8 Best HEPA Air Purifiers in Singapore for Haze (2026): Prices From $180, Re-checked 12 September as the PSI Eases
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8 Best HEPA Air Purifiers in Singapore for Haze (2026): Prices From $180, Re-checked 12 September as the PSI Eases

The haze episode that pushed NEA's 24-hour PSI to 106 in the central region on 4 September has eased. At 11am on 12 September the 24-hour reading sat between 70 and 79 across all five regions, inside the Moderate band of 51 to 100. The market did not ease with it. Re-checked today on every brand's own Singapore store, this guide has lost its cheapest pick outright: EuropAce has delisted the $129 Compact EPU1110B, whose product page now returns a 404 and which is absent from both the brand's full 252-product feed and its sitemap, leaving only the $49 replacement filter behind. Three more picks went out of stock in eight days: Sharp's FP-J30E at $149, Tefal's PT2220 at $149, and novita's A18i, which has now sold out at both its $398 trade-in and its $458 outright listing after showing a single unit on 4 September. Two things got better. novita's A5i is back at $180 (U.P. $328) in both colours, which makes it the cheapest machine in this guide, and the A11i's delivery has firmed up from a vague end-September to 22 September at $258. One price ran backwards: Coway's Noble AP is listed from $1,588 again (U.P. $2,038), with the $1,349.80 entry price withdrawn. Prices as they stand today: novita's A5i at $180, EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199, novita's A11i at $258, Mistral's fan-plus-HEPA-13 tower at $309, Sterra's buy-2-get-1-free Moon bundle at $458 for three units, Dyson's TP10 at $499, Sharp's 84m² FX-S120E-H at $799, and Coway's serviced Noble AP from $1,588.

Marcus Wong30 July 202612 min readUpdated 12 Sept 2026

Singapore's haze years arrive with very little notice, and they leave the shelves emptier than they found them. The episode that peaked on 4 September has eased; the stock has not come back with it.

> Quick view: Cheapest here is novita's A5i at $180, though it delivers from 23 September. Cheapest you can have in your hands this week is EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199, Pink only. The list runs $180 to $1,588. The catch: four picks moved against buyers in eight days, and EuropAce's old $129 Compact has been delisted outright. Re-checked 12 September on each brand's own store.

EuropAce PLAY Series EPU3320C: $199 (U.P. $459), the Cheapest You Can Actually Have This Week
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EuropAce PLAY Series EPU3320C: $199 (U.P. $459), the Cheapest You Can Actually Have This Week logo

EuropAce PLAY Series EPU3320C: $199 (U.P. $459), the Cheapest You Can Actually Have This Week

The $129 Compact EPU1110B that held this slot for six weeks is gone. On 12 September its product page returns a 404, and the model is absent from both EuropAce's full 252-product feed and the brand's sitemap; the only trace left in the catalogue is the $49 replacement filter, which is the same pattern that preceded the ZenFresh Aroma's disappearance in August. EuropAce's remaining clearance purifier is the PLAY Series EPU3320C at **$199 against a $459 list price**, and on specifications it is the better machine anyway: a dual HEPA-13 stack rather than a single filter, 220m³/h CADR against the Compact's 110, and a 460 sq ft rating that covers a large bedroom or a small living room rather than one small room. It keeps the built-in ioniser, a real-time air-quality light and a numeric PM2.5 display, adds a filter-change reminder and a 12-hour timer, and carries the desk-toy extras the range is named for: a Bluetooth 5.0 speaker, a wireless phone charging pad, adjustable LED ambience lighting and an aromatherapy box. Whether you want a purifier that also charges your phone is a matter of taste, but none of it costs you filtration. The catch is colour: **Black has sold out and only Pink is still listed**, so if the colour matters this is not your machine. This is the cheapest unit in the guide you can have delivered this week, since novita's $180 A5i is not dispatching until 23 September.

Clearance: $199 (U.P. $459). Dual HEPA-13 + ioniser, 460 sq ft, 220m³/h CADR. Pink only as of 12 Sep, Black sold out. Replaces the delisted $129 EPU1110B.

