The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke

For a bedroom or living room in the US, the Coway Airmega Mighty is the one to get: a smoke CADR of 233 in a compact HEPA unit. The Levoit Core 300-P costs less and suits a small bedroom; the Coway Airmega 400S is for open-plan rooms. All three are sold in the US only, so Canadians should use the checklist below to pick a model sold in Canada.

When wildfire smoke drifts over a city, the fine particles get indoors even with the windows shut. A portable air purifier with a true HEPA filter pulls them out of one room, and the number that tells you how well it does that is the smoke CADR (clean air delivery rate) on its AHAM label. We ranked these three by smoke CADR against room size, then by filter costs, noise and whether they make ozone. See every air purifier for smoke we track.

The wildfire smoke page adds the other two ways to cleaner air: the furnace fan on recirculate with a better filter, and an N95 mask for going out.

Our picks at a glance

• 

  Best overall

  Coway Airmega Mighty Air Purifier

  Smoke CADR 233 in a compact HEPA unit, with a smoke filter set

  233 CFM smoke CADR · rooms up to 361 sq ft · 12 months filter life

  CA$269.99at Amazon.caWhen this price was checkedPrice checked 12 Nov 2026, 23:29 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.ca at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

  Check price at Amazon.ca (opens in a new tab)
• LevoitCore 300-P

  Best budget

  Levoit Core 300-P Air Purifier

  Smoke CADR 143 for a small room, ozone free, smoke filter option

  143 CFM smoke CADR · rooms up to 222 sq ft · 6 months filter life

  US retailers

  $84.99–$99.99at Levoit · prices may have changedWhen this price was checkedPrice checked 3 Nov 2026, 20:54 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Levoit at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

  Check price at Levoit (opens in a new tab)
• 

  Best for large rooms

  Coway Airmega 400S Smart Air Purifier

  Smoke CADR 328 for open-plan rooms; app and 5-year motor cover

  328 CFM smoke CADR · rooms up to 780 sq ft · 12 months filter life

  CA$1,154.64at Amazon.caWhen this price was checkedPrice checked 12 Nov 2026, 23:27 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.ca at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

  Check price at Amazon.ca (opens in a new tab)

What size air purifier do you need for smoke?

Health Canada gives a simple rule: for wildfire smoke, the purifier’s tobacco-smoke CADR should be at least two-thirds of the room’s floor area in square feet, so a 120 sq ft room needs a smoke CADR of 80 or more. The ratings assume 8-foot ceilings; with a higher ceiling, size up. It also says to pick the highest smoke CADR your budget allows (Health Canada: choosing a portable air purifier). Measure the room (length times width) and read across.

Room area (8 ft ceiling)	Smallest smoke CADR	Example room
100 sq ft	67	Small bedroom or office
150 sq ft	100	Bedroom
200 sq ft	133	Large bedroom
250 sq ft	167	Primary bedroom
300 sq ft	200	Living room
400 sq ft	267	Large living room
500 sq ft	333	Open-plan kitchen and living
600 sq ft	400	Large open-plan space

Turned around, the same rule says how big a room each pick covers: the Levoit Core 300-P (smoke CADR 143) about 214 sq ft, the Coway Mighty (233) about 350 sq ft and the Coway 400S (328) about 490 sq ft. In an 8-foot room the rule works out to about five air changes an hour. Makers often quote a larger room size at fewer air changes, which is why the 400S box says 780 sq ft: that figure is at four air changes an hour.

Side by side

Best overall

1. Coway Airmega Mighty (AP-1512HH)

Smoke CADR

233 CFM

Room size (maker)

361 sq ft

Filter life

12 months

Replacement filter

Mighty AP-1512HH & 200M filter set (HEPA + 2 carbon)

Carbon filter

Yes

Ionizer

Yes, can be switched off

The Coway Mighty has the smoke CADR for a typical bedroom or a modest living room, up to about 350 sq ft, in a body small enough to move between rooms. It stacks a washable pre-filter, a carbon filter and a HEPA filter, and its auto mode raises the fan when the dust sensor picks up particles. Coway also sells an Intense Smoke version of the filter set. The ionizer has its own button; Coway states the unit meets the 0.050 ppm ozone limit, and if you’d rather rule ozone out altogether, leave it off. In the 31 owner reviews and forum posts we read, the praise mentioned most is how quiet it is on the lower speeds; the main complaint is a bright indicator light at night. Budget for a carbon filter every six months and a HEPA filter every year. Sold in the US only.

