The best air purifiers for pets and smells

Short answer

The Coway Airmega Mighty is the best air purifier for most pet homes: a pre-filter you can wash when it fills with hair, a pet filter set made for it, and enough clean air for a living room of about 35 m². For app control in a smaller room, the Levoit Core 300S takes a pet version of its filter; for strong smells, the Philips PureProtect 3200 runs two filters with carbon layers at once. No purifier lifts hair off the floor or smells out of the sofa, though: that is still cleaning.

Best for pet homesCoway Airmega Mighty (AP-1512HH)

£159.99at Coway · checked 2 Nov 2026

Check price at Coway (opens in a new tab)

Dogs and cats bring three things a purifier might deal with: hair, dander (tiny flakes of skin) and smells. Each meets a different part of the filter, and that decided our ranking: a pre-filter you can clean for hair, a HEPA-grade filter and enough clean air for dander, carbon for smells, and how often each filter needs changing. All five are in our air purifier comparison; for homes without pets, start with our best air purifiers in the UK.

Our picks at a glance

1. 1
   Best for pet homes

   Coway Airmega Mighty (AP-1512HH)

   Washable pre-filter for hair, and a pet filter set made for it

   • 421 m³/h CADR
   • rooms up to 109 m²
   • 24.4 dB(A) on sleep
   £159.99at Coway · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Coway (opens in a new tab)
2. 2
   Best smart purifier

   Levoit Core 300S

   App, voice control and pet or toxin filter options in a small body

   • 258 m³/h CADR
   • rooms up to 54 m²
   • 24 dB(A) on sleep
   £149.99at Levoit · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Levoit (opens in a new tab)
3. 3
   Best for odours

   Philips PureProtect 3200 Series (AC3220/10)

   Carbon stage in its filter set, 520 m³/h CADR and 15 dB on sleep

   • 520 m³/h CADR
   • rooms up to 135 m²
   • 15 dB(A) on sleep
   £249.99at Philips · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Philips (opens in a new tab)More retailers for the Philips PureProtect 3200 Series (AC3220/10)
4. 4
   Best for smoke

   Blueair Blue Max 3450i

   Smoke CADR of 481 m³/h stated, from a light 3.5 kg unit

   • 481 m³/h CADR
   • rooms up to 43 m²
   • 25 dB(A) on sleep
   £299at Blueair · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Blueair (opens in a new tab)
5. 5
   Best premium

   IQAir HealthPro 250

   Three-stage filtering with 2.5 kg of gas media and long filter life

   • rooms up to 104 m²
   • 22 dB(A) on sleep
   • 36 months filter life
   £1,108at IQAir · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at IQAir (opens in a new tab)

Side by side

Three caveats. Only Philips names a standard for its CADR (China’s GB/T 18801-2022); Coway, Levoit and Blueair name none, and IQAir publishes no CADR. Makers measure noise differently, so a few decibels mean little. And the makers’ room sizes on the cards above assume different air-change rates, so we use our own rule, CADR divided by 12 (about five air changes an hour): roughly 21 m² for the Levoit, 35 m² for the Coway, 40 m² for the Blueair and 43 m² for the Philips. Our guide to what size air purifier you need explains it.

Best for pet homes

1. Coway Airmega Mighty

Clean air delivery rate (CADR)

421 m³/h

Recommended room size

109 m²

Noise at lowest setting

24.4 dB(A)

Main filter

HEPA-type (class not stated)

Filter life (maker's estimate)

12 months

Replacement filter

Airmega Mighty Standard Filter Set (3109689)

The Airmega Mighty earns its place through its filters. Coway says its pre-filter can be vacuumed or washed, every two to four weeks. Coway UK also sells a pet filter set for it: two pet odour filters, aimed at ammonia, pet and waste smells, plus a GreenHEPA main filter. Coway’s cycle is a new odour filter every six months and a new HEPA filter every twelve (assuming eight hours a day on top speed), so one pet set covers about a year. The trade-offs: no app, no proper sleep mode, and an ioniser you switch off with its own button.

Owner notes come with a caveat: of the 60 owner reviews and posts we read, almost all are from US owners of the same model, the AP-1512HH. Two say it visibly catches a lot of hair and dust, one with five cats and a dog says the house stays fresh, and several units still run after three to seven years. The complaints: a loud top speed, an odour filter one owner found thin, and a bright light at night (holding the ioniser button for three seconds turns it off).