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Sharp Mid Autumn Sale: FP-J30E Sold Out at $149, but the KI-N50E-H Holds at $559 (U.P. $1,063)
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Sharp Mid Autumn Sale: FP-J30E Sold Out at $149, but the KI-N50E-H Holds at $559 (U.P. $1,063) logo

Sharp Mid Autumn Sale: FP-J30E Sold Out at $149, but the KI-N50E-H Holds at $559 (U.P. $1,063)

The FP-J30E at $149 against $214 was this guide's ion-tech bedroom pick for six weeks. On 12 September Sharp's own store shows it **out of stock on both its standard and its staff-purchase listings**, with the price unchanged, which is how this model has behaved before: it is a recurring sell-out rather than a discontinuation, so it is worth a watch rather than a write-off. The Mid Autumn Sale that replaced the National Day Sale is still running with no published end date, and the rest of Sharp's air-care range is very much in stock, which is why this entry stays. The two that matter: the **KI-N50E-H Plasmacluster humidifying purifier at $559 (U.P. $1,063)**, rated for 38m², with 4 units showing, which is the best-value mid-size machine on this list once you account for the humidifier; and the **FX-S120E-H at $799 (U.P. $1,595)**, the only unit in this guide rated for a full 84m², showing 6 units on the Mid Autumn listing and 2 more on the plain one. Sharp has also added a 62m² Purefit at $699 (U.P. $744) that was not here on our last check, though the discount on it is thin. Two to skip for now: the Purefit Mini FP-S42E-L, which came back into stock at $349 on 4 September and has sold out again, and the 16L 2-in-1 dehumidifier-purifier at $509, still unavailable. What you are buying from Sharp beyond the HEPA is Plasmacluster, which releases ions into the room to work on odours that have settled into curtains and sofas, and during a haze episode that is the part people notice.

Mid Autumn Sale (12 Sep), no end date published: FP-J30E $149 SOLD OUT · KI-N50E-H 38m² $559 (U.P. $1,063), 4 left · FX-S120E-H 84m² $799 (U.P. $1,595), 6 left · new 62m² Purefit $699 · Purefit Mini FP-S42E-L sold out again.

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Tefal Pure Air Compact PT2220: Sold Out Again at $149 (U.P. $249)
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Tefal Pure Air Compact PT2220: Sold Out Again at $149 (U.P. $249) logo

Tefal Pure Air Compact PT2220: Sold Out Again at $149 (U.P. $249)

This listing has now flipped three times. It was sold out on our 4 and 16 August checks, came back on 27 August and held through 4 September, and on 12 September Tefal's own Singapore store reports it **unavailable again**, with the price unchanged at $149 against a $249 list. That pattern is the useful information here: Tefal restocks this model rather than retiring it, so if the specification suits you it is worth setting a reminder rather than substituting something worse. What you would be waiting for is a genuinely well-specified bedroom machine: 198m³/h CADR, which is nearly double the 110m³/h the delisted EuropAce Compact managed at a similar price, three-layer filtration with a dedicated Allergy+ layer and activated carbon, three automatic modes, and 2.3kg of weight, which matters if you plan to carry one machine between a bedroom and a study. Filters are the running cost to check before you commit, and Tefal's are on the higher side of this guide's $39 to about $99 a year band. Until it returns, the closest in-stock equivalents here are EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199 or, if you can wait until 23 September, novita's A5i at $180.

SOLD OUT again (12 Sep) on Tefal's own Singapore store, price unchanged at $149 (U.P. $249). Third stock flip since August. 198m³/h CADR, 3-layer Allergy+ filtration, 2.3kg.

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Mistral 46" Blade-Free Fan with Air Purifier MBFAP460: Holds at $309 (U.P. $599), Still the Best Value Here
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Mistral 46" Blade-Free Fan with Air Purifier MBFAP460: Holds at $309 (U.P. $599), Still the Best Value Here logo

Mistral 46" Blade-Free Fan with Air Purifier MBFAP460: Holds at $309 (U.P. $599), Still the Best Value Here

The sensible answer if you're short on floor space or were about to buy a tower fan anyway, and the pick that has held its ground while four others moved against buyers: the $79 cut Mayer made on 27 August, from $388 to **$309** against a $599 list price, is still in place on 12 September and the unit is still in stock. Sold through Mayer's own Singapore store, this 46-inch blade-free tower combines a DC-motor fan with HEPA-13 filtration rated to remove up to 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns, plus UV sterilisation and a filter-replacement indicator. Five air modes (auto, turbo, sleep, natural, normal) and auto left-right oscillation across 30/60/90/120°. At $309 against $599 it is only $9 more than Sterra's per-unit bundle price and it undercuts Dyson's discounted TP10 by $190 for the same fan-plus-purifier job, which is what makes it the best value in this guide right now. During haze, when you want windows shut and air still circulating, having the fan and the filter in one machine genuinely helps. Replacement HEPA-13 filters are $39, the cheapest on this list. The stablemate MBFAP500 (12 speeds, built-in ioniser, HEPA H13, baby and sleep modes) has itself come down from $399 to **$339** (U.P. $599) since our last check, with a $50 filter. Mayer also sells two cheaper Mistral purifiers most roundups skip: the smart MAPF32 at $249.90 (U.P. $298) and the smaller MBFAP250 blade-free tower at $299 (U.P. $399). The MAPF03 we listed at $149.90 last time has been repriced to $99 (U.P. $228) but is now sold out.

