Earlier, on Tuesday, Zuckerberg posted a video message to Meta's blog announcing that he would replace fact-checkers with community notes, a system similar to what Elon Musk uses on X.
The announcement was criticized by dozens of third-party fact-checking groups, which signed an open letter to Zuckerberg denouncing the changes as a "step backward" for accuracy.
Zuckerberg told Rogan his reason for the changes was "censorship."
"You only start one of these companies if you believe in giving people a voice," he said. "It goes back to our original mission, it's just give people the power to share and make people more open and connected."
Zuckerberg said that over the past 10 years, there's been a greater push for "idealogical-based censorship" on the platform, fueled especially by the 2016 election, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic. "We just faced this massive, massive institutional pressure to start censoring content on ideological grounds," he said.
Zuckerberg initially gave into the pressure, believing it stemmed from genuine concerns about misinformation. After the 2016 election, he implemented a system of third-party fact-checkers tasked with correcting statements like "the earth is flat." However, the system quickly veered into gray areas, leading to accusations that the company's moderators were biased.
Pressure on Meta's content moderation policies continued, reaching a fever pitch during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Biden administration rolled out its vaccine program. "While they're trying to push that program, they also tried to censor anyone who is basically arguing against it," Zuckerberg said. "They pushed us super hard to take down things that were, honestly, were true."
That means he has been considering changing Meta's content moderation policies for a while now.
"I think that this is going to be pretty durable because, at this point, we've just been pressure tested on this stuff for the last 8 to 10 years with like these huge institutions just pressuring us," he said. "I feel like this is kind of the right place to be going forward."
The United States military offers an expedited path to US citizenship for lawful residents who commit to service. In 2024, while filming the US Marine Corps boot camp in Camp Pendleton, California, chief video correspondent Graham Flanagan followed one recruit taking advantage of this opportunity.
Twenty-four-year-old Ralph Dahilig immigrated to the US from the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he holds a bachelor's degree in information systems, Dahilig struggled to find a job in the tech industry, which led him to pursue a career in the Marine Corps.
At 5 feet 4 inches tall, Dahilig is not what many might picture as the prototypical US Marine. He had to learn to think outside the box to make it to The Crucible, the 54-hour culminating event of the 13-week boot camp. All recruits must endure it before they receive the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor pendant, symbolizing their official transformation from recruit to US Marine.
Lockefeer worked at McKinsey and Alibaba before starting her own business.
Duo Fotografie
While struggling with parenting duties, Babette Lockefeer considered quitting her business.
Her husband didn't agree with her decision to stop work and be a stay-at-home mom.
Lockefeer was angry at first but later realized she wouldn't be happy if she wasn't working.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Babette Lockefeer, 35, from the Netherlands, about navigating motherhood alongside her career. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Four months after my second child was born, I wasn't living life as I'd envisioned it.
I was in the midst of a big project for my business as a leadership and team facilitator and struggling to balance my career and motherhood. I felt overwhelmed, stressed, and sleep-deprived.
In the summer of 2021, I told my husband I wanted to quit the business. He immediately said no.
At first, I was angry. I'd always valued doing important work and my career, and I was willing to stop doing that for our family, but felt he wasn't letting me.
Over time, I realized he was right: I wouldn't have been happy as a stay-at-home mom. Talking with my husband and processing my feelings helped me realize that being a mother wasn't a detriment to my career. I had to deal with some insecurities and make some changes at home to understand I could do both.
I was always a high achiever at work
I started my career in 2014 as a consultant at McKinsey. I spent two and a half years there, but in 2016, I joined Alibaba as a global leadership associate. I spent around half a year in their Dutch office, helping Dutch e-commerce players connect to the Chinese market.
In the summer of 2017, my husband, who I'd met as a student, and I moved to China, and I worked for Alibaba in Hangzhou.
I really enjoyed it. We had monthly trainings where we learned more about China, e-commerce, and leadership. The training made me realize that my real interests lay in leadership development. In 2018, I left Alibaba and started my own business in the leadership space, TheoryY.
I was also pregnant with my first child at that time. Five months after his birth, in December 2019, we decided to leave China and move back to the Netherlands.
Soon after we returned, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I got pregnant again and had a second child in February 2021. Because of the pandemic, it was difficult to have family assistance with childcare or access to day care.
Around 10 weeks after giving birth, I started a new project with my business after being referred to a new client. Our newborn wasn't fond of sleeping, so we had a lot of broken nights.
For me, motherhood was about having a healthy attachment with my children, being present, and attending to all of their needs.
This was impossible to achieve all the time. I was too tired, overwhelmed, and full of doubt. With hindsight, I still did a good job as a mother, but I'd internalized the perfect mother myth.
Society's picture of an ideal mother is in direct conflict with that of an ideal employee. The employee is always available and wants to go the extra mile, but the mom also needs to be fully committed and always have the space to attend to her children's needs.
I was always a high achiever at work, but now, I had less time and energy to go the extra mile. I was working fewer hours than before having children, but when I was with my kids I wasn't always present because I was thinking about work. I felt like I wasn't doing a good job on the work front or the motherhood front.
My husband didn't think quitting would make me happy
My husband worked full-time. He was very involved as a dad. When our second child was born, he took some parental leave, spread across the year, plus six weeks of birth leave. But because I was self-employed and had more flexibility, I was always picking up things that fell off the wagon — which was a lot of the time during COVID.
I would spread my hours around, sometimes working in the evenings so I could still do the tasks I was hired to do. We never had a consistent schedule, and I felt like I was firefighting. Whenever a child was ill or had a doctor's appointment, the mental load was predominantly on my shoulders.
When I spoke to my husband about quitting, he said he didn't think it was the right decision. He also wanted to spend time with our kids and thought it wasn't fair if he was the sole breadwinning parent.
He also said he didn't think I'd be happy as a stay-at-home mom. I disagreed, saying I wasn't happy as it stood.
I spoke with my husband, processed my feelings and decided to continue working
From our first conversation, it was clear we weren't aligned, so we continued to discuss it.
I shared that I felt I was undervalued and wasn't appreciated by him unless I was achieving something professionally. He told me he still appreciated me now that I was a mom and wasn't on a steep career trajectory at the time.
I decided to continue working, but we also changed some practical things about our household. When our third child was born in July 2023, my husband was granted 26 weeks of parental leave by his new company, and he took all of it, taking full end-to-end responsibility for the household for the first time.
It allowed me to trust him fully with the kids and family chores going forward, so our dynamic has become more equal. We don't split things 50-50 all the time, but regularly discuss how best to divide responsibilities between us.
Looking back, I'm grateful that my husband could see that, in the long term, it wasn't a good idea for me to quit working. I need the intellectual stimulation that comes from a job, and my work fills me with the energy to show up as the mom and partner I want to be.
Do you have a story about balancing parenting with your career? Email Charissa Cheong atccheong@businessinsider.com
President-elect Donald Trump's decadeslong friendship with UFC President Dana White has been mutually beneficial to both men.
Alex Brandon/AP
Donald Trump and Dana White have enjoyed a decadeslong friendship predating presidential politics.
In each of Trump's three presidential campaigns, White lined up behind the president-elect.
During the 2024 race, the mixed martial arts leader also appeared on Trump's first TikTok video.
Donald Trump might be the only person who can attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight and outshine the headliners — even UFC CEO Dana White doesn't draw the same type of reaction.
In November, Trump set the crowd off by walking into UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden to join his entourage, which included Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Trump's cabinet nominees.
White stands at the center of it all. In just under three decades, White has turned his sport, once on the fringe of pop culture, into a spectacle that even a president-elect couldn't resist.
Trump and White's decades-long friendship has been mutually beneficial. White has repeatedly said he will never forget how Trump offered a grand stage to his sport when few others would. Trump successfully deployed White's cohort of podcasters and influencers, led by Joe Rogan, in his 2024 election win.
"Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does," White told the energetic crowd at Mar-a-Lago as it was apparent that Trump had been elected to a second term. "This is what happens when the machine comes after you."
Here's a look at the decadeslong relationship between Trump and White over the years:
Donald Trump gave a big early boost to UFC
Donald Trump poses on the floor during the opening of his Trump Taj Mahal casino
Getty
In 1990, Trump opened Trump Taj Mahal, a billion-dollar prized jewel in Atlantic City, that businessman billed as the 8th Wonder of the World. At its peak, it was the biggest casino in town.
Trump needed big acts to fill the casino's arena, which Elton John had christened. In 2001, Trump took a chance on the UFC, which was still trying to escape its brutalist stigma. The sport that then-Sen. John McCain, famously called "human cockfighting" in the 1990s, couldn't even put on an event in Las Vegas.
Trump's UFC event came at a pivotal moment
Randy Couture is victorious over Pedro Rizzo at UFC 31
Susumu Nagao/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Shut out of Nevada, UFC staged its fights in a series of smaller venues around the country and the world. White considered the invitation to the Taj Mahal a sign of legitimacy.
"Nobody took us seriously," White has repeatedly said. "Except Donald Trump."
Trump's backing came during a crucial time in the company's history. In January 2001, a month before the Trump-hosted fight, casino moguls Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased UFC. They picked White, Lorenzo's friend and a manager for two of mixed martial arts' biggest fighters, as the president.
Under White's leadership, UFC's popularity skyrocketed
Dana White looks forward during a 2007 weigh-in ceremony.
Jae C. Hong/AP
By September 2001, UFC was in Vegas. Four years later, White led UFC onto the airwaves on SpikeTV, cashing in the popularity of reality TV competitions with "The Ultimate Fighter."
