The Best Indoor Air Quality Monitors to Buy in 2023

Editor’s Note: We reviewed our current product picks as of December 2022 and stand by our product recommendations. For this most recent update we added the due to its portability and accuracy. We considered but ultimately dismissed Amazon’s . Although we appreciate its low price point, the monitor requires an Echo smart display or speaker to be used and doesn’t monitor carbon dioxide levels. If you’re looking for the best overall pick and are ready to add to cart, we recommend the .

Although we spend about 90% of our time inside, indoor air quality might not be something you’ve given much thought about until recently. If the global pandemic and widespread smoke from devastating wildfires have you concerned about the air quality of your indoor environment, you should consider investing in an air quality monitor.

An air quality monitor tracks the ventilation quality in a room and gives you measurements of what pollutants are in the air, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, fine particles, and more.

The Best Air Quality Monitors

One of the biggest advantages that air quality monitors offer is their ability to measure CO2. According to Richard Corsi, an indoor air quality expert at Portland State University, CO2 measurements — which can be calculated with most air quality monitors — can give an indication of how much air you are breathing that comes out of other people’s respiratory systems.

Why Air Quality Matters

Indoor air quality is a crucial factor that affects people’s health and well-being. According to The New York Times, buildings in the U.S. have become better sealed in the last 50 years, which helps with heating and cooling, but consequently makes it easier for built-up gases and chemicals to get trapped inside. Poor indoor air quality and weak ventilation have been shown to dull cognitive abilities and even cause chest pains, headaches, and irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat.

What You Can Do About It

If you receive a low air quality rating from an air quality monitor, the first step to improving indoor air quality is increasing the ventilation of your indoor space with fresh air let in from the outdoors or by running an air purifier. According to the EPA, increasing ventilation helps remove or dilute indoor airborne pollutants and can help protect you against COVID-19.

Another tip for maintaining good air quality is to keep your house clean to reduce the accumulation of dust, mold, and pet dander lurking in your home. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says that dust mites and pet dander thrive in furniture, carpets, and your bedding — so, besides vacuuming, you should be washing your sheets once a week, too!

Most home heating and cooling systems don’t bring fresh air into your home. So, the EPA recommends that you open windows and doors to increase ventilation to help remove or dilute indoor airborne pollutants and reduce the level of contaminants.

What to Consider

When shopping for an air quality monitor, you’ll want to consider exactly what it measures. Here’s a quick breakdown of what the best air quality monitors can measure and indicate.

• Carbon Dioxide: Increased rates of CO2 indoors can potentially lead to loss of concentration, headaches, and a general sense of sluggishness. It’s also a good indicator of how much air you’re breathing in that has been exhaled by other people.
• Temperature and Humidity: It’s good to know when an indoor space is too humid, as it can be a breeding ground for mold. High-temperature levels indoors can also increase the concentration of some pollutants.
• Air Pressure: Changes in barometric pressure can cause head, neck, and joint pain. It has also been shown to cause changes in your blood pressure and blood sugar.
• Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs): Because there are so many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air produced by everything from cleaning products to your stovetop cooking, there’s no way to continuously monitor all of them separately. A TVOC measurement is a figure that represents the total combination of VOCs in the air.
• PM2.5: The term fine particles, or particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in width. According to the New York Department of Health, exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation and coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath.
• Carbon Monoxide: Breathing air with a high concentration of CO reduces the amount of oxygen that can be transported in the bloodstream to your heart and brain. At dangerously high levels, carbon monoxide can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness, and even death.

When determining the best air quality monitors, we gave bonus points to models that can measure nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO), and radon. Check out our favorite air quality monitors below, so you can keep your air quality at home as clean as possible.