Holding (12 Sep), in stock: $309 (U.P. $599), the 27 Aug cut from $388 still in place. 46" blade-free DC fan + HEPA-13 + UV sterilisation, 5 modes, $39 filters. MBFAP500 down to $339.

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novita A5i: Back at $180 (U.P. $328), the Cheapest Machine Here, but It Ships From 23 September
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novita A5i: Back at $180 (U.P. $328), the Cheapest Machine Here, but It Ships From 23 September logo

novita A5i: Back at $180 (U.P. $328), the Cheapest Machine Here, but It Ships From 23 September

The Singapore brand most people's parents already own, and the one with the easiest service story: local warranty, local service centre, filters you can actually buy off the shelf. **The A18i we led this entry with has sold out completely.** It showed a single unit on each of its two listings on 4 September; on 12 September both the $398 trade-in page and the $458 outright page report no stock at all, so the $501 saving that was the largest single discount in this guide is gone for now. What replaced it at the top of novita's range is the opposite kind of news. **The A5i is back at $180 against a $328 list price**, in both Space Black and Atrium White, which makes it the cheapest machine in this entire guide, undercutting EuropAce's $199 PLAY Series by $19. It is a genuine H13 HEPA with a carbon stage rated at 337m³/h CADR, which is more airflow than anything else here under $300 and comfortably enough for a large bedroom or a small living room. The catch is the one that matters during an episode: novita's own listing says delivery or collection is **from 23 September onwards**, so this is a machine you buy for the next bad week, not this one. The A11i sits just above it at $258 in Arctic White ($268 in Sand Beige or Graphite Black) against $469, or **$198 with any old purifier traded in**, and its delivery date has firmed up from a vague end-September to 22 September. If humidity is the bigger issue in your flat, novita's real speciality is 2-in-1 dehumidifier-purifiers, and the ND2+ ($398, U.P. $569) through ND60i+ ($798, U.P. $1,098) range does both jobs from one plug, all of it in stock today. Free delivery on orders over $300, otherwise $12.

A5i back at $180 (U.P. $328), both colours, but delivers from 23 Sep. A11i $258 (U.P. $469) or $198 with a trade-in, delivers from 22 Sep. A18i SOLD OUT at both $398 and $458. Free delivery over $300.

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Sterra Moon: Buy 2, Get 1 Free, $458 for Three Purifiers (U.P. $687)
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Sterra Moon: Buy 2, Get 1 Free, $458 for Three Purifiers (U.P. $687) logo

Sterra Moon: Buy 2, Get 1 Free, $458 for Three Purifiers (U.P. $687)

The cheapest way to put a purifier in every bedroom at once. Sterra is a Singapore direct-to-consumer brand and one of the most-reviewed purifier names here; the Moon is its best-seller, a HEPA-13 unit rated for 57m² at 280m³/h, near-silent at 20dB, with one-touch control and no app to fight with, listed from $189 on its own. The bundle is where the value is: you pay $458 for two Moons and the third comes free, and it is still buyable on 12 September, though still only in Space Grey. The Snow White bundle remains sold out, exactly as it was on our last check. Read the headline saving carefully, though. Sterra prices that bundle against a $687 'total value', which works out at $229 a unit, not the $189 the Moon starts at on the same site. The genuine saving is one free purifier, not a discount across all three. Two notes from this check. Several single-Moon colour and ion/UV combinations are still out of stock even though the bundle is not, including the Space Grey ion model at $189 and the Snow White UV version at $229, so buy the bundle rather than three singles. And Sterra's cheapest machine, the HEPA-13 Mars at $159, has gone the way of the EuropAce Compact: it is absent from Sterra's product feed entirely on 12 September, with only its $45 replacement filter still listed, so treat it as discontinued. And the Breeze Pro bundle we listed last time has changed: the HEPA-14 Breeze Pro is now $279 for one, $548 for two and $807 for three with no free Mars attached, while the buy-two bundle at $558 (U.P. $677) has moved to Sterra Paws ($279, U.P. $299), the pet-tuned HEPA-14 model, and the free item is a Sterra Flow cordless vacuum rather than a third purifier. Sterra has also added a single Paws plus Flow vacuum bundle at $368 (U.P. $398). Free delivery and installation.

