The COVID pandemic and long, intense wildfire seasons have made many people concerned about potential air quality problems in their homes. You can keep tabs on some elements of indoor air pollution with an inexpensive indoor air quality monitor. But Consumer Reports finds that these little devices vary widely in what they measure.
CR has evaluated monitors from Airthings, Amazon, Awair, Inkbird, Qingping, and others. Below, you’ll find the top four models based on our rigorous testing. To see details on all of the models we tested, CR members can check our indoor air quality monitor ratings. (Also see CR’s air purifier buying guide and ratings.)
In this article
- Best Indoor Air Quality Monitors
- What Do Air Quality Monitors Detect?
- How CR Tests Air Quality Monitors
- Other Air Quality Monitors We Tested
- Using Air Quality Monitors With Air Purifiers
- Are Air Quality Monitors Easy to Set Up?
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All of the home air quality monitors we examined detect PM2.5 pollution, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon dioxide (CO2), while also tracking temperature and humidity. Some also monitor other substances. (You can see details on what air quality monitors detect below.)
A number of air quality monitors also measure carbon monoxide (CO) levels, but you’re better off relying on a carbon monoxide detector. Exposure to carbon monoxide can be deadly. That’s why specialized CO detectors must meet strict safety standards, and they may work more reliably than an air quality monitor.
Many indoor air quality monitors display a score that reflects overall air quality in your home. In some cases, it’s reported on a zero-to-100 scale, with 100 being the best reading. This can be confusing if you want to compare it to the Air Quality Index (AQI) for your area, which is a score used by the Environmental Protection Agency that runs on a scale from zero to 500, with zero reflecting the best possible air quality.
Best Indoor Air Quality Monitors
The following home air quality monitors have earned Consumer Reports recommendations based on their Overall Scores.
What Do Air Quality Monitors Detect?
Indoor air quality monitoring devices can detect a variety of pollutants. Typically, they also measure temperature and humidity. Here’s a quick rundown on common substances they may monitor.
Carbon dioxide is useful to track in your home. High levels can cause mild symptoms of headaches and fatigue, and also indicate that not enough fresh air is circulating.
PM2.5 stands for particulate matter of various substances that are 2.5 microns or smaller in diameter. They can come from many sources, including truck traffic and wildfire smoke. When you breathe in these particulates, they can travel deep into your lungs and even enter your bloodstream, contributing to heart disease, asthma, low birth weight, and other health problems.
PM10 stands for particulate matter that’s around 10 microns in diameter. It can consist of dust, pollen, and pollutants from construction sites or wildfires. These particulates can worsen respiratory diseases.
VOCs are volatile organic compounds found in some paints, household cleaners, building materials (such as new carpets), dry-cleaning agents, and more. Exposure to certain VOCs can cause headaches, nausea, kidney and liver damage, and potentially cancer.
How CR Tests Air Quality Monitors
To evaluate air quality monitors, we focus on four distinct tests. Our engineers judge how easy they are to use, the number of important air quality metrics they analyze, whether they display some kind of overall air quality score, and how useful their screens are for viewing air quality readings. Our ease-of-use tests judge how well each monitor’s app works and whether it allows you to easily view historical data. We also do a simple test on the sensors on each monitor to make sure they detect particulate matter, VOCs, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide. All of these results are compiled into an Overall Score for each model in our air quality monitor ratings. Note: Consumer Reports does not evaluate the accuracy of the sensors.
Other Air Quality Monitors We Tested
In addition to the air quality monitors described above, we evaluated three other monitors: the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor, the Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor AQM8002A, and the Qingping Air Monitor Lite CGDN1. All of them performed decently in our tests, but not as well as our top picks. The Amazon monitor is essentially an accessory for Amazon Echo smart speakers and Echo Show smart displays, while the Qingping is the only model in our ratings that works with Apple Home.
Using Air Quality Monitors With Air Purifiers
Some smart air quality monitors can be automated to turn on or adjust smart air purifiers when the air quality deteriorates. You’ll need to either use a monitor and purifier from the same manufacturer (that offers that functionality), or connect the two products to a common smart home system such as Apple Home or Google Home. In the latter method, the next step is to open the apps and create an automation linking the two devices.
For more information on air purifiers, see our air purifier ratings on over 150 models and our comprehensive air purifier buying guide.
Are Air Quality Monitors Easy to Set Up?
These air quality monitors were tested in CR’s labs, but I also took home some of them to try out in a real-world setting. My biggest takeaway is that, like many smart home devices, they’re rather finicky to get up and running. It took me multiple attempts to complete the setup process on every air quality monitor I tried. And I couldn’t complete the setup on the uHoo without first emailing customer support. (Yes, the app instructed me to do this.)
You may find it easier—or harder—to set up your home air quality monitor. But it’s smart to set aside plenty of time and approach the process with patience.
Daniel Wroclawski
Dan Wroclawski is a home and appliances writer at Consumer Reports, covering products ranging from refrigerators and coffee makers to cutting-edge smart home devices. Before joining CR in 2017, he was an editor at USA Today’s Reviewed, and launched the site’s smart home section. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with one of the over 70 connected devices in his house. Follow Dan on Facebook and Twitter @danwroc.