It helped that in 2004, Trump welcomed Tito Ortiz, one of the sport's biggest stars, onto the first season of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," the glitzier spin-off to Trump's smash reality TV hit.
The Ultimate Fighter was a big success, increasing the company's popularity.
White locked in UFC's voice
Dana White hangs out with Joe Rogan ahead of SpikeTV's 2006 video game awards.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage via Getty
If White is the face of UFC, Rogan is undoubtedly its voice. His association with the company even predates White's time as president. After the Fertitta brothers purchased UFC in 2001, White offered Rogan a full-time gig as a color commentator. Rogan has said it's in his contract that he'll leave the UFC if White ever exits, too.
Rogan's profile grew alongside the UFC, considering his association with mixed martial arts was part of why he became the host of NBC's "Fear Factor."
The comedian cashed in on his bigger profile in 2009, starting what was then a weekly commentary show. By the time Trump first ran for president in 2016, "The Joe Rogan Experience" was one of the most popular podcasts in the world.
Business didn't get in the way of Trump and White's friendship.
Donald Trump briefly tried to back his competitor to the UFC
Brad Barket/Getty Images
While he's known for real-estate, Trump has sought out many other partnerships and business ventures to varying degrees of success. In 2008, Trump partnered with Affliction, a clothing brand, to launch a competitor in the mixed-martial arts space. Their promotion even landed Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko, whom White and the UFC had previously sought to sign.
The venture lasted only two fights. According to The New York Times, White sometimes criticized his friend, pointing out his inexperience in operating such a company, "Donald Trump owns casinos."
White and Trump remained close. The UFC head even vowed that he would never fully go after Trump, a nod to the real estate mogul's early support.
White was once far from a conservative firebrand
Dana White and Harry Reid voted early during the 2010 midterm elections.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun/Reuters
In 2010, White campaigned with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as he sought to hang onto his seat amid a difficult year for Democrats. Reid won, and Democrats held onto a slimmer US Senate majority.
According to The Times, White's politics mirrored Trump's in that both businessmen viewed the enterprise through a transactional lens. Trump faced criticism in the 2016 GOP primaries for previously supporting leading Democrats like Hillary Clinton.
White spoke as if he was a stranger at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
White has been in Trump's political orbit since his first foray into presidential politics.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Few major establishment Republicans spoke at Trump's 2016 convention. Enter White, one of a handful of longtime Trump friends who extolled the virtues of the man who would soon become the Republican Party's presidential nominee.
White even alluded to the fact that his attendance might appear odd.
"My name is Dana White. I am the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I'm sure most you are wondering, 'What are you doing here?'" White told the crowd in Cleveland. "I am not a politician. I am a fight promoter, but I was blown away and honored to be invited here tonight, and I wanted to show up and tell you about my friend, Donald Trump — the Donald Trump that I know."
White returned to the trail again in 2020.
White stumped for Trump during a February 2020 campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Ahead of Trump's reelection bid, White said Trump's time in the White House only deepened their relationship.
"We've actually become even closer since he's become the President of the United States," White said during a 2020 campaign rally. "When somebody becomes the President of the United States, you don't ever expect to hear from them again. And I understand it. It absolutely makes sense. This guy is so loyal and such a good friend."
The COVID-19 pandemic made White a conservative star
UFC 249 was held in Jacksonville, Florida, during the COVID-19 pandemic
Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Image
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the live event business. Sports, including the UFC, were no exception. White saw an opening as the four major professional leagues struggled through discussions on how to return.
White tried to get the UFC to return with an event on tribal land in California, but that effort was postponed amid Disney and ESPN's uneasiness. In turning to Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida, White found a much more receptive audience — even if the first fight didn't allow any fans. UFC 249 in May was the first major sporting event since the pandemic's beginning.
Trump delivered a video message congratulating White on the event.
"Get the sports leagues back, let's play," Trump said in a video recorded outside of the Oval Office. "Do the social distancing, and whatever you have to do, but we need sports. We want our sports back."
Out of power, Trump found refuge at the UFC
Former President Donald Trump made a rare public appearance at a July 2021 UFC fight.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
After leaving the White House, Donald Trump wasn't welcomed in many places. Following the January 6 Capitol riot, the two biggest professional golf governing bodies rebuked him. The Professional Golf Association even stripped one Trump-owned course of the right to host one of the PGA's major four tournaments.
In July 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney indicted the Trump Organization, setting off an array of legal headaches that didn't abate until after the 2024 election. A week later, Trump entered to mostly cheers in Las Vegas as he prepared to take in UFC 264.
Trump made the UFC central to his 2024 bid
Trump officially launched on TikTok at UFC 302 in June 2024. The fighting promotion's audience was also the perfect place for the former president's campaign, given his advisors' emphasis on attracting young men.
White's broader orbit suddenly intertwined with the former president's comeback campaign. Trump, and later his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, made a point of appearing on podcasts geared toward this demographic. The Nelk Boys, Theo Von, Adin Ross, and "Bussin' with the Boys" all shared close ties to White. Trump appeared on each of their respective shows.
White spoke at Trump's pre-election rally at Madison Square Garden.
White was a high-profile speaker at Trump's October rally at Madison Square Garden.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
White energized the crowd at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally just days before the election, where he said that Vice President Kamala Harris wouldn't bring "change" to the country.
And he emphatically praised Trump in advance of an election that was seemingly tied in most of the swing states.
"He is the most resilient, hardest-working human being that I've ever met in my entire life," White said during his remarks.
Celebrating his win, Trump turned the mic over to White
UFC CEO Dana White was a prominent presence during President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 victory speech.
As Trump spoke to an adoring crowd at Mar-a-Lago and to the nation, he invited White to make remarks, and the UFC president wasted no time singing the praises of the president-elect.
"He keeps going forward — he doesn't quit," White bluntly said. "He deserves this. They deserve it as a family."
White also name-checked podcast hosts that had welcomed Trump into the so-called "Manosphere."
A former UFC spokesperson will have a key role in Trump's White House
Steven Cheung follows Donald Trump as he boards his plane
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
One of Trump's key White House aides also has ties to UFC. Steven Cheung, who will be the White House communications director, was a spokesperson for UFC before he left to join Trump's 2016 campaign.
Cheung's brash statements, particularly those bashing DeSantis during the 2024 primary season, received considerable attention and drew comparisons to how closely they mirrored Trump's own rhetoric.
Just before Trump took office, Meta tapped White for a new role.
UFC President Dana White and Mark Zuckerberg attended UFC 300 on April 13.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Trump may have helped out White again. In January 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the UFC executive would join the technology company's board. Zuckerberg's move was widely seen as a play to curry favor with Trump and his orbit.
White might be done in the political arena
After the election, Trump and White had a major outing together at the UFC 309 event in New York.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
White wasn't very political before he campaigned for Trump. He has said that his outspokenness may be an exception only reserved for his friend.
"I'm never fucking doing this again," White recently told The New Yorker. "I want nothing to do with this shit. It's gross. It's disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics."
JPMorgan told employees on Friday that their days of hybrid work were numbered.
It said the five-day mandate would start in March and affect roughly 30% of the bank's workforce.
See the memo explaining the new policy and rationale.
JPMorgan on Friday told employees that hybrid work was largely over. In a memo issued by the bank's operating committee, the largest US bank by assets said it was calling all workers back to the office starting in March.
"Starting in March, we'll be asking most employees currently on a hybrid schedule to return to the office five days a week," a copy of the memo obtained by Business Insider said. "As it stands, more than half of our workforce already comes into the office full-time."
A company spokesman said that roughly 70% of the bank's employees were already back in the office five days a week, while everyone else was in three or four days a week.
"We know that some of you prefer a hybrid schedule and respectfully understand that not everyone will agree with this decision," the memo said, adding, "We think it is the best way to run the company."
JPMorgan, which had more than 300,000 employees in September, is the latest in a growing list of large companies to revert to pre-pandemic office norms. AT&T and Amazon have implemented similar five-day mandates starting this month.
JPMorgan's return-to-office policies have been slowly ratcheting up since the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned all managing directors — the highest rank outside the C-suite — to a five-day workweek in 2023.
The full memo sheds some light on the company's rationale:
Message from the Operating Committee
Dear colleagues,
We're proud of how our company has successfully adapted and thrived in an ever-changing environment, and this is thanks to all of you. We are a better organization because of your commitment and continued care for our customers, clients, communities and each other. Developing effective teams and maintaining a vibrant, healthy culture are clearly key for our success — and we believe best achieved through working together in person. This is why starting in March, we'll be asking most employees currently on a hybrid schedule to return to the office five days a week. As it stands, more than half of our workforce already comes into the office full-time.
We know that some of you prefer a hybrid schedule and respectfully understand that not everyone will agree with this decision. We are now a few years out of the pandemic and have had the time to evaluate the benefits and challenges of remote and hybrid working. We feel that now is the right time to solidify our full-time in-office approach. We think it is the best way to run the company. As we've discussed before, the benefits of working together in person are substantial and irreplaceable, and as we spend more time together, the more advantages we gain. Being together greatly enhances mentoring, learning, brainstorming and getting things done. It accelerates decision-making and offers valuable opportunities for spontaneous learning and creativity. It also allows our early career professionals to learn through our apprenticeship model and expand their networks by building connections with peers across the firm.
Many of our global locations, but not all, have existing capacity to allow for most or all employees to return to the office full-time in early March. We will confirm the list of locations where this is possible by the end of January. The evaluation of our locations will focus on operational readiness, including food services, cleaning and parking. For locations with capacity constraints, or where changes are needed to create capacity, we will work through plans in the coming weeks and will share information and timelines as they become available on a location-by-location basis. Until your location's readiness is confirmed, you should continue on your current work schedule. It's important to note that following a thorough review and applying stringent criteria, a few specific teams whose work can be easily and clearly measured will continue to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule. These decisions have been made in the best interest of the company. If you are on one of these teams, your manager will confirm your schedule.
