The 7 Best Air Purifiers for Smoke in 2023, Tested and Reviewed

Smoke is no match for these air purifiers we tested and reviewed.

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Better Homes & Gardens / Dera Burreson

If you’re not breathing clean air, you may not notice it at first, but your body certainly will. Polluted air can irritate asthma and allergies, leaving you waking up stuffy, and can decrease quality of life, especially if you already struggle to breathe in the first place. Of course, you can’t control the air outside, but you can control the air inside your home with an air purifier. Smoke is one of the worst irritants, and the best air purifiers for smoke will take all of the air in your space and remove impurities and odors, leaving only clean air behind.

So do you really need an air purifier? Most likely, you do. Dr. Niha Qamar, MD, who is board certified in allergy, immunology, internal medicine says, “The people that really need to pay more attention to the specifics of air purifiers are people who have, let's say dust mite allergy, mold allergy, allergy to their pets, or a very moldy home, water leaks in their home and can't avoid the mold exposure, and particularly people with asthma or lung disease.”

Still, nobody wants to breathe bad air, so everyone can certainly benefit from an air purifier at home. To find the best option, you need to familiarize yourself with the term PM2.5. PM2.5 stands for particulate matter around 2.5 microns in size, which is typically the size of wildfire smoke, candles, cooking fumes, and vehicle exhaust. The higher that number, the more PM2.5 particles there are in the air, making it harder for you to breathe.

The best air purifiers for smoke listed below, tested by our team along with about 40 other models, will reduce these numbers significantly. They’re the best options if you’re trying to reduce the amount of smoke and other pollutants in your home.

Amazon

This model removed smoke quickly and effectively in our testing, improving the air quality significantly—and it has features that make it easy for a consumer to use.

The bulky appearance might be a turn off to some aesthetically-minded consumers.

After the smoke and the pet hair were added into our testing environment, the air quality monitor measured the PM 2.5 level as 999.99 (which is extraordinarily high). However, after running this Bissell air purifier on both the low and high settings, that number quickly went down to 3. Suffice to say, this is the best air purifier for smoke and it works quite well for other pollutants.

Besides its excellent efficiency, the easy-to-use features helped make this our top pick. It’s a step above other models, with a timer that allows you to set the air purifier to run for one, two, four, or eight hours and a colored digital display that indicate high, medium, or low levels of contaminants (we matched this to our air quality monitor during testing, proving its accuracy). It’s also incredibly quiet on lower settings, and features an internal air monitor that actually tracks PM2.5 levels and adjusts fan speed when necessary.

The air purifier even automatically shuts off some of its lights when detecting a dark room, which makes it ideal for light sleepers. While VOC levels were relatively low when we recorded the levels before the air purifier was turned on, the carbon filter lowered them even further, proving efficiency for those pollutants as well.

This model uses a pre-filter, a HEPA filter, and a carbon filter to work properly, all of which need to be replaced. While the manufacturer recommends the HEPA filter be replaced every six months, the carbon and pre-filters need to be swapped out more often. Still, a bundle of all three costs about $55 on Amazon and should last around a year (if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions). There’s a filter change indicator on the model, so consumers will be notified when it's time to swap them out.

If aesthetics are an important element when shopping, this is decidedly less attractive than some other models, with an outer appearance comparable to that of a computer tower. Still, with its whisper-quiet function and its ability to seriously reduce smoke and other pollutants in a space of up to 432 square feet, it’s a great choice.

Price at time of publish: $181

Product Details: Room Size: 432 square feet | CADR Rating: 313 CFM (Smoke), 353 CFM (Pollen) and 319 CFM (Dust).| Noise Level: 40-80dB | Dimensions: 16.13 x 24 x 9.75 inches|VOC Filtration: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

For the price, this is one of the best air purifiers for smoke, coming in at under $100, and it would be ideal for a bedroom given how quiet it is.

We didn’t find a very noticeable difference between the high and low settings.

The LEVOIT Compact True HEPA Air Purifier is a great pick for someone looking to purchase an affordable air purifier for their bedroom. This compact model is best suited for a room around 129 square feet. It’s incredibly quiet at 63dB max (quieter than a toilet flushing, for comparison), and has a handy night light feature as well.

