Air Purifier Price vs Performance Comparison
When it comes to air purifiers, the options can be overwhelming making it difficult to know what’s a deal and what’s a dud.
That's why Oransi LLC1 created this Air Purifier Price vs Performance Comparison resource (this "Comparison") to show the top air purifiers (based solely upon the ranking criteria specified below in this Comparison)2 and how they compare on air cleaning performance (CADR), price, ozone emissions, and estimated 5 year total cost of ownership.
This webpage is directed only to U.S. consumers. For more details on the numbers below, their meaning, and the data source, please scroll down. Scroll table to the right on smaller screens to see all data. Each column can be sorted.
Air Purifiers for Small to Large Rooms
*200-499 sq ft with 5 air changes per hour (CADR: 129-322)
| Rank | Cost/CADR (5 yr) | Product Name | Assembled | Smoke CADR | Room (sq ft) | Purifier Cost | Purifier Cost/CADR | Filter Cost | Filter Life (months) | 5 yr Filter Cost | 5 yr Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.68 | Oransi® AirMend Small | USA | 189 | 293 | $179.84 | $0.95 | $45.84 | 12-18 | $138 | $318 |
| 2 | $1.78 | Oransi® AirMend Large | USA | 237 | 367 | $239.84 | $1.02 | $45.84 | 12 | $183 | $423 |
| 3 | $1.89 | Oransi® AirMend Medium | USA | 208 | 322 | $209.84 | $1.01 | $45.84 | 12 | $183 | $393 |
| 4 | $2.00 | Coway® Airmega® AP-1512HH | China | 233.6 | 362 | $239.99 | $1.03 | $57.49 | 12 | $230 | $470 |
| 5 | $2.18 | Blue® Pure 311i+ Max | China | 300 | 465 | $299.99 | $1.00 | $49.99 | 6-9 | $353 | $653 |
| 6 | $2.19 | Blue® Pure 311i Max | China | 250 | 388 | $229.99 | $0.92 | $44.99 | 6-9 | $317 | $547 |
| 7 | $2.19 | Levoit® Core® 400S | China | 244 | 378 | $219.99 | $0.90 | $49.99 | 6-12 | $315 | $535 |
| 8 | $2.24 | Winix® 5300-2 | Korea | 232 | 360 | $199.99 | $0.86 | $79.99 | 12 | $320 | $520 |
| 9 | $2.32 | Winix® AM-90 | Korea | 233 | 361 | $219.99 | $0.94 | $79.99 | 12 | $320 | $540 |
| 10 | $2.44 | Blueair® 311 | China | 220 | 341 | $229.99 | $1.05 | $34.99 | 6 | $315 | $545 |
| 11 | $2.45 | Winix® D360 | Korea | 233 | 361 | $249.99 | $1.07 | $79.99 | 12 | $320 | $570 |
| 12 | $2.46 | Winix® 5500-2 | Korea | 232 | 360 | $249.99 | $1.08 | $79.99 | 12 | $320 | $570 |
| 13 | $2.55 | Coway® Airmega® 150 | China | 153 | 237 | $189.99 | $1.24 | $49.99 | 12 | $200 | $390 |
| 14 | $2.68 | Coway® Airmega® 250 | China | 248.5 | 385 | $349.00 | $1.40 | $79.00 | 12 | $316 | $665 |
| 15 | $2.69 | Levoit® Core® 300S | China | 126 | 195 | $149.99 | $1.19 | $29.99 | 6-12 | $189 | $339 |
| 16 | $2.71 | Blue® Pure 411i Max | China | 141 | 219 | $169.99 | $1.21 | $59.98 | 6-9 | $212 | $382 |
| 17 | $2.87 | Alen® BreatheSmart® Classic | China | 259.3 | 402 | $429.00 | $1.65 | $79.00 | 12 | $316 | $745 |
| 18 | $3.05 | Alen® Flex | China | 191 | 296 | $249.00 | $1.30 | $69.00 | 9-12 | $334 | $583 |
| 19 | $3.19 | Levoit® Vital 100S | China | 134 | 208 | $139.99 | $1.04 | $31.99 | 6-8 | $288 | $428 |
| 20 | $3.35 | Alen® BreatheSmart® FIT50 | China | 217.8 | 338 | $374.00 | $1.72 | $89.00 | 12 | $356 | $730 |
| 21 | $4.32 | Blueair® Protect® 7470i | China | 270 | 419 | $599.99 | $2.22 | $89.99 | 6-12 | $566 | $1,166 |
| 22 | $4.72 | Blueair® Pro M | China | 250 | 388 | $280.00 | $1.12 | $99.99 | 6 | $900 | $1,180 |
| 23 | $4.72 | Alen® Breathesmart® 45i | China | 193.9 | 301 | $429.00 | $2.21 | $69.00 | 6-9 | $487 | $916 |
Disclaimer: The rankings displayed above are based solely upon the products’ estimated five (5) year total cost divided by Smoke CADR figure. These rankings do not take into consideration any other quantitative or qualitative comparisons of the listed air purifiers such as reliability, and comparisons based upon other qualitative and quantitative comparisons could result in different rankings. These rankings should not be interpreted to imply how these air purifiers would rank based upon any such other qualitative and quantitative comparisons.