We recognize that switching from hybrid to five days a week in the office may be disruptive and require adjustments for some colleagues. Importantly we will work to give you at least 30 days' notice in line with local requirements, prior to your full-time return. Once your location is ready, if you need a bit more time to accommodate the new schedule, you should discuss your needs with your manager and get their approval. We know that a lot has changed in our workplaces since returning to the office after the pandemic and recognize that it will take us some time to get all of our locations ready to accommodate a five-day-a-week schedule.
What is not changing is our support for flexibility in the workplace, which we are committed to providing at every level in a fair way. We fully recognize how important it is to be able to work remotely as life events happen, and managers will be directed to provide team members with the flexibility they need to work remotely under some circumstances, such as unexpected occurrences, family commitments or other times on occasion when you and your manager agree you can work away from the office. As always, we expect you to continue to track your time out of the office, and we will work hard to support a workplace of flexibility and collaboration.
We greatly appreciate your outstanding efforts day-in and day-out and are honored to work together on behalf of everyone we serve.
Wildfires have torn through Los Angeles, destroying homes and displacing residents.
Major Hollywood productions have paused shooting.
They include "Fallout," one Amazon's biggest hits last year, and "Grey's Anatomy."
As the Los Angeles wildfires continue to tear through swaths of the city, Hollywood has responded by pausing multiple TV and film productions.
As of 7:00 a.m. ET Friday, at least 10 people had died in the wildfires, and approximately 179,000 people had been told to evacuate the greater Los Angeles area, including the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Pasadena. Over 10,000 structures were destroyed, per The LA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Emerging photos of the LA area illustrate the devastation.
Here are the projects that have paused production.
'Fallout' and 'Grey's Anatomy' are among the TV shows affected
Ella Purnell in "Fallout" and Ellen Pompeo in "Grey's Anatomy."
Amazon Prime Video/ABC
Amazon told Business Insider on Thursday that filming for "Fallout" season two hadn't restarted since the holiday break, but was expected to on Friday.
The show, based on the popular "Fallout" games by Bethesda Softworks, was one of the streamer's biggest hits of 2024.
Variety reported on Wednesday that the Warner Bros. studio backlot in Burbank was closed, stopping work on "Abbott Elementary," "The Pitt," "All-American," and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage."
However, the city of Burbank said on Wednesday that there were no evacuation orders for the area.
NBC Universal stopped production on "Suits: LA," the spinoff to Aaron Korsh's popular legal drama starring Stephen Amell, as well as "Ted," "Hacks," "Loot," and "Happy's Place."
CBS Studios meanwhile paused work on "NCIS," "NCIS: Origins," "After Midnight," "The Neighborhood," and "Poppa's House." Representatives for Disney confirmed to BI that work has been delayed on "Grey's Anatomy," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and "Doctor Odyssey."
On Wednesday, FilmLA, which helps coordinate permits for movies and TV shows shooting in the city, said the LA County Fire Department told them to withdraw all permits for Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge, and Unincorporated Pasadena, and others were possible.
In an update on the same day, the company said that the LA Parks and Recreation Department had canceled all filming permits until January 14.
The disruption from the wildfires comes as Hollywood tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and actor and writer strikes last year, which both led to numerous production delays for major and smaller studios alike.
Mike Miller, the vice president of the film and TV crew union IATSE, told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday that the organization would support those affected.
He said: "We're going to be there to support them and I'm confident that we'll be able to come through this. But it is absolutely going to add additional burden to many people in our industry that are already struggling."
Representatives for NBC Universal and CBS did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.
The Palisades Fire alone has burned through over 17,000 acres of land in two days.
For context, the entire island of Manhattan is 14,600 acres.
A series of wildfires have battered Los Angeles and other surrounding areas of Southern California since Tuesday, killing at least five people, burning through tends of thousands of acres of land, and destroying at least 1,000 structures.
The damage so far is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
When natural disasters strike, numbers like these — that reach the thousands, millions, and even billions — can become difficult to comprehend.
To put the wildfire destruction in California into perspective, here are seven statistics to help understand the damage they have inflicted.
The Palisades Fire alone has burned through 17,000 acres. That's larger than the entire island of Manhattan.
A home burns during the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025.
AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP/Getty Images
That makes the fire, which started on Tuesday morning, the most destructive fire in Los Angeles' history, according to multiple reports.
The island of Manhattan in New York is roughly 15,000 acres.
In total, more than 26,978 acres had been burned as of 1:45 a.m. Thursday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.
Officials ordered 130,000 to evacuate, a number that's greater than the population of Kansas' capital city.
A resident rides through smoke from a brush fire pushed by gusting Santa Ana winds on January 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades.
VCG/VCG/Getty Images
That number is more than the population of Topeka, the capital of Kansas, which has a population of 125,457, according to 2023 population estimates by the US Census.
Los Angeles' total population is just under 4 million people. That means around 3% of the city's population has been displaced.
More than 420,000 people are estimated to be without power. That's roughly the population of Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota.
A home burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on January 8, 2025.
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
The number comes from PowerOutage.us, which has been tracking power outages across California.
One estimate puts damage and economic losses at $52 to $57 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The sun is seen behind smoke above charred structures after the passage of the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025.
AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP/Getty Images
That preliminary estimate, from forecasting service Accuweather, could increase if the fires spread to further areas.
For comparison, the total GDP of the country of Libya is $48 billion, according to the IMF.
If this was a hurricane, that'd make it the 10th-costliest storm in history, right below 2012's Hurricane Sandy.
More than 7,500 LA firefighters have been deployed, but that's still not enough.
Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire in strong winds as many homes burn on January 7, 2025, in Pasadena, California
David McNew/Getty Images
Governor Gavin Newsom is sending in the state's National Guard, and more firefighters are coming from Nothern California. The Los Angeles Times reported Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone requested aid from fire departments in Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, and Utah.
Wind gusts have reached 90 mph. That's equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
Workers attempt to remove a tree that fell on a car due to high winds in Glendale on January 8, 2025.
For comparison, Category 1 hurricanes have wind speeds of between 74 and 95 mph, and they can do a lot of damage. Hurricane Florence was a Category 1 storm when it made landfall in North Carolina in September 2018, and was one of the costliest hurricanes in history.
Universal Studios was forced to close for the first time since COVID-19 in 2020.
The entrance of Universal Studios in Hollywood.
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Universal Studios said in a statement it closed its gates on Wednesday "out of an abundance of caution" due to the high winds and fires, closing for the first time since the park shut down in March 2020, per People. It remained closed on Thursday.
Disneyland, located in Anaheim, has been able to remain open.
Danielle-Ann Kealohilani Rugg moved back to Hawaii to care for her family during the pandemic.
She balances event work, a tax business, and family life amid Hawaii's high living costs.
Despite the challenges, she finds beauty in Hawaii but would return to Oregon for lower living costs.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Danielle-Ann Kealohilani Rugg, a 39-year-old entrepreneur and event staff professional who relocated from Oregon to Hawaii. It's been edited for length and clarity.
I have an ever-evolving career. I balance my event work with Aloha HP, running a successful tax practice, and caring for my family on Oahu in Hawaii.
My path has been a mix of culinary aspirations, entrepreneurial ventures, and family-driven decisions. I was born and raised on Oahu. In 2005, when my twin daughters were 1, I moved to California, where I lived for six years before settling in Oregon. Oregon became home for most of my children's lives, spanning the last decade.
I've been back on Oahu since the pandemic, and while it's gorgeous, the high cost of living is challenging.
My professional life began with a passion for food
I moved to Oregon after a divorce to help care for my grandparents, and I fell in love with everything about the state. I had always seen the different seasons in movies and TV shows and longed to experience them, and that dream finally came true. The other amazing thing about the state was the absence of sales tax.
I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Portland to pursue my passion for baking and pâtisserie. After completing the two-year associate degree program, I worked in various roles, from baker to cashier to server.
Each position taught me invaluable lessons about customer service, multitasking, and time management, especially when catering large events. It wasn't just about bread and coffee cups but about creating memorable client experiences.
My family always came first. Wanting to be closer to my children, I became a lunch lady at their high school. Surprisingly, this was one of the most fulfilling roles I've had.
I continued my side hustle while in Oregon
I shift gears every February and dive into tax season with my mother. We've been running a tax prep business since my early 20s. We realized the hard work we put in for someone else's business could be channeled into something of our own.
The time zone difference was challenging while I was in Oregon, but we made it work. Depending on our clientele for the year, we make $50,000 to $75,000 annually.
My mother and I get along very well. Our relationship is not perfect, but we've found a good balance between our professional and personal lives.
The only downside I experienced in Oregon was the limited places to swim
The ocean was about an hour and a half away, but the water was always freezing. Although it was beautiful, going to a beach and being unable to jump in dampened the experience.
There were lakes, but they were freezing because all the freshwater came from the mountains. We also had a few facilities we could go to, but that would involve getting a membership, and not all of them were indoors.
When the pandemic hit, my family had to make a change
In 2020, as the world was grappling with the onset of COVID-19, my mother suffered an injury, and she needed help. She lived in Honolulu, and despite the comfortable life my children and I had built in Oregon, I needed to return home.
It wasn't an easy decision, especially during my kids' junior year in high school, but sometimes life demands hard choices. The transition was tough, but ultimately, it was the right move for my mother's well-being. We also moved my grandmother back with us, who has dementia.