Where to buy the Coway Airmega Mighty (AP-1512HH)

• Coway£159.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Coway (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best smart purifier

2. Levoit Core 300S

Clean air delivery rate (CADR)

258 m³/h

Recommended room size

54 m²

Noise at lowest setting

24 dB(A)

Main filter

HEPA-type (class not stated)

Filter life (maker's estimate)

6 months

Replacement filter

Core 300-RF

The Core 300S is the pick for a bedroom or study, and for anyone who wants app control. Its Core 300-RF filter comes in versions, including a pet allergy filter with a stronger carbon layer aimed at pet and cooking smells, and a toxin absorber for smoke and fumes. Levoit’s 54 m² room figure assumes just two air changes an hour. In the VeSync app, Quiet Auto mode never uses the top speed, and Levoit lists voice control. The catches in a pet home: the pre-filter can be brushed or vacuumed but never washed, and the whole filter is due every six to eight months.

Where to buy the Levoit Core 300S

• Levoit£149.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Levoit (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best for odours

3. Philips PureProtect 3200 (AC3220)

Clean air delivery rate (CADR)

520 m³/h

Recommended room size

135 m²

Noise at lowest setting

15 dB(A)

Main filter

HEPA-type (class not stated)

Filter life (maker's estimate)

12 months

Replacement filter

FY3200/30

The PureProtect 3200 runs two FY3200 filters at once, and each combines a pre-filter, a HEPA NanoProtect layer and activated carbon, so the air it cleans also passes through carbon. No maker here publishes an odour figure, and AHAM, the US body behind the CADR test, says there is no agreed test for how air cleaners remove gases. We gave the Philips the badge for carbon in every filter it uses plus the highest CADR of the five, 520 m³/h. On paper it is also the quietest here, at 15 dB on its lowest setting. Philips rates the pair of filters for up to a year and sells them together. Ignore the replacement alert and the purifier stops until new filters are fitted and reset.

Where to buy the Philips PureProtect 3200 Series (AC3220/10)

• Philips£249.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Philips (opens in a new tab)
• John Lewis£279.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best for smoke

4. Blueair Blue Max 3450i

Clean air delivery rate (CADR)

481 m³/h

Recommended room size

43 m²

Noise at lowest setting

25 dB(A)

Main filter

Electrostatic (HEPASilent and similar)

Filter life (maker's estimate)

9 months

Replacement filter

110412

The Blue Max 3450i suits homes where smoke, from cooking or a neighbour’s wood burner, joins the pet smells. Blueair states its CADR for each pollutant: 481 m³/h for smoke, 533 for dust and 620 for pollen. Its UK page names no test standard, though its room sizes use AHAM’s 4.8 air changes an hour. For hair, the outer fabric pre-filter is washable. The main Particle + Carbon filter lasts up to nine months by Blueair’s filter page. It is light for its output (3.5 kg, 38 W at most) and has an app with auto and night modes. Its HEPASilent filter (electrostatic plus mechanical) carries no HEPA class, and the Blueair pages we read say nothing about ozone either way.

Where to buy the Blueair Blue Max 3450i

• Blueair£299In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Blueair (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best premium

5. IQAir HealthPro 250

Recommended room size

104 m²

Noise at lowest setting

22 dB(A)

Main filter

H13 HEPA

Filter life (maker's estimate)

36 months

Replacement filter

102.14.14.00

Activated carbon (odours, gases)

Yes

The HealthPro 250 is a different kind of machine: three separate filters, each replaced on its own cycle. The middle one, the V5-Cell, holds about 2.5 kg of activated carbon and impregnated alumina, the only gas stage here with a stated weight. The HyperHEPA main filter is classed H13 to EN 1822 at airflows up to 240 m³/h (H12 at 560). Filter lives are long: 12 to 18 months for the pre-filter, 15 to 21 for the gas filter and 36 to 48 for the HyperHEPA, at 12 hours a day on speed 3. IQAir publishes no CADR, though: its 104 m² room figure assumes two air changes an hour, and at the five we use the same figure works out at about 42 m². It has no sensor, auto mode or app, weighs 16 kg and costs several times as much as the others here.

Where to buy the IQAir HealthPro 250

• IQAir£1,108In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to IQAir (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

What a purifier can and can’t do in a pet home

A purifier only cleans the air that reaches it. Most pet hair lands on floors, beds and sofas, and the US Environmental Protection Agency says even dander mostly settles on surfaces, so an air cleaner only catches it once it is stirred back into the air. Smells work the same way: carbon catches odour in the air passing through, while the bedding, carpet or litter tray that gives it off carries on. The EPA puts removing the source and ventilating first, with filtration as a useful extra.

