Best air purifiers for the bedroom UK 2023

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A panel of testers put the latest models through their paces

If you live in a heavily polluted area, it's worth knowing this: according to a 2019 study, ultrafine particle pollution is an average of three and a half times higher inside your home than it is on the street. So, what to do if you're concerned about the state of what you're breathing?

Enter: the air purifier. Claiming to clean the air inside your home and remove even the tiniest of dust particles, bacteria and pollen, some reckon that these devices are the latest must-have health gadget.

But do they actually improve your health? And, if so, which model should you invest in if you want something quiet and unassuming to filter away in the background, day and night? To help you out, we asked an expert to unpack the claims behind the products, and then enlisted the Women’s Health Lab experts to find the best air purifiers on the market. Before we get into it, these are our star picks at a glance:

Air purifiers make some bold claims about improving your health, so we wanted to know what supporting evidence there is. We found that much of the information about their benefits is still largely anecdotal.

Emma Rubach, Head of Health Advice at Asthma + Lung UK, says: ‘Some people with lung conditions tell us they find air purifiers in their homes can help with some of the triggers of their condition. But, currently, there’s no clear scientific evidence to show this.’

So, the jury is still out on their effectiveness, health-wise, but if you’re still keen to invest, keep scrolling for more info on how they clean air.

As their name suggests, these nifty machines circulate cleaner air throughout the room they're sat in. They generally do this in a couple of different ways. Most contain a reusable, washable filter that helps remove larger particles from the air, including dust, pollen, bacteria and pet hair.

Then, there are additional filters that capture the much smaller dust particles. Most of these are HEPA (high-efficiency particle air) filters, which remove even the most microscopic of dust particles – some can catch something as small as 0.1 microns. This filter is disposable and lasts around six months, depending on the brand and its use.

Now you know the science, it’s time to think about the practicalities. Here’s what to look out for when investing in an air purifier.

If you’re hoping an air purifier will improve your beauty sleep, then you won't want one that’s so noisy it prevents you from getting your all-important shut eye – that would literally defeat its purpose.

We have tested the sound level of each machine listed below in the lab and the decibels are noted for each product. For context, when operating on a lower power level, most recorded around 40dB, the equivalent of a stream trickling in the background. However, on their highest settings, most would reach volumes more similar to the noise of water falling in a shower.

Look for a night mode that dims the lights and displays too, so they don’t wake you.

Snazzy gadgets are great, but they’re even better when they fit in seamlessly with your interiors. Although air purifiers aren’t huge, they aren’t small either, so consider the floor space they take up before buying.

Think about where the machine has the most benefit, too – if you want to move it from your bedroom to the living room and back, look for portability features so that every day isn’t suddenly arm day.

You may need to dig out a measuring tape for this, as you should check the size of space it's going to purify. The effort will be worth it though, as you need to ensure the machine you buy can tackle the entire area of the room it sits in.

Some purifiers, such as the Philips Series 3000I Connected AC3033/30 can purify rooms as large as 135m squared, while others only stretch to spaces measuring 10m squared.

Generally, the amount of energy a purifier consumes equates to how much it will cost to run per hour. We tested the energy consumption for all the purifiers below, running them for an hour on their highest setting, and found that none used more than 1 pence of electricity in that time.

To find the best air purifier, each machine is put through its paces in the WH Lab. Our team carries out decibel tests to find the quietest air purifiers for lulling you to sleep and measures the energy efficiency of each purifier.

Then they look at its impact on air quality. Our experts use an air quality monitor to see how well it removes two types of pollutants: fine particulates referred to as PM2.5, and slightly larger but still inhalable PM10. The former tends to come from the combustion of fuels while the latter includes sneeze-inducing dust and pollen.

Firstly, they run the air purifier for an hour in our controlled test room, looking at how well it removes particles from everyday air. Then, they disperse ash and dust within the room and repeat, again leaving it to run for an hour. Finally, they measure how well it fares when facing a thick cloud of deodorant that maxes out the monitor’s particle counter (don’t worry, testers wear masks for this bit).

Throughout testing, our experts also analyse each air purifier’s overall design and how easy it is to set up and use. Plus, they consider the product's size, weight, portability and the size of room it’s able to purify.

After all the lab assessments have been completed, they enlist a panel of testers to see how they perform at home, too. These are people who are used to having an air purifier whirring away, so they know what they’re looking for. These panellists give feedback on what it’s like to use day-in day-out and whether it impacts their allergies (anecdotally, of course).

