Best Kitchen Air Purifiers for Cooking Odors in 2023

Last updated on January 17th, 2023

Kitchen cooking odors are usually the strongest smells in any house. It’s good if you have a quality range hood, but if that’s not the case then you have to get yourself an air purifier.

However, not all air purifiers are equal and not every one of them works great for cooking smells in a kitchen. Some of them do not have a proper Activated Carbon filter installed, others just do nothing as they have a low airflow rate.

Down below I have put the best air purifiers for kitchen odors that come at different prices and for different kitchen sizes.

TOP 3 Air Purifiers for Kitchen

If you don’t see the whole table, scroll it horizontally

Model	Levoit Core 300s	Winix PlasmaWave 5500-2	Airpura F600
Image
Price	Under $150	Under $250	Under $900
Coverage	Small Kitchen	Medium Kitchen	Large Kitchen
CADR	141 CFM	246 CFM	560 CFM
Filter Life	6 months	12 months	60 months
Filter Replacement	~$35	~$70	~$180
Auto Mode
WiFi
Ionizer
Noise Levels	24 - 48 dB	27.8 - 54.8 dB	28.1 - 62.3 dB
Max Power	26 Watts	70 Watts	120 Watts

The Winix PlasmaWave 5500-2 is the best solution for most kitchen odors, whereas the small Levoit Core 300 can be placed on a countertop. The Airpura F600 is an ultimate solution for grease smell, smokey cooking, VOCs and other air pollutants and it is recommended to install in large kitchens, including commercial ones.

Continue reading to know more about these air purifiers. In addition, I have also prepared wall-mounted and ceiling mounted air cleaning solutions for cooking smell removal.

Winix PlasmaWave 5500-2: Best Air Purifier For Cooking Smells

Winix PlasmaWave 5500-2 is the best air purifier for kitchen smells when it comes to performance/price ratio. It removes all types of food odor with the 4-stage air cleaning process which includes a pre-filter, HEPA filter, Charcoal filter and an ionizer. The latter also freshens the air.

Compared to similarly priced air purifiers, the Winix 5500-2 uses an efficient honeycomb-styled carbon filter that allows for the absorption of lingering cooking smells including roasted meat, fish, soup and others. The room coverage was verified by the AHAM.

The PlasmaWave 5500-2 also features an Auto mode. To put it simply, the built-in air particles sensor when detecting any smell automatically increases the speed, so you won’t even have to do anything. For sure, you can manually select a preferred speed (low, medium, high), but this nice feature just adds up to the number of reasons why this air purifier is considered by many consumers, including me, the best.

The air filters have a longer lifespan: the pre-filter is permanent and washable, while the HEPA and Activated Carbon filters are sold in 1 pack (HEPA, 2 Carbon). The HEPA filter lasts up to 1 year, while the Carbon filter lifespan is limited by 6 months. The air purifier has a filter indicator that shines red when the time to change  the filters has come, to keep the air quality high without unwanted smells, dust and other air pollutants.

In addition, the timer will allow you to set up air cleaning procedure at any time.

This Winix air purifier is portable, so it can be easily moved from one place to another, to get rid of unpleasant kitchen odors and keep the air clean and fresh.

Levoit Core 300s: Smart Air Purifier for Kitchen

Levoit Core 300s is another portable air purifier for the kitchen. However, it greatly differentiates from the Winix reviewed above. Down below are the major differences:

• The Core 300s is less powerful and therefore covers a smaller area, which is reflected in its price (it’s almost $100 cheaper).
• However, there comes an advantage: if the Winix can be used only on the floor, the Levoit can freely sit on a kitchen counter top, closer to the source of cooking odors. That’s where the small size and dimensions come in handy.
• This air purifier has WiFi connectivity. It means you can connect it to your phone or Alexa and remotely control the speed and adjust other settings. The WiFi connection is stable, so you can fine tune settings while relaxing in another room!
• Low operating costs. Maintaining the Core 300s is very easy: replace the 3-in-1 filter (it features pre-filter, HEPA and Carbon) twice a year and you will keep odors at bay in the kitchen!

I recommend getting the Levoit Core 300s if you want to buy a countertop air purifier for your kitchen.

