Under €150, air purifiers split into two species: genuine HEPA machines from serious brands' entry lines, and glowing plastic that moves air past a sponge. Every unit below is the first kind — verified true-HEPA filtration with filters you can actually buy next year. The differences left are room size, noise and small luxuries.
Price and availability accurate as of publishing; subject to change.
Buying guide: how to choose
What €150 buys, and what it does not
The good news is that true H13 filtration is no longer a premium feature; entry models from established brands use the same media grade as machines costing three times as much. What the budget tier gives up is airflow, carbon and refinement. Expect a CADR in the 100–180 m³/h range, which is honest coverage for a bedroom or small sitting room of 10–20 m², not a family living space. Carbon is typically a thin coated layer rather than granules by weight, so odour and smoke performance is limited. Many units also drop the particle sensor and auto mode entirely, meaning you set a speed and leave it. None of that makes a cheap purifier pointless — it makes it a single-room appliance, and buying it as one is the whole trick.
How a €99 purifier becomes a €350 purifier
Budget purifiers are frequently sold at or below cost, with the margin waiting in the filters. Do the sum before ordering. A €99 machine with a €55 filter rated for six months costs €110 a year to keep running, so three years in you have spent €429. A €145 machine with a €30 annual filter costs €235 across the same period. Electricity barely moves the needle at this size — 12 W continuous is 105 kWh, about €40 a year on a 38 cent tariff — so filters are the entire argument. Before buying, search the exact replacement part number, confirm it is stocked with EU delivery, and check whether the model has been quietly discontinued. A cheap purifier whose filter vanishes in eighteen months is a disposable appliance.
The red flags in the sub-€150 aisle
Four claims should send you scrolling onward. "HEPA-type", "HEPA-style" and "99% at 3 microns" are all ways of dodging the H13 standard, which is defined at 0.3 microns. Ioniser-only devices with no filter charge particles so they stick to walls and surfaces rather than being removed, and some generate ozone as a by-product — an irritant, and precisely what an asthma or allergy household does not want. "UV-C sterilisation" in a domestic purifier exposes passing air to the lamp for a fraction of a second, far too briefly to do useful work. Finally, be sceptical of any listing quoting coverage in square metres with no m³/h CADR anywhere: the omission is deliberate, and at this price it normally means the number is embarrassing.
Right-size it to one small Irish room
The commonest budget mistake is asking a €120 machine to clean an entire downstairs. Pick the single room where the hours are, which for most people is the bedroom at 10–14 m², or about 24–34 m³. A 150 m³/h unit produces four to six air changes an hour in that volume, which is proper performance rather than a compromise. Keep the door shut while it runs, because a purifier in a space open to the landing is effectively trying to clean the whole floor. And if damp and mould are the reason you are buying, be honest with yourself: the machine catches airborne spores but does nothing about the moisture producing them. In a persistently damp Irish bedroom, €150 on a dehumidifier and better ventilation will outperform €150 spent here.
Getting more from a cheap machine
Three habits close most of the gap with expensive units. First, vacuum or rinse the pre-filter mesh monthly — pollen, pet hair and general dust choke it quickly, and a clogged pre-filter strangles airflow while shortening the life of the H13 element behind it. Second, run continuously on a low speed instead of blasting it for an hour: particle levels rebound within a couple of hours, and low-speed running is quieter and gentler on the media. Third, give it space — 30 cm clear of walls and furniture, out of the corner, and off deep pile carpet if it draws from underneath. Timing helps as well: entry models are heavily discounted in late spring ahead of grass pollen season, and again in the November sales.
Frequently asked questions
Are cheap air purifiers from marketplace sellers any good?
Some are, many are not, and the listing itself tells you which. The ones worth buying name an H13 or EN 1822 filter grade, publish a CADR in m³/h, and sell a replacement filter under a part number you can search independently. The ones to avoid quote coverage only in square metres, lean on words like "HEPA-type" or "ioniser", and have no filter listing at all. Brand obscurity matters less than filter availability: an unknown brand with a stocked, cheap, well-reviewed replacement is a better buy than a familiar name whose filter has been discontinued.
Can I use a generic replacement filter in a budget purifier?
Usually yes, and at this end of the market it is often the difference between a sensible appliance and a money pit. Check the generic states an H13 grade rather than "HEPA-type", compare the stated depth and pleat density against the original, and read reviews for complaints about fit — a filter that does not seal lets air bypass the media entirely, which defeats the point. Some machines use a chipped filter and will keep flashing a replacement reminder with a third-party part. That is cosmetic, but worth knowing before you assume the saving is free.
Do I need activated carbon in a cheap purifier?
Only if you have a specific odour or smoke problem — cooking in a small flat, a smoker in the house, or solid-fuel smoke drifting in over winter. HEPA media does nothing for gases and smells, so carbon is the only component addressing them, but the thin coated sheet fitted to most sub-€150 units saturates within a few months and then contributes very little. If odour is your main reason for buying, the honest answer is that meaningful carbon — granules measured in hundreds of grams — starts above this budget.
Is a €150 purifier enough for an apartment?
For a bedroom in that apartment, yes. For the whole thing, no. A typical budget unit delivering 120–180 m³/h gives good air change rates in a 10–20 m² room with the door closed, and very little in a 45 m² open-plan apartment where it would manage barely one change an hour. If the budget is fixed, put the machine in the bedroom and shut the door at night rather than leaving it in the living area attempting to cover everything. One room done properly beats a whole flat done badly.
Can I wash a HEPA filter to save money?
No — washing an H13 element ruins it. The media is a mat of fine fibres holding an electrostatic charge; water destroys the charge, mats the fibres and leaves damp material that can grow mould in a humid Irish house. Only filters explicitly sold as washable can be rinsed, and those are almost always coarse pre-filters or lower-grade media rather than true HEPA. The pre-filter mesh, by contrast, should be vacuumed or rinsed monthly, and doing so genuinely extends the life of the expensive element sitting behind it.
Should I buy a cheap purifier now or save for a better one?
Buy the cheap one if the filter costs are sane and the room is small — a €130 unit running every night for the next five years does far more good than a €400 unit you are still saving towards. Hold off instead if you need to cover an open-plan space, if odour and smoke control is the actual requirement, or if you are a light sleeper and want published low-speed noise figures. A useful middle path is last year's model from a serious brand: the media grade is identical and the discount often brings a €200 machine inside budget.
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