___________________________________
1 Oransi is a Virginia limited liability company that manufactures and sells air purifiers under the certain registered trademarks including Oransi® and Oransi AirMend®.
2 As noted in further detail below, the rankings are determined solely based upon the following formula (utilizing publicly available information) set forth in greater detail below:
Estimated Five (5) year Total Cost divided by Smoke CADR = $ Cost/ Smoke CADR. The air purifiers compared were then ranked in order based upon their respective $ Cost/ Smoke CADR, with the air purifier with the lowest $ Cost/ Smoke CADR being ranked first and the air purifier with the highest $ Cost/ Smoke CADR being ranked last.
Where We Got The Data
For performance, the industry standard and government rule (law) uses CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate). CADR represents system performance of an air cleaner as certified by an independent lab. These results are then reported to ENERGY STAR® and/or AHAM®.
The CADR and room size values are from the government ENERGY STAR® website and/or the AHAM Verifide® Air Cleaner directory. CADR has been a voluntary standard in the past however in 2023 the Department of Energy ("DOE") issued a final rule, which determines CADR as a primary meric in determining the performance of an air purifier.
The Ozone Emission Data is from the EnergyStar® site.
The air purifier list price, filter list price and filter life are from each brand's website. If a filter life range is listed we calculated 5 year filter costs based on the average for this time frame.
Why Smoke CADR?
The smoke CADR is the amount of clean air each air purifier can produce for particles measured in the range of 0.09 to 1 micron in size and is expressed in CFM (cubic feet per minute). Particles in this range include fine dust, bacteria, viruses, smoke particles, etc.
Smoke CADR measures performance for smaller sized airborne particles. These are the most important to remove as they stay suspended in the air the longest and can impact health the most.
The word "smoke" is the name given to particles measured in the 0.09 to 1 micron per the standard. The CADR has other particle size ranges with names of dust and pollen which represent larger sized particles.
The smoke CADR is the reference point currently used by EnergyStar in defining the room size coverage. In short, the formula for room size coverage in square feet is 1.55 times the smoke CADR.
Recently, another CADR range was created called PM2.5 CADR. PM2.5 represents particles sized 2.5 microns and smaller. Per AHAM®, "PM 2.5 CADR is obtained by combining the CADR of cigarette smoke particle sizes ranging from 0.1 and 0.5 microns with the CADR of dust particles that fall in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 microns and performing a geometric average calculation."
Beginning in 2024, the Department of Energy will utilize PM2.5 CADR in their standard. We expect PM2.5 CADR to become the performance standard that is most referenced going forward in 2024.
How We Generated The Sequential Ranking
The 5 Year Cost/CADR is calculated based upon the estimated 5 year total cost of ownership (air purifier cost + filter cost over 5 years), divided by the air cleaning performance and ability to remove the smallest size airborne particles (Smoke CADR), which indicates the machines’ Smoke CADR performance for the cost. A sequential ranking was assigned based on the ascending values3 of the estimated 5 Year Cost/Smoke CADR.