Taking all that into account, these are the best air purifiers to invest in now.

Calling all light sleepers – this air purifier boasts a night-time mode that dims its lights. Testers also found it was quiet enough to run in the background, especially on low. There’s even a child lock, just in case you’re using it in a kid’s bedroom.

In the lab, it fared well when cleaning air under everyday conditions, earning an impressive perfect score. It also removed particles from dust and ash, and while the deodorant test didn’t fully eliminate all particles within an hour, the PM2.5 count in our test room was lower than before we started.

Our at-home panel also gave it a thumbs-up with one noting: ‘My son has asthma and noticed a significant improvement in his nighttime sleeping.’ And everyone found the accompanying app simple to use – so much so that our testers preferred using this over the machine’s display to check the air quality.

BlueAir's 3210 purifier totally bowled our team of testers over. It's compact in size and has a sleek design that makes it a lounge-worthy pick. Not to mention, it’s super simple to use too, meaning it can be up and running in no time – you literally plug it in and it gets to work. It also did a good job banishing pollutants from our lab, although it took over an hour to get rid of all the particles introduced by deodorant.

Our panel quickly noticed a positive change in the air quality after turning it on. In fact, one tester who suffers from dust allergies and ear, nose and throat issues told us: ‘When I woke up in the morning, I no longer had a stuffy nose or irritated throat.’

As if that’s not enough, it’s great in the bedroom too – testers found it particularly quiet, and its night mode didn’t bother even the lightest of sleeping beauties. A clean air dream.

Surprise, surprise, here's yet another Dyson product we’ve fallen in love with. Not only does this clever machine purify the air, but it also doubles (or should that be triples?) up as an air cooler and a heater, essentially giving you three gadgets for the price – and size – of one. Yes, it's not the cheapest on the list, but if you want something that’s as hardworking as you in a HIIT class, Dyson's got your back.

Testers loved the air quality report that can be viewed on the LCD screen, and it was the most energy efficient machine on test. It did a stellar job removing nasties from the air in our lab too – notably taking just an hour to leave our air cleaner than when we started the deodorant test. It was fairly quiet, too and our panel unanimously agreed it was a great addition to their home.

If your allergies are related to your four-legged friends, then this is the air purifier for you. Our panel testers with dogs noticed a significant change in the air quality when they used it, and perhaps even more impressively, visitors who were allergic to dogs were able to sit in the room with this air purifier without sneezing – result! This was reinforced in the lab, where it was one of the best on test at removing dust and ash from the air.

Its other USP (yes, there are two!) is that it's been created with design in mind and could be mistaken for a regular piece of furniture as the top doubles up as a side table. Plus, it will fit right into any smart homes, as it can be controlled remotely using the Blueair app or Amazon's Alexa system. Not to mention, it was the quietest of all tested when operating on max. What an all-rounder.

This is our day-to-night pick. The small and compact design (it’s just 40cm high and weighs two kilograms) is ideal if you want an air purifier you can easily cart from room to room. In fact, it’s the most portable model we tested, so if you’re heading on a staycation, then it should be a good travel buddy, easily slipping into a car boot or bigger suitcase.

But don't let its compact size or affordable price make you think it's not up to the task at hand. It still boasts a HEPA filter, which meant it put in a reliable performance in the lab, barely dropping a mark for its day-to-day air cleansing. That said, it wasn’t quite as quick at tackling particles from dust, ash and deodorant as some bigger units.

It also lacks an LED air quality indicator, but our panel liked the touch sensitive buttons, finding it ‘very quiet’ and pleasing on the eye.

This is the only air purifier on our list with an impressive three filters – one to remove larger particles, a HEPA filter that claims to catch 99.97% of dust and microns, and finally a carbon filter to remove unwanted odours. These worked together to produce a solid performance in the lab, notably achieving one of the highest scores in the deodorant test.

Our panel said it was quick at recognising different dust particles and adjusting its settings accordingly, and they loved being able to follow its progress on the colour-changing LED screen. Although it was one of the loudest models on test, it does have a sleep mode that turns off the light indicator, so you don’t need to worry about any light shows interrupting your precious slumber.

Blossom is our Senior Homes Tester. Passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for our readers, she has tested everything from blenders to pizza ovens.

Blossom enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols for hundreds of items. Innovative items like robot vacuum cleaners and wine coolers are among her favourite tests to date, and her most notable accomplishment is toasting 360 slices of bread in a determined bid to find the best toaster.

In her free time, Blossom openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.

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