Airpura F600 for Large and Extra-Large Kitchens

Airpura F600 is a different beast when compared to the previously reviewed air purifier. The Winix 5500-2 and Levoit Core 300s are good air cleaners that eliminate kitchen smells, but they cannot be compared to the F600 as it works at a completely different level.

First of all, the airflow generated by the air purifier stands at an astonishing 560 CFM! It means it can cover rooms up to 2000 square feet and remove allergens in 1000 sq. ft. apartments, providing 4 air changes per hour.

Such a high CADR rating allows for air cleaning in large and extra-large kitchens, including commercial kitchens in restaurants. Another example of usage is large studios where you want to remove not just cooking odors, but keep allergens, dust, bacteria, VOCs, fumes and other smells at bay as well.

The Airpura F600 features the best highly absorbent charcoal air filter for kitchen odors. It is extremely large and heavy and weighs 18 pounds! There are no other air purifiers that would feature such a large activated carbon filter for the price! By the way, it lasts up to 2 years (check price for a replacement) which is an extremely long lifespan.

For those who want to have an ultimate solution for any greasy or strong cooking smell, there is Airpura F600DLX (Deluxe). It features an even bigger and better 26-pounds carbon filter for any kind of smell, volatile organic compound or formaldehyde.

Whether it’s smokey cooking, viruses, dust, allergens or heavy smells – the Airpura F600 gets rid of them and provides clean air in a kitchen, studio apartment or large space.

Medify Air MA-35: Wall Mounted Air Purifier for Kitchen

Medify MA-35 is a great example of a wall-mounted air purifier for any kitchen. It effectively covers an area of around 300 square feet for heavy odors and can be easily mounted on a wall close to the source of the cooking smell.

As any other Medify air purifier, this one uses a pre-filter, a true HEPA filter for smaller particles, and also an Activated Carbon filter that absorbs most of the kitchen odors.

It also features a timer, child lock, auto and sleep modes. When the latter is turned on, the air purifier is whisper quiet, great for keeping the air quality on a high level without producing any noticeable noise.

Screws and plugs for drywall come in a box with the Medify MA-35, so you can install this air purifier in your kitchen right after its arrival.

Tracs TM500 Ceiling Mounted Air Purifier for Smells, VOCs and Viruses

If you want to have an ultimate solution for viruses, bacteria, mold and smells in your large kitchen, restaurant, laboratory and any other large space, then the Tracs company offers their ceiling-mounted HEPA & UV air purifier TM500.

It not only removes cooking grease, heavy cigarette smoke and other odors with the large antibacterial filter and the sealed medical-grade certified HEPA H13 air filter but also gets rid of viruses, germs and mold with the 22-inch UV-C lamps installed inside the unit.

The Tracs TM500 is installed in a drop 2×2 ceiling and is the best air cleaning solution for a restaurant kitchen.

Do Air Purifiers Remove Cooking Odors?

Air purifiers that I have mentioned on this page for sure remove cooking odors, including grease smell. They mostly differentiate by area coverage, type (portable, countertop, wall-mounted, ceiling) and amount of carbon that absorbs odors.

The Winix 5500-2 is not just the best air purifier for the kitchen, but also a great pick for any other room in a household, whether it’s small, medium or large. It’s a universal air cleaner, that apart from removing unwanted smells can also reduce dust and bacteria in the air inside a house.

The Levoit Core 300s can also be used in a bedroom, as it features Sleep mode. In this mode, the air purifier makes almost inaudible white noise, helping many people to get to sleep.

The Airpura F600 is the ultimate cleaning solution, similar to the Tracs TM500 UV air purifier. The latter is a ceiling-mounted, whereas the F600 is portable and can be moved from one room to another. Thanks to its high-quality Carbon filter, any smell, gases, VOCs are removed in a matter of minutes from large kitchens and large spaces in general.

The Medify MA-35 is simply the best, if you want to have an air purifier in the kitchen that can be mounted on a wall to not take place on the floor or a countertop.

Getting any aforementioned air purifier will help you get rid of unwanted cooking smells and provide you with clean air inside your kitchen or even the whole house.