 9 | PuroAir | 62 |
| 10 | Mooka | 62.10 |
| 11 | Winix | 63.10 |
| 12 | Coway | 64.40 |
| 13 | Levoit 300 | 64.80 |
Time to clear visible smoke from a sealed 3 x 4 x 2 ft box; lower is better
Coway cleared visible smoke fastest at 24 seconds, followed by Dyson at 26 and Levoit 200 at 28. Fulminare still had visible smoke in the box when the three-minute test ended.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coway | 24 |
| 2 | Dyson | 26 |
| 3 | Levoit 200 | 28 |
| 4 | Winix | 31 |
| 5 | Levoit 300 | 32 |
| 6 | Mooka | 35 |
| 7 | Blueair | 35 |
| 8 | GermGuardian | 40 |
| 9 | Shark | 41 |
| 10 | PuroAir | 47 |
| 11 | Levoit Mini | 72 |
| 12 | AroEve | 82 |
| 13 | Fulminare | 180 |
Total particle count remaining in the sealed box; lower is better
The box was filled with smoke to over five million particles. Winix finished on top with 115 total particles remaining, Dyson second at 135, and Coway third at 232. Fulminare was still above four million when time expired, and the two other compact units left hundreds of thousands behind.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winix | 115 |
| 2 | Dyson | 135 |
| 3 | Coway | 232 |
| 4 | Levoit 300 | 310 |
| 5 | Shark | 313 |
| 6 | Levoit 200 | 366 |
| 7 | Mooka | 372 |
| 8 | GermGuardian | 458 |
| 9 | PuroAir | 632 |
| 10 | Blueair | 965 |
| 11 | Levoit Mini | 354000 |
| 12 | AroEve | 537343 |
| 13 | Fulminare | 4000000 |
Total particle count remaining after carpet dust; lower is better
Starting from more than 200,000 particles, eight of the thirteen purifiers drove the count to a flat zero inside two minutes. Blueair and PuroAir came close at 191 and 210. Fulminare was far behind the field at just under 51,000.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GermGuardian | 0 |
| 2 | Levoit 300 | 0 |
| 3 | Mooka | 0 |
| 4 | Winix | 0 |
| 5 | Levoit 200 | 0 |
| 6 | Coway | 0 |
| 7 | Shark | 0 |
| 8 | Dyson | 0 |
| 9 | Blueair | 191 |
| 10 | PuroAir | 210 |
| 11 | Levoit Mini | 5604 |
| 12 | AroEve | 7239 |
| 13 | Fulminare | 51000 |
Reduction in total particle count in a 240 sq ft room; higher is better
This is the test closest to real use: a 240 sq ft room filled with burnt-toast smoke to roughly 4.4 million particles, air kept mixed by a fan, measured after 30 minutes. Winix removed the most at 3.9 million, Levoit 200 second at 3.7 million, and Coway third at 3.52 million. Blueair punched well above its 125 CFM here at 3.1 million.
| Rank | Product | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winix | 3.90 |
| 2 | Levoit 200 | 3.70 |
| 3 | Coway | 3.52 |
| 4 | Dyson | 3.18 |
| 5 | Blueair | 3.10 |
| 6 | Levoit 300 | 2.70 |
| 7 | Mooka | 2 |
| 8 | PuroAir | 1.90 |
| 9 | Shark | 1.86 |
| 10 | GermGuardian | 1.84 |
| 11 | Fulminare | 1 |
The Winix at $180 is the winner. It won by being the only machine to lead both hard filtration tests: 115 particles left in the sealed smoke box, the lowest in the lineup, and 3.9 million particles removed from a 240 sq ft room in 30 minutes, about 200,000 more than the Levoit 200 and 700,000 more than the Blueair. It also swept the dust test to a flat zero. It is not the airflow champion — 270 CFM puts it third — which is the whole point: filter efficiency, not fan size, decided this test. The one real drawback is noise, at 63.1 dB on the highest speed.
For a medium-size room the pick is the Levoit 300 at about $100. It cleared the smoke box in 32 seconds, faster than anything except the Coway, Dyson, and Levoit 200, finished with 310 particles, hit zero in the dust test, and pulled 2.7 million particles out of the room test — better than purifiers costing two and three times as much. It is loud on high at 64.8 dB and draws 58.95 W, so it is best run a step down. In small spaces the Levoit Mini is the one to buy: at $50 it moved 31 CFM, cut the dust count to 5,604 where the AroEve left 7,239, and used only 7.62 W.
The Coway and Dyson tied for second overall, and the gap between them is price. The Coway at $229 produced the most airflow in the test at 293 CFM and cleared visible smoke fastest at 24 seconds, but it draws 75.7 W and runs at 64.4 dB. The Dyson at $1,200 is quieter than every large purifier here at 48.7 dB, moved the most air on low at 83 CFM, and finished second in the smoke box at 135 particles — genuinely excellent, and roughly seven times the price of the machine that beat it. At the bottom, the $32 Fulminare should be avoided outright: it never cleared the smoke box in three minutes, left 51,000 dust particles where most units left none, and barely moved the needle in the room test. Below roughly $100 the compact units are desk-side accessories, not room purifiers.