Buying guide · Air purifiers
The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Our top picks: the Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max (most smoke cleared), the Levoit Core 600S (best value for big rooms) and the Coway Airmega 400 (built for long smoke seasons). Smoke and smog are mostly PM2.5, the fine particles a HEPA filter is made to catch. What separates a purifier that copes from one that doesn't is how much clean air it moves, its smoke CADR, against the size of your room.
For smoke, AHAM, which certifies those ratings, suggests a stricter target than for everyday use: a smoke CADR at least equal to the floor area in square feet. Each pick below shows the room it can keep up with on that measure, from about 22 m² to 40 m².
Updated · 7 picks · figures from AHAM, Energy Star, NIOSH and the makers · no brand pays to be listed
Quick picks
Most smoke cleared
Blueair Blue Pure 211i MaxThe most clean air here: 435 cfm, enough to keep up with about 40 m² on a smoky day.
Best value for big rooms
Levoit Core 600SNearly as much clean air as the Blueair for less: 391 cfm, about 36 m² on a smoky day.
Built for long smoke seasons
Coway Airmega 400Two filters, one on each side, move 376 cfm (Energy Star), about 35 m² on a smoky day.
Simplest to use
Honeywell HPA300Plain and powerful: 300 cfm, verified by AHAM, about 28 m² on a smoky day, with a Turbo setting for the worst hours.
Best on a budget
Levoit Vital 200S250 cfm, about 23 m² on a smoky day, at a mid-range price, and Levoit sells a smoke-remover version of its filter with extra carbon for the smell.
Best for a bedroom
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH MightyThe long-running favorite: 233 cfm verified by AHAM keeps up with a bedroom or small living room of about 22 m² on a smoky day.
Fallback when purifiers sell out
Filtrete MPR 1900 MERV 13 filters for a DIY box-fan purifier (4-pack)The US EPA's do-it-yourself design: MERV 13 filters fitted to a box fan.
| Purifier | Smoke CADR | Everyday room | Smoky days | Quietest | Filter | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blueair Blue Pure 211i MaxMost smoke cleared | 435 cfm | 63 m² (674 ft²) | 40 m² | 23 dB | — | $349.99at blueair.com |
| Levoit Core 600SBest value for big rooms | 391 cfm | 56 m² (606 ft²) | 36 m² | 26 dB | $59.99every 6–12 months | $299.99at levoit.com |
| Coway Airmega 400Built for long smoke seasons | 376 cfm | 54 m² (583 ft²) | 35 m² | 22 dB | $129.00up to 1 year | $649.00at cowaymega.com |
| Honeywell HPA300Simplest to use | 300 cfm | 43 m² (465 ft²) | 28 m² | — | $89.95 | $269.95at honeywellstore.com |
| Levoit Vital 200SBest on a budget | 250 cfm | 36 m² (388 ft²) | 23 m² | 27 dB | $49.99 | $169.99at levoit.com |
| Coway Airmega AP-1512HH MightyBest for a bedroom | 233 cfm | 34 m² (361 ft²) | 22 m² | 24.4 dB | $59.79up to 1 year | $239.99at cowaymega.com |
| Filtrete MPR 1900 MERV 13 filters for a DIY box-fan purifier (4-pack)Fallback when purifiers sell out | — | — | — | — | — | $87.99at walmart.com |
Everyday room: AHAM's room size for the smoke CADR (about five clean-outs an hour). Smoky days: AHAM's stricter advice for smoke, a CADR at least equal to the floor area in square feet. Quietest: the maker's figure for its lowest setting. Filter: the replacement's list price at its maker.
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Most smoke cleared
Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max
The most clean air here: 435 cfm, enough to keep up with about 40 m² on a smoky day. It draws air in from all sides, so it can stand in the middle of a room, and it's quiet on low.
- Cleans
- 63 m² day to day, 40 m² on smoky days
- Quietest
- 23 dB
- Clears about 40 m² on a smoky day
- Air in from all sides, so it can stand anywhere
- From 23 dB on its lowest setting
- Its 435 cfm is Blueair's own rating, not an AHAM test
- Premium price
$349.99at blueair.com
Best value for big rooms
Levoit Core 600S
Nearly as much clean air as the Blueair for less: 391 cfm, about 36 m² on a smoky day. A laser PM2.5 sensor drives auto mode, so it turns itself up when smoke gets in.
- Cleans
- 56 m² day to day, 36 m² on smoky days
- Quietest
- 26 dB
- Filter
- $59.99, every 6–12 months
- 391 cfm for about 36 m² of smoke
- Laser PM2.5 sensor and auto mode
- App and voice control
- From 26 dB, louder at night than the bedroom picks
- Its filter costs more than the smaller Levoits'
$299.99at levoit.com
Built for long smoke seasons
Coway Airmega 400
Two filters, one on each side, move 376 cfm (Energy Star), about 35 m² on a smoky day. A 5-year warranty and a filter set that lasts up to a year make it the one to run hard, season after season.
- Cleans
- 54 m² day to day, 35 m² on smoky days
- Quietest
- 22 dB
- Filter
- $129.00, up to 1 year
- 376 cfm, verified by Energy Star
- 5-year warranty
- From 22 dB on low
- The highest price here
- The filter set is the priciest to replace
$649.00at cowaymega.com
Simplest to use
Honeywell HPA300
Plain and powerful: 300 cfm, verified by AHAM, about 28 m² on a smoky day, with a Turbo setting for the worst hours. Nothing to set up and a 5-year warranty.