Where to buy

CA$269.99at Amazon.ca When this price was checkedPrice checked 12 Nov 2026, 23:29 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.ca at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Check price at Amazon.ca (opens in a new tab)

Best budget

2. Levoit Core 300-P

Smoke CADR

143 CFM

Room size (maker)

222 sq ft

Filter life

6 months

Replacement filter

Core 300-P-RF (also -RF-PA pet, -RF-TX toxin)

Carbon filter

Yes

Ionizer

None

The Levoit Core 300-P is the cheapest way into a proper smoke purifier for one small room. A smoke CADR of 143 covers about 214 sq ft: right for a bedroom where someone sleeps through a smoke event, too little for a living room. It has no ionizer, and Levoit states it is ozone free, CARB compliant and ETL listed. Levoit sells a Smoke Remover filter for it. What you give up is the sensor: there is no auto mode, so you set the speed yourself. Filters last six to eight months by Levoit’s manual, sooner in smoky air, and the warranty is two years. Sold in the US only.

Where to buy

US retailers

$84.99–$99.99at Levoit · prices may have changedWhen this price was checkedPrice checked 3 Nov 2026, 20:54 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Levoit at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Check price at Levoit (opens in a new tab)

Best for large rooms

3. Coway Airmega 400S (AP-2015E)

Smoke CADR

328 CFM

Room size (maker)

780 sq ft

Filter life

12 months

Replacement filter

Airmega 400 Max2 filter set (2 filters)

Carbon filter

Yes

Noise, lowest

22 dB(A)

The Coway Airmega 400S is the one for an open-plan kitchen and living area. It draws air in from both sides through two combined carbon and HEPA filters, for a smoke CADR of 328: about 490 sq ft, not the 780 sq ft on the box. The app shows air quality as it changes and runs schedules, though it needs a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. Coway covers the motor and electronics for five years. The catches are size and upkeep: it weighs 24.7 lb, and both filters are replaced about once a year, so there are two to buy each time. Sold in the US only.

Where to buy

CA$1,154.64at Amazon.ca When this price was checkedPrice checked 12 Nov 2026, 23:27 UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.ca at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Check price at Amazon.ca (opens in a new tab)

In Canada: what to look for instead

Coway’s store says its Airmega range is sold and used in the US only, and we found no Canadian seller for the Levoit Core 300-P. We haven’t yet checked a purifier sold in Canada well enough to recommend it, so rather than guess, here is what to check on any model in a Canadian store:

• An AHAM label with a smoke CADR. Health Canada suggests an AHAM-certified unit; the label gives the smoke CADR and a room size. Use the table above, not the box’s room size.
• A HEPA filter. Health Canada notes that most portable units reach a high CADR with HEPA filters.
• No ozone. Health Canada says to avoid cleaners that make ozone and points to California’s list (CARB-certified air cleaning devices). CARB tests every listed cleaner for electrical safety and electronic ones for ozone; it doesn’t rate how well they clean. Skip ozone generators.
• A certification mark. Check the label for a recognized mark such as CSA, cUL or cETL.
• Filters you can buy here. Before you buy, check that the replacement filter is sold in Canada. A purifier with a clogged filter does little.

Health Canada adds that a lower noise rating makes a unit easier to live with.

How to choose an air purifier for wildfire smoke

Pick the room first. Health Canada says to put the purifier where you spend a lot of time, and the EPA suggests one cleaner-air room, such as a bedroom: a purifier sized for that room does more than an undersized one trying to clean the whole floor. Keep the doors and windows of that room shut while it runs, put the unit where nothing blocks its air, and run it on a higher speed for longer when the smoke is bad (the EPA says continuously, on the highest setting).

