Joe TriesAir quality monitors
Air quality monitors measure different things under the same label, so two units can disagree and both be right. Decide which pollutant you care about first, because a VOC sensor and a CO2 sensor answer different questions.
- In the catalog
- 10
- Work without a hub
- 7 of 10
- Hub required
- 2
- Most common radios
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, Matter, Zigbee
- Price range
- $30 to $299
What decides compatibility
- PM2.5 tracks smoke and dust. CO2 tracks stuffy rooms and ventilation. VOC tracks off-gassing. Few units do all three well.
- True CO2 sensing (NDIR) costs more than the estimated CO2 that some monitors calculate from VOC readings.
- Readings do not always pass through to your home system in a form you can automate on.
How these connect to your system
A works-with badge does not say how the device gets there, and the path changes what you get. Direct means the maker built the integration and the device's own features tend to come with it. Via Matter means the standard controls work and anything unusual about the device may not carry over. Via a hub means you need a second box, usually the maker's own, before it works at all.
- Google Home8 work with itDirect 5Via Matter 1Via a hub 2
- Alexa7 work with itDirect 4Via Matter 1Via a hub 2
- Apple Home5 work with itDirect 2Via Matter 2Via a hub 1
- Home Assistant5 work with itDirect 3Via Matter 2
- SmartThings3 work with itVia Matter 2Via a hub 1
Air quality monitors we list
Filter and compare these in the catalog
Airthings View Plus
Airthings · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubAppleGoogleHome AssistantAlexa
$299
Apollo Automation AIR-1
Apollo Automation · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubHome Assistant
$110
Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor
Aqara · Air quality monitor · Zigbee
Hub requiredSmartThingsAppleGoogleAlexa
$40
Awair Element
Awair · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubAppleGoogleAlexa
$199
GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier 2
Govee · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubGoogleAlexa
$100
IKEA ALPSTUGA Air Quality Sensor (smart)
IKEA · Air quality monitor · Matter
Hub requiredSmartThingsAppleGoogleHome AssistantAlexa
$30
PurpleAir Flex
PurpleAir · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubHome Assistant
$249
Sensibo Pure HEPA Air Purifier
Sensibo · Air quality monitor · Wi-Fi
No hubGoogle
$149
SwitchBot Air Purifier
SwitchBot · Air quality monitor · Matter
No hubSmartThingsAppleGoogleHome AssistantAlexa
$150
SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor
SwitchBot · Air quality monitor · Bluetooth
Optional hubGoogleAlexa
$69