The 8 Best Air Quality Monitors of 2023

Whether you have common household hazards like pollen or dust or just want to keep track of what you are breathing, an indoor air quality monitor is a helpful tool for your home. The best air quality monitors are easy to set up and keep track of pollutants like carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and other hazards.

Best Overall

Airthings 2960 View Plus Radon Air Quality Monitor

Amazon

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What We Like

• Comprehensive monitoring

• Sleek design

• Smartphone and WiFi-compatible

• Can be a hub for multiple monitors

• Monitors radon

What We Don’t Like

• Expensive

• Batteries will need to be replaced

This air quality monitor keeps track of all the big items, including 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 also act as a hub for other Airthings monitors around your home. It connects to your WiFi network to receive and send information. Fortunately, set-up is easy, and you don’t need to run any wiring. You can hang it on the wall or put it right on a shelf or table. Using the app, you can set up alerts as well as run reports to analyze 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

Amazon

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What We Like

• Affordable

• Small and compact

• Comes with outdoor pollen monitoring app

• App can run reports and collect data

What We Don’t Like

• Doesn’t monitor all hazards

• Batteries will need to be replaced

• Smaller range

Compact and affordable, the Wave Mini keeps track of VOCs, humidity, and temperature and will alert you if levels of harmful materials start to get high (so you can make changes in your home to prevent mold and other hazards). Although its monitoring capabilities aren’t as comprehensive as our best overall pick (the larger version, also made by Airthings), this monitor is a great choice if you just want to start keeping track of your home’s air quality or if you want to add it to an overall 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 Splurge

uHoo Smart Air Monitor

Amazon

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What We Like

• Sleek design

• Monitors many pollutants

• App and reports are easy to use

• Color-coded monitoring system

• Won’t run out of power

What We Don’t Like

• Best features require subscription

• Needs access to a wall outlet

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: $399

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

Amazon

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What We Like

• Comes with two rechargeable batteries

• Can be charged using solar power

• USB charging option

• Long battery life

What We Don’t Like

• Does not measure many hazards

The best option when it comes to power is the ECOWITT WH0290. It can be powered via a rechargeable battery (two included with purchase), the included USB cable, or solar power technology (charging the solar panel outdoors). The display shows the current battery life so you’ll always know when it is time to recharge. The batteries last for around two weeks with continuous use.

The air quality monitor measures particulate matter, temperature, and humidity. While it does not measure mold, it will alert you if the overall air quality gets into an unhealthy range. It shows the Air Quality Index (AQI) on a color-coded scale that is very intuitive.

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

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Best Smart Monitor

Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor

Amazon

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What We Like

• Compatible with Alexa and Google Home

• Helpful reports via app

• Can get real-time measurements via smart home device

• Works with smartphone

What We Don’t Like

• Display on unit is not easy to read

• Not a lot of information provided on display

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

Best Design

Temtop M10 Real-Time Air Quality Monitor

Amazon

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What We Like

• Simple, intuitive display

• Provides overall AQI reading

• Color-coded measurements

• USB cable included

What We Don’t Like

• Short battery life

• Does not monitor all hazards

The futuristic look of the Temtop air quality monitor makes it right at home among modern decor and home systems, while the superior monitoring technology keeps track of many potential hazards in your home’s environment. It measures temperature, humidity levels, VOCs, and particulate matter and displays the results with an overall AQI that is color-coded to safe, intermediate, and unsafe readings of green, yellow, and red.

You can also cycle through individual measurements, but that requires that you adjust the unit itself. It charges via an included USB cord and has a built-in lithium battery. The battery itself only lasts around six hours on a full charge, so it’s best to keep it plugged in via USB unless you are actively monitoring a new environment. You will need to calibrate it when you change locations, however.

Price at time of publish: $90

Dimensions: 3.2 x 3.2 x 1.22 inches | Weight: 7.05 ounces | Power Source: USB and battery backup | Smart Device Compatible: No

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Best Compact

Aiment 3-in-1 Lightweight Portable Air Quality Monitor

Amazon

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What We Like

• Portable

• Monitors carbon monoxide

• Color-coded LED display

• Audible alarm

What We Don’t Like

• Short battery life

• Limited monitoring

• Doesn’t connect to smartphone

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

Amazon

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What We Like

• Large display

• Stable base

• Charging cable included

• Backup battery

What We Don’t Like

• Does not have night display mode

• Only monitors three things

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, unit comes with a USB cable and a 10-hour battery backup. It doesn’t monitor every airborne hazard, but it does provide 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: $76

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

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