UK guidance says much the same. For asthma triggered by pets, Asthma + Lung UK suggests limiting where the pet goes, washing the pet and the surfaces it touches, and cleaning carpets with a HEPA-filter vacuum. Allergy UK says running a purifier continually, as its maker instructs, can help reduce airborne allergens such as pet dander. The NHS’s first advice on any allergy is to avoid the trigger where you can. A purifier doesn’t treat an allergy; if a pet sets off symptoms, a pharmacist or GP can advise.

And no auto mode can smell. Every sensor here reads particles (the IQAir has none), so a room can smell of dog while the purifier idles; Levoit’s manual says as much. For smells, set a fixed speed or a schedule. If the smell is musty rather than doggy, the cause may be damp: see air purifier or dehumidifier for damp and mould.

How to choose a purifier for pets and smells

• Size it to the room. Divide the CADR in m³/h by 12 for a room size in m²; a purifier that is too small for the room does little.
• Check the pre-filter. A washable one, as on the Coway and Blueair, is easiest with hair. Levoit’s can only be brushed or vacuumed, Philips builds its pre-filter into the main filter, and IQAir’s is replaced every 12 to 18 months.
• Look for carbon. A HEPA filter catches particles, not smells. Pet versions of the Levoit and Coway filters are aimed at pet smells.
• Count the filter changes. Odour filters often run on shorter cycles than the main filter. Part numbers and intervals for every model are in our replacement filter guide.
• Decide on the ioniser. The UK’s SAGE-EMG advisers don’t recommend ionisers unless proven safe, as they may make irritant by-products. The Coway’s switches off; Levoit and IQAir say they use none, and Philips’ manuals list none.

What each budget buys

• Under £200: compact and mid-size purifiers with CADRs from about 120 to 500 m³/h. Most have a carbon layer, several connect to an app, and filters usually change every 6 to 12 months.
• £200–£350: higher CADRs, about 420 to 700 m³/h, carbon built into the main filter, apps as standard and, on some models, sleep settings around 15 dB.
• Above £350: extra jobs such as heating and cooling on purifier fans, heavy gas filters and long filter lives, rather than faster particle cleaning. Several machines in this band publish no CADR at all.

How we chose these

1. Started from what a pet home needs: a pre-filter you can clean for hair, a HEPA-grade filter and enough CADR for dander, and carbon for smells.
2. Compared published specs for the 16 air purifiers we track side by side, not marketing claims, and read the makers’ manuals and filter pages for care and intervals.
3. Read a sample of owner reviews where enough could be found; for this list that was only the Coway. These are anecdotes, not failure rates.
4. Checked prices by hand at brand stores and retailers, and show the date we checked.
5. Revisit the list when prices move or a model is replaced.

What we don’t do: lab-test purifiers, or measure CADR, noise or smell removal ourselves. When we have used one ourselves, the review says so.

Our full method

Pet purifier questions

Will an air purifier get rid of pet hair?

Only the hair that floats past it. A pre-filter catches loose hair in the air it draws in, and two Coway owners we read say theirs visibly catches hair and dust. Most hair, though, lands on floors and furniture, where only cleaning removes it; Asthma + Lung UK suggests a HEPA-filter vacuum for carpets in pet homes.

Does an air purifier remove pet dander?

Some of it: the dander in the air. Allergy UK says running a purifier continually, as its maker instructs, can help reduce airborne allergens such as pet dander. Dander on carpets and furniture stays until it is cleaned or stirred up. A purifier is not a treatment; for symptoms, ask a pharmacist or GP.

Do I need a carbon filter for pet smells?

Yes. Smells are gases, and a HEPA filter only catches particles; the US EPA says an air cleaner needs a sorbent such as activated carbon to remove gases. All five picks have an odour stage. Carbon only treats the air that passes through, though, so washing bedding and the surfaces your pet uses deals with the source.

Should I leave it running all day?

Allergy UK says running a purifier continually, as its maker instructs, can help reduce airborne allergens, and on a low speed the power is small. The Coway draws 4.9 W on its lowest speed, about 0.12 kWh over 24 hours; the IQAir draws 20 W on speed 1, about 0.5 kWh. Multiply by your own tariff; our running costs guide shows how.