Molekule Air Pro review

Our review of the Molekule Air Pro will highlight all you need to know about this beautifully designed air purifier, from how stylish it is to how well it traps and absorbs air particles in your home. Using a series of tests and an air particle meter, we’ve checked to see how well the Molekule Air Pro does to remove harmful particles that can cause poor air quality. During our testing, we also checked how loud the Molekule Air Pro is in operation, looked at what additional functionality it offers, and evaluated its user interface.

The Molekule Air Pro is the only air purifier we’ve tested so far that features a PECO filter instead of the industry-standard HEPA filter. At the time of writing, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that PECO filters are better than HEPA filters. We only found a few studies to say they can improve allergy symptoms and health outcomes by removing particles as small as 0.1 microns, and both were produced by experts who worked for or co-owned Molekule. 

The Molekule Air Pro contains two sensors: a particulate sensor and a chemical sensor. A laser and light-sensitive detector counts particles that reflect light and gauges the amount of them in the air. The purifier can detect and remove pollen, mold, pet dander, dust, bacteria, and smoke particles.

A touchscreen interface at the top of the purifier allows a glance at air quality data, fan speeds and auto-protect modes, filter status, and other settings. Simply swipe across or up and down to see more. An accompanying app displays further intel on air quality, humidity, and particle count. You can also control your air purifier from the app, changing fan speeds and modes and powering it on and off.

The Molekule Air Pro is priced at the top end of the market, around a thousand dollars. However, if you’re on a tighter budget, our guide to the best air purifiers offers plenty of more affordable options.

Molekule Air Pro: Setup

Getting the Molekule Air Pro up and running immediately is fairly easy. Just take the purifier's top off, unwrap the PECO filter, and reinsert it before popping the top back on. Then, simply plug the machine in and power it on.

The app took a little longer than usual for us to set up. We had difficulty troubleshooting why it wasn’t connecting to our Wi-Fi, but a web search soon rectified the issue. 

Once you’ve downloaded the app, simply connect and name your Molekule Air Pro. You can control every setting from the app itself, including modes, fan speed, and standby. You can also gain insights into your air quality data with information on microfine particles, fine particles, and humidity.  The app and appliance will show one of four colors, depending on your indoor air quality:

There are six fan speeds to choose from. We found fan speed 3 was comfortable enough at 43 decibels, around the same level as the background thrum of a refrigerator or quiet conversation. Fan speed six, however, reached a noisy 71 decibels, around the same as a washing machine or dishwasher in full throttle. At level 1 fan speed, the Molekule Air Pro is a quieter 35 decibels, so is ideal for nighttime use.

The Molekule Air Pro also features two auto-modes, standard and quiet. Both detect particles in the air and change fan speed to absorb particles effectively, but the quiet mode will not run at high fan speeds. 

Molekule Air Pro: Design

At 22.9 lbs, the Molekule Air Pro can be picked up with one hand, but it’s fairly hefty to move around. The vegan leather handle helps, though. A 6ft electric cord gives enough leeway for it to be moved to the center of a room if need be, while excess cordage can be stored beneath the device, out of the way.

The Molekule Air Pro is designed to cover areas of up to 1000 sq ft, making it an ideal choice for homes with large rooms, and business premises, such as offices and stores.

This is one of the most stylish air purifiers we’ve tested at home. Its sleek cylinder design, silver casing that looks and feels like brushed steel, and touch-screen interface are effortlessly elegant. The neutral white base gently curves inward like the base of a lamp, giving the device a premium, polished look. 

A ‘wheel’ sits at the top of the device, at the center of which sits the touch-screen display. When the device is in standby mode it features a simple glowing disc. 

Molekule Air Pro: Performance

All our at-home testing took place in a medium-sized 220 sq ft room. We tested ambient air quality before and after using the purifier, alongside incense and match smoke tests. All trials lasted 30 minutes so we could evaluate how quickly the Molekule Air Pro Professional worked to trap and remove air particles.

First, we ran our trials at the highest setting, which clocked in below 50 decibels. That was level 3, the middle setting. It ran at around 43 decibels, similar to a quiet library or background conversation. We then re-ran the same trials at the highest level 6 setting, a powerful but extremely noisy 71 decibels.

First, we tested how well the purifier cleaned ambient indoor air quality. Using an air particle counter before, during, and after the test, we found that the Molekule Air Pro Professional captured 67% of particles smaller than 0.3 microns and 64% smaller than 2.5 microns, running at the level 3 fan speed. We found this improved at the highest fan speed, with the purifier removing 91% of particles smaller than 0.3 microns and 83% smaller than 2.5 microns. Still, it’s not the result we hoped for from such a lauded and expensive device. 

Next up was the match test. We burned a series of matches, one after the other, to raise the particle count in the room considerably, then ran the purifier on both level 3 and 6 settings to see how it fared. At level 3, we found it removed just 48% of 0.3-micron particles, 58% of 2.5-micron particles, and 75% of particles at 10 microns. At level 6, it performed better, removing 91% of particles measuring 0.3 microns, 91% of particles measuring 2.5 microns, and 100% of particles measuring 10 microns.

Finally, we burned incense cones to see how well the Molekule Air Pro Professional could remove larger particles. Based on its poor performance during our match test, we thought we’d cut straight to the chase and test how well it removed larger microns at its highest setting. At level 6, we found that the Molekule Air Pro Professional removed 98% of particles measuring 2.5 microns and 99% of particles measuring 10 microns, which was a marked improvement.

Based on these limited tests, we found that at its highest level, the Molekule Air Pro Professional did a fairly good job of removing larger particles in 30 minutes. However, this was only on its noisiest setting, and even then, its ability to improve ambient air quality was not as good as that of other air purifiers we tested at home, such as the Levoit 400S. At this price point, we’d expect a lot more.

Molekule Air Pro: User reviews

The Molekule Air Pro Professional gets good reviews on Amazon, with 4.2 stars out of 5. Around 70% of customers give it the full five stars. Users enjoy how the fan speed changes when indoor air quality is affected by cooking or even lighting a candle. They say the air purifier reacts quickly to odors, working hard to remove them.  They also praise the purifier’s look and feel as “beauty meeting functionality.”

However, negative reviews indicate that the highest setting, level 6, sounds like a “jet engine”. Others complain that the air purifier did not tackle air quality as well as they expected for the price. Quite a few also say it's difficult to connect the air purifier to your Wi-Fi network, which we found was borne out in testing. 

Should you buy the Molekule Air Pro?

If you value great design and a simple but effective user interface, the Molekule Air Pro Professional may be the right purifier for you.

However, our at-home testing couldn't convince us that this air purifier performs better than a purifier with a HEPA filter. While we loved the design and the overall functionality of the Molekule Air Pro Professional, we found it did not perform to our expectations. Given its top-end price and the effort Molekule puts into promoting this device, we’d expect nothing less than what a HEPA filter offers. Sadly, this didn’t measure up. 

So if you’re after a reliable air purifier that looks good, won’t cost the earth, and performs well to clean your home’s indoor air effectively, save money and choose another option from our wide range of tested home air purifiers.

How does the Molekule Air Pro compare?

If you’re looking for an air purifier as stylish as the Molekule Air Pro Professional but performed better in our at-home tests, check out the Dyson Purifier Cool.

For a similarly sleek cylinder look to the Molekule Air Pro Professional, the Levoit 400S is one of our top-performing air purifiers and is available at a fraction of the price. 

If you’re looking for a much smaller air purifier to sit on a desktop or shelf, the KOIOS EPI810 features a True HEPA 3-stage filtration system and is light and compact at just 2.5 lbs.