Air Purifier Cost/CADR is calculated from the manufacturers’ air purifier price (as shown their respective websites as of June 2, 2023) divided by the Smoke CADR. A sequential ranking was assigned based on the ascending values of the Air Purifier Cost/Smoke CADR.
The comparisons shown above are based upon only publicly available data published by the above referenced sources as of June 2, 2023. The rankings are not based upon opinions of representatives of Oransi or any other person or entity; the rankings were calculated in accordance with the methodology prescribed herein, using information published by the U.S. government, the AHAM Verifide® Air Cleaner directory, or the manufactures themselves.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data, please notify us at cs@oransi.com with subject line Air Purifier Price Performance Comparison of any typos or perceived inaccuracies, so we can verify and/or correct the same, as necessary.
Please note that if a particular air purifier has not been included in the rankings, then it has been excluded from the rankings for one of the following reasons: (i) it is not ENERGY STAR® certified; (ii) it is not in the AHAM Verifide® Air Cleaner directory; (iii) it has a smoke CADR of less than 129 (cleans less than 200 sq ft); (iv) it does not appear to be a top selling product based on Amazon ranking and reviews; or (v) the brand does not have a high product recommendation by one of the leading product review sites.
_______________________________
3 A lower estimated 5 Year Cost/Smoke CADR will have a better ranking that a higher estimated 5 Year Cost/Smoke CADR.
Fan Speed, Noise, and Performance
CADR is based on the highest fan speed setting for an air purifier. But few of us run our air purifiers on the highest, loudest setting other than for short periods of time.
Models with few fan speeds may reduce air flow by up to 50% or more when set at the next lowest setting. Models with more fan speeds tend to have a fuller range. With more fan speeds, you won’t sacrifice performance by finding the right noise level for your space.
Ozone as a Byproduct
Ozone emissions are from the energystar.gov registry. A value of "-" means data not available since that product was not found on the ENERGY STAR® site. To learn more about ozone see the California Air Resources Board and American Lung Association.
Ozone is a known indoor air pollutant, so it’s worth considering if you want to introduce this pollutant into your space, especially for younger or medically vulnerable individuals. Be aware that multiple devices releasing ozone will also increase the amount of this indoor air pollutant produced in your space.
Air cleaner ozone emission levels are regulated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Each model listed here has an ozone emission beneath the 0.05 ppm level set by CARB.
How is Room Size Calculated?
The room size is based on 4.8 air changes per hour which is the standard used by EnergyStar®. This is arrived at by multiplying the Smoke CADR times 1.55.
Air Purifier Selection
Sensors, apps, fancy sounding technology, and marketing jargon may provide additional valuable features; however, they may in some cases drive up the cost of an air purifier without contributing improvements to performance. The Smoke CADR is key to making sure that the air purifier is properly sized properly for your space. A higher Smoke CADR is better than a lower Smoke CADR.
Fan speeds are also an important consideration. Air purifiers with only 3 or 4 fan speeds may be loud on the highest setting. Further, often, the next lowest speed may only generate fifty percent (50%) of the air flow, which translates to a significant drop in performance. In addition, air purifiers with 4 or fewer fan speeds may utilize AC motors, which are generally less energy efficient.
Disclaimer
All trademark and other intellectual property rights in the name “Oransi” and the product names identified as being Oransi products are wholly owned exclusively by Oransi LLC. Product sources and names other than Oransi and Oransi products in this comparison are listed under fair use standards for informational and comparison purposes only and Oransi does not own or claim any ownership rights in the producer names or product names listed. Oransi makes no representation as to the ownership or validity of any trademark or other rights that are or may be claimed by sources and/or owners of the listed products. Any inquiries regarding any such rights or claims to such rights should be directed to the entities listed.
Alen Corporation CORPORATION TEXAS
Alen Corporation DBA Alen Quality Products Corporation CORPORATION DELAWARE
Blueair AB CORPORATION SWEDEN
COWAY Co., Ltd. CORPORATION REPUBLIC OF KOREA
VESYNC (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. private limited company SINGAPORE (Levoit)
YOOWO CO., LIMITED LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY CHINA (Levoit)
YOOWO CO.,LIMITED LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY HONG KONG (Levoit)
WINIX INC. CORPORATION REPUBLIC OF KOREA