Buy 2 get 1 free: 3× Sterra Moon for $458 (U.P. $687), Space Grey only as of 12 Sep, Snow White sold out. Sterra Mars now delisted. Paws buy-2 bundle $558 (U.P. $677) adds a free Sterra Flow vacuum, not a third purifier. Free delivery & installation.

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Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10: The $100 Discount Is Back, $499 (U.P. $599)
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Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10: The $100 Discount Is Back, $499 (U.P. $599) logo

Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10: The $100 Discount Is Back, $499 (U.P. $599)

**The discount came back.** This is the most-moved price in the guide: $399 with $200 off on 30 July, $499 with $100 off from 4 to 16 August, then a flat $599 with no saving at all on 27 August. On 4 September, the day the PSI turned Unhealthy, Dyson's own Singapore store went back to **$499, with $599 struck through and 'Save $100' on the page**, and on 12 September it is still there, in stock, with the discount intact. So the tidy story we told last time, that discounts narrow and then get withdrawn as the haze window opens, is wrong: Dyson reinstated the offer at exactly the moment demand arrived. The lesson is narrower than a trend. Check this one page rather than assuming a direction, because it has now changed four times in five weeks. It is still the sealed-filtration pick, though at $499 it costs $190 more than the Mistral tower at #4 for the same two jobs. The TP10 is a 2-in-1 purifying fan with a fully sealed filtration system: a 360° glass HEPA H13 filter that captures 99.95% of particles as small as 0.1 microns, wrapped in an activated carbon layer for gases and odours. Sealed matters here, because what the machine traps stays trapped rather than leaking back out around the filter. Integrated sensors read the air in real time and report on the LCD screen, it oscillates up to 350°, and night mode runs it quietly while you sleep. In stock, with instalments working out to $124.75 a month over four months. If cooling airflow is what you want and $499 is above your line, the Mistral tower at #4 does the same two jobs for $309.

Still $499 on 12 Sep, save $100 off $599, in stock. Discount reinstated 4 Sep after a flat $599 with no saving on 27 Aug. Sealed HEPA H13 + carbon, 350° oscillation, 2-year warranty.

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Coway Noble AP (AP-2021A): Back Up to $1,588 (U.P. $2,038), With Servicing Built In
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Coway Noble AP (AP-2021A): Back Up to $1,588 (U.P. $2,038), With Servicing Built In logo

Coway Noble AP (AP-2021A): Back Up to $1,588 (U.P. $2,038), With Servicing Built In

The premium option, and the only one on this list where someone else changes your filters. Coway's Noble AP is the Korean brand's flagship air purifier for Singapore, running multi-stage filtration (a 4D pre-filter, a smoke and allergen filter, a 4D double HEPA and two deodorisation filters) with UV-C sterilisation across 66m², and it comes with the regular servicing visits every six months that are Coway's whole proposition: a technician cleans the unit and swaps consumables so the machine doesn't quietly degrade into an expensive fan. This price has now run backwards. Coway's own air purifier listing still flags the Noble AP as a Special Offer, but the headline has gone back up to **from $1,588** against a $2,038 usual price, where it sat on 16 August, after showing $1,349.80 on both 27 August and 4 September. The $1,349.80 entry price is no longer selectable. The practical effect is that the headline and the configurator now agree: the default outright, self-service, 1+1-year filters-and-warranty build also totals $1,588 at checkout, so the gap we warned about on the last two checks has closed, in the wrong direction. It is a lot of money next to a $199 EuropAce, and for a single bedroom it is overkill. It earns its place if you want a single serviced appliance for a large space and would rather not think about filter part numbers for the next five years.

Special Offer: back up to from $1,588 (U.P. $2,038) on 12 Sep, after $1,349.80 on 4 Sep. Multi-stage + UV-C, 66m², servicing every 6 months included. Headline and default outright config now agree at $1,588.

