Best Air Purifiers in 2026 as reviewed by Australian consumers

How do air purifiers work?
Are air purifiers worth buying?
Factors to consider before buying an air purifier

Filter Types
Clean Air Delivery Rate
Room size
Noise Level
Price
Extra Features

Alternatives to air purifiers

Air purifier in living space

How do air purifiers work?

Air purifiers come in the form of a boxy unit that plugs into an electrical outlet. (They can also be cylindrical, as pictured above). They're designed with a fan that draws in air from a room. This air passes through the purifier’s built-in filters, which trap pollen, dust, mould and dander.

With these ultra-fine particles safely tucked away inside the purifier, clean air is sent back out. As their name suggests, air purifiers have a purpose of cleaning the air. This is distinctly different to a humidifier, which adds moisture to the air; a dehumidifier, which creates drier air to make muggy environments more comfortable and restrict the growth of mould; and a diffuser, which infuses the air with aromatic particles.

Are air purifiers worth buying?

Since they can be expensive, whether you should splash the cash on a new air cleaner depends on a number of factors, outlined below.

Where you live: If you’re in a busy location that picks up a lot of exhaust fumes and smoke (for example you live or work near a a main road or highway), polluted air can drift in through your open windows. If you’re in a bushfire-prone area, an air purifier for smoke could help prevent you from inhaling potentially toxic air.
Asthma or allergies: If you experience these, an air purifier can help reduce irritation to your airways by trapping allergens. Spring and summer could be prime times to run your purifier, when open windows invite in dust and pollen from outside. Look for air purifiers that have been approved by the National Asthma Council of Australia’s Sensitive Choice program.
Killing viruses and germs: Sanitising the air may be a priority if there are members of your household who are sick or have low immunity. Some air purifiers, such as those equipped with UV filters, claim to kill viruses and bacteria.
Pet dander: This refers to the miniscule skin flakes shed by companion animals. These particles are much smaller than pet hair, and unlike fur and feathers, they’re invisible to the naked eye. If your dog shakes, scratches or even runs around, they’re probably leaving a trail of dander in their wake.
Snoring: Sometimes cleaner air can contribute to clearer airways. This may help reduce the incidence of snoring, if the night-time condition is intensified by airborne allergens or other contaminants.

However, keep in mind that if you have respiratory problems such as asthma or sleep apnoea, an air purifier won’t cure ailments, as it’s not a silver bullet solution. Evidence of relief is more anecdotal than medically proven, however this may be sufficient to prompt you to try an air purifier for yourself - on the chance that it's a respiratory success story for you, too.

Factors to consider before buying an air purifier

Filter Types

HEPA Filter

Standing for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, HEPA air purifiers are considered to be the cream of the crop when it comes to cleaning the air. Made up of a tight netting of fibreglass threads, a true HEPA filter effectively traps at least 99.97% of airborne contaminants, down to 0.3 microns. This makes HEPA filters the safest choice for asthma and allergy sufferers, as they prevent smoke, exhaust fumes, and tiny bits of dust and pollen from escaping back into the room.

While HEPA filters can remove particulate matter - a combination of solid particles and liquid droplets – the below filters cannot. That’s why HEPA filters are the most sough after.

It's also why the below filters are best used in conjunction with a HEPA filter, in a multi-stage filtration system. While this design can make a purifier pricier, it's one that’s ultimately more effective as a purification system. Philips' air purifiers use a 3-stage filtration system, including a pre-filter, activated carbon filter and a HEPA-13 filter.

Activated Carbon Filter

These filters help remove odours and harmful gases like VOCs in the air, by binding them to a layer activated carbon, also known as activated charcoal. VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, which are often contained in domestic cleaning products and paints, and sometimes in brand-new synthetic mattresses.

While activated carbon filters work well at removing gases, they're less effective at removing allergens or bacteria. They also need to be changed regularly, as once the carbon reaches its full capacity of gases, it will be rendered ineffective at absorbing more, and may even start to smell. If a carbon filter isn't removed after it becomes fully saturated - or continues to be used - old pollutant particles may be released back into the air.

Ozone Filter

Designed to deodorise a living space, ozone filters help remove odours such as those caused by cigarette smoke. They’re a type of ionic filter, which use an electric charge of negative ions to remove contaminants. Ozone is essentially zapped into the air, where it latches onto odour-causing molecules to destroy them.

While this may sound appealing to the old olfactory sense, ozone can be dangerous to your health. Ozone can latch onto the inside of your body the same way it latches onto external molecules, potentially irritating airways, causing chest pains and/or shortness of breath. As a result, air purifiers with ozone filters are rarely recommended. If you already have asthma or sleep apnoea, avoid air purifiers with ozone filters.

UV Filter

These claim to kill impurities like bacteria, mould spores and even viruses. However, the efficacy of ultraviolet filters is somewhat compromised by the fact that the UV light takes at least a couple of minutes to kill contaminants. During this time, they might have already passed through the filter untouched. A high wattage is also required to create UV light powerful enough to kill bacteria.

Pre filters

With the express purpose of trapping larger particles, pre-filters take some of the pressure off the device's primary filters by getting rid of dust, hair balls and dead insects.

