How Much Do Air Purifiers Cost? [How Much Does It Cost To Run An Air Purifier?]

Among the many needs of man is clean, breathable air. According to reports by the EPA, indoor air is sometimes 5 times more contaminated than what you have outdoors.

There are so many reasons for this, including activities in the kitchen, pet litter and dander, cigarette smoke, paint odor, as well as lack of adequate ventilation. To deal with this, air purifiers are usually deployed to help rid the indoor air of dust, mildew, pet litter, allergens and smoke.

Most people spend the most hours of each day in their homes- using it as their workplace, play area, cinema, dine-in restaurant, yoga studio, and even neighborhood bar- and it’s important to keep the air as clean as possible.

Air pollution can cause severe health complications like allergies and lung disease. In the same vein, it can be very uncomfortable to live in a space where the air is polluted. While there are different types of air purifiers, homeowners are often concerned about their costs.

Hence, we’ve put together this guide to help you put air purifier costs into proper perspective.

How Much Does an Air Purifier Cost?

It is almost impossible to put a blanket price over air purifiers. They come in different capacities, ranges and sizes. Also, energy efficiency is a factor that sometimes determines the cost of an air purifier.

Generally, you can get a small, low-range portable air purifier for $35 to $90. There is another category that costs between $80 and $150, and yet a high-end category that goes for $300 and above.

We analyzed various factors that affect the cost of air purifiers and summarized them below for you. Read on.

Cost of Air Purifiers Based on Size

1. Small Air Purifiers

The size of an air purifier is not necessarily determined by the physical dimensions, but that is a major factor too. Air purifiers with average dimensions between 5 x 5 x 9 and 8 x 8 x 12 are considered small.

Most of the time, these purifiers are small because of their limited capacity. Some other times, it could be a result of the manufacturer’s insistence on portability and compactness.

You may get a typical small purifier anywhere from $35 to $90.

Good examples are RIGOGLIOSO Air Purifier for Bedroom and LEVOIT Air Purifier for Home Bedroom.

2. Medium Air Purifiers

By definition, we refer to air purifiers in the category between small units and very large units. These are still small enough to be placed on a table or bedside drawer, but also sometimes large enough to stay on the floor.

Air purifiers in this category often have dimensions between 9 inches and 14 inches in length/height and width.

The cost of Medium Air Purifiers varies anywhere from $80 and $150.

The MOOKA Air Purifier for Home fits this description perfectly.

3. Large Purifiers

These are very large air purifier units that are sometimes used for multiple rooms or even whole-house air cleansing because of their likely large coverage.

However, this category focuses on physical dimensions only and comprises units that are above 14 inches in height and width.

On average, large air purifiers cost about $150 t0 $300. While some air purifiers cost even $500 or more also if you look for high-end features.

The HATHASPACE Smart True HEPA Air Purifier is one such example of a large air purifier.

Cost of Air Purifier Based on Range/Coverage

This is another category to determine the cost of air purifiers. Usually, the area or space the unit is able to clean up determines its price (in many cases).

There are air purifiers designed for small, single rooms; some are built to cover large rooms and others for whole-house air purification.

Note that fan airspeed, filter strength and capacity are mostly responsible for coverage, so you may find some budget air purifiers with impressively high coverage.

1. Small Room Purifiers

Typical small rooms have area footage between 120 ft and 250 ft. If a purifier is built to clean up air covering that amount of space, it is regarded as a small air purifier.

You should be able to get Small Room Air Purifiers for $40 to $80.

See the AROEVE Air Purifiers for Home for reference.

2. Medium/Large Space Purifiers

These are air purifiers that can cover areas between 300 ft and 900 ft. They may or may not be as large in dimensions, but can take care of large spaces like basements, large rooms, living rooms, office spaces and so on.

A typical medium air purifier costs $100 to $170.

A good example is the LEVOIT Air Purifier, which can purify the air up to 400 sq ft in just over 21 minutes.

3. Large/Whole-House Purifiers

Ever seen those large, high-end air purifiers above $200? Many of them can take care of spaces surpassing 1,000 sq ft. This HATHASPACE Smart True HEPA Air Purifier 2.0, for instance, has a coverage of 1,500 sq ft while the Gocheer Air Purifier for Large Room covers 2,500 sq ft.

Large House or Whole House Air Purifiers would cost anywhere between $300 and $800, sometimes even more if you opt for premium features/brand.

Cost of Air Purifiers Based on CADR

Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is one factor that must be considered before purchasing an air purifier. The dimension of your room versus the level of pollution often determines CADR recommendations for air purifiers.

It is measured in Cubic Feet per Meter (CFM) and has a role in the cost of air purifier units. The higher than CADR rate the higher the price. It is also important to note that the CADR of a unit is a determinant of how much space the unit is able to purify.