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8 air purifiers in Singapore, prices and stock re-checked on each brand's own store, 12 September 2026

Brand & modelPrice nowUsual priceFilterStock (12 Sep)Best for
EuropAce PLAY Series EPU3320C$199$459Dual HEPA-13 + ioniserPink only, Black sold outCheapest in hand now, 460 sq ft
Sharp FP-J30E (Mid Autumn Sale)$149$214HEPA + PlasmaclusterOut of stock23m² room, ion tech
Tefal Pure Air Compact PT2220$149$2493-layer Allergy+ + carbonSold outHDB bedroom, 198m³/h CADR
Mistral 46" Blade-Free Fan + Purifier MBFAP460$309$599HEPA-13 + UVIn stockFan and purifier in one
novita A5i$180$328H13 HEPA + carbonBoth colours, delivers from 23 SepCheapest price here, 337m³/h CADR
Sterra Moon buy-2-get-1-free bundle$458 (3 units)$687HEPA-13Space Grey onlyCovering three rooms at once
Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10$499 (save $100)$599Sealed HEPA H13 + carbonIn stockSealed filtration + cooling fan
Coway Noble AP AP-2021Afrom $1,588$2,038Multi-stage + UVOrder via CowayPremium, with servicing included

What changed on this check (12 September 2026)

We have now priced this list six times on every brand's own Singapore store: 30 July, 4 August, 16 August, 27 August, 4 September and 12 September 2026. The haze episode that prompted the last check has eased. At 11am on 12 September NEA's 24-hour PSI read 79 in the central region, 79 in the east, 72 in the west and south and 70 in the north, all inside the Moderate band of 51 to 100, down from a central reading of 106 eight days earlier. Stock has not recovered with the air. Four things moved against buyers and two moved in their favour.

  • EuropAce has delisted the $129 Compact EPU1110B. This is the significant one, because it was the cheapest pick in the guide and had held 7 units and the same price for nineteen days. Its product page now returns a 404, and the model is absent from both EuropAce's full 252-product feed and the brand's sitemap; the only thing left in the catalogue bearing its name is the $49 replacement filter. That is the same sequence that preceded the ZenFresh Aroma's removal in August. This guide's $129 price floor no longer exists, and the slot now goes to EuropAce's PLAY Series EPU3320C at $199 (U.P. $459), which is a better machine on paper at 220m³/h and dual HEPA-13 but is down to Pink only.
  • Sharp's FP-J30E has sold out at $149. The price is unchanged and the Mid Autumn Sale is still running with no published end date, but both the standard and the staff-purchase listings report no stock. This model has sold out and returned before, so it is a watch rather than a write-off. Sharp's mid and large machines are unaffected: the KI-N50E-H holds at $559 with 4 units and the 84m² FX-S120E-H at $799 with 6.
  • Tefal's PT2220 has sold out again, at the same $149. That is its third stock flip since August: out on 4 and 16 August, back on 27 August, held on 4 September, gone again now. Tefal restocks this model rather than retiring it.
  • novita's A18i has sold out completely. It showed one unit on each listing on 4 September; now both the $398 trade-in and the $458 outright page are empty, which removes the largest single saving in this guide.
  • novita's A5i is back at $180 (U.P. $328) in both colours, which makes it the cheapest machine in the guide, though delivery or collection is from 23 September. Its A11i has also firmed up: still $258, but the vague end-September date is now 22 September.
  • Coway's price ran backwards. The Noble AP is listed from $1,588 again (U.P. $2,038), the figure it showed on 16 August, after two checks at $1,349.80. The headline and the default outright configuration now agree at $1,588.

What did not move: Mistral's MBFAP460 at $309, still in stock and now the best value here by some distance; Dyson's TP10 at $499 with the $100 discount intact; and Sterra's buy-2-get-1-free Moon bundle at $458 in Space Grey. One quieter delisting to note alongside EuropAce's: Sterra's $159 Mars has also vanished from its feed, leaving only the $45 filter.

What to buy for haze season, in one paragraph

If you want the short answer: buy a HEPA-13 unit with a real activated-carbon layer, sized to the room you sleep in, and buy it between episodes rather than during one, which is exactly what this check demonstrates. Under $200 the choice has narrowed to two, and they differ mainly on timing: novita's A5i at $180 is the cheapest and the stronger machine at 337m³/h, but it does not ship until 23 September, while EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199 is in your hands this week if you can live with Pink. Under $400 the Mistral tower at $309 is now the clear pick rather than the fallback, since the A18i that used to top this band has sold out, and it gives you a fan as well. For a whole 84m² living room Sharp's FX-S120E-H at $799 is still the only unit here rated for it. And if you are buying for two or three rooms, Sterra's buy-2-get-1-free Moon bundle at $458 works out cheaper per room than any single machine on this list.

