Levoit vs. Eoleaf air purifiers

VeSync, Ltd., is an American brand of small home appliances consisting of three separate brands: Etekcity, Cosori, and Levoit. VeSync markets its products primarily in 8 different countries across North America, Asia, and Europe. Levoit, a VeSync brand that focuses mostly on indoor air treatment solutions and home appliances, sells products including air purifiers, humidifiers, fans, and hoovers. Today, we’ll be looking closely at the Levoit air purifier model Core 600S, Levoit’s air purifier designed for large spaces, in comparison with Eoleaf’s AEROPRO 150, our air purifier designed for large spaces. Read on to learn more.

Performance

At first glance, Levoit air purifiers are impressive with solid air purification performance. A basic summary of Levoit’s most popular air purifiers is as follows:

• Core 200S smart air purifier: designed for very small rooms of up to 17m2
• Core 300S smart air purifier: designed for small rooms of up to 20m2
• Core 400S smart air purifier: designed for for medium-sized rooms of up to 37 m2
• Core 600S smart air purifier: designed for large rooms of up to 147m2

This article will be focusing mostly on the Levoit air purifier designed for large rooms, the Core 600S, although much of the analysis also applies to the other models of the Levoit brand. The Core 600S air purifier does not offer anything particularly original, but off the bat, for those looking for very basic air filtration at an accessible price point, the Core 600S seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, in digging deeper, we found some very misleading marketing practices regarding Levoit products’ performance that have landed them in hot water.

Levoit’s Core 600S air purifier

Unlike the Core 200S, Core 300S, or Core 400S, the Core 600S is Levoit’s model built for large home and professional spaces up to 147 m2. At a price of £299.99 (299.99€ on Amazon France and $299.99 on Amazon USA), it is affordable for many first-time air purifier buyers. The Core 600S has a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of 697 m3/h. This is a surprisingly powerful device, a CADR score that even slightly surpasses the CADR rating of our AEROPRO 150 (which is an impressive 670 m3/h)!

Dyson dispute

In looking closely at the Core 600S’s product description (in addition to checking out some of their other most popular devices), something seemed a little fishy. Their website details their ‘3-step filtration process’ consisting of a pre-filter, a main filter, and a carbon filter.

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However, our eagle-eyed air purification experts noticed something a bit strange: a complete lack of mentioning the words ‘certified’ or ‘HEPA’ in the Core 600S’s ‘main filter’ description. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) certification is widely considered to be the gold standard of air purification. Tested by third-party laboratories for their effectiveness, HEPA-certified devices guarantee the removal of 99.97% of all air pollutants down to a size of 0.3 microns (and also remove particles that are much smaller: read about the 0.3 micron barrier here). They also allow customers to compare air purification efficiency between brands. If an air purifier brand wants to be taken seriously in regards to their air purification capabilities, HEPA certification is a requirement.

Further research brought us down a rabbit hole regarding the truth behind Levoit products. A dispute was brought forward by Dyson to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the United States in late 2023. In Dyson’s claim, they questioned whether Levoit’s devices met the standards for HEPA filters at all. Prior to the dispute, Levoit air purifiers all claimed to contain ‘true HEPA’ filters.

As it turns out, Dyson had good reason for doing so. Levoit swiftly removed any mention of the term ‘true HEPA’ from most of its products which meant that the BBB would be unable to investigate further. If Levoit had insisted that their products indeed met HEPA standards, the BBB would have asked for proof and examined the relevant data.

Disappointed customers who felt misinformed about the devices they had purchased questioned Levoit about the changes in marketing. They were met with vague responses regarding ‘changes to some of its products advertising’ but insisted that their products do meet old IEST RP CC001.6 HEPA standards but conveniently failed to mention conformity to the new HEPA EN-1822 / ISO 29463 standards set in 2012. That said, any HEPA standards they may adhere to now are outdated.

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A company that makes unverified claims, misleads consumers, is caught red-handed, and then hides information when asked directly for information is certainly not one that instils confidence. Without HEPA certification, it is impossible for customers to be sure about the quality of the air purification they are getting from a device in which they may invest significant amounts of money. The same goes for the impressive CADR figures put forward by Levoit.

