This surprisingly affordable air purifier made my air smell beautiful - it even has an aromatherapy function

There is no better place , spcae or time to start cleaning your air than on your desk. That's why the Swan Activair Air Purifier is so clever. The compact design can sit up by your laptop and clear all the dust, pollen, and allergens from around you. It's one of those appliances that it just can't hurt to have.

You'll already know Swan for making some of the best air purifiers on the market. The Activair, unlike their other models, comes complete with a diffuser sponge (to make the room smell nice) and a much smaller design than ever before.

I sat this on my desk for a week and put it though a series of different tests designed to challenge the Swan Activair more than you ever could. Here's how it fared.

Swan Activair Air Purifier specifications

Unboxing the Swan Activair Air Purifier

Of all the air purifiers that I've tested, the Swan Activair Air Purifier has been the easiest to unbox. I lifted it out of the small, carboard packaging, took out the plastics and polystyrene and I was left with an air purifier that was pretty much ready to go. I'll let you in to a secret too: things don't get any trickier with the Activair.

Aside from plugging in the Activair, I needed to peel off the top sticker, which is where I was given the option of adding some fragrance to the diffuser sponge. Aside from that and a couple of other stickers, I really didn't need to lift a finger.

That kind of ease should get full marks, but I was disappointed to see so much plastic. The packaging around the Swan as well as the soft plastic bag that it came in aren't recyclable, which means that their cushioning and protecting was single-use. I've seen other brands manage to send air purifiers in fully recyclable packaging, so I know it can be done. Aside from that, this was a nice, easy unboxing.

Who would the Swan Activair Air Purifier suit?

The nature of a desktop air purifier lends itself wonderfully to small homes, compact spaces, and, of course, your workspace. If you know your room is smaller than 15m² , this will be the perfect one for you. However, if you have a bigger home, you might need to opt for something a little more powerful and substantial.

We'll get more into the details of my tests, but I generally found the Swan Activair to be better on lighter purifying needs. If you have a candle burning by your desk and you want to safety proof your room, the Swan is perfect. If you've just sprayed dry shampoo, again, the Swan Activair is brilliant. If, however, you smoke or you cook foods that have a strong smell, you will need something a little bigger and more substantial.

One of the really unique features on the swan is its essential oil diffuser. On the top of the Swan, you can infuse a few droplets of your favourite essential oil to the pad. This will help your diffuser to release fragrant air into your room, which is clever, especially if you're sensitive to the chemicals that they use in candles. Here, you get pure, fresh, and fragrant air in one appliance.

What is the Swan Activair Air Purifier filtration like?

The Swan Activair Air Purifier uses a certified HEPA filter, which is a classic option. It comes with a CADR rating of 120m3/h, which should technically make it perfect for big rooms. I would recommend the Swan for rooms around 14m², which, to be fair to the brand, is exactly what they promise it can clean.

When you look inside the Swan Activair, you'll see that it is packed with layers: a pre-filter, HEPA filter H13, and carbon filter. The pre-filter is becoming an increasingly popular feature to include on air purifiers, because it extends the life of your filter by a large amount. Swan claims that the multiple layers capture 99.95% of particulates, which is really impressive. I've put that to the test below.

What is the Swan Activair Air Purifier like to use?

Now, I know this is a small and simple model, but don't let that fool you into thinking that the Swan Activair Air Purifier isn't brilliant. The top of control panel will give you the option to cycle between three speed settings: high, medium, and low. All the buttons are sleek, sensitive and — this is the best part — I don't need my glasses to read them. You don't have the luxuries of an app or remote control, but as a simple model, this covers all the bases.

In my tests, I worked through all three speeds and, whilst the air purifier is quiet even on the highest setting (I logged only 42dB of noise — about the sound of a refrigerator hum or a library). If you select the quiet function, the Swan quickly becomes whisper silent. Technically, it makes 25 dB of noise, but that's quiet enough for me to sleep in and I'm sensitive to noise.

I actually tested this overnight for a week, as this is often the times when we all shut our windows and our doors, resulting in a big drop in air quality. I set the 8-hour pre-set timer and left the Swan running. I didn't do anything except sleep, so, in theory, the Swan wasn't up against any dramatically difficult tasks. Nonetheless, I kept a more sensitive, advanced air purifier in the room to track how well the Swan did.