Back on Oahu, I found a job with Aloha HP, a Hawaiian staffing company. Aloha HP allowed me to keep up with my business while maintaining an open schedule to care for my family, which was a relief.
I'm primarily involved with event staff work
I do anything from setting up for weddings and banquets to serving guests. These gigs can last four to nine hours.
I average about 80 hours of work a month and earn between $1,350 and $1,900. It's a dynamic way to work, and I enjoy its variety and challenges.
I've learned my self-care cannot be an afterthought. I always carve out two days during my hectic workweek just for myself.
Now that I'm back in Hawaii, the downsides are clear
The cost of living is one of Hawaii's biggest downsides. When I lived in Oregon, my rent for my three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car garage home with a yard was $1,500. Electricity was, on average, $250, and my water bill was around $80. Car registration for both of my cars totaled $275 for two years. Groceries cost us around $500 a month.
Now, my rent, which my family helps with, is $3,550 for a slightly larger home than I had in Oregon. Our electricity is almost three times the amount I paid in Oregon, running on average $660 and up. Water is around $220, and car registration is $445, but only valid for one year.
The grocery stores here also have inflated prices. I may earn more money in Hawaii, but it's offset by the cost of living in Hawaii being much greater than in Oregon.
It's still paradise
Living in paradise is amazing; don't get me wrong. I'm close to my family, the ocean is nearby, the sun almost always shines, and even when it doesn't, the rain is a nice, cool temperature — not freezing cold.
Still, if I had to choose between the two places, I would move back to Oregon, only because the cost of living here is so high.
I've realized, though, that Hawaii is and always will be home. Despite the changes in times and technological advancements, living on an island still offers so much beauty. Just being here is a gift in itself.
Even though I once said I'd never move back, life has a way of leading you where you need to be.
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We tested more than 40 models to find the best air purifiers that were the most effective at clearing odors, smoke, and other air pollutants.
Blueair; Honeywell; Levoit/ Business Insider
Of all the places to catch your breath, home should be the ultimate sanctuary. Sneaky indoor pollutants like dust, pet dander and smoke from cooking can compromise air quality. Irritants from cleaning supplies, paint, and even new furniture can accumulate, creating a cascade of bothersome symptoms like sneezing, congestion, and watery eyes. And that's just scratching the surface. Considering the detrimental effects of wildfires, smog, and allergy seasons, everyone can benefit from an air purifier.
The best indoor air purifiers tackle airborne pollutants from viruses to smoke. We interviewed three experts and tested over 40 units to find the best air purifiers that will improve air quality, focusing on HEPA-rated or carbon-filtered designs. Our top pick is the Coway Airmega AP-1521HH Mighty; it removed the most pollutants, allergens, and VOCs in our tests and operated quietly. For a budget option, consider the Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier. It's well under $100 with low filter replacement costs, though it's most efficient for small rooms.
Best for small rooms: Levoit 300S Air Purifier - See at Amazon
Quietest: Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier - See at Amazon
Longest-lasting filter: Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max - See at Amazon
Best for smoke: Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier - See at Amazon
Best for odors: Oransi TrueCarbon 200C Air Purifier - See at Walmart
Best overall
The Coway Airmega AP-1521HH Mighty air purifier was the fastest at removing air pollutants like dust, pollen, pet dander, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among every unit we tested. An excellent choice for allergy sufferers, it's equipped with a multi-filtration system: a washable pre-filter, a true HEPA filter to capture airborne particles like viruses, bacteria, and pollen, and an activated carbon filter that reduces cooking, smoke, and pet odors. It also features an ionizer; however, we don't recommend using the ionization function (see why in the FAQ). Fortunately, you can manually turn it off.
While this version is not WiFi equipped and it doesn't have a remote control either, it's easy to set up and use. Even more important for the day-to-day, it runs quietly. I appreciated its eco-friendly design and Eco mode option. When this setting is selected, the air purifier's fan automatically stops to save energy after 30 minutes of no detected pollution, a feature no doubt that contributed to it ranking for lowest energy consumption among the units we tested.
The Coway outperformed other air purifiers in removing air pollutants like dust, smoke and pet dander the fastest. It features an auto-mode and a built-in air quality indicator.
Heidi Borst/Business Insider
The Coway displays air quality in real time with a light that turns from red (unhealthy) to purple (moderate) to blue (good). It automatically adjusts the fan speed accordingly and can run on one-, four-, or eight-hour timers. I found its appearance unobtrusive, but some users may find the manufacturer's recommendation to place it on a slightly elevated surface, such as a table or stand, inconvenient. Overall, we think the Coway Airmega AP-1521HH Mighty air purifier is the best choice for medium-to-large rooms, especially for pet owners and allergy sufferers.
Annual filter replacements typically cost around $60 and include a True HEPA Filter and 1 Activated Carbon Filter. The HEPA filter should last a year, while the carbon filter lasts six months. There is also a filter life indicator.
The Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier is the most affordable air purifier we recommend, has the lowest filter replacement cost, and, at under 10 pounds, is easy to move from room to room.
We found it performed just as well as models that cost three or four times as much. The Lasko air purifier quickly removed airborne dust and debris. With 30 minutes to spare in the testing period, our air quality monitor registered no particulate matter. Though its performance wasn't as impressive with VOCs, it did a good job keeping the levels in a safe range.
The Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier is one of the cheapest air purifiers we tested but is as effective as units twice its price.
James Brains/Business Insider
Setup was straightforward and took about five minutes. The Lasko's light weight makes it easy to move around, so you can take it with you from room to room, which you may need to do since its low CADR makes it better suited for small rooms. If you need more oomph, consider the LP450, which is only $16 more and covers twice as much space.
The Lasko was one of the few units we tested that was louder than ambient sound levels, even when on low. At 45.6 dB on low, it was a little bit louder than a typical library. On high, it was only 51.6 dB.
The biggest negative of this model is that it uses a lot of power. This is likely due to its lack of an auto mode that adjusts with the air quality, which is another negative.
Filters are affordable and widely available, too, with an expected cost of $35.99 yearly.
Best for large rooms
The Honeywell PowerPlus HEPA Air Purifier (model number HPA3300) was the top performer for large rooms. An hour and fifteen minutes into our test, it had removed 99% of the particulate matter and lowered the VOC levels to nearly zero. While it hasn't specifically been certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation (AAFA), these numbers suggest this is an excellent air purifier for allergy sufferers and those sensitive to other irritants.
The setup was quick and intuitive; it simply required removal from the package before plugging it in. And there's little maintenance. Just wipe the unit down with a dry cloth every three months. Two distinct filter indicator lights make filter replacement a no-brainer: the HEPA filter is changed once a year, and the prefilter requires replacement every four months).
The PowerPlus had the best combined performance of removing particulate matter and VOCs from the air.
James Brains/Business Insider
The HPA3300 isn't without its negatives. First, it's one of the loudest models we tested. When on low fan speed, it's no louder than the surrounding noise, but on high, it registered 64 decibels (dB), which is about as loud as a normal conversation. At over 20 pounds, it isn't as portable, though it does have a handle to help with transport.
That said, it's similar to most models in power use and filter replacement costs (about $100 each year), and we think its performance makes it the best air purifier for large rooms, especially for allergy sufferers.
The Levoit 300S Air Purifier is an excellent option for bedrooms and other small rooms because it has three layers of filtration. The pre-filter captures larger debris, including hair and pet dander; the true HEPA filter collects smaller airborne particles; and the carbon filter helps reduce VOCs and odors in the air.
The carbon filter's performance was evident in our testing as the Levoit 300S was among the best at removing VOCs. The purifier also did well with particulate matter, removing virtually all (99.2%) of it from the air during the testing period.
The small but mighty Levoit 300S Air Purifier is great for small bedrooms or home offices.
James Brains/Business Insider
The setup was a snap. I had the unit up and running in under 5 minutes and connected to the VeSync app (available for iOS and Android) in another five. The Levoit 300S is the most affordable WiFi-connected air purifier I've tested, and the smart functions work well. I could easily monitor and schedule it from anywhere, and the air quality readings were almost identical to the readings on our testing monitor.
The Levoit 300S is Energy Star-certified and has an auto mode that adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality. It proved to be one of the lowest energy consumers we tested.
Maintenance is minimal: vacuum the pre-filter once or twice a month and replace the filter every 6 to 8 months when the indicator light turns on. Filters are affordable and widely available, costing about $55 a year.
The noise level at high fan speed was average, a little louder than in a quiet office. But at low speed, it was no louder than ambient noise.
Quietist
The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier is the quietest and most high-tech model we tested, with smart settings that give you a clear look into your indoor air quality. On high speed, it's about as loud as a quiet office. On low, the 7470i is no louder than ambient sound.
The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i features a digital color touchscreen that allows you to operate the appliance and track the temperature, humidity, and air quality for VOCs and three different particle sizes.
If you're planning on using an air purifier in your bedroom, the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier is the quietest you can buy.
James Brains/Business Insider
The Blueair app (iOS and Android) puts the data and functions at your fingertips wherever you are, including the ability to set a schedule. It's also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. I found the app worked well for the most part, though there were times when the data readouts took up to an hour to refresh. Also, connecting to the app upon initial setup took a few tries, which added 10 minutes to the process.
The HealthProtect 7470i has a HEPA-type filter (see our FAQ for how this differs from a true HEPA filter) that looks like a partially open book and features an RFID chip that tracks the filter life. The filters are comparatively affordable, about $55 annually, and can be ordered in the app or through major retailers, including Amazon. Other than replacing the filter, the only other maintenance is occasionally vacuuming or washing the two prefilters.