Air purifier prices in Singapore: what each band actually buys you

The spread runs from $180 to $1,588, which sounds arbitrary until you see what the money is buying: room size first, then who changes the filter. Four bands, at the prices verified on 12 September 2026.

  • $180 to $280, one bedroom. novita's A5i at $180 (shipping from 23 September), EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199, novita's A11i at $258, and Sterra's Moon from $189 as a single unit. Genuine HEPA-13, roughly 200 to 340m³/h CADR, a colour light or a basic PM2.5 readout and not much else. This is the band most Singapore households should buy in, and buy twice, rather than once at $500. Note that the two $149 machines that used to anchor this band, Sharp's FP-J30E and Tefal's PT2220, are both out of stock, and the $129 entry point has been delisted altogether.
  • $280 to $500, a large bedroom or a small living room. Sterra's Breeze Pro at $279 (HEPA-14), Mistral's MBFAP460 blade-free tower at $309, Mistral's MBFAP500 at $339 (down from $399), Dyson's TP10 at $499. Bigger filter area, a numeric PM2.5 readout instead of a traffic light, and auto modes that respond quickly enough to be worth leaving on.
  • $450 to $800, open-plan living-dining, or two appliances in one. Sterra's three-Moon bundle at $458, Sharp's KI-N50E-H at $559 (purifier plus humidifier, 38m²), Sharp's new 62m² Purefit at $699, Sharp's 84m² FX-S120E-H at $799, and novita's ND60i+ at $798 if humidity is the bigger problem.
  • $1,500 and up, serviced. Coway's Noble AP, back to $1,588, where the premium buys a technician every six months rather than more airflow.

Then there is the cost the sticker price hides. Filters are the real running expense: $39 to about $99 a year per machine across the models here. Mayer sells the Mistral filters at $39 and $50, EuropAce lists replacement filters around $49, and novita's 24-month PuriPRO packs work out near the top of that band. In a haze year budget above that, because a unit running flat out through a smoky fortnight will not get twelve months out of a filter.

The rule of thumb that matters more than any of these figures: two $199 purifiers in the two rooms you actually sit in will do more for you than one $599 machine parked in the hallway.

Where to buy an air purifier in Singapore

Every unit here is sold direct by the brand, which is the short answer to where to buy. EuropAce, Tefal, Sharp, novita, Sterra, Dyson and Coway all run their own Singapore online stores, and Mistral sells through Mayer's. Buying direct is what gets you the local warranty, filters you can reorder later, and the promotions that never appear on marketplaces: novita's trade-in, Sterra's buy-2-get-1-free, Sharp's Mid Autumn Sale. It is also the only place the stock counters are honest, which during an episode like this one matters more than the price.

Offline, the same models turn up at Best Denki, Courts, Harvey Norman, Gain City and the department-store electronics floors, usually at list price but occasionally with a store voucher or bundled delivery that beats the online deal. It is worth a look if you want to hear how loud a unit actually is before committing, because spec sheets quote decibels at the lowest fan speed, which is not the speed you will use during haze.

What to avoid: unusually cheap Shopee and Lazada listings for the same model numbers. Air purifiers are a common parallel-import category, and a grey set typically means no local warranty and filters you then have to source yourself, which on a machine whose whole running cost is filters is the expensive kind of saving.

Getting rid of the smoke smell, not just the particles

The complaint that actually drives people to buy mid-haze is the smell, and it is worth understanding why a plain HEPA filter does nothing about it. Haze carries two separate problems: fine particles (PM2.5), which HEPA traps, and gaseous compounds, which pass straight through a HEPA filter because they are not particles at all. Smell is the second problem.

That is what the activated-carbon layer is for, and it is the spec to check before you buy. A thin carbon-coated mesh is not the same as a real carbon filter, and it saturates in weeks rather than months. Sealed systems help too: Dyson's TP10 (#7) is fully sealed, so gases the carbon has captured cannot leak back around the filter edge. Sharp's Plasmacluster models (#2) take a different route, releasing ions into the room to work on odours that have already settled into curtains and sofas, which is where smoke smell tends to live once the air itself has cleared.

