Air Cleaner for Small Rooms

Less noise comes at the cost of performance

The Honeywell 50250 (Est. $200) can be used in spaces up to about 390 square feet. It's currently sold under two different model numbers: the 50250 and the 50250-N. The two models are identical, other than the filter information. The 50250-N model is advertised as having a permanent filter, although like the regular 50250, it does require replacing every few years.

The Honeywell 50250 has a cylindrical shape, allowing it to take in air from all sides for filtration. However, despite this feature, it doesn't have as much airflow capacity (250 cubic feet per minute) as more expensive models like the IQAir New Edition HealthPro Plus (at 300 cubic feet per minute). The biggest downside to the Honeywell 50250 is its noise level, which some owners say is intolerable even at low speeds. Others, however, can deal with the lower speed settings even at night when the unit is being used in the bedroom.

The trade-off with the Honeywell, as with many air purifiers, is that it's not quite as effective at lower speeds for removing dust, pollen and other allergens as it is at the high speeds. So users who turn it down to cut down on noise are sacrificing performance. Still, the Honeywell 50250 earns good scores in professional tests for dust, pollen and smoke removal at its low speed.

Another option for smaller spaces is the Blueair 403 (Est. $550) , which has four fan speed settings and can handle rooms up to 370 square feet. Like the Blueair 503 and Blueair 650E, the Blueair 403 meets FDA standards for ozone emissions -- but it has lower clean air delivery rates (CADRs) than its more expensive siblings. It also has manual controls instead of the electronic controls the higher-up models offer, although the control knob is simple to operate.

In addition, it has a filter countdown that alerts owners when it's time to replace the filter -- every six months, more frequent than air purifiers like the Honeywell 50250, which only requires vacuuming twice a year and a prefilter (Est. $15) every three months.

The Honeywell 50250 is one of the cheapest air purifiers available. It's our top pick for best air cleaner for small rooms because of its value, good ratings from experts and consumers, and its sufficient performance on the highest setting.