The 8 Best Air Quality Monitors of 2023

Best Overall

Airthings 2960 View Plus Radon Air Quality Monitor

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With this air quality monitor, you can keep tabs on major factors such as particulate matter, carbon dioxide, radon, VOCs, humidity, temperature, air pressure, and pollen. If there are any concerns, especially with radon, which can be hazardous, it will send alerts directly to your smartphone. It also has a helpful display on the unit itself. Just wave your hand in front of the unit to show your custom display readings.

The View Plus can serve as a hub for other Airthings monitors in your home. It connects to your WiFi network to receive and transmit information. The setup process is straightforward, and no wiring is required. You can choose to hang it on a wall or place it on a shelf or table. With the app, you can create alerts and generate reports to assess your home's air quality over time.

This is an expensive air quality monitor, but many think it is worth the peace of mind. If you are going to monitor your home’s air quality, radon should be one of the things that you watch for since it is a known cause of lung cancer. This model takes 6 AA batteries, which are included and should last for around two years. Conveniently, the unit gives a low-battery alert when it is time to change them.

Price at time of publish: $299

_{Dimensions: ‎6.69 x 3.54 x 1.18 inches | Weight: 12.7 ounces | Power Source: Battery | Smart Device Compatible: Yes}

Best Budget

Airthings Wave Mini Indoor Air Quality Monitor

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The Wave Mini is a cost-effective and compact device that monitors the levels of VOCs, humidity, and temperature. It sends alerts if hazardous materials reach high levels, allowing you to take necessary actions to prevent mold and other potential hazards in your home. Although it may not be as comprehensive as our top pick (the larger version made by Airthings), it serves as an excellent choice for those who want to start monitoring their home's air quality or add it to their existing system.

The Airthings app provides data based on your readings as well as pollen levels for your area. The actual air quality monitor does not measure pollen, however. It is affordable enough to put in every room—this may be necessary for large rooms and to get the most accurate readings for the whole home.

Price at time of publish: $80

_{Dimensions: ‎3.14 x 3.14 x 1 inches | Weight: 4.8 ounces | Power Source: Battery | Smart Device Compatible: Yes}

Best Compact

Aiment 3-in-1 Lightweight Portable Air Quality Monitor

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You can take this helpful air quality monitor on the go, so you will always have one when you need it. In fact, it clips onto a bag and can be turned on and off as necessary. It measures exposure to carbon monoxide as well as temperature and humidity. The display shows the current temperature, humidity level, and CO levels in parts per million (PPM). It categorizes via color so that you can quickly know whether you are approaching dangerous levels. Plus, it has an audible alarm to notify you if you are in danger.

Because it is designed to be portable and provide real-time feedback, you can run reports or connect the monitor to your smartphone. You will also need to recharge it frequently since the battery only lasts for around 30 hours of continuous use. This model is a good choice if you want to monitor the air in a specific situation, but not great for round-the-clock monitoring in your home.

Price at time of publish: $50

_{Dimensions: 3.15 x 2.08 x 0.71 inches | Weight: 3.84 ounces | Power Source: Battery | Smart Device Compatible: No}

Best Display

Langkou 8-in-1 Air Quality Monitor

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The large LED display on the Langkou Air Quality Monitor shows the temperature, humidity levels, particulate matter, carbon dioxide levels, and battery life. The unit itself has a silver back and a black face with white LED letters and numbers, which make it easy to see, even at night. The base is wide, so you never need to worry about tipping it over. The display is 2.8 inches wide and covers almost the entire face of the unit.

To keep it charged, the unit comes with a USB cable and a 10-hour battery backup. It doesn’t monitor every airborne hazard but provides plenty of data in an easy-to-read display. Unfortunately, it does not have a night mode to dim the light when it is time to go to bed. You can respond to the audible alarm and turn the unit on and off using the push button on the front.

Price at time of publish: $70

_{Dimensions: 3.54 x 3.54 x 1.96 inches | Weight: 7.1 ounces | Power Source: USB and battery backup | Smart Device Compatible: No}

Best Splurge

uHoo Smart Air Monitor

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We’ll start by acknowledging that the uHoo Smart Air Monitor unit is expensive. It keeps track of a variety of potential hazards and other helpful information, including temperature, humidity levels, carbon dioxide, air pressure, total VOCs, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. The only other thing that we wish it tracked is radon.

The smartphone app is one of the most helpful. It shows the levels as well as a color-coded system that categorizes them as good, fair, bad, or severe. That lets you get and understand the information with just a glance. The same reports and monitoring are available on your computer. The best features of the app are behind a uHoo premium subscription, although one year comes complementary. It does require access to an electrical outlet but won’t run out of power like battery-operated monitors.

Price at time of publish: $299

_{Dimensions: 3.35 x 3.35 x 6.38 inches | Weight: 7.4 ounces | Power Source: Electric | Smart Device Compatible: Yes}

Best Battery-Operated

ECOWITT WH0290 Air Quality Monitor

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If you're looking for a reliable power source, the ECOWITT WH0290 is a top choice. This device can be powered through a rechargeable battery (two are included with your purchase), the USB cable that comes with it, or solar power (just charge the solar panel outdoors). You'll always know when it's time to recharge thanks to the battery life display, and the batteries can last up to two weeks with continuous use.

This air quality monitor is equipped to measure particulate matter, temperature, and humidity. While it doesn't measure mold, it will alert you if the air quality becomes unhealthy. The intuitive color-coded scale displays the Air Quality Index (AQI).

Price at time of publish: $107

_{Dimensions: ‎5.04 x 4.49 x 3.31 inches | Weight: 14.8 ounces | Power Source: Battery, USB, and solar | Smart Device Compatible: No}

Best Smart Monitor

Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor

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This Awair unit works with Alexa devices or Google Home devices and can provide you with real-time feedback—it tracks the top hazards and data points, including temperature, humidity level, carbon dioxide, VOCs, and particulate matter. It also provides an overall AQI.

Note that the actual display on the unit is very hard to see and read. To make much use of the data, you need to log into the app or use your smart home device to tell you what the readings are. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful tools and reports that you can run to see how your data changes over time. You can even prioritize certain monitoring functions and look more closely at data at different times of the day.

Price at time of publish: $235

_{Dimensions: 6.06 x 1.8 x 3.33 inches | Weight: 1.3 pounds | Power Source: Electric | Smart Device Compatible: Yes}