In the air-quality tests, the Blueair purifier performed well. After the two-hour testing period, it had one of the lowest VOC readings, and it removed 99% of the particulate matter. The power consumption was about average among the units I tested, which is impressive considering the midrange CADR.
I found the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i a little too unwieldy to move easily from room to room. At 27.2 pounds and without good handles, this is a purifier you'll want to keep in one spot.
Longest lasting filter
While most filters need to be replaced quarterly — and we've seen some filters last up to a year before needing to be changed —Shark takes long-lasting filters to the next level. The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max can last up to five years before you need to replace the filter, and when you do, that filter costs $90, which is significant because some filters cost that much just to run annually. The size of the room (up to 1,400 square feet) and the amount of time you run the unit will ultimately determine how much life you get out of the filter, but according to Shark, the five-year number is based on running the air purifier in a 300-square-foot room at the highest speed for 12 hours a day.
From a performance perspective, the Shark took less than 15 minutes to reduce the amount of particles from incense smoke in a 200-square-foot room by 90%. It's also one of the quietest models, just behind the Blueair: an unobtrusive 46 decibels when running on high, and ambient at other levels.
The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max is a large, powerful option to improve the indoor air quality in your home.
Camryn Rabideau/Business Insider
All controls are handled directly on the unit. The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max is not WiFi-equipped, but the LCD screen can show the clean air percentage, the cleanliness level of the pre-filters, or real-time particle count. You can also adjust the fan speed or let it run on Auto. It has one of the lowest energy uses, at about .08 kwh a day.
Despite minimal upkeep costs, it's not completely maintenance-free; two pre-filters, which catch larger particles like pet hair, need to be wiped or vacuumed periodically. The display screen shows a filter-life percentage and will alert you when the filters need cleaning.
Finally, the Shark NeverChange is a larger model, and while you can move it around from room to room, it won't be the most comfortable to do so. Shark also offers a smaller version rated for rooms up to 650 square feet.
The Winix 5500-2 air purifier was our top contender for reducing smoke to improve air quality. Its three-stage filtration system features a true HEPA filter, activated carbon filter, and washable pre-filter that capture 99.97% of airborne pollutants, from allergens to smoke. Winix air purifies also features its own technology dubbed PlasmaWave, which reduces odors, airborne bacteria, and mold growth by creating positive and negative ions that combine with natural water vapor to form hydroxyls. It's technically an ionizer, so we recommend turning off the setting, but Winix claims and third-party tested that it does not cause harmful ozone, which can irritate lungs.
To determine the most effective smoke air purifier, we performed an additional test where we smoked up a 200-square-foot room with incense until the particulate matter reached 325. Then, we extinguished the incense, turned the air purifier onto auto mode, and timed how long it took toreach 5 PM, repeating the test for each model.
If diminished air quality from smoke is a concern, the Winix 5500-2 can quickly help clear the air.
Heidi Borst/Business Insider
Of the four models, the Winix 5500-2 cleared the air the fastest: 5 minutes sooner than its sister model the Winix T810 or Honeywell and 25 minutes faster than the pricey Molekule, making it a solid choice for households dealing with smoke from cooking or tobacco.
A stand-out feature of this model is its Smart Sensors, which automatically adjust the air purifier's fan speed based on detected pollution to minimize energy consumption. Air quality is displayed on the indicator as blue (good, amber (fair) or red (poor). It's equipped with a light sensor that automatically turns on sleep mode when the room is dark, activating the lowest speed and dimming all the lights on the unit. It also operates quietly (even at higher settings), making it a great choice for bedrooms.
If you're looking for a smart option, the Winix T-810 air purifier is a commendable alternative. It features Wifi connectivity and can be controlled via an app so you can adjust the settings and monitor air quality remotely. But for those looking for a simpler option sans the bells and whistles, we like the Winix 5500-2. Overall, it's an excellent option for performance and value, particularly for smoke filtration.
Best for odors
The Oransi TrueCarbon 200C Air Purifier is our top choice for removing odors like cigarette smoke, paint fumes, and diaper pail smells. Truly a no-frills option, this model comes ready to go. I just removed it from the box, plugged it in, and used the included remote to turn it on and manually adjust the fan speed. Plus, it's compact, light, and easy to move; it can reside on the floor or tabletop.
The Oransi is straightforward to use, with no air quality sensor, app, or WiFi connection feature to navigate. In addition to doing a nice job of clearing out VOCs and particle matter in our incense tests, this air purifier, which uses a 3.2-pound carbon filter — which the company claims more is thicker and more efficient than competitors— eliminated every hint of odor from the small patio where my cats' litter boxes are stationed. While this model did a good job of clearing VOCs during our tests, carbon filtration is not engineered to filter pollen, dust, or other particulate matter.
The Oransi TrueCarbon 200C has a two-inch-thick carbon filter that neutralizes bad smells from pets, smoke, paint, and other VOCs.
Heidi Borst/Business Insider
One drawback is the noise level. Even at the lowest setting, the Oransi is loud. Our sound meter registered 46 dB, which is 21 dB louder than the quietest model we tested. Another con is that this model doesn't have an auto mode. That means you have to use your judgment to choose the setting (from one to ten) based on the severity of the odor.
That said, if you're looking to eliminate odors in small-to-medium-sized rooms, the Oransi TrueCarbon 200C Air Purifier is a great option. However, filter replacements, which need to be replaced one to two times a year, are pricier than competitors.
What else we tested
A sampling of the air purifiers we've tested for this guide over the years.
James Brains/Business Insider
Over the last few years, our product testing experts have examined nearly 40 air purifiers, and there are several that we almost included in our guide that are still worth considering:
Additional air purifiers we recommend
Air purifiers under $250
Winix T810 Air Purifier: This smart air purifier is whisper-quiet on its lowest setting and can purify rooms up to 400 square feet nearly five times in an hour, but it struggles to lower VOCs. Its ultra-sensitive air quality indicator shows particle counts on the LCD screen, but they do not always match up with our external air quality monitor. The Winix air purifier also features Plasmawave technology, which is technically an ionizer, but you can turn that feature off and operate it without it.
Levoit Vital 200S Smart Air Purifier: This budget-friendly air purifier has a three-stage filtration that captures pet fur, particles and fumes. It's low maintenance and filter replacements are more affordable than other models we tested. With auto mode and a smart app, you can control the settings and monitor your air quality from anywhere. Overall, it's a solid option and covers a larger area than the Levoit Core, our pick for small spaces.
Honeywell HPA 5200 (Large rooms): This model performed well and did a decent job of clearing smoke and other particulate matter from the room. However, it's heavier and bulkier than other models that performed as well or better. Plus, it uses more energy and runs louder than competitors, even on the quietest setting.
PuroAir 240 Air Purifier: This value-priced air purifier is compact and tabletop-sized and features a built-in air quality indicator. It did an average job of getting rid of particles but struggled to decrease VOCS, and our test did not trigger the auto mode into overdrive. It uses more energy than others and the annual filter replacement cost can stretch to over $150, negating the lower upfront costs.
Clorox Large Room Smart True HEPA Air Purifier: The well-known cleaning product brands also developed a line of air quality products, including this relatively inexpensive wifi-enabled air purifier. It has many of the bells and whistles found on pricier models, like support with Alexa, a digital air quality display, and a three-stage filtration system. It's quiet with a compact design but didn't clear VOCs as well as other models comparable models we tested, like the Oransi.
Instant Air Purifier 300: The makers of the wildly popular Instant Pot ventured out of the kitchen with this unit, and it's a great reasonably priced solution. It was one of the top removers of VOCs, didn't use much power, and was easy to clean and maintain. Yet it was one of the worst at removing particulate matter, and it operates loudly.
Brondell Horizon O2+: For its affordability, this Brondell air purifier did an outstanding job, and I'd recommend it if our top budget pick isn't available. It was one of the top removers of particulate matter in our tests and was easy to maintain and clean. The biggest negative is that it doesn't have an auto mode that adjusts the fan speed based on air quality. This would have been nice since it consumes a lot of power.
Air purifiers under $450
Dreo Air Purifier Tower Fan: This air purifier and fan combo is a fraction of the cost of a Dyson competition and does a good job of purifying the air, too. Its breezy and powerful fan modes across 12 speeds can work in tandem or separately. Unfortunately, replacement filters seem to be in limited supply, which is inconvenient.
Coway Airmega 250: This is another great option we've tested from Coway. The 250 was one of the best removers of particulate matter. It also used minimal electricity in our tests, thanks to the fan that adjusts based on the air quality. However, it didn't beat any of the models in the above categories, and it didn't perform well at removing VOCs from the air.
Mila: Mila is a midrange smart air purifier with a variety of filter options (only available on the company's website) depending on the air quality issue you want to address. I tested the heavy-duty Overreactor, a hospital-grade H14 HEPA filter, and the Basic Breather. The Overreactor was in the middle of the pack in our air purifying tests. The Basic Breather was outstanding at removing particulate matter. But both operated loudly, and there wasn't anything else that made them stand out.
Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto: This is the updated version of the Blueair Blue Pure 211+, the top pick in our previous version of this guide. The main addition is an auto mode, which adjusts the filtering speed and intensity based on the air quality. We found it did a good job of filtering the air while using minimal electricity, but it was loud, and filters are expensive and only available on the Blueair website.
Air purifiers over $450
Alen Breathesmart 45i: This Alen air purifier relies on a medical-grade H13 true HEPA filter, which did an outstanding job of removing particulate matter from our test room. This model is also easy to set up, transport, and maintain. However, filter replacement will set you back about $140 per year, and it didn't do well in reducing VOCs in the air.