Even at its lower price, it’s still equipped with a three-layer HEPA filter, a three speed fan, and two brightness levels. It also features a button that will light up continuously when the filter needs to be replaced (to turn it off, replace the filter and press the button for three seconds).

While it's not meant to remove pet hair or VOC irritants, it was indeed effective in removing PM2.5 particles from the air—after we released the pollutants and turned on the humidifier’s low setting, the air returned to lower levels than it had started at (the room began at 11, went up to 99.99 with the smoke, and went down to around 7.6). The levels dropped even lower after 10 minutes.

However, its effectiveness on the high setting was surprising; it didn’t actually outperform the results seen from the low setting. Although it was slightly louder, the air only ended up at a level of around 8 after the test was complete. Still, both settings did prove its efficiency, and is a great budget option for those looking to spend less than $100.

Price at time of publish: $89

Product Details: Room Size: 129 square feet | CADR Rating: 40 CFM | Noise Level: 46.5-63dB | Dimensions: 7.9 x 12.6 x 7.9 inches | VOC Filtration: No

Dyson

This ultra-quiet option from Dyson is not only one of the best air purifiers for smoke, it also doubles as a cooling fan.

This model doesn’t filter out VOCs, which is disappointing considering the price.

Dyson is known for its high-tech appliances, and its air purifiers are no exception. It’s no surprise the TPO7 boasts a number of additional features that make this an elevated, luxury purchase. The first is its ability to connect to an app on your phone, which allows consumers to monitor air quality and turn on the product when they’re not home, as well as control the machine itself with voice commands.

The LCD screen on the device is equally impressive—inside the model, sensors analyze the air and detect any new pollutants, which in turn broadcasts live reports from the screen that allow the viewer to watch pollution levels fall in real time. Buttons on the side allow the consumer to easily switch the machine to night mode, adjust the 10 available fan speeds, or see how much life the current HEPA H13 filter has left before a replacement is needed.

This Energy-Star option is also worth the splurge because it functions as a fan (the only model on this list to do so) allowing the consumer to avoid the clutter that an additional tower fan might take up. The Dyson also oscillates up to 350 degrees, and you can easily switch modes to produce a backwards air flow with no fan if so desired. It’s also incredibly quiet, producing around 65dB of sound at its loudest setting.

Of course, all of this would be useless if it didn’t work, but the Dyson does indeed work—although it doesn’t filter out VOCs, the PM2.5 level went all the way down to 8.0 on its lowest setting and 7.3 on its highest setting during our pollutant testing. The model itself doesn’t come with a CADR rating, and you won’t find it on any of its other models—the brand doesn’t find it to be a useful metric of efficacy. Still, with its cooling fan, the unique LCD screen, and the ability to effectively purify rooms up to 800 square feet, it’s a great model to spend some money on.

Price at time of publish: $499

Product Details: Room Size: 800 square feet | CADR Rating: Not listed | Noise Level: 43-64.5dB | Dimensions: 7.7"W x 41"H x 8”D | VOC Filtration: No

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

This is a tech-forward option that’s a lot cheaper than our splurge model, but performs some similar functions.

It will take 60 minutes for the machine to completely purify the room.

We were impressed with this model’s high tech features. While it’s one of the best air purifiers for smoke to use in a large space, it’s also one of the more tech-forward options on this list. In fact, aspects of it reminded us of our Best Splurge pick from Dyson—at about half the cost. The air purifier connects to an app that allows you to turn it on and off, set a timer, or use voice commands to operate it.

It also features a display that allows you to monitor PM2.5 levels and a laser dust sensor that reports back levels to the app in order to show you improvement in real time. It’s an EnergyStar product, so won’t take up a lot of wattage, and can work in a space up to 1980 square feet. The HEPA H13 filter traps most pollutants, while the additional activated carbon filter removes VOCs as well. We loved how quiet this was in its sleep setting, too.

During testing, air quality levels went down all the way to 5 on low setting and 8 on its high setting, after going all the way up to 999 PM2.5 levels with the introduction of pollutants, including smoke. One interesting data point to note: the app reported levels to be slightly lower than our air quality monitor, so consider that fact when using the app to see your room’s air quality.

