The 4 Best Air Purifiers For Allergies - Summer 2024

The Honeywell HPA300 is the best air purifier for allergies that we've tested, especially if you want something suited for large rooms. It provides a remarkably high clean-air delivery rate and does a fantastic job of trapping the smallest airborne allergens, including cat dander and pollen.

With all that said, this is a comparatively simple device with no Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can't operate it remotely using your smartphone. It also lacks a particle sensor that would allow you to monitor allergen levels in real time. If that's a must-have feature, the Levoit Core 600S is a good alternative, though its clean air delivery rate is a little lower. Alternatively, if you don't mind spending a lot more on a smart unit that makes much less noise, you could also consider the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde BP04/BP03. Just be aware that despite its large footprint and high price, its clean air delivery rate is also less than that of the comparatively humble Honeywell.

If you're sensitive to allergies but don't mind getting your hands dirty, consider building your own Corsi-Rosenthal Box. We built our own by following this guide, which combines a quartet of MERV 13 3M Filtrete air filters with a Lasko 20-inch box fan. It's a crude device, even compared to the relatively basic Honeywell HPA300: it has a large footprint, and a single large box fan makes quite a bit of noise while running. It's worth noting that some users have iterated on the initial design to resolve this issue, swapping out the noisy single fan for a multitude of PC cooling fans, which run quieter and consume less power. We haven't built a Corsi-Rosenthal Box using this design yet.

However, once the filters have been fully used, you'll have to replace them completely, which means buying a whole new set of filters and effectively rebuilding the entire unit. With all that said, this unit delivers exceptional overall particle filtration performance, trapping a wide variety of airborne allergens while providing a clean air delivery rate that's high enough for you to use this model in large spaces like workshops or garages.

Look at the Levoit Vital 200S if you suffer from allergies but don't need quite as large a machine or don't want to pay as much for an air purifier. While its main filter technically lacks a HEPA certification, it does a fantastic job of trapping the smallest airborne allergens, ranging from dust to pollen to pet dander. However, its clean air delivery rate isn't quite as high as the Honeywell HPA300. Unlike that model, it has an onboard particle sensor, allowing it to adjust its fan speed in real time based on current particle levels. It's also Wi-Fi enabled, so you can operate it through your smartphone using the Levoit VeSync companion app.

If you want a device with a HEPA-rated filter, the Winix 5500-2 is a good alternative. It provides similar overall performance and is roughly comparable in size. That said, unlike the Levoit, the Winix has a built-in ionizer. This system imparts a negative charge to smaller airborne particles, causing them to stick together and fall out of the air, where you can then dust or vacuum them away. Unfortunately, ionizers produce ozone as a byproduct, which can irritate your respiratory system. Thankfully, in the case of the Winix, you can easily turn it off; particle filtration performance won't suffer as a result.

If you want an air purifier for use in smaller rooms, the Levoit Core 300 is another great option. Unlike the Levoit Vital 200S, it has no Wi-Fi connectivity or built-in air quality sensors, so you can't monitor allergen levels from your phone. That said, it's smaller overall, making it easier to fit in smaller rooms, and it still delivers good overall air purification performance; its clean air delivery rate is considerably less than that of the Vital 200S, but it still performs quite well when it comes to locking in the smallest of airborne particles.

The Core 300 is also compatible with other Levoit filters meant to counteract more specific types of allergens. There's the 4-Stage Smoke Remover filter, the 3-Stage Toxin Absorber filter, and the 3-Stage Pet Allergy filter. That said, it's worth noting that we haven't yet tested the device with these filters, though we don't expect a massive performance differential across these filter types.