Coway Airmega 400S: Our previous pick for the best smart air purifier, the Coway Airmega 400S is an attractive unit that barely makes any sound and adjusts the fan speed based on the air's pollution level, which lends itself to low energy use. It lost its title due to its average performance in our purifying tests and its smart features aren't as fancy as our smart and quiet pick from BlueAir.
RabbitAir MinusA2: If we had a "most visually appealing" category, this model would win. We weren't particularly impressed with how well it did cleaning the air. However, it was easy to set up and maintain. Plus, the filter replacement costs are reasonable.
Molekule Air Pro: With its sleek design and hefty price tag, we expected more from this model. However, both the Winix 5500-2 and T810 models outperformed the Molekule in our tests, and at a fraction of the price. When poor air quality caused the air purifier to kick into the highest setting, it was noticeably louder, too.
Which air purifiers we don't recommend
PhoneSoap AirSoap: The biggest reason the AirSoap isn't in our guide is because it relies on ionization to clean the air, and there is no way to turn it off. In fact, we don't recommend ionizing air purifiers for most people (read why here). The benefits of ionization are questionable, and there's a risk of negative health issues due to the low levels of ozone the AirSoap produces. However, it did well in our air purifying tests, operates quietly, doesn't have filter replacement costs, and is easy to set up and transport.
Aura Air Mini: Like the AirSoap above, the Aura Air Mini relies on ionization to clean the air. It's unique in that it is only three inches deep and wide and 4.5 inches high. It runs for up to six hours on a single charge. It's designed to be used in small spaces, but we're not sure of the use cases. You wouldn't want to use it in public and potentially expose vulnerable individuals to ozone. And in your car, you already have a filtration system.
Dyson HP09: As a space heater, The HP09 does an outstanding job of heating and cooling rooms up to 800 square feet in size. The only problem is that it was one of the worst performers in our air purifying tests.
Honeywell Insight HPA5300B: I like the looks of this air purifier, and it's easy to maintain and has widely-available filters. However, it used a lot of electricity and is loud on high speed. Plus, its performance in the air purifying tests was unimpressive.
IQAir Atem: We were hoping this would be a good compact option, but it performed poorly in the air purifying tests and has high upfront and filter costs.
EnviroKlenz Air System Plus: This is the heaviest and least visually appealing purifier we tested. It's designed to take a beating and is used by the US Navy. However, it had the highest VOC reading at the end. It doesn't have an auto mode, used the most electricity, and has the highest filter costs of the bunch.
What to look for in an air purifier
With so many options available, choosing the best air purifier for your needs can be overwhelming. To help narrow down the options, consider these guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
Room size: Air purifiers are designed for specific room sizes, typically measured in square feet, so choose an air purifier that can effectively cover the space you plan to use it in. Before making a purchase, check the manufacturer's guidelines on the maximum room size each unit can handle. A unit that is too small will not clean the air effectively, while an excessively large one may be unnecessarily expensive and inefficient.
CADR: CADR or Clean Air Delivery Rate measures the volume of filtered air that the air purifier delivers. In other words, it indicates how quickly it can remove pollutants like dust, pollen, and smoke. A higher CADR rating signifies better performance, but matching the room size in square footage is most important.
ENERGY STAR Certification: ENERGY STAR certification indicates that an air purifier meets energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA. Choosing an ENERGY STAR-certified model, designed to use less energy while effectively cleaning the air, can help reduce your energy footprint without sacrificing performance.
HEPA filtration: High-efficiency Particle Air (HEPA) filters most effectively capture airborne particles. A true HEPA filter can trap at least 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns in size, including dust, pollen, mold spores, and pet dander. Choosing a model with a genuine HEPA filter provides the best air-cleaning performance. Models with a pre-filter trap larger particles, and carbon filters assist with odors.
Filter replacement costs: Ongoing maintenance costs, including filter replacements, can add up over time, so consider how frequently the air filters need to be replaced. That way, you can choose a model that fits your budget in the short and long term.
Avoid ozone-emitting units: Some air purifiers, particularly those that use ionization technology, can produce ozone as a byproduct. Ozone can be harmful to health, particularly for people with respiratory issues, and the EPA advises against ozone-producing air purifiers. Instead, choose an air purifier that's certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) or that's been tested to ensure it does not emit ozone.
How we test air purifiers
The most important features to consider when shopping for an air purifier are its ability to remove irritants from the air, long-term costs, and ease of use.
Heidi Borst/Business Insider
James has been reviewing heating, cooling, and air-quality devices for the past three years. Heidi lives with pets and allergies and has come to rely on air purifiers to keep symptoms at bay. For this guide, they've tested about 40 air purifiers for at least one week each and consulted with Ravi Pandey, MD, an internal medicine specialist on staff at several South Florida hospitals; Junfeng Zhang, PhD, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University; and Bryan Buckley, the brand manager for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning.
Based on research and interviews with experts, the most important features to consider when shopping for an air purifier are its ability to remove irritants from the air, long-term costs, and ease of use.
Here are the main ways we test each model:
Purifying abilities: We burned incense in a 200-square-foot room with the windows and doors closed and used an air-quality monitor to take measurements of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter in the air every 15 minutes. After the incense burned for 15 minutes, we turned on the air purifier's auto mode, which adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality. If it didn't have an auto mode, we used the highest setting. We looked at both the percentage removed and the amount of VOCs and particulate matter left after two hours. For context, all of the recommended room sizes in our guide are calculated assuming an eight-foot ceiling and four air changes per hour (ACPH).
Setup: We timed how long it took me to set up the air purifier from opening the box until the unit was running. This includes connecting to an app when applicable. We'll note any unusual or confusing steps. Most models only required removing the packaging and plugging in the unit. This generally took five minutes or less.
Portability: We moved the air purifiers around thehouse, noting how easy they were to carry. A model that weighed more than 20 pounds or was hard to move physically lost points. Most units were easy to move and featured handles.
Long-term costs: Electricity and filter replacement are the biggest long-term costs, which can often outpace the upfront costs. We looked at how much a year's supply of filters costs and whether they're widely available and not just on the manufacturer's website, which can make it hard to price shop. We also used a smart plug to measure the power consumption of each unit over the course of 24 hours under normal circumstances on the same setting used for the purifying tests.
Noise: An air purifier's operation should not interfere with hearing the TV, sleeping, or having a conversation. To test this, we used a sound meter to measure the air purifiers on their highest and lowest settings from four feet away. On low, most units were indistinguishable from ambient noise.
Maintenance: We cleaned each air purifier per the manufacturers' recommendations and noted how easy each model was to clean. We also noted whether there were indicators to let us know when to clean or replace the filter.
Air purifier FAQs
We use an air quality monitor to measure the effectiveness of every air purifier we test.
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Why do I need an air purifier?
An air purifier does what its name implies, cleaning odors, pollen, pet dander, and more from indoor air. According to the EPA, units with HEPA filters can improve symptoms of COPD and asthma sufferers and effectively remove ash and smoke particles.
What do air purifiers remove from the air?
The type of filter a purifier has determines what pollutants it can remove. HEPA filters are popular because they can remove smoke, pollen, bacteria, pet dander, dust, mold, and other particulate matter of 0.3 to 10 microns. Activated carbon filters can remove VOCs and other gases.
What does HEPA mean?
HEPA is an acronym for "high-efficiency particulate air." The EPA defines a true HEPA filter as a filter that captures at least 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. This includes bacteria, dust, pollen, and mold.
Are all your picks true HEPA filters?
No, but we give preference to true HEPA filter air purifiers in our picks. The exception is the Blueair 7470i, which has a HEPA-type filter that performed just as well, if not better, than most true HEPA models.
What's the difference between true HEPA and HEPA-type filters?
True HEPA filters capture 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. According to the EPA, true HEPA filters can more easily catch particles larger or smaller than 0.3 microns. There's no standard for HEPA-type filters.
Can an air purifier prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus?
Can HEPA or H13 purifiers capture viruses, including the coronavirus?
Ravi Pandey, MD, a specialist in internal medicine in Florida, said HEPA air purifiers wouldn't eliminate the coronavirus. Still, they help, especially when used with mask-wearing, hand washing, and social distancing.
What can you do to get the most out of your air purifier?
Bryan Buckley, the brand manager for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, suggested always keeping your air purifier running in one spot. He added that you need continuous air purification to clean the air and maintain good air quality levels.
Where do you put an air purifier?
Air purifiers are best in high-traffic areas, such as your kitchen, living room, or bedroom. A purifier is also excellent at removing smoke from cooking. Buckley said you should position the unit to blow clean air where people gather and close your windows during use.
How often do you change the filter?
It varies. Manufacturer guidelines range from every 3 to 24 months. We list the replacement schedule for the models in our guide. Follow the schedule in your air purifier's user manual for optimal efficiency and performance.
How can you keep your air clean if you don't have an air purifier?
You can clean the air without a purifier by cleaning regularly, ventilating with fans, and storing chemicals outside of your house. Junfeng Zhang, PhD, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University, recommended wearing N95 masks in polluted areas.
Are air purifiers worth it?
If you cannot take steps to improve your indoor air quality by other means or the pollutants still seem to stick around, an air purifier is an intelligent choice. Even the worst air purifiers we tested improved indoor air quality.
Are ionizing air purifiers safe?
Ionizers can generate ozone, a lung irritant. Enesta Jones, an EPA spokesperson, said even low amounts of ozone could cause shortness of breath, chest pain, throat irritation, and coughing. Because of this, we don't recommend any air purifiers that don't let you turn off the ionizing function.