Air purifiers with washable filters

These are reportedly more effective at removing larger particles from the air, such as floating pollen and dust. However, while you won’t spend more replacing filters, washable filters still require cleaning and maintenance. They are also harder to find.

Most times you’ll require replacement filters for your air purifier. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the frequency with which you need to replace your filters, though typically it will be every 3-12 months - depending on the filter type. A HEPA filter replacement will generally be required at least once every 12-18 months. Activated carbon filters will require changing once every three months.

Clean Air Delivery Rate

Also known as CADR, this measures the volume of air that is filtered in one hour. To receive a CADR, air purifiers are tested for how fast they can clean the air of three contaminants: tobacco smoke, dust and pollen. As a point of reference, the CADR range an air purifier can receive is 10-400 CADR for dust, 10-450 CADR for tobacco smoke, and 10-450 for pollen.

It's often recommended that you source an air purifier with a CADR of 300 or higher for each of these - however, ultimately it depends on your room size. While 300 CADR in each area will be neccessary for medium rooms, smaller rooms will suffice with a lower rating, while larger rooms are catered to by a higher CADR.

Room size

Consult the optimum room size recommended by the manufacturer for an air purifier. A cheaper model may seem appealing, but if it's not sufficient for your room's size, it's going to use a lot of power doing very little in the way of cleaning air.

Conversely, sourcing an air purifier that's designed for a slightly larger room than the one you have means that it’ll work more quickly and efficiently, and on a lower setting to boot.

Noise Level

Getting the most out of your air purifier’s performance involves leaving it running for as long as possible – ideally day and night. This prevents any contaminants from re-entering your indoor air supply. However, this also means that the amount of noise your handy household companion makes will be a relevant factor in a prospective purchase decision.

Air purifiers range in the level of noise they produce, from a fan-like whirring, to a steady, low hum. The amount of noise you can tolerate is personal, so for this reason it’s best to source reviews on this particular point or to shop in-store to hear a preview of the ongoing sound you’ll be living with.

Price

Air purifiers vary significantly in price, depending on variables such as brand, filter technology, room size and extra features. However, $100 or just under classifies as the cheaper end of the spectrum. Most models are around $200-$500, although the price can creep up to $3, 000.

As a point of reference, the 2020 Award Winner for top air purifier on ProductReview was this Winix air purifier. Effectively equipped with an array of features like an automatic air quality monitor, carbon filter, filter life indicator and timer, it retails for the mid-to-high price point of $749.

Keep in mind that replacement filters represent an additional, ongoing cost that should be added into the financial equation. They can cost anywhere between $20-$200 a pop, depending on the filter type.

Extra Features

Adjustable speed settings: Having a choice of fan speeds comes with the double benefit of letting you control the noise level and energy efficiency of your air purifier. For example, if the cleaner’s just been in and the level of cleaning chemicals floating in the air is potent, you might prefer a more powerful purifying setting. Alternatively, you can switch to a gentler, quieter setting if you have guests over, or during the night if your purifier lacks a built-in Sleep Mode.
Sleep Mode: Designed to be used all night, a built-in Sleep Mode is a one-touch button that operates on a quiet setting, and turns off the indicator lights so you can have a peaceful sleep.
Timer: This allows you to operate your air purifier for specific blocks of time every day, or to run for a set number of hours - for example, while you sleep.
Automatic air quality monitor: Also called an air sensor, this setting detects the level of airborne contaminants in a room, and alerts you of them when you enter that space.
Filter life indicator: Or filter replacement indicator informs you when your filter/s are due to be replaced. This is a handy feature to help ensure that your air purifier keeps running optimally.
Controlled via a Mobile App: More advanced air purifiers can connect to WiFi, so they can be controlled via a smartphone app. The Dyson Pure Cool and Pure Hot & Cool are two popular examples. You may prefer this to a remote control, however many air purifiers don't come with either of these options; so they're both 'nice-to-have' features.
In-built wheels and/or handles: These make your purifier more portable, which is necessary if you're planning to cart your appliance around to different rooms. If your air purifier isn't fitted with wheels and/or a handle, choosing a smaller model that's easier to convey means you won't need an air purifier in each room - which would also be extremely costly!

Woman vacuuming under couch

Alternatives to air purifiers

Air purifiers are a bit of an investment into clean air, and you might decide that you can't justify the cost at the moment. There are a number of steps you can take to improve indoor air quality that contribute to cleaner, breathable air in your home. These include:

Keep your home dust free: by regularly wiping down surfaces, vacuuming carpets and mopping hard floors. A great deal of dust and other ultra-fine particles will settle on surfaces, so keeping them clean should be a top priority. A vacuum with a HEPA filter (and although it's a little old school - a bag) can help, as it will trap ultra-fine particles in its dense filter rather than spitting them back out to settle in the room.
Properly ventilate high-density areas: where smoke, fumes or other contaminants are likely to float around. This includes the bathroom, laundry and kitchen - exhaust fans are your friends. If the air is fresh outside, keep windows open - particularly when cross-ventilation can occur, meaning there are two windows open on opposite sides of a room.
Be mindful of air quality: as a general rule, for example by only smoking outside, and limited the use of candles and incense inside, or wood fires outside.

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