Price at time of publish: $219

Product Details: Room Size: 1980 square feet | CADR Rating: 260 CFM | Noise Level: 40-72dB | Dimensions: 10.79"W x 20.47"H x 10.79”D | VOC Filtration: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

You have the ability to opt for customized filters, with one specifically designed for smoke removal.

It’s a little more expensive for such a small model thanks to its ability to connect with an app.

There are lots of options available on the market that can handle a few hundred square feet, but this LEVOIT model is our pick for the best air purifier for smoke in small spaces because it goes above and beyond some of the more affordable picks.

One of the more interesting features is your ability to choose the filter that might work the best for you: there’s the HEPA H13 filter that comes standard, but there’s also options for a pet allergy filter, a toxin absorber filter, and—yep—a smoke remover filter. It’s got an app you can connect to so you can turn it on when you’re about to go to sleep without getting out of bed. This is a nice touch, but it does drive up the price for such a small purifier.

And that’s not the only reason it’s great for bedrooms: it has a quiet night mode and an auto mode that means it only turns on when there’s an increase in PM2.5 levels. Plus, at its loudest, it only reaches 55.4dB, which is about the equivalent to the hum of a refrigerator.

As for its ability to remove impurities, of course, it does that well. During testing, it reduced air pollutants and improved air quality by 90%, bringing levels down to an average of 2 or 3 PM2.5 on a high setting and 18PM2.5s on a low setting. Additionally, we liked that it emitted very little light, the filter was easy to replace, and you can toggle between three settings with ease.

Price at time of publish: $150

Product Details: Room Size: 219 square feet | CADR Rating: 141 CFM | Noise Level: 48.5-55.4dB | Dimensions: 8.66"W x 14.17"H x 8.66”D | VOC Filtration: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

The Spruce Home / Henry Wortock

Blueair

This air purifier noticeably removes odors from the room and even comes with customizable filters in soothing earth tones.

This works much better on high settings than it does in low settings.

Perhaps one of the highest compliments one could give to an air purifier was bestowed upon this model from BlueAir: when the test started, we were sneezing, and by the time the test period was over, we no longer were. Additionally, we noted the odors in the room had significantly lessened after testing was complete. Strong odors can be a bothersome side effect of dealing with wildfires or cooking mishaps, so the ability to cut down on odors makes this one of the best air purifiers for smoke.

Given its ability to work in rooms up to 526 square feet, it could be great in the kitchen to remove kitchen odors from cooking and food waste. The numbers were also positive, too, although it should be noted we got significantly better results when utilizing the high setting. On a low setting, PM2.5 numbers stayed as high as 26, but on a high setting, the PM2.5 went down all the way to 3.

The Blueair also has a nice feature not seen in other models: a customizable and washable filter that comes in a number of pleasant, earthy colors like fog, moss, and limestone. In general, this pick is very aesthetically pleasing. The brand’s website also allows you to add a filter subscription with purchase for a discount, allowing the consumer to receive 15% off filters sent in three, six, or nine month increments.

There are four fan speeds on this model, auto and night mode, the ability to adjust brightness, and even a child lock. There’s an app for this one, too, with the same voice control and air quality monitoring we’ve come to expect from apps of this kind. And because the app tracks your unique home environment and its pollutants, it gives a more accurate reading of when to replace the filter.

Price at time of publish: $170

Product Details: Room Size: 219-526 square feet |CADR Rating: 141 CFM (Smoke), 125 CFM (Dust), 114 CFM (Pollen) | Noise Level: 18-46dB | Dimensions: 10.6”W x 18.9”H x 10.6”D | VOC Filtration: No

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Coway

Its sleek design makes for a beautiful living room centerpiece and makes it stand out from other air purifiers as far as aesthetics.

For the higher price, it’s a bit disappointing that it doesn’t have an app.

This is a beautiful air purifier—and one of the best air purifiers for smoke. It’s a great option for a large space (like a living room), with extended wooden legs and a beige, water- and stain-repellent fabric cover that evokes mid-century modern style. The Coway Airmega IconS even has a wireless charger on its top that is compatible with Qi devices, making this one of the most unique options we’ve come across.