Can air purifiers help with wildfire smoke?
Yes. Zhang recommended air purifiers with HEPA filters to improve indoor air quality in areas affected by wildfires. Air purifiers will be most effective if you keep windows and doors closed. Also, have purifiers in each room rather than moving one from room to room.
Air purifier terms to know
In this guide, we throw around a lot of terms you may not be familiar with. Here are a few definitions of terms and acronyms that are commonly used when talking about air purifiers:
CADR: Clean air delivery rate. Typically measured in cubic feet per minute or cubic meters per hour, the CADR tells you how much air an air purifier can clean.
cfm: Cubic feet per minute. This is the most common unit of measurement used to express how much air an air purifier can clean.
HEPA: High-efficiency particulate air. True HEPA or HEPA-type filters are generally considered to be the gold standard in the industry.
VOCs: Volatile organic compounds. These compounds have low water solubility and high vapor pressure. They are commonly produced in the manufacturing of refrigerants, pharmaceuticals, and paints and are often found in paints, craft materials, adhesives, markers, furniture, pesticides, cleaning supplies, and more.
Best overall: Honeywell HPA300 HEPA Air Purifier
The PowerPlus had the best combined performance of removing particulate matter and VOCs from the air.
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The Honeywell PowerPlus HEPA Air Purifier (model number HPA3300) was the top model when looking at the combined performance in our volatile organic compound (VOC) and particulate matter testing. A little over an hour into our test, it had removed 99% of the particulate matter and the VOC levels were among the lowest at the end of the testing period. While it hasn't specifically been certified by AAFA, these numbers suggest this is an excellent air purifier for allergy sufferers and for people sensitive to other irritants.
Setup was quick and intuitive — I just removed the packaging and plug the unit in. And there's little maintenance. Just wipe the unit down with a dry cloth every three months. When the filter indicator light turns on (approximately once a year) replace the three true HEPA filters, which are widely available and cost $89.95 yearly.
The HPA3300 isn't without its negatives. First, it's one of the loudest models we tested. When on low fan speed, it's no louder than the surrounding noise, but on high, it registered 58.9 decibels (dB), which is about as loud as a normal conversation. At over 20 pounds, it isn't as portable, though it does have a handle to help with transport.
That said, it's similar to most models in power use and filter replacement costs, and we think its performance makes it the best air purifier overall, especially for allergy sufferers and for medium-to-large rooms.
Best budget: Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier
The Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier is one of the cheapest air purifiers we tested but is as effective as units twice its price.
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The Lasko LP300 HEPA Tower Air Purifier is $65 cheaper than any other unit tested, has the lowest filter replacement cost, and, at under 10 pounds, doesn't feel like a heavy-duty appliance.
We found it performed just as well as models that cost three or four times as much. The Lasko air purifier quickly removed airborne dust and debris. With 30 minutes to spare in the testing period, our air quality monitor registered no particulate matter. Though its performance wasn't as impressive with VOCs, it did a good job keeping the levels in a safe range.
Setup was straightforward and took about five minutes. The Lasko's light weight makes it easy to move around, so you can take it with you from room to room, which you may need to do since its low CADR makes it better suited for small rooms. If you need more oomph, consider the LP450, which is only $16 more and covers twice as much space.
The Lasko was one of the few units we tested that was louder than ambient sound levels, even when on low. At 45.6 dB on low, it was a little bit louder than a typical library. On high, it was only 51.6 dB.
The biggest negative of this model is that it uses a lot of power. This is likely due to its lack of an auto mode that adjusts with the air quality, which is another negative.
Filters are affordable and widely available, too, with an expected cost of $35.99 yearly.
Quietist: Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier
If you're planning on using an air purifier in your bedroom, the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier is the quietest you can buy.
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The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i Smart Air Purifier is the quietest and most high-tech model we tested. On high speed, it's about as loud as a quiet office. On low, the 7470i is no louder than ambient sound.
The Blueair HealthProtect 7470i features a digital color touch screen that allows you to operate the appliance and track the temperature, humidity, and air quality for VOCs and three different particle sizes.
The Blueair app (iOS and Android) puts the data and functions at your fingertips wherever you are, including the ability to set a schedule. It's also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. I found the app worked well for the most part, though there were times when the data readouts took up to an hour to refresh. Also, connecting to the app upon initial setup took a few tries, which added 10 minutes to the process.
The HealthProtect 7470i has a HEPA-type filter (see our FAQ for how this differs from a true HEPA filter) that looks like a partially open book and features an RFID chip that tracks the filter life. The filters are comparatively affordable, about $55 annually, and can be ordered in the app or through major retailers, including Amazon. Other than replacing the filter, the only other maintenance is occasionally vacuuming or washing the two prefilters.
In the air-quality tests, the Blueair purifier performed well. After the two-hour testing period, it had one of the lowest VOC readings, and it removed 99% of the particulate matter. The power consumption was about average among the units I tested, which is impressive considering the midrange CADR.
I found the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i is a little too unwieldy to easily move from room to room. At 27.2 pounds and without good handles, this is a purifier you'll want to keep in one spot.
Best for small rooms: Levoit 300S Air Purifier
The small but mighty Levoit 300S Air Purifier is great for small bedrooms or home offices.
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The Levoit 300S Air Purifier is an excellent option for bedrooms and other small rooms because it has three layers of filtration. The pre-filter captures larger debris, including hair and pet dander; the true HEPA filter collects smaller airborne particles; and the carbon filter helps reduce VOCs and odors in the air.
The carbon filter's performance was evident in our testing as the Levoit 300S was among the best at removing VOCs. The purifier also did well with particulate matter, removing virtually all (99.2%) of it from the air during the testing period.
The setup was a snap. I had the unit up and running in under 5 minutes and connected to the VeSync app (available for iOS and Android) in another five. The Levoit 300S is the most affordable WiFi-connected air purifier I've tested, and the smart functions work well. I could easily monitor and schedule it from anywhere, and the air quality readings were almost identical to the readings on our testing monitor.
The Levoit 300S is Energy Star-certified and has an auto mode that adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality. It proved to be one of the lowest energy consumers we tested.
Maintenance is minimal: vacuum the pre-filter once or twice a month and replace the filter every 6 to 8 months when the indicator light turns on. Filters are affordable and widely available, costing about $55 a year.
The noise level at high fan speed was average, a little louder than in a quiet office. But at low speed, it was no louder than ambient noise.
Longest-lasting filter
The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max is a large, powerful option for improving indoor air quality in your home.
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While most filters need to be replaced quarterly — and we've seen some filters last up to a year before needing to be changed —Shark takes long-lasting filters to the next level. The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max can last up to five years before you need to replace the filter, and when you do, that filter costs $90, which is significant because some filters cost that much just to run annually. The size of the room (up to 1,400 square feet) and the amount of time you run the unit will ultimately determine how much life you get out of the filter, but according to Shark, the five-year number is based on running the air purifier in a 300-square-foot room at the highest speed for 12 hours a day.
From a performance perspective, the Shark took less than 15 minutes to reduce the amount of particles from incense smoke in a 200-square-foot room by 90%. It's also one of the quietest models, just behind the Blueair: an unobtrusive 46 decibels when running on high, and ambient at other levels.
All controls are handled directly on the unit. The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max is not WiFi-equipped, but the LCD screen can show the clean air percentage, the cleanliness level of the pre-filters, or real-time particle count. You can also adjust the fan speed or let it run on Auto. It has one of the lowest energy uses, at about .08 kwh a day.
Despite minimal upkeep costs, it's not completely maintenance-free; two pre-filters, which catch larger particles like pet hair, need to be wiped or vacuumed periodically. The display screen shows a filter-life percentage and will alert you when the filters need cleaning.
Finally, the Shark NeverChange is a larger model, and while you can move it around from room to room, it won't be the most comfortable to do so. Shark also offers a smaller version rated for rooms up to 650 square feet.
What else we tested
A sampling of the air purifiers we've tested for this guide over the years.
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Over the last year, I've tested 30 air purifiers, and there are several that we almost included in our guide that are still worth considering:
Additional air purifiers we recommend
Air purifiers under $250
Instant Air Purifier 300: The makers of the wildly popular Instant Pot have ventured out of the kitchen for the first time with this unit, and it's a great reasonably priced solution. It was one of the top removers of VOCs, didn't use much power, and was easy to clean and maintain. Yet it was one of the worst at removing particulate matter, and it operates loudly.
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty: We like this purifier because it adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality, which led to low power usage. However, in our tests, it was noisy, did poorly removing VOCs, and was just average at removing particulate matter. The Airmega Mighty has four stages of filtration: pre-filter, deodorization, true HEPA, and "vital ion" ionization. We don't recommend using the ionization function (see why in the FAQ). Fortunately, you can manually turn it off.
Brondell Horizon O2+: For how affordable this Brondell air purifier is, it did an outstanding job, and I'd recommend it if our top budget pick isn't available. It was one of the top removers of particulate matter in our tests and was easy to maintain and clean. The biggest negative is that it doesn't have an auto mode that adjusts the fan speed based on air quality. This would have been nice since it consumes a lot of power.
Air purifiers under $450
Coway Airmega 250: This is the best air purifier I've tested from Coway. The 250 was one of the best removers of particulate matter. It also used minimal electricity in our tests, thanks to the fan that adjusts based on the air quality. However, it didn't beat any of the models in the above categories, and it didn't perform well at removing VOCs from the air.