Let’s take examples of some products to illustrate.

S/N	Air Purifier	CADR	Coverage
1	Medify MA-112	950 CFM	2,500 sq ft
2	Blueair Pure	350 CFM	650 sq ft
3	Gocheer GH-Monster	1,000 CFM	2,500 sq ft
4	Oransi MOD	505 CFM	1,250 sq ft
5	Honeywell HPA300	300 CFM	465 sq ft

Our findings reveal the following;

• Air purifiers with CADR between 200 CFM and 300 CFM often cost lower than $200.

• Air purifier units with CADR between 300 CFM and 400 CFM cost around $180 to $600, assuming all other factors remain the same.

• Units ranging from 400 CFM and 500 CFM in CADR have an average price of $250 to $800, depending on the coverage capacity of the unit.

• For units with CADR above 500 CFM, you should be willing to part with $300 and above. Again, the specific price depends on the specific brand, coverage, and features.

The clean air delivery rate of any unit determines how much air is purified per Cubic Foot and can be a useful way to tell the effectiveness and efficiency of the appliance. The higher the CADR, the less energy is used and the lower the cost of running your unit.

Budget Air Purifier Brand (Air Purifiers under $100)

There are several air purifier brands on the market that strive to keep their products pocket-friendly, depending on capacity, range, CADR and coverage (in comparison with other brands).

These include:

• LEVOIT Air Purifiers
• GermGuardian Air Purifiers
• TOPPIN Air Purifiers

Premium Air Purifier Brands (Air Purifiers Above $300)

Below are a few brands that are known for premium Air Purifiers. They offer high-end features and great design, and also costs more.

• Dyson Air Purifiers
• Molecule Air Purifiers
• Bissell Air Purifiers

How Much Does It Cost to Run an Air Purifier?

Running your air purifier involves two major things;

• Energy Cost
• Maintenance Cost

1. Energy Cost

To avoid huge energy bills at the end of each month, it is best to go for energy star-rated products. While they may cost more in the initial purchase, the cost of electricity over time is way cheaper than that of regular products.

Generally, most HEPA Air purifiers use up between 50 and 100 watts of electricity every hour. This wattage is very important to tell how much electricity you will consume daily, weekly, monthly, annually and even throughout the lifespan of the appliance.

If your air purifier uses up about 70 watts per hour and you run it for 16 hours every day, that will amount to 1,120 watts daily.

To measure electricity, we have to convert that to kilowatts, which will then amount to 1.12kw (as 1 kW equals 1,000watts).

If you use 1.12 kW daily for 30 days in a month, you’d be using up 33.6 kW of electricity on your air purifier monthly.

If we consider the average electricity rate per kilowatt-hour in the U.S. (which is 10.42 cents), then your air purifier will cost 350 cents to run monthly, which is $3.50.

To get the annual cost, multiply that by 12 months. For those who use their air purifier for 12 hours daily, the formula remains the same, just replace 16 with 12 and you’ll have;

Watt x 12 hours / 1000 x 30 days x regional electricity rate = energy cost per month.

For larger air purifiers that consume between 100 and 160 watts, use the same formula. For instance, a 120 watt air purifier used for 12 hours every day will cost 1440 watts per day, which translates to 1.44 kW daily.

Using the same U.S. electricity average cost per kilowatt-hour, that amounts to 0.20 cents daily, $6.1 monthly and $72.6 every year.

Some other factors like room size and energy efficiency must also be considered here. The larger the room, the more expensive it becomes.

For instance, while a 70 watt air purifier in a 360 to 420 sq ft room will cost $3.50 to run in a month, you may spend as much as $6.50 monthly for a 650 to 800 sq ft room.

There are also energy-star rated appliances such as the Carrier Air Purifier. While the selling price is high, the energy charge per month using the same parameters is only about $1.80.

2. Maintenance

The major component for maintenance in an air purifier is the filter. Filters require cleaning and replacement quite often and depending on their size and durability.

In general, you should be able to remove and clean your air purifier filter at least every three months. However, once it’s damaged, a replacement is inevitable.

The average cost of a filter for most air purifiers ranges from $80 to $200. High-end units may require as much as $500 or more for replacement filters.

For instance, the filter for Blueair Blue Pure 211+ now costs $100 to $150, depending on where you’re purchasing it. On the other hand, you’ll get the Alen Breathsmart replacement filter for about $100.

Final Words:

So, how much exactly does an air purifier cost? If you factor in the other costs of running the appliance and the number of years you’d use it, a typical 400 sq ft, 300 CFM air purifier may cost you a total of $1,100 or more over a period of 5 years.

That’s assuming the filter is replaced annually and the energy charge was around $44 to $50 per year. When you put that into perspective and consider how many benefits you derive from an air purifier, we can all agree that an air purifier is worth it.