• Under about $150 (US prices): small-room HEPA units with a smoke CADR in the low hundreds. Right for one bedroom; usually no sensor or app.
• About $150 to $350: smoke CADRs around 200 to 250, enough for a large bedroom or a modest living room, often with an air-quality sensor and auto mode.
• Over $350: large-room units with a smoke CADR above 300, app control and longer motor warranties, and higher filter costs to match.

Count filter costs before the price tag: Coway bases its schedule on eight hours a day at top speed, and Levoit says to change filters sooner in polluted air, so running round the clock in heavy smoke uses them up faster. Buying one spare set with the purifier means you aren’t hunting for one mid-smoke.

The rest of a smoke-day plan

• Set up a cleaner-air room. The EPA’s guide covers choosing the room and keeping it sealed and cool (EPA: how to create a cleaner air room); Health Canada’s version is its guidance on cleaner air spaces.
• Upgrade the furnace filter. The EPA suggests a MERV 13 filter, or the highest your system takes, with the HVAC fan running and set to recirculate. Ask an HVAC technician what your system can handle.
• Don’t overheat. Closed windows on a hot day bring their own risk. Health Canada suggests closing blinds and using fans or air conditioning, and if it still gets too hot, spending time in a basement or another cooler place. Heat stroke is a medical emergency.
• Have N95s for going outside. A well-fitting NIOSH-approved N95 cuts fine particles but not smoke gases; cloth and surgical masks don’t protect, and children under 2 should not wear one (PHAC). See the smoke masks we track.
• Watch the air quality. In Canada the WeatherCAN app can alert you when the AQHI reaches a level you choose; see how to get weather and air-quality alerts in Canada now. In the US, AirNow’s Fire and Smoke Map shows conditions.

How we chose these

1. Started from what matters for smoke: the AHAM smoke CADR against Health Canada’s room-size rule, a HEPA filter and no ozone.
2. Compared the makers’ published specs, manuals and filter schedules for each model, not marketing claims.
3. Read owner reviews and forum posts where enough of them name the exact model (so far, the Coway Mighty).
4. Checked prices at the retailers shown and say when we checked; we revisit the list when a model or a price changes.

What we don’t do: run smoke-chamber or lab tests. The CADR figures are the makers’ AHAM ratings, not our measurements.

Our full method

Air purifier and smoke questions

What CADR do I need for wildfire smoke?

At least two-thirds of the room’s floor area in square feet, using the smoke (tobacco-smoke) CADR on the AHAM label: 80 for a 120 sq ft room, 200 for a 300 sq ft room. That’s Health Canada’s rule for 8-foot ceilings; a higher ceiling needs more, and more CADR is always better.

Does an air purifier remove the smoke smell?

Partly. HEPA filters catch the fine particles, which is what matters most for health. Carbon filters may take out some gases and odours, but Health Canada notes there is no common rating for how well they do it, so treat any smell claim with caution.

Are ionizers and ozone purifiers safe?

Ozone generators, no: Health Canada says to avoid any air cleaner that makes ozone, because ozone harms health. If a HEPA unit has an ionizer, check it is on the CARB list of tested cleaners, or keep the ionizer off: the Coway Mighty lets you, and the Levoit has none.

Can I make a DIY box-fan air cleaner?

Yes, as a stopgap. The EPA describes a box fan with a MERV 13 filter for when a portable cleaner isn’t available, though results vary and they are louder. It asks for a fan made after 2012 with a UL or ETL mark, which has a thermal fuse; an older fan should never run while you are away or asleep.

Do I still need a mask indoors?

PHAC’s mask advice is for when you have to be outside: a well-fitting NIOSH-approved N95 or equivalent, which cuts fine particles but not smoke gases. Indoors, the advice is to protect the air itself with a cleaner-air room. Don’t sleep in a respirator, and it is not for children under 2.