Clear the Air With the Best Purifiers for Dust, Dander, and Pollen

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Whether it’s due to the changing of the seasons or the quality of the air in your home, you might already be dealing with an onslaught of allergy symptoms like sneezing, coughing, and headaches. With earlier and longer allergy seasons each year due to climate change, your senses are liable to become irritated even when you’re indoors, which is where Americans spend a majority of their time.

Household allergens like pet dander and dust circulate in the air in every room, particularly those with upholstered furniture and rugs. Just like HEPA vacuums, air purifiers work effectively by using a variety of filtration technologies to capture and remove the smallest particles. While they may not completely eliminate allergy triggers, they can help boost the overall health and cleanliness of the air in your home and reduce the odds of a sneezing fit mid-Zoom call.

Best Air Purifiers for Allergies

• Best Overall: Coway Airmega 230 Air Purifier

• Best Budget: Levoit Allergy Air Purifier for Large Rooms

• Best for Pets: Levoit Vital 200S Air Purifier

• Best Fan-Purifier Combo: Dyson TP07 Smart Air Purifier

• Best for Seasonal Allergies: Levoit Core300S-P Air Purifier for Allergies

What to Consider

The best air purifiers for allergies have a common goal, but not all are designed the same and there are several factors to keep in mind to get the most out of your small appliance.

Filter Type

HEPA Filters

Most air purifiers come with a high-efficiency particulate air filter, also called a HEPA filter. This type of filter remove 99.7 percent of pollutants in the air, such as dust, pollen, bacteria, and other airborne particles. Our best overall pick from Coway uses a True HEPA filter, which is the only kind of HEPA filter that hits the Department of Energy’s standards for efficiency and allergen removal.

Activated Carbon Filters

Activated carbon filters help eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that come from items like cleaning products and chemically treated textiles from the air, along with smoke and odor from pets. They essentially absorb the gasses and other airborne contaminants to prevent them from reentering your space.

Pre-Filters

A pre-filter is the initial layer in an air purifier that catch larger particles before they reach the main filter. They're typically made with a fine mesh screen, and are designed to keep dust, pet hair, and lint from clogging the filtration system.

Filtration Stages

Besides the filter type, filtration systems vary among air purifiers. Some have a two-stage purification system, like our best overall selection, which combines a pre-filter and a second filter to trap a range of particle sizes. Others have up to six stages, and can target specific concerns like pet dander. Opt for an air purifier filtration system with more than two stages if you’re a serious allergy sufferer.

Room Size

Air purifiers also vary in areas of coverage, which is why the room size is a very important consideration. Powerful and tech-heavy air purifiers have higher capacity and can filter over 1,000 square feet of air, while less powerful models might only be able to handle rooms up to 500 square feet.

If you live in a single-family home and want to have the air purifier in a central area, like the living room or kitchen, invest in a model with a larger scope to maximize your space. You can still get clean air from a tabletop or portable air purifier, but they work best in smaller rooms like bedrooms or bathrooms.

Noise Level

If you’re sensitive to noise, look for air purifiers that register between 10 and 25 decibels, which is about as quiet as any appliance gets. Some air purifiers may offer a sleep mode, which automatically reduce noise night.

How We Selected

We tested several air purifiers for allergies from reputable brands like Levoit, Coway, and Dyson, and sought out models with a range of filtration systems, coverage areas, and helpful extra features that add value. During our research, we considered how user-friendly the different appliances were, putting the remotes, control panels, and smartphone apps to the test. We also kept in mind other beneficial features, like air purifiers that double as rotating fans or filters that target specific issues like pet allergens.

For models that we didn’t personally test, we based our selections on the same criteria listed above and leaned on expertise for the best air purifiers to find our recommendations. We researched and compared specifications, noise levels, and coverage areas, prioritizing devices with user-backed reviews and positive feedback.

Airmega 230 Air Purifier for Allergies

On the lowest fan setting, I could hardly tell this air purifier was running because of how quiet it was. I tested it in an apartment that’s roughly 600 square feet—it’s designed to filter air in spaces up to 403 square feet every 15 minutes—so it offered very good coverage without a second purifier.

The machine is minimalistic and straightforward to operate, with a control panel on the top that’s slightly raised for visibility and an indicator on the bottom left corner that changes color to update you on air quality.

