Holmes Vs Honeywell Air Purifiers [Comparison & Recommendation]

Particles like dust, bacteria, tobacco smoke and pet litter cause a lot of problems in our homes, making the use of air purifiers a priority in many homes where air pollution is a challenge.

Air purifiers help to improve the quality of indoor air using air filters that trap particles, harmful gases and bacteria. Two brands, Holmes and Honeywell are well-known players in the air treatment industry.

As an American company set up in 1982 by Jordan Kahn, Holmes is a well-respected air purifier manufacturer, among other home care appliances. The American technology giant Honeywell is another very reliable brand as far as air purification is concerned.

Making a choice between these two brands can be tough, and this is why we have put together this comparative post to show you how these two brands differ and what each offers that best suits your air quality needs.

Holmes Vs Honeywell Air Purifiers [Comparison Summary]

S. No	Feature	Winner	Recommended Products
1	Filters	Tie	Holmes True HEPA Mini Tower Honeywell HPA300
2	Durability	Holmes	Holmes Desktop Air Purifier
3	Design	Tie	Holmes HAP242B-U Honeywell HPA304
5	Ease of Use & Controls	Honeywell	Honeywell HPA250B
6	Coverage	Honeywell	Honeywell InSight HPA5300
6	Price	Honeywell	Honeywell HPA300
7	User Reviews	Tie	Holmes Desktop HEPA-Type Filter Honeywell HPA300

Holmes Vs Honeywell Air Purifiers [Detail Comparison of Important Features]

1. Holmes Air Filters Vs Honeywell Air Filters

Holmes Air Purifier Filters

Honeywell Air Purifier Filters

Holmes air purifiers use True HEPA and HEPA-type filters across its units. Some use True HEPA filters that can trap at least 99.97% of pollutants as small as 0.3 microns, while others use HEPA-type filters which can trap around 99.7 to 99.9% of particles only down to 2 microns.   Holmes also uses optional ioniser in some of their units, which gives it a little edge over Honeywell air purifiers.   HEPA filters last 12-18 months, while Carbon filters last 3-6 months. The HEPA-type filters, on the other hand, are lifelong, even though they’re not as effective as True HEPA filters.

As for Honeywell air purifiers, the ifD air filters are the most popular. Some other HEPA-type filters are also used. These filters last 3-5 years in many cases. There are also some units that use True HEPA filters. Just like Holmes air purifiers, Honeywell units with HEPA-type filters can only trap 99.7% to 99.9% of pollutants down to 2 microns.   Honeywell air purifiers do not use ionisers.       HEPA-type filters tend to last longer and this is an advantage. Pre-filters are washable and last for a lifetime as well.

Asides from the inclusion of ionizers, which in itself is a safety controversial issue, both brands tend to combine both True HEPA and HEPA-type filters in their units. This causes disparity in their effectiveness.

However, when we looked at all the purifiers within both brands’ portfolios, it is clear that Holmes also has more units with True HEPA filters.

Still, there is no clear winner in this category because Honeywell units also have very solid filtration as indicated by verified users.

Winner: Tie

Holmes Air Purifier with Best Air Filter: Holmes True HEPA Mini Tower

Honeywell Air Purifier with Best Air Filter: Honeywell HPA300

2. Durability [Which Air Purifiers Lasts Long – Holmes or Honeywell?]

Holmes Air Purifiers	Honeywell Air Purifiers
Holmes is a company that pays close attention to durability. Its units are tough and sturdy, especially with regards to their build material.   Its filters are also quite durable, but not as durable as Honeywell filters.   Average of 3-year warranty.	Honeywell air purifiers are also quite durable. However, build resilience may be slightly lower here than in Holmes air purifiers. Overall, they are also very strong.   Honeywell air purifiers have custom non-HEPA filters with a lifespan of around 4 years on average.   Average of 4-year warranty.

In the area of durability, both Holmes and Honeywell air purifiers are very sturdy brands that offer a lot of value to consumers.

However, we’ll give this category to Holmes who scored an average of 4.5 stars out of 5 in durability, slightly higher than the 4.3 average rating scored by Honeywell for durability.

Winner: Holmes

Most durable Holmes Air Purifier: Holmes Desktop Air Purifier

3. Design [Honeywell Vs Holmes]

Holmes Air Purifiers

Honeywell Air Purifiers

The exterior look is very pleasant and the design quality is rated pretty high. These exterior build designs include tabletop flip-up units, tower-style units, box units and even 360° geometric units. This design flexibility gives users an option to choose what best suits their room space needs.   They are quite portable and can fit in small spaces.   They do not have wheels, mostly because most of their units are not so large. Some have carry handles.   Assembly, filter installation and removal range from easy to medium difficulty levels.

Also, very creative in build designs, including geometric shapes, 360° airflow designs, single airflow designs, table-top units and floor units, as well as tower designs. Users can also choose what best suits their needs.       They have portable and bulky units as well.   They also do not have wheels for mobility, even for the large and heavy units. Also do not have carry handles.   Compared to Holmes, most Honeywell air purifiers have an easier filter installation and removal process.

We’ll have to give this category to both Honeywell and Holmes. Honeywell air purifiers have way more design options for consumers. Their units are easier to install and even manipulate.

Many of them come with simple hand symbols on the side which enable you to remove the front or back cover and have access to its filters.

However, Holmes air purifiers are lighter and more portable, and some of them also have carry handles which make it easy to move your units around if you choose.

