Which is Better – the Alen BreatheSmart 75i or the IQ Air HealthPro Plus?
Both Alen and IQAir have made a name for themselves in the air purifier industry. And for good reason: both make solid, quality products. But which is better? We compared the Alen 75i and the IQAir HealthPro Plus because they’re similar in size, coverage area, and operation. And in our opinion, the Alen 75i wins out in our head-to-head comparison.
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Features and Price
When it comes to price, the Alen 75i wins out. The unit runs around $750, but can cost as much as $780 depending on the filter you choose. The IQAir HealthPro Plus starts at $899. Alen offers a financing option for their machine through Affirm, which breaks up the total cost of the unit into interest-free monthly payments. Financing is not available for the HealthPro Plus.
Both machines are easy to use and set up and have multiple fan speeds. Both units are designed to rid your home of the smallest airborne contaminants, as well as odors and gasses that may be floating around.
Unique Features of the Alen BreatheSmart 75i
The Alen BreatheSmart 75i has a boxy but sleek look and comes in six different colors – making it easy to match any décor in your home. The cost of the unit starts around $750 and it covers up to 1300 square feet – making it a great option for large rooms or open floor plans.
You can monitor the air quality in your home and control the BreatheSmart 75i remotely through Alen’s app. The air purifier uses laser-sensing technology to monitor the quality of the air inside your room and adjust the fan speed to clean it accordingly. It’s equipped with a LED color-coded panel to let you know how dirty or clean your air is at any given time. The unit is Energy Star certified, so you shouldn’t see much, if any, difference on your electric bill. The lifetime warranty gives you a sense of reliability that few companies offer.
Unique Features of the IQAir HealthPro Plus
IQAir is based in Switzerland and its sole mission is air purification. The HealthPro Plus covers up to 1125 square feet, making it a good option for large rooms or open floor plans. It’s on the pricey end, starting at $899. Its three-filter system helps remove the smallest of particles from the air and it is energy efficient, so you shouldn’t see a difference in your electrical bill. The unit only comes in one color: white.
One thing that does make IQAir unique is, the company says it tests every air purifier before it is sent to a customer to ensure the product is working and meets the company’s standards for air purification.
Filter Performance
HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air and the filters are designed to pull up to 99.97% of the airborne contaminants out of the air. Once irritants are pulled out of the air, the purifier sends cleaner, purer air back out into your space. Dust, pet dander, pollen, bacteria, viruses, and mold are all microscopic, so you can’t see them, but they are likely floating around in the air inside your home. Air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters can eliminate those particles, making the air healthier and easier to breathe.
Both the 75i and the HealthPro Plus use True HEPA filters. Alen has three filter choices to pick from: Pure, Fresh, and Pet HEPA filters. All three work to pull the allergens, dust, germs, and mold out of the air. The Fresh filter also removes cooking odors, smoke and VOCs, and the Pet filter is designed to take away pet dander and odor. The Pure filter costs $100 to replace, the Fresh filter is $130, and the Pet filter is $140.
IQAir comes equipped with three filters. The Pre-Max filter costs $80 to replace and takes care of particles like dust, mold and powder. The V-5 Cell filter costs around $100 to replace and works with activated carbon to rid the air of gas, odors and VOCs. The HyperHEPA filter costs $200 to replace and traps ultrafine particles like bacteria and viruses.
Every filter has an average life span. It can vary depending on how dirty the air is inside your home and how many hours a day you run the machine. The Alen filter lasts up to 15 months – and that’s running your air purifier 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The filters for the HealthPro Plus last for different lengths of time. The Pre-Max Filter will last up to 18 months. The V-5 Cell will last two years if you’re running it ten hours a day on fan speed three. And the HyperHEPA filter will last up to four years and two months, if you’re running it ten hours a day on fan speed three. Changes in how long you run the air purifier and the fan speed you use can shorten the life of the filter.
While the IQAir filters will last longer, the life span isn’t designed for the air purifier to run continuously—which, in our opinion, gives Alen the edge. The cost of the filters and how many have to be replaced also make the Alen 75i a more attractive option.
Fan Speeds and Noise Levels
The noise level of the fan is an important factor in purchasing an air purifier. After all, if the machine is too loud, you likely won’t use it much, if at all. Generally speaking, the higher the fan level, the louder the machine. Alen has focused its effort on engineering a quiet machine on all fan speeds. The 75i has five fan speeds and they all generate pink noise, which is known to help to improve sleep. In simpler terms, the fan speeds on the 75i are all whisper quiet, running between 25 and 49 decibels, depending on the setting.
The HealthPro Plus is equipped with one more fan speed than the 75i for a total of six. The fans of the unit are housed behind double walls and rubber suspension pads to lessen the noise, so the machine is relatively quiet, ranging from 29 to 57 decibels.
Dimensions and Room Coverage
When it comes to room coverage and size, the 75i has the advantage. It can cover up to 1300 square feet and purify the air in that size space every 30 minutes at the highest fan speed.
The IQAir’s coverage area is a little smaller – up to 1125 square feet. And it takes the machine longer to clean that size space, performing only one air exchange an hour. It will clean a smaller space more often, which is worth keeping in mind.
Both machines are comparable in size. The 75i stands 27 inches tall and 18 inches wide. The HealthPro Plus stands 28 inches tall and 16 inches wide. Both have a boxy design, which combined with the size, may limit where you can put them inside your home. The HealthPro Plus weighs 35 pounds – 8 pounds more than the 75i, so it may also be harder to move around.
Customer Service
Alen is the only air purifier company that offers a lifetime guarantee – and that’s hard to pass up. IQAir offers a better warranty than most – 10 years – but you must register your product with the company within 30 days of purchase to get it. In order to receive the lifetime warranty from Alen, you have to register the product with Alen and subscribe to the filter replacement program.
Alen also offers a 60-day, money back guarantee. If you aren’t happy with the 75i, you can return it within 60 days to receive a full refund. IQAir will allow you to return or exchange your product within 60 days, but the company will charge you a 15% restocking fee if you’ve opened the box.
You can contact Alen online, by phone or through the company’s website chat feature, if you have a problem or issue that needs to be resolved. Overall, Alen customers are very satisfied with the company’s products. Alen air purifiers receive high praise online and the company is registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an A+ rating. Alen has very few complaints filed against them through the consumer protection organization.
IQAir is accredited by the BBB and has an A+ rating. You will find about a dozen complaints filed against IQAir. Most of them concern shipping and payment issues, and not necessarily problems with the machine. You will find that most customers are happy with their purchase and find the HealthPro Plus to be an effective machine in purifying the air.
IQAir has a Clean Air Experience Center, located in La Mirada, California, where you can see for yourself how the company’s air purifiers work. You can call or book an appointment for a tour online. If you’re having trouble or need help with your air purifier, you can call the company, fill out a form on the website or use the chat feature for customer support.
IQAir says on its website it has received the prestigious Seal of Approval from PTPA (Parent Tested, Parent Approved) to combat serious allergy and asthma problems. It also touts being chosen by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority to help in the fight against the virus that causes Covid.
For its part, Alen has been the choice for many school systems concerned about air quality. The company says its air purifiers are now in more than 85,000 classrooms in the U.S. The 75i was most recently installed in nearly 4,000 classrooms in one of the largest school districts in Louisiana.
Final Verdict – Does the Alen 75i or the IQAir HealthPro Plus Have the Advantage?
The Alen 75i is less expensive, covers more square footage, and offers a lifetime warranty. It has more features than the HealthPro Plus, and runs at a consistent whisper-quiet volume, making it our pick in this head-to-head comparison.