Practical order of operations during a haze episode: keep windows shut, run the purifier on a higher speed than feels necessary, and wash or air soft furnishings afterwards. No purifier removes a smell that is coming out of your curtains.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 2026 actually a haze year, or is this just marketing?

It's an official warning, not a sales line. The Singapore Institute of International Affairs released its Haze Outlook 2026 on 24 June 2026 and rated the region 'Red', meaning a high risk of a severe transboundary haze event. It is only the second Red rating since the annual report started in 2019 (the first was 2023), and the report names August and September as the peak danger period, driven by El Niño, a positive Indian Ocean Dipole and drier-than-usual conditions through to around October. It has since happened. On 4 September 2026 NEA's 24-hour PSI reached 106 in the central region, inside the Unhealthy band of 101 to 200. That episode has since eased: at 11am on 12 September the 24-hour reading was 70 to 79 across all five regions, back inside the Moderate band. The stock did not come back with the air, which is the practical lesson. In the eight days after the peak, three of the cheapest machines in this guide sold out and a fourth was delisted entirely. Buy between episodes rather than during one.

Which air purifier is best for haze season and allergies at the same time?

Haze and allergies pull in slightly different directions, and the machine that handles both is the one with a real carbon layer and enough airflow for the room you actually sleep in. Haze is PM2.5 plus gases, so you need HEPA and activated carbon. Allergies are usually dust mites, dander and pollen, which are larger particles that any HEPA-13 catches, but they need a high air-change rate to be cleared before they resettle. That combination points at three picks here. If you want the highest filter grade, Sterra's Breeze Pro and Paws are the HEPA-14 units at $279 each. If you want the most airflow for the money, novita's A5i at $180 is rated 337m³/h CADR with a carbon stage, which is more air moved per dollar than anything else in this guide now that the 622m³/h A18i has sold out, though it does not ship until 23 September. If you need something this week, EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199 pairs dual HEPA-13 with 220m³/h. Tefal's PT2220 at $149 runs the best dedicated Allergy+ layer here, but it is out of stock again. What none of them fix is a bedroom with the window open, so during a haze episode keep it shut and run the machine continuously rather than in bursts.

What size air purifier do I need for an HDB flat?

Match the CADR to the room, not the marketing headline. A typical HDB bedroom is roughly 10 to 15m². A purifier rated around 200 to 250m³/h CADR (EuropAce's PLAY Series at 220m³/h, Tefal's PT2220 at 198m³/h) will turn the air over several times an hour with the door shut. A living room of 25 to 40m² needs 300m³/h or more: Sharp's FX-S120E-H (84m² rating), novita's A5i (337m³/h) and Dyson's TP10 sit here. One thing manufacturers don't say loudly: coverage ratings assume the room is closed. An open-plan HDB living-dining area with the kitchen door open behaves like a much larger room, so size up rather than down, and during haze keep windows shut and run the unit continuously rather than in short bursts.

HEPA-13 or HEPA-14, does the difference matter for haze?

Marginally, and less than filter size and airflow do. A HEPA-13 filter captures at least 99.95% of 0.3-micron particles; HEPA-14 raises that to 99.995%. Haze particles are PM2.5, well within what a HEPA-13 handles, so for most homes a HEPA-13 unit running at the right airflow beats a HEPA-14 unit that's undersized for the room. Where HEPA-14 helps is for allergy and asthma sufferers who want the extra margin (Sterra's Breeze Pro and Paws are the HEPA-14 options here, at $279). What matters more during haze is a carbon layer, because haze carries smoke odours and gases that HEPA alone doesn't remove, and every unit on this list except the most basic includes activated carbon.

How much do replacement filters cost, and how often do I change them?

Filters are the real running cost and they're worth checking before you buy. Mayer sells the Mistral MBFAP460 filter at $39, the cheapest here, and the MBFAP500 filter at $50; EuropAce lists replacement filters around $49, and the $49 EPU1110B filter is now the only trace of that delisted model left in its catalogue; novita's larger units take a 24-month PuriPRO pack listed at $198, which works out to about $99 a year, with a discounted spare at $158 if you add it at purchase; Sterra's sit in a similar band, with the Mars filter at $45 outliving the machine itself. Most manufacturers quote 6 to 12 months per filter under normal use, but that assumes normal air. A haze episode loads a filter far faster, and a purifier running 24/7 on high through a smoky fortnight can eat months of filter life. Budget for one extra filter per unit this year, buy it before the haze rather than during, and check whether the model has a filter-change indicator (the Mistral tower and most units here do).