Mila: Mila is an affordable smart air purifier that has a variety of filter options (only available on the company's website) depending on what air quality issue you want to address. I tested the heavy-duty Overreactor, which is a hospital-grade H14 HEPA filter, and the Basic Breather. The Overreactor was in the middle of the pack in our air purifying tests. The Basic Breather was outstanding at removing particulate matter. But both operated loudly, and there wasn't anything else that made them stand out.
Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto: This is the updated version of the Blueair Blue Pure 211+, the top pick in our previous version of this guide. The main addition is an auto mode, which adjusts the filtering speed and intensity based on the air quality. We found it did a good job of filtering the air while using minimal electricity, but it was loud, and filters are expensive and only available on the Blueair website.
Air purifiers over $450
Alen Breathesmart 45i: This Alen air purifier relies on a medical-grade H13 true HEPA filter, which did an outstanding job of removing particulate matter from our test room. This model is also easy to set up, transport, and maintain. However, filter replacement will set you back about $140 per year, and it didn't do well reducing VOCs in the air.
Coway Airmega 400S: Our previous pick for the best smart air purifier, the Coway Airmega 400S is an attractive unit that barely makes any sound and adjusts the fan speed based on the air's pollution level, which lends itself to low energy use. It lost its title due to its average performance in our purifying tests and its smart features aren't as fancy as our smart pick from BlueAir.
RabbitAir MinusA2: If we had a "most visually appealing" category, this model would win. We weren't particularly impressed with how well it did cleaning the air. However, it was easy to set up and maintain. Plus, the filter replacement costs are reasonable.
Which air purifiers we don't recommend
PhoneSoap AirSoap: The biggest reason the AirSoap isn't in our guide is because it relies on ionization to clean the air, and there is no way to turn it off. In fact, we don't recommend ionizing air purifiers for most people (read why here). The benefits of ionization are questionable, and there's a risk of negative health issues due to the low levels of ozone the AirSoap produces. However, it did well in our air purifying tests, operates quietly, doesn't have filter replacement costs, and is easy to set up and transport.
Aura Air Mini: Like the AirSoap above, the Aura Air Mini relies on ionization to clean the air. It's unique in that it is only three inches deep and wide and 4.5 inches high. It runs for up to six hours on a single charge. It's designed to be used in small spaces, but we're not sure of the use cases. You wouldn't want to use it in public and potentially expose vulnerable individuals to ozone. And in your car, you already have a filtration system.
Dyson HP09: As a space heater, The HP09 does an outstanding job of heating and cooling rooms up to 800 square feet in size. The only problem is that it was one of the worst performers in our air purifying tests.
Honeywell Insight HPA5300B: I like the looks of this air purifier, and it's easy to maintain and has widely-available filters. However, it used a lot of electricity and is loud on high speed. Plus, its performance in the air purifying tests was unimpressive.
IQAir Atem: We were hoping this would be a good compact option, but it performed poorly in the air purifying tests and has high upfront and filter costs.
BetterAir Biotica800: The Biotica800 releases a probiotic mist for 30 seconds every 70 minutes. It runs quietly during those 30 seconds, and its electricity use was too low for our smart plug to register anything. However, if it does anything to clean the air, our air quality monitor didn't notice.
EnviroKlenz Air System Plus: This is the heaviest and least visually appealing purifier we tested. It's designed to take a beating and is used by the US Navy. However, it had the highest VOC reading at the end. It doesn't have an auto mode, used the most electricity, and has the highest filter costs of the bunch.
How we test air purifiers
We use an air quality monitor to measure the effectiveness of every air purifier we test.
James Brains/Business Insider
I've been reviewing heating, cooling, and air-quality devices for the past three years. For this guide, I personally tested 30 air purifiers for at least one week each and consulted with Ravi Pandey, MD, an internal medicine specialist on staff at several South Florida hospitals; Junfeng Zhang, PhD, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University; and Bryan Buckley, the brand manager for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning.
Based on my research and interviews with experts, the most important features to consider when shopping for an air purifier are its ability to remove irritants from the air, long-term costs, and ease of use.
Here are the main ways we test each model:
Purifying: I burned incense in a 200-square-foot room with the windows and doors closed and used an air-quality monitor to take measurements of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter in the air every 15 minutes. After the incense burned for 15 minutes, I turned on the air purifier's auto mode, which adjusts the fan speed based on the air quality. If it didn't have an auto mode, I used the highest setting. I looked at both the percentage removed and the amount of VOCs and particulate matter left after two hours. For context, all of the recommended room sizes in our guide are calculated assuming an eight-foot ceiling and four air changes per hour (ACPH).
Setup: I timed how long it took me to set up the air purifier from the moment I opened the box until the unit was running. This includes connecting to an app when applicable. I made note of any unusual or confusing steps. Most models only required removing the packaging and plugging in the unit. This generally took five minutes or less.
Portability: I moved the air purifiers around my house making note of how easy they are to carry. If a model weighed more than 20 pounds or is hard to move in a tangible way, it lost points. Most units were easy to move and featured handles.
Long-term costs: Electricity and filter replacement are the biggest long-term costs. These can often outpace the upfront costs. I looked at how much a year's supply of filters costs and if they're widely available and not just on the manufacturer's website, which can make it hard to price shop. I also used a smart plug to measure the power consumption of each unit over the course of 24 hours under normal circumstances on the same setting I used for the purifying tests.
Noise: An air purifier's operation should not get in the way of hearing the TV, sleeping, or having a conversation. To test this, I used a sound meter to measure the air purifiers on their highest and lowest settings from four feet away. On low, most units were indistinguishable from ambient noise.
Maintenance: I cleaned each air purifier per the manufacturers' recommendations and noted how easy each model was to clean. I also noted whether there were indicators to let me know when to clean or replace the filter.
Air purifier FAQs
In this photo, you can see an air purifier's HEPA filters, which do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to cleaning the air.
James Brains/Insider
Why do I need an air purifier?
An air purifier does what its name implies, cleaning odors, pollen, pet dander, and more from indoor air. According to the EPA, units with HEPA filters can improve symptoms of COPD and asthma sufferers and effectively remove ash and smoke particles.
What do air purifiers remove from the air?
The type of filter a purifier has determines what pollutants it can remove. HEPA filters are popular because they can remove smoke, pollen, bacteria, pet dander, dust, mold, and other particulate matter of 0.3 to 10 microns. Activated carbon filters can remove VOCs and other gases.
What does HEPA mean?
HEPA is an acronym for "high-efficiency particulate air." The EPA defines a true HEPA filter as a filter that captures at least 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. This includes bacteria, dust, pollen, and mold.
Are all your picks true HEPA filters?
No, but we give preference to true HEPA filter air purifiers in our picks. The exception is the Blueair 7470i, which has a HEPA-type filter that performed just as well, if not better, than most true HEPA models.
What's the difference between true HEPA and HEPA-type filters?
True HEPA filters capture 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. According to the EPA, true HEPA filters can more easily catch particles larger or smaller than 0.3 microns. There's no standard for HEPA-type filters.
Can an air purifier prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus?
Can HEPA or H13 purifiers capture viruses, including the coronavirus?
Ravi Pandey, MD, a specialist in internal medicine in Florida, said HEPA air purifiers wouldn't eliminate the coronavirus. Still, they help, especially when used with mask-wearing, hand washing, and social distancing.
What can you do to get the most out of your air purifier?
Bryan Buckley, the brand manager for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, suggested always keeping your air purifier running in one spot. He added that you need continuous air purification to clean the air and maintain good air quality levels.
Where do you put an air purifier?
Air purifiers are best in high-traffic areas, such as your kitchen, living room, or bedroom. A purifier is also excellent at removing smoke from cooking. Buckley said you should position the unit to blow clean air where people gather and close your windows during use.
How often do you change the filter?
It varies. Manufacturer guidelines range from every 3 to 24 months. We list the replacement schedule for the models in our guide. Follow the schedule in your air purifier's user manual for optimal efficiency and performance.
How can you keep your air clean if you don't have an air purifier?
You can clean the air without a purifier by cleaning regularly, ventilating with fans, and storing chemicals outside of your house. Junfeng Zhang, PhD, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University, recommended wearing N95 masks in polluted areas.
Are air purifiers worth it?
If you cannot take steps to improve your indoor air quality by other means or the pollutants still seem to stick around, an air purifier is an intelligent choice. Even the worst air purifiers we tested improved indoor air quality.
Are ionizing air purifiers safe?
Ionizers can generate ozone, a lung irritant. Enesta Jones, an EPA spokesperson, said even low amounts of ozone could cause shortness of breath, chest pain, throat irritation, and coughing. Because of this, we don't recommend any ionizing air purifiers.
Can air purifiers help with wildfire smoke?
Yes. Zhang recommended air purifiers with HEPA filters to improve indoor air quality in areas affected by wildfires. Air purifiers will be most effective if you keep windows and doors closed. Also, have purifiers in each room rather than moving one from room to room.
Air purifier glossary
In this guide, we throw around a lot of terms you may not be familiar with. Here are a few definitions of terms and acronyms that are commonly used when talking about air purifiers:
CADR: Clean air delivery rate. Typically measured in cubic feet per minute or cubic meters per hour, the CADR tells you how much air an air purifier can clean.
cfm: Cubic feet per minute. This is the most common unit of measurement used to express how much air an air purifier can clean.
HEPA: High-efficiency particulate air. True HEPA or HEPA-type filters are generally considered to be the gold standard in the industry. For more details, see our FAQ section.
VOCs: Volatile organic compounds. These compounds have low water solubility and high vapor pressure. They are commonly produced in the manufacturing of refrigerants, pharmaceuticals, and paints and are often found in paints, craft materials, adhesives, markers, furniture, pesticides, cleaning supplies, and more.