Best Air Purifiers of 2026: We Released a Smoke Bomb Into a Sealed Chamber to Find You The Best

We put 15 of the latest air purifiers through rigorous lab testing -- including smoke-bomb trials inside a sealed chamber -- to see which performed best for particle filtration, noise and energy efficiency. Here’s which models came out on top.

Ajay has worked in tech journalism for over a decade as a reporter, analyst, product reviewer, and editor. He got his start in consumer tech, breaking Android news at Newsweek before going to PCMag, where he reviewed hundreds of smartphones, battery packs, and chargers as a Mobile Analyst. He also worked at Lifewire, a Dotdash Meredith brand, as a Tech Commerce Editor, putting together tested best-of lists and assigning product reviews across categories including smart home, uninterruptible power supplies, generators, and automotive tech. Most recently, he was Section Editor, Mobile at Digital Trends, spearheading his team's coverage of breaking news, features, reviews, roundups, deals, and more across a variety of ...