The purifier has two different layers of filter. The pre-filter traps larger allergen particles, and the second layer, the Max2 filter, combines carbon filtration and a HEPA filter to trap smaller allergen particles like germs, viruses, food smells, and other odors. This feature can be beneficial if you live in a duplex or apartment building, where scents from neighbors can make their way into your home.

Allergy Air Purifier for Large Rooms

This air purifier is designed for larger rooms, with a three-stage filtration system to eliminate common household allergens. There’s a removable and washable pre-filter to get rid of large particles like fur, hair, and lint. The carbon filter helps eliminate unpleasant odors like smoke or trash, and the HEPA filter traps airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns (true of all HEPA filters).

This air purifier also has a sleep-friendly setting that turns off display lights and reduces noise. You can preset the timer for up to eight hours, and there’s indicator to let you know when it’s time for a filter replacement.

Vital 200S Air Purifier for Allergies

Owning furry friends means dealing with hairballs and lingering odors—and The Vital 200s from Levoit is great for combating undesirable smells. We used this purifier in a living room, and noticed an improvement in scent and dust collection after running throughout day.

Along with the main air inlet on the front panels, there’s an additional U-shaped inlet to trap pet hair before it reaches the three-stage filtration system. There’s also an energy-saving mode that you can access through the app that automatically alternates between fan speeds.

The pre-filter is washable and easy to remove, and the activated carbon filter does a good job of getting rid of VOCs and fumes. You can set run times for the air purifier so it doesn’t disturb your sleep schedule, although the device is pretty quiet on its lowest setting.

TP07 Smart Air Purifier and Fan for Allergies

For someone who can’t fall asleep without white noise, I love that this air purifier from Dyson doubles as a fan (and oscillates up t0 350 degrees.) It cools down your space while filtering air, but there’s also a backward airflow mode so it doesn’t blow on you while you sleep. The machine itself is fully sealed to meet HEPA13 standards, so the purifier does a very good job of keeping allergens trapped inside.

Setup was very simple. I just clicked the half-moon air filters into the base and it was ready to go. You can register your device through the MyDyson app to control and monitor airflows, and the purifier is also compatible with voice assistants like Alexa and Google.

I’ve been using this air purifier daily for almost a year, and found that it gets the job done of trapping pet hair and dust. The filter is easy to remove, and cleans up by running a vacuum between the panels. My only main gripe is that once you’ve removed the filter and replaced it, the “clean filter” light doesn’t update instantaneously, so it still looks like the filter needs to be taken out.

Core300S-P

Suffering from congestion and sneezing due to seasonal allergies? Finding some relief might be easier than you think with an air purifier like this. This machine from Levoit has a 360-degree air intake and can filter air contaminants in spaces up to 1,095 square feet in a very short amount of time.

It uses three different types of filters for a variety of particle sizes—a pre-filter, a carbon filter, and an H13 HEPA filter. Levoit offers replacement filters that target other needs like toxin absorption, smoke removal, and pet allergens.

Since it’s small and compact, you can even set it on your nightstand to filter air throughout the night. There is an option to turn on Sleep Mode to reduce noise levels and shut off the display lights for less distraction while you rest.

A3 SPA-1000N Ultra Quiet Air Purifier for Allergies

Our deputy editor Zoë Hannah likes that the MinusA3 purifier has a very fast air intake, so if you have smoke or food odors floating around, they won’t linger for very long. She also notes how incredibly quiet the device is when it’s running—the quietest one we recommend here.

The air purifier works best in large rooms as it can cover over 1,000 square feet. The machine has different filtration options depending on the pollutant you’re trying to tackle, such as odors, germs, or pet dander.

There are six stages of filtration, including a HEPA filter for small particles, a carbon filter for odors, and then the custom filter of your choosing that can target a specific concern. Zoë found one of the coolest features of the air purifier to be the varying installation methods.

“You can hang it on the wall upside down or right-side up, so it's a really good option for mounting permanently,” she says.

PureZone Mini Portable Air Purifier for Allergies

This portable air filter weighs less than a pound and is under nine inches in length, so it packs easily and doesn’t take up much space on the countertop. Plus, it’s cordless and has a rechargeable lithium battery built in that can last up to 12 hours with continuous use.

It has three different fan speeds, and the handle (which is also removable) doubles as a stand if you’d prefer to use the air purifier horizontally. It has a two-stage filtration system, with a compact carbon filter and an H13 HEPA filter. The base of the purifier twists off to make changing out dirty filters a breeze.

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