Air purifiers don’t get the credit they deserve. As the second largest risk factor for mortality, it is often considered a silent killer. Your home may have poor air quality too. Smoke often is the culprit. Surprisingly enough, for most households tobacco smoke is no longer the leading cause for this type of air pollution. Nowadays, traffic, candles, cooking fumes, and wildfires are the most common causes. In this article, we will be taking you on our search for the best air purifier for smoke under $100.
We have an in-depth article about air purifiers.
A must-read if you want a detailed explanation of how they work.
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Key Features to Look for in Air Purifiers for Smoke
We hate to give you bad news, but removing all particles from the air isn’t a possibility, especially at this price range. Nevertheless, it is easily within reach to remove over 95% of the particles in the air. For instance, this difference alone is similar to going from the most polluted industrial areas in China to the forests in Northern Canada. Yet, this is assuming you have a proper air purifier installed.
The main criterea to look for when selecting an air purifier for smoke pollution:
- HEPA Filter
- Room Capacity (ft2)
- Noise Reduction (dB)
- Extra Features
HEPA Filter
The HEPA filter is a must, as other methods cannot be considered a capable smoke remover. Please note that the air purifiers in higher price ranges use the same filters, so don’t let the price of <$100 air purifiers concern you.
Room Capacity
Secondly, it is important to check if the fan is powerful enough to handle the volume of air that needs to be filtered. This is measured in ft2.
Noise Reduction
For anyone who intends to have the air purifier in the bedroom, most air purifiers feature a silent mode. Yet, not all silent modes are equal. We compared the dB of all air purifiers for smoke thoroughly and ranked how silent they can operate. Amazingly, it ranged from a whisper to a car passing by at 50 mph (80 kmph). So it goes without saying that the car-volume air purifier didn’t make the top 4.
Extra Features
Some air purifiers for smoke boast some extra features to differentiate themselves.
Some of the included extra features are:
- Replacement filters
- Combined Filters (i.e. HEPA + Carbon)
- Smart control
- Air ionizers
- Night lights
- Child lock
- Timer
- Auto adjust
- Deodorizer
For your convenience, we will compare the aforementioned in our top 4 best air purifiers.
Top 4 Best Air Purifiers for Smoke Under $100 (2025 Edition)
Based on the aforementioned criteria we’ve examined a ton of air purifiers for smoke filtration. There are many air purifiers in this price range, as most households generally won’t spend more than $100 on an air purifier. This saturated market gave us the opportunity to be extra strict and still have enough models to form a top 4 best air purifiers for smoke.
We disqualified air purifiers for smoke that did not have a HEPA filter, since these are unfit to filter smoke effectively.
Best Portable Air Purifier for Smoke:
Scosche AFP2 FrescheAIR Portable HEPA Air Purifier
What We Found
As usual, we start out with an entry-level model. The Scosche Air Purifier is the most affordable model we could find that features a HEPA filter.
Even though it is the smallest model on this list, Scosche is still seriously punching above its weight with its portable air purifier. With its size just being 3″D x 3″W x 10″H (7.6 x 7.6 x 25.4 cm) it can remove smoke (and other pollutants) from a 100 ft2 (9 m2) room. Thus, placing it in the top 10 for volume-efficiency. On the other hand, it is a bit on the loud side at 30 dB. We would not recommend it for the bedroom.
For anyone worrying about exhaust fumes, please rest assured. This air purifier is very suitable for in the car, as it can simply be charged via the included USB-C cable. In fact, it can even be used to charge your other devices too.
Furthermore, Scosche included a replacement HEPA 13 filter. This is a surprisingly good offer, as one replacement HEPA 13 filter is almost half the price of the air purifier itself.
Why to Choose
- Affordable
- Compact
- Portable
- Replacement filter included
- Can charge devices
Why to Avoid
- Capacity: 100 ft2 rooms
- Noise: 30 dB
Best Compact Air Purifier For Smoke:
GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier
What We Found
If you are looking for a compact, stationary air purifier for smoke and other pollutants, GoveeLife has got your back. The noise and the capacity both see noticeable improvements compared to the Scosche. Noise is reduced to 24 dB, whereas the capacity is set at 530 ft2 (49 m2).
The GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier is nicely compact at 6.9″D x 6.9″W x 11″H (17.5 x 17.5 x 28 cm). Yet, under the hood, there are a lot of smart features. First and foremost, it has smart control; supported by both Alexa and Google Assistant. Allowing you to control it with your voice. Furthermore, it has a night light, auto adjust, and a deodorizer.
Why to Choose
- Compact design
- Fairly silent: 24 dB
- Capacity: 530 ft2
- Smart control
- Night Light
- Auto adjust
- Deodorizer
Why to Avoid:
- Slightly unbalanced value-for-money*
*Depends on how you value smart control
Best Silent Air Purifier for Smoke:
MOOKA Air Purifier for Home Large Room
What We Found
The MOOKA air purifier is clearly designed for the bedroom. For anyone looking for quality night sleep, this air purifier removes smoke and other pollutants while producing only 20 dB.
Silence hasn’t compromised the power of the MOOKA air purifier. It can clean the air in rooms up to 1076 ft2 (100 m2) within one hour. It is still relatively compact at 7.1″D x 7.1″W x 11.1″H (18 x 18 x 28 cm) and as a bonus, they even included a night light and a child lock.
Why to Choose
- Capacity: 1076 ft2 rooms
- Silent: 20 dB
- Child Lock
- Night light
- Timer
- Good value-for-money
Why to Avoid
- No included replacement filter
- No smart features
The Best Air Purifier for Smoke 2025:
FRESHDEW Air Purifier for Home
What We Found
FRESHDEW doesn’t just remove smoke from a single room. In fact, this is an air purifier for an entire house. With a capacity of 2300 ft2 (213 m2) it remains undefeated in this price range. On top of that, it removes pollution with a HEPA 14 filter.
If this makes you worry about the noise, please rest assured. The FRESHDEW can operate at 22 dB. Admittedly this is a bit louder than the MOOKA, but keep in mind that the FRESHDEW air purifier has twice the capacity.
Considering the amount of added features, this air purifier truly stands alone at the top:
- Washable pre-filter*
- Activated carbon filter*
- Included replacement filter (HEPA 14)
- Filter replacement notifications
- Smart control (Alexa / Google Assistant)
- Auto Adjust**
- Timer
*The pre-filter and the activated carbon filter support the HEPA 14 filter to increase its lifespan. We previously discussed how this works in our in-depth air purifier article.
**Air quality gets monitored real-time by the air purifier and it can adjust its fan speed accordingly.
Why to Choose:
- HEPA 14 filter
- Capacity: 2300 ft2
- Silent: 22 dB
- Many features
Why to Avoid
- Expensive
- HEPA 14 upgrade over HEPA 13 is often not necessary and is more expensive to replace
- Large size: 7.1″D x 12.2″W x 16.7″H (18 x 31 x 42.4 cm)
Conclusion
Finding an air purifier for smoke under $100 might seem like a difficult challenge at first. Now, we hope to have given you some insight into how to filter out (pun intended) the poor-quality air filters. Most importantly, avoid the air purifiers that claim to remove smoke without a HEPA filter. While 100% filtration isn’t an option at this price range it is possible to significantly improve the air quality in your home.
In summary, here are our top picks for best air purifiers for smoke under $100:
- Best Portable Air Purifier for Smoke: Scosche AFP2 FrescheAIR Portable HEPA Air Purifier
- Best Compact Air Purifier for Smoke: GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier
- Best Silent Air Purifier for Smoke: MOOKA Air Purifier for Home Large Room
- Best Overal Air Purifier for Smoke: FRESHDEW Air Purifier for Home
We hope this guide helps you find the best air purifier for your needs. If you want to know more about how air purifiers work, and why we recommend HEPA filters in an air purifier for smoke, then you should check or in-depth article about this topic.