- Cleans
- 43 m² day to day, 28 m² on smoky days
- Filter
- $89.95
- 300 cfm with a Turbo setting
- Buttons only: nothing to set up
- 5-year warranty
- Takes three R filters at once
- A separate pre-filter to replace too
$269.95at honeywellstore.com
Best on a budget
Levoit Vital 200S
250 cfm, about 23 m² on a smoky day, at a mid-range price, and Levoit sells a smoke-remover version of its filter with extra carbon for the smell.
- Cleans
- 36 m² day to day, 23 m² on smoky days
- Quietest
- 27 dB
- Filter
- $49.99
- The most clean air for the price here
- A smoke-remover filter is available
- Washable pre-filter
- From 27 dB, the loudest at night of these
- Not enough for a big living room in heavy smoke
$169.99at levoit.com · sale price, was $189.99
Best for a bedroom
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty
The long-running favorite: 233 cfm verified by AHAM keeps up with a bedroom or small living room of about 22 m² on a smoky day. Its carbon pre-filter takes the edge off the smell.
- Cleans
- 34 m² day to day, 22 m² on smoky days
- Quietest
- 24.4 dB
- Filter
- $59.79, up to 1 year
- About 22 m² on a smoky day
- Carbon deodorization filter
- From 24.4 dB on low
- Too small for a big living room in smoke
- Has an ionizer: switch it off
$239.99at cowaymega.com
Fallback when purifiers sell out
Filtrete MPR 1900 MERV 13 filters for a DIY box-fan purifier (4-pack)
The US EPA's do-it-yourself design: MERV 13 filters fitted to a box fan. It isn't a rated purifier, but when every store is sold out during a big fire, it cleans a room's air quickly for little money.
- Cheap and quick to set up
- Based on the EPA's tested DIY design
- No verified CADR
- Louder and bulkier than a real purifier
$87.99at walmart.com · 4 filters
What size do you need?
The single biggest mistake is a purifier too small for the room. Type yours in to see the clean air it needs, and which picks get there.
You need a smoke CADR of at least 162 cfm (your room is about 161 ft²).
On this list: Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max, Levoit Core 600S, Coway Airmega 400, Honeywell HPA300, Levoit Vital 200S, Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty.
The rule is AHAM's, the US body that certifies CADR ratings: two-thirds of the floor area in square feet day to day, the full floor area for smoke. It assumes an 8 ft (2.4 m) ceiling; for a higher one, aim a little above it.
Make one clean room
The US EPA's advice for smoke is to choose one room, usually the one you sleep in, and make it the cleanest in the house: shut its doors and windows, run a purifier sized for it, and stay in it while the air outside is bad.
Don't add smoke indoors while you wait: no candles, frying or smoking, and no vacuuming unless the vacuum has a HEPA filter.
How much clean air smoke needs
What decides it is how much air the purifier pushes through its filter, its smoke CADR. For smoke, AHAM suggests a CADR at least equal to the room's floor area in square feet, so a 25 m² (270 ft²) living room needs about 270 cfm.
If one purifier isn't enough for an open-plan space, two smaller ones, one in each half, do better than one that's too small.
Filters fill faster in smoke
Heavy smoke loads a HEPA filter much faster than ordinary air. Expect to change it sooner than the maker's 6 to 12 months, and check the pre-filter every week or two through a long smoke season.
Buy a spare filter before the season starts: they sell out when a big fire hits.
How we chose
Verified smoke CADR
Ranked by the AHAM or Energy Star smoke rating, not the box's headline coverage, which usually assumes one clean-out an hour.
Carbon for the smell
Smoke's particles go to the HEPA filter; its smell needs activated carbon, which every pick here has.
No ozone
HEPA filtration only, or an ionizer you can switch off. Ozone-making 'purifiers' make smoggy air worse.
We haven't lab-tested these ourselves. The rankings rest on independent ratings (AHAM's verified CADR, Energy Star's listings, NIOSH approvals) and the makers' own figures, each shown on the product's page with where it's from. No brand pays to be listed, and the order doesn't change with commission. We earn a small commission when you buy through our links.
Questions
- What size air purifier do I need for smoke?
- For smoke, AHAM suggests a smoke CADR at least equal to your room's floor area in square feet: a 300 ft² (28 m²) room needs about 300 cfm. For everyday use, two-thirds of that is enough.
- Do air purifiers remove wildfire smoke?
- A HEPA purifier removes the fine particles in smoke, the part that does most harm, if it's sized for the room and the doors and windows are shut. Activated carbon takes the edge off the smell.
- Do air purifiers help with smog?
- Yes, indoors. Winter smog is mostly fine particles (PM2.5), the same thing a HEPA filter catches in wildfire smoke. Keep the windows shut and size the purifier as you would for smoke.
- Can an air purifier get rid of smoke smell?
- Partly. The smell is gases, which only activated carbon absorbs, and every pick here has some. A thicker carbon filter, like Levoit's smoke-remover filters, does more.
- Should I run my air purifier all the time during smoke or smog?
- Yes, on high while the outdoor AQI is unhealthy, with the room closed. Change the filter sooner than usual: smoke loads it fast.
- Is it safe to open the windows when there's smoke outside?
- Not while the outdoor AQI is unhealthy. Wait for the reading to drop, air the house quickly, then shut the windows again.
Before you buy
Check how bad the air gets where you live
A purifier matters most where the air is often unhealthy. See today's reading and the past week for your city, from the nearest ground stations.