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Filtration technologies

Even if Levoit air purifiers were HEPA-certified (which would certainly result in an increase in price), the technologies that their air purifiers, including the Core 600S, offer are minimal. Most air purifiers that are worth your time will contain, at the very least, a pre-filter, a HEPA-certified filter, and a carbon filter. These technologies are basic, though quite effective, and will provide sufficient filtration for those with very uncomplicated air purification needs. But, in Levoit’s case, the HEPA filter is not certified.

The germ question

The more technologies, the better. This ensures that each type of air pollution is targeted by your air purifier, providing a thorough cleansing of your indoor air and protecting you from the dangers of indoor air pollution at home and at work. One additional, indispensable air purification technology is missing from Levoit’s air purifiers: UVC sterilisation technology. Not only is this technology essential for the reduction of germ transmission in all indoor spaces (including medical institutions), but it also helps keep germ populations at bay within your device. Filters are designed to capture air pollutants, but what happens to them afterwards? That’s where they stay until your filter is replaced. In order to keep your air purifier from turning into a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses, UVC sterilisation technologies sterilise your filter, removing any risk of germs escaping when it is time to change your filter or if your device continues to be used even if a filter change is needed (a practice we do not recommend).

Eoleaf’s AEROPRO 150 air purifier

Here at Eoleaf, we pride ourselves on our air purifiers’ performance and transparency. Our medical-grade filtration technologies are backed by third-party testing to help guarantee that our customers are getting the purest indoor air available, protecting their health and the health of their loved ones. Our air purifiers are the only devices on the market to contain 8 different filtration technologies including:

• Pre-filters
• Bamboo filters with an antibacterial coating
• Medical-grade HEPA-certified H13 filters
• Activated carbon filters
• Photocatalysis technologies
• UVC sterilisation technologies
• Ionisation technologies (negative ions)

With an Eoleaf device, you never have to question the quality of your device. All information regarding our technologies and certifications is made readily available on our website, and we are more than happy to provide further details if required.

Usability and connectivity

Levoit’s Core 600S air purifier

Two of the main selling points of the Core 600S are its user-friendliness and smart features. The Core 600S has an Automatic mode and a Sleep mode. It also offers air quality monitoring in real-time, automated smart scheduling, a filter change indicator, and is Wi-Fi and smartphone app compatible.

We feel that the Core 600S’s smart features leave much to be desired.

Specifically, we do not see any methods of portability. The Core 600S weighs 6.2 kg, but it does not come with wheels or handles for easy movement. Furthermore, we do not see any hands-free operating options that make using the device without the risk of spreading germs possible.

Eoleaf’s AEROPRO 150 air purifier

All of Eoleaf’s devices come with either wheels or handles depending upon the device. The AEROPRO 150, which weighs 9.4 kg, has wheels, making it easy to move from room to room should the need arise.

The AEROPRO 150 is a smart, modern air purifier. It comes equipped with the same smart features as the Core 600S: real-time air quality monitoring, automated smart scheduling, a filter change indicator, and Wi-Fi and smartphone app compatibility (Tuya Smart). It also comes with other smart features like hands-free gesture control and Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant voice commands. A Bluetooth remote control is also included with the purchase of an AEROPRO 150, allowing you to conveniently monitor your air quality from another room. These smart features provide yet another way to further protect you from germ spread, especially during times of seasonal epidemics or pandemics like COVID-19.

Maintenance and warranty

Levoit’s Core 600S air purifier

Like all air purifiers, Levoit’s Core 600S requires regular filter changes. The three filtration technologies are housed within one filter block that requires replacing every 6 to 12 months. Unfortunately, the Levoit website only seems to sell filters for the American market (for $59.99). Genuine Levoit Core 600S filters are available on both Amazon UK (£69.99) and Amazon France (104.71€), and ‘true HEPA’ has been removed from all of the Core 600S filter descriptions. Many off-brand filters for the Core 600S are available for sale by third parties on Amazon, likely due to frequent unavailability of genuine Levoit filters. These third-party filters cost around 80€ for a set of two and claim to be ‘true HEPA’. Since they are sold by third parties, it is difficult to confirm whether or not they are, indeed, HEPA-certified. It seems a bit strange to not be able to purchase filters directly from the Levoit website or have other regional websites/currencies.

Levoit offers a 2-year limited warranty on its products. It is worth mentioning that using third-party filters voids the warranty, a problem that many customers outside of North America have faced due to lack of legitimate buying options.