Winner: Tie

Holmes Air Purifier with Best Design: Holmes HAP242B-U

Honeywell Air Purifier with Best Design: Honeywell HPA304

4. Ease of Use & Controls [Which Air Purifier is Easy to Use – Holmes or Honeywell?]

Holmes Air Purifiers

Honeywell Air Purifiers

Asides a handful of units like the Holmes Smart Air Purifier, most Holmes purifiers use touch control, with featured buttons and knobs at the top or on the side of the units. This means walking to the units and physically pressing or turning a button or knob to initiate settings.

Like Holmes, most Honeywell air purifiers are also touch-controlled. They have buttons and knobs to help users initiate settings on their air purifiers. The difference is that many Honeywell air purifiers have a Touch Screen LED Control Panel which is seamless and suitable for use in the dark.   Also, some Honeywell air purifiers are Bluetooth enabled to allow users connect their apple and android smartphones for control within certain distances.

Our clear winner for ease of use and control is Honeywell.

This is as a result of their blend of control options including touch and Bluetooth control which make it easier for homeowners to remotely give instructions to their units and control functionalities like timer, fan speed, auto mode, and many more.

Winner: Honeywell

Easy to Use Honeywell Air Purifier:  Honeywell HPA250B

5. Coverage

Holmes Air Purifiers	Honeywell Air Purifiers
Holmes air purifiers are generally designed for small and medium rooms. Their coverage range from around 70 sq. ft to about 300 sq. ft in 30 minutes.	On the other hand, Honeywell has units with way larger coverage, usually between 60 sq. ft and up to 2,000 sq. ft when you consider that the 500 sq. ft unit covers a 500 sq. ft area up to 4.8 times in 1 hour.

Honeywell also takes the prize here due to its consideration for small, medium, large and extra-large rooms. This gives it an obvious edge over Holmes air purifiers. However, this is also reflected in the cost of the units.

Winner: Honeywell

Honeywell Air Purifier with Best Coverage: Honeywell InSight HPA5300

6. Price [What is the cheapest Air Purifier – Holmes or Honeywell?]

Holmes Air Purifiers	Honeywell Air Purifiers
Holmes air purifiers have a price tag ranging from $50 to about $250. While this is considered a budget range, it doesn’t compare favorably with many brands in the same category.	Compared to Holmes air purifiers, Honeywell air purifiers are more affordable when you put both brands aside; product vs product. They have a price range of around $70 to almost $600.

Again, Honeywell air purifiers have a competitive edge over Holmes air purifiers.

For example, the Honeywell 465 sq. ft HPA300 unit costs around $170 compared to the 349 sq. ft Holmes KZDKC unit costs around $182. It is also instructive to note that when put side-by-side, the Honeywell unit is better rated and considered more powerful than the Holmes unit.

Winner: Honeywell

Cheapest Honeywell Air Purifier: Honeywell HPA300

7. User Reviews

Holmes Air Purifiers	Honeywell Air Purifiers
Holmes air purifiers have a number of products in online stores, including its own Web store and other retailers. Across both platforms, the brand has received close to 7,000 reviews by verified users. The rating on leading online store stands at about 4.3 stars out of 5, which that of its own store currently stands at 4.0 stars out of 5 on average.	Impressively, Honeywell air purifiers have been able to garner more than 26,000 reviews from buyers of their numerous products on popular online retailer stores. These products also have an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. On the Honeywell store, these products have an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5, surpassing that of Holmes air purifiers.

These reviews are usually based on parameters like durability, ease of use, noise level, and timer function, among others.

Clearly, Honeywell air purifiers have better reviews and take the winner here. However, we’ll also recognize Holme’s best-rated product as a worthy mention.

Winner: Tie

Top Holmes Air Purifier with Best User Reviews: Holmes Desktop HEPA-Type Filter

Top Honeywell Air Purifier with Best User Reviews: Honeywell HPA300

8. Customer Service and Support [Holmes Vs Honeywell]

Holmes Air Purifiers	Honeywell Air Purifiers
Offers 1-5 year limited warranty on most air purifiers.   Has a Support Page on its website that includes FAQs, Product Registration, Instruction Manual, and Contact details such as a Contact form, phone number and direct email link.	Offers 3-5 year limited warranty on its air purifiers.   Has a more comprehensive customer service and support system. This include FAQs, live form, product registration, phone numbers, and an email address, sales@honeywellstore.com.

The structures put in place is quite different from the actual response. Both brands still have a lot of work to do so that their customer service becomes more impactful.

However, in terms of structure, Honeywell has a better system in place to help consumers with their complaints and concerns.

Other Comparative Features Between Holmes and Honeywell Air Purifiers

	Holmes	Honeywell
Timer	Available on very few units	Available on many units
Auto Mode	Only a few units have a timer	Most of its units have a timer
Sleep Mode	Not a common feature in Holmes air purifiers	Available in some Honeywell air purifiers
Filter Indicator	Yes	Yes
Speed Settings	Yes	Yes
Air Quality Indicator	Not a common feature among Holmes units	Available in a few units.

Final Words:

There are a lot of similarities between Holmes and Honeywell air purifiers, but there are also a number of differences and these are the factors homeowners consider when they shop for Air purifiers.

No doubts, these two brands are well-respected brands in the air treatment industry; but between the two, you can always pick one that best suits your preference and we hope this post is helpful.