The air inside your home can be as or more polluted than the air outside, according to the EPA. An affordable air purifier can help remove dust, smoke and other pollutants — many of our favorites, especially for small spaces, cost under $150.
We’ve been using air purifiers for years, and spoke with filtration experts to better understand what to look for when shopping for one on a budget. Plus our experts explain terms you should know like HEPA, CADR and more.
SKIP AHEAD The best affordable air purifiers under $150 | How to shop for an affordable air purifiers | Why trust NBC Select?
How we picked the best air purifiers under $150
We spoke with filtration experts to learn more about the technical aspects of air purifiers. We combined their advice with our experience using air purifiers to select products using the following criteria:
- Price: Every air purifier we selected costs less than $150.
- Room size: Most air purifiers under $150 are best suited for smaller rooms. Still, we tried to select products that can accommodate different room sizes. After all, an air purifier rated for small spaces will not be effective in a giant garage.
- Filtration: Per expert guidance, we selected models with a clean air delivery rate (CADR, learn more here) equal to about two-thirds the product’s recommended room size.
- Filters: Every air purifier we selected uses a HEPA filter (learn more here), which is ideally designed to filter out at least 99.7% of particles of 0.3 microns or larger in diameter, according to our experts.
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The best affordable air purifiers under $150
Many of our recommendations are NBC Select staff favorites we have used in our homes for years. Others are top-rated options with unique specs or features. Below each recommendation we share specifications we think you should know like recommended room size, CADR, sound rating and more.
Editor’s pick: Levoit Core 300
- Small and compact
- High CADR
- No auto mode
NBC Select updates editor Mili Godio uses this air purifier in her bedroom — it keeps the room clean of dust and debris, and is barely audible throughout the day and night. Its compact, circular design is easy to place anywhere in your space, in our experience. The screen on top has lights that can be turned off, a nice feature for bedrooms.
This model does not have smart connectivity — consider the slightly-pricier Levoit Core 300s if that is a must-have for you.
Recommended room size: 219 sq. ft. | Decibels: 24 — 50 dB(A) | CADR (CFM): smoke: 141, dust: 140, pollen: 145 | Filter lifespan: ~6 to 8 months | Smart connectivity: no | Speeds: 3 | Weight: 7.5 lbs | AHAM verified: yes
Runner up: Blueair Pure 511
- Small and lightweight
- Fabric pre-filter
- Quiet
- No auto mode
Multiple NBC Select team members use and love air purifiers from Blueair — I have used the larger 311i Max in my home for years. The Pure 511l is small, light and easy to use, with one button on the top that switches between night mode, normal mode and boost mode.
It pulls unfiltered air in all directions and pushes clean air out the top. It has a machine-washable fabric cover that catches large clumps of dust, lint and hair — I’ve thrown similar covers from the brand in the washing machine with no issues.
Recommended room size (AHAM): 180 sq. ft. | Decibels: 24 — 49 dB(A) | CADR (CFM): smoke: 112, dust: 112, pollen: 112 | Filter lifespan: 6 to 9 months | Smart connectivity: no | Speeds: 3 | Weight: 4.2 lbs | AHAM verified: yes
For medium-sized spaces: Winix A230
- Rated for larger rooms
- High CADR
- Auto mode
- Nothing at this time
This air purifier from Winix is the same price as our picks from Blueair and Levoit, but is fit for larger rooms — up to 230 square feet. It also has the highest CADR scores of any purifier on this list.
It has an auto-mode that automatically adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality detected in your space, according to the brand. Like our other top picks, it draws air in all directions and pushes filtered air out of the top, making it easier to place in any room.