For its higher price tag, you’d expect it to come app-enabled, but this product doesn’t have an app. However, the design on the machine itself is intuitive and sleek, and it gives you all the information you need. The 24/7 pollution monitoring displays an accurate PM2.5 indicator—both the exact number and a correlating color to let you know how healthy your air is with a quick glance.

It has subtle light up buttons that respond to touch, keeping the design minimal and functional—use them to toggle between three fan speeds as well as auto, sleep, and eco mode. The filter has two parts: a washable pre-filter and a Max2 filter that is made of activated carbon and is HEPA-approved. The brand claims you only need to replace that Max2 filter once a year, too. During testing, this was another option that worked best on its high settings, bringing the PM2.5 all the way down to 4.

Price at time of publish: $699

Product Details: Room Size: 649-1298 square feet| CADR Rating: 173 CFM (Smoke), 194.1 CFM (Dust), 235.3 CFM (Pollen) | Noise Level: 41.3-67.5dB | Dimensions: 22.3 x 21.4 x 8.8 in | VOC Filtration: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

The Bissell air400 Professional Air Purifier is our top pick for the best air purifier for smoke thanks to its efficiency, ability to also remove VOC pollutants from the air, and added features that make it simple to operate. For a cheaper option, we were impressed with the Levoit Compact True HEPA Air Purifier, which effectively removed smoke and other contaminants from the air for a fraction of the cost of other models.

Before testing various models to find the best air purifiers for smoke, we familiarized ourselves first with some important terms such as HEPA, VOC, and CADR. After removing each air purifier from the box and putting it together, we recorded notable information, including relevant certifications and any listed CADR rates. Additionally, decibel levels were measured from two and eight feet away from the device on both its highest and lowest setting (if applicable).

After these results were recorded, we placed tape in the following locations: 6 feet in front of the purifier (Mark B), 4 feet from the left of Mark B, 4 feet from the right of Mark B, 4 feet from the left side of the air purifier, 4 feet from the right side of the air purifier, and (when a model being tested had an applicable high setting) 3 feet from the front of the air purifier. Once these marks were created in an enclosed space with a draft strip under a closed door, we recorded the air quality with a provided monitor at each mark.

Once the air quality was measured without an air purifier on, we distributed pollutants in the air—incense, a mix of flour, sawdust, and dirt, and room deodorizer. When completed, we monitored and recorded air quality at each mark again, and set the air purifier on its lowest setting. Once on, we closed the door and exited the room for 30 minutes, coming back to test the purifier’s results by using the air quality monitor on each mark.

For air purifiers with a high setting, we performed the same tests, this time with the addition of faux pet hair, which we tossed in the air around 15 minutes after the original test had begun. After the test was complete, we recorded how much pet hair was collected in the filter.

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Air purifiers will always list a recommended square footage, so it should be easy to tell whether a model will match up with the size of the room you want to use it in. For example, our top pick for large rooms, the Levoit Core 400s, says it works in rooms up to 1980 square feet, whereas our choice for small spaces, the Levoit Core 300s, works best in rooms up to 219 square feet.

Another factor to consider is the air purifier’s CADR, which stands for clean air delivery rate. Typically, it measures three common pollutants—smoke, pollen, and dust—and calculates how quickly those pollutants can be removed from the air. The number is listed according to CFM (cubic feet per minute). When using a purifier with an air filter, it is calculated by the fraction of particles that have been removed and multiplied by the air flow rate that passes through the air purifier. Essentially, the higher the CADR, the faster the air purifier works to purify the air, thus proving its efficiency in the home.

When shopping for the best air purifier, the filter it uses should also be considered. As Qamar notes, if you have allergies or asthma, a HEPA filter is a must. HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air. A HEPA filter is defined by the US Department of Energy as one that can theoretically remove at least 99.997% of pollutants (like dust or pollen) up to .3 microns in size. All of the purifiers on our list have HEPA filters.

If you’re looking for even more protection from pollutants, you can check out a filter’s MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating, which measures a filter’s efficiency in removing particles larger than .3 microns and up to 10 microns. The higher the MERV—it can go up to 16—the more efficient it is at moving larger particles, and Qamar recommends a MERV rating over 13 if you’re shopping with that number in mind.