Should I buy from the brand's own store or from Shopee and Lazada?

Every price in this article was taken from the brand's own Singapore website, first on 30 July 2026 and re-checked on 4 August, 16 August, 27 August, 4 September and again on 12 September 2026, and that's deliberate. Marketplace listings for air purifiers are a common home for parallel imports and grey-market sets, which usually means no local warranty and filters you then have to source yourself. Buying direct also gets you the promotions that only run on the brand store, such as novita's trade-in (bring any old purifier, get $60 to $271 off depending on model, now that the A18i's $501 version has sold out), Sterra's buy-2-get-1-free bundles and Sharp's seasonal sale pricing, and for Coway the six-monthly servicing visits that are the whole point of that model. Do compare, but check that the seller is the brand's own official store before you buy on price alone.

The PSI has eased. Should I still buy an air purifier now, or wait?

Buy now, and this check is the argument for it. The PSI came back down to 70 to 79 on 12 September, but the shelves did not refill: in the eight days after the peak, EuropAce delisted its $129 Compact entirely, Sharp's $149 FP-J30E and Tefal's $149 PT2220 both sold out, and novita's A18i went from one unit to none. Waiting for the next episode means shopping from whatever is left after everyone else has had the same idea. What is actually buyable on 12 September, in the order we would buy it: EuropAce's PLAY Series at $199 if you want it this week, accepting that only Pink is left; novita's A5i at $180, the cheapest and the stronger machine, if you can wait until 23 September; Mistral's blade-free tower at $309 if you want a fan as well, which is the one pick that has held both price and stock throughout; Sterra's three-Moon bundle at $458 to cover several rooms at once; and Sharp's FX-S120E-H at $799 for a full-size living room. The two $149 machines are worth a stock alert rather than a substitute, because both have sold out and returned before. Whatever you buy, run it in the room you sleep in with the door and windows shut, on a higher speed than feels necessary, rather than moving one machine around the flat.

Which air purifier is best if you have pets?

Look for two things beyond the HEPA rating: a generous activated-carbon layer, and a pre-filter you can actually pull out and rinse. Pet dander is a larger particle than haze PM2.5, so almost any HEPA-13 unit will capture it. The problem is odour, which is a gas and needs carbon, and hair and fluff, which clog a fine filter fast and shorten its life. Of the units here, Sterra's Paws ($279, U.P. $299) is the only one specifically tuned for dander and pet smells, using a HEPA-14 filter, and Sterra currently runs a buy-two bundle on it at $558 (U.P. $677) that adds a free Sterra Flow cordless vacuum rather than a third purifier. Otherwise, novita's A5i (#5) at $180 is the sensible pet-household choice now that the 622m³/h A18i has sold out, since 337m³/h still turns the air over often enough to keep up with a shedding animal, and Dyson's TP10 (#7) has the carbon layer plus a fully sealed body so trapped dander cannot leak back out. Whatever you choose, plan on vacuuming the pre-filter monthly rather than quarterly.

Can you run an air purifier and a dehumidifier at the same time?

Yes, and in Singapore it is often the right combination, because they do different jobs and do not cancel each other out. The purifier pulls particles out of the air; the dehumidifier pulls moisture out. Running both in a closed room during haze is fine and is what most people with mould or dust-mite problems already do. Two practical notes. First, keep them a little apart rather than side by side, so the dehumidifier's warm exhaust is not blowing straight into the purifier's intake and confusing its air-quality sensor. Second, a dehumidifier is not a substitute for a purifier, because dropping humidity does nothing to PM2.5. If you would rather not run two machines, Sharp's own store sells combined units: a 30L 4-in-1 (dehumidifier, purifier, shoe dryer and laundry dryer) at $649 from $799, and a 2-in-1 dehumidifier-plus-purifier (16L/day) at $509 from $541, though that 16L model was still out of stock on 12 September, so the 4-in-1 is the one to look at first. novita's ND2+ ($398, U.P. $569) through ND60i+ ($798, U.P. $1,098) range does both jobs from one plug, and EuropAce lists a 30L dehumidifier with a standalone HEPA purifier at $499 (U.P. $899). A combo unit is the space-saving answer, but a dedicated purifier will almost always move more air for the money.

#air purifier#haze#home appliances#Singapore#2026#HEPA#deals

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