Whilst the Swan did manage to keep my 15m² clear and at the optimal air quality (hooray), I had no way of knowing or tracking this unless I checked on my other air purifier. Swan doesn't give you any feedback, so you just have to trust the process. For most people, that's fine, but if you want to check in with your room, you might prefer a smarter model such as the Shark NeverChange5 Air Purifier MAX.

I tried some other tests on the Swan whilst I had it on my desk. I burnt and blew out a scented candle and sprayed my dry shampoo in the room. I work in a pretty small space and the Swan managed to remove all fragrance and evidence that I had sprayed shampoo or blown out a candle within five minutes, which is a decent time. On all the small tasks that I ran alongside this and for my general day-to-day life, this is brilliant. The fact that it has a handy carry handle only serves to enhance just how much of a life companion it could become. It's no puppy, but I'll take it.

Where the Swan Activair struggled, understandably, was in my kitchen. This is a big, open-plan 30m² space, so I didn't expect the Swan to work as well. I tried baking bread, grilling vegetables, and burning toast, all activities which reduce my air quality score to 60% or lower. The Swan did eventually get my air quality back up to 100, but in that time (30 minutes), I think opening a window or generally ventilating the room would have helped to get the worst out anyway.

When I knew I was going to burn toast, I sat the Swan beside my toaster and had it running on maximum speed. Here, even in the big kitchen, it caught and whisked away any evidence of smoke instantly. That's proof that this is impressive, but it just takes a bit of foresight that I don't think we really have if you want to really make the most of it.

The aromatherapy sponge feature is possibly my favourite part of the whole Swan ActivAir set-up. This sits on the top of the air purifier and, whilst I've seen some people recommend that you put five drops of essential oil on it, I only needed three to get some really strong, fresh scent infused in the air. Pair the powerful diffusion with the quiet running and this is a really effective and relaxing air purifier to have in your room.

Cleaning and maintenance

The Swan Activair Air Purifier has some clever features to help you make the most out of your filters. First, there is a guard that will trap bigger particles before they reach your HEPA filter. Depending on your home, wiping this down every week or every couple of weeks is a good idea. That's definitely on the cautious side of maintenance, but it will save you from having to buy a new filter as often.

The Swan will show you a filter replacement indicator when it needs to change. I've seen some reviewers saying that they needed to replace it after six months and others could stretch theirs out over a year. All in all, it's about average for the average air purifier, which is good news.

How does the Swan Activair Air Purifier compare?

Swan Activair Air Purifier is in one of the newest, but most competitive categories of air purifiers. I have tested some really impressive desktop air purifiers, namely the Vitesy Eteria.

The Vitesy is much smaller than the Swan Activair Air Purifier and yet it offers the same amount of room coverage. The filter is also rinsible and re-usable, plus you get an app that gives details about various important variables in your room such as humidity and temperature as well as air quality. It's an all-round impressive air purifier, except for the fact that it costs triple the price (and you don't have the aromatherapy function). If you are serious about having clean air, I think it's worth thinking about upping the budget and opting for this. However, if you're new to air purifying, this is a brilliant basic.

As you've shopped around, you'll have spotted that the Levoit. Whilst this is about £10 cheaper than the Swan, you lose some of the purifying speed as well as the aromatherapy function. Again, that might suit you if you're new to air purifiers, but it's also nice validation if you are trying to work out whether the Swan is good value for money. From my experience, if you were a beginner, you'd be happy with this.

Should you buy the Swan Activair Air Purifier?

If you want a small, simple air purifier to clean the air on your desk or in a compact room, this is perfect. The added aromatherapy function is a really nice extra that'll give the air in your home that extra fresh boost. However, if you want an app and some more serious power, it's worth shopping around and looking at some slightly more expensive options.

How we test

At woman&home, we make sure to have plenty of in-person experience with an air purifier before we recommend it to you. When we are testing these clever little appliances, we put them through their paces: burning candles, cooking, cremating toast, spraying dry shampoo, and much more. We'll do a sense-check, asking ourselves whether we can smell and feel changes in the air (you actually can), but we do also use the science-backed stuff and call in other air purifiers to check that the results we are seeing and noting down are corroborated elsewhere.

We'll talk about everything from aesthetics to cleaning, storage, and maintenance so that you come away from the review feeling like you really know what's going on. If you want to find out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test air purifiers.