If you’re living in an environment, say, where there’s a lot of construction or renovation happening, you might consider shopping for a filter that also removes VOCs from the air. According to the EPA, VOC stands for volatile organic compounds and typically refers to man-made chemicals such as paint, paint thinner, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials, correction fluid, and more. If these are concerns, choose an air purifier that says it removes VOCs as well as other pollutants—they’ll typically come with filters that are made with carbon.

Finally, you should consider the price of filters and how often you’ll need to replace them. While manufacturers will often claim less frequent changes are necessary, Qamar recommends swapping out filters every 1-3 months for best results. If price is a major consideration, note this cost in your decision making.

The best air purifiers for smoke should remove pollutants from the air first and foremost. But of course, there are other features you can consider when finding the one that will work the best in your home. This can include buttons that allow the consumer to customize fan speed or utilize timers for the machine. Several of the air purifiers on our list feature displays that show air quality and/or the PM2.5 levels in the room, which can be especially useful if you’re trying to quickly dispel smoke from the air.

If you’re looking for an air purifier to use in your bedroom and you’re a light sleeper, consider one with lower decibel output or a night light option. And if you’re a forgetful person, there’s models with options that will remind you to change your filter according to manufacturer guidelines. Finally, fancier options have fancier features, such as the ability to control the purifier via an app, LCD screens, and fan capabilities so you can cool the room down as well as purify the air.

Considering the higher cost of this model—it’s around $300—we were surprised at how ineffective it was on the lowest setting. While the high setting brought the PM2.5 levels down to a 10.8, the lowest setting kept the air at unhealthy levels with a PM2.5 of 85.5 after 10 minutes. Given that the high setting didn’t produce lower numbers, it didn’t make the list.

This air purifier is large and bulky, and while it performed fairly well, removing the odor from the incense and lowering the pH 2.5 levels significantly, it’s expensive compared to other models of the size without having the extra flair of our splurge pick from Dyson. We didn’t think it was quite worth the hefty cause due to the lack of special features.

Yes, air purifiers can indeed remove smoke by filtering out the particles that have entered your home. Cigarette smoke typically ranges from .1-.5 microns, while wildfire smoke can be as large as 2.5 microns, according to the EPA. For our tests, we measured the amount of PM2.5 (particulate matter) in the air with our incense smoke test.

If you’re purchasing an air purifier with a HEPA filter and a high MERV rating (and you place it in a room with a proper CADR) you can absolutely remove smoke pollutants from the air. According to Qamar, common PM2.5s can also include vehicle exhaust, burning, fires, tobacco, cooking fumes, candles, heaters, and that the best air purifiers for smoke can reduce these PM2.5s by at least 30-50 percent.

The best air purifier for smoke is one that has a HEPA filter and lowers PM2.5 levels considerably to ensure it can remove the larger particles of wildfire smoke as well as the smaller particles of cigarette or tobacco smoke. Our top pick, the Bissell air400 Professional Air Purifier, lowered the PM2.5 numbers from an extremely high 999.99 once contaminants (including smoke) were added down to 3 on both the high and low settings.

Once you purchase the air purifier itself, which can range anywhere from under $100 to over $600, depending on the size of the room and the brand being considered, among other factors, there are additional costs to consider. The main one will be filter replacements. For the budget option on our list, filters cost around $15 each—if you end up replacing them once every three months, you’ll end up spending around $60 a year. Some models have multiple parts—for instance, our top pick has pre-filters and carbon filters in addition to regular filters—all of which need to be replaced regularly. Finally, there is the consideration of energy use and how that will show up in your electric bill. Especially if you pick a model that is EnergyStar compliant, this should be pretty negligible.

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Alida Nugent is a commerce writer for BHG with years of expertise in kitchen, pets, beauty, bedding, and home -- and has been working in the commerce media space for well over six years and the media space for over a decade. She specializes in testing products, editing, writing, and strategizing about the rapidly changing online shopping landscape. For this article, we consulted Dr. Niha Qamar, MD for expertise on air purifiers.

Next to all of the products on this list, you may have noticed our BHG Recommends seal of approval. Products that earn the seal have been put through rigorous testing to make sure they're worth a spot in your home. We buy most of the products we test ourselves, but occasionally we are provided samples by companies if buying isn't an option. In these cases, we use the same testing criteria we use to test the purchased products.