Recommended room size (AHAM): 230 sq. ft. | Decibels: undisclosed | CADR (CFM): smoke: 147, dust: 149, pollen: 154 | Filter lifespan: 12 months | Smart connectivity: no | Speeds: 4 | Weight: 6.75 lbs | AHAM verified: yes
For smart connectivity: Levoit Vital 100S-P
- High CADR
- Auto mode
- Smart connectivity
- Larger than other top picks
This air purifier is a little larger and boxier than our other picks, but has smart features uncommon at this price point. Like our pick from Winix, it has an auto mode that automatically detects the air quality in your room and changes the filter speed accordingly. But the wider, U-shaped design better traps large particles like pet fur, according to the brand.
Unlike all our other picks, you can control this air purifier remotely with your phone using the VeSync app. You can also control it with smart home voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Recommended room size: 219 sq. ft. | Decibels: 23 — 52 dB(A) | CADR (CFM): smoke: 141, dust: 141, pollen: 141 | Filter lifespan: 6 to 12 months | Smart connectivity: yes | Speeds: 3 | Weight: 7.5 lbs | AHAM verified: yes
Air purifier plus night light: Coway Airmega 100
- Adjustable night light
- Auto mode
- Lower CADR than other picks
It won’t replace a sunrise alarm clock, but this air purifier from Coway may be able to pull double duty as a night light in the right space. It has a built-in light that acts as either an air quality indicator, changing colors depending on the detected air quality, or a warm amber-colored night light. (You can leave the light off too.)
Like many of our other picks, this is a circular air purifier that pulls in air from all directions and pushes clean air out of the top vents. It has a slightly lower CADR than some competitors, though.
Recommended room size: | Decibels: 20 — 48 dB(A) | CADR (CFM): smoke: 108, dust: 124, pollen: 112 | Filter lifespan: 12 months | Smart connectivity: no | Speeds: 3 | Weight: 6.6 lbs | AHAM verified: no
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How to shop for an affordable air purifiers
When it comes to air purifiers, there are a few terms that can help you better understand what to look for when shopping.
HEPA
The Department of Energy defines a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter as one that removes 99.97% of particulates that are 0.3 microns in size.
But there is very little enforcement of HEPA standards, says Michael Corbat, vice president of engineering for Rensa Filtration. Most of the time, you are relying on the manufacturers or third-party laboratories to verify if a filter meets HEPA standards. “For the average consumer, there is simply not enough oversight at this point,” he says.
A small filtration difference — a purifier that filters out 99.94% of particles compared to 99.97% — would likely not make much of a difference in air quality, says Corbat.
CADR
CADR (clean air delivery rating) is the best way to determine an air purifier’s performance, says Corbat. CADR is given three numbers: one for tobacco smoke, one for dust and one for pollen. For example, a pollen CADR of 125 means that the air purifier can deliver 125 cubic feet of pollen-free air per minute. (CADR assumes a space with ceilings that are eight feet high). According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturer (AHAM), your air purifier should have a CADR rating equal to about two-thirds the cubic feet of your room.
Corbat recommends air purifiers with CADRs certified by AHAM, otherwise, you are most likely relying on the manufacturer’s self-reporting. Below each product recommendation, we list whether the product is AHAM certified. You can find the CADR ratings of any AHAM-certified air purifier on the AHAM Verifide website.
Space
It’s important that the air purifier you have is rated for the size of your space, or else it will not effectively clean your air, says Kenneth Mendez, president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
An affordable $99 air purifier might not be the best choice for a 1,000 square foot room, for example. Keep the two-thirds CADR rule in mind when choosing an air purifier for your space.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Michael Corbat is the vice president of engineering for Rensa Filtration and former president of the National Air Filtration Association.
- Kenneth Mendez is the president of the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Why trust NBC Select?
Niska Dhawan is a former associate commerce editor at NBC Select.
Harry Rabinowitz is a reporter at NBC Select who covers technology and fitness including guides to smartwatches, lab-certified air purifiers and over-ear headphones.
For this article, Dhawan and Rabinowitz interviewed experts on the technical aspects of air filtration. They also leveraged the personal experience of the NBC Select team using air purifiers in their own homes.
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