The Jaspr is a $1,200 air purifier that has been all over social media for the past few years, with influencers giving glowing reviews and offering juicy discount codes.
But after testing it, I found something that doesn’t add up…
It costs three times as much to buy and run as air purifiers with the same level of performance.
And I know this because I bought a Jaspr with my own money and then spent an additional $1,298 to have it shipped to the UK, so we could test it.
Read on to find out how the Jaspr fared in my tests of its air-cleaning performance, sound generation, energy efficiency, yearly running costs, and day-to-day user experience.
The pros and cons of the Jaspr
A summary of our top-level findings after testing this air purifier, following our methodology.
“The Jaspr isn’t a bad air purifier: it offers good air cleaning at top speed, is made of durable materials and comes with both a particle sensor and a VOC sensor.
However, there is nothing in the performance, filtration technology, features or design that make the $1,200 price tag make sense for consumers.Our data shows that the Jaspr delivers performance on par with air purifiers you could buy for as low as $165. So even though you are paying a premium price upfront, you are not getting premium value in return.”
HouseFresh Founder
& Lead Tester
CONS
PROS
| Clean air delivery rate (CADR): | Speed 1: 97 cfm Speed 2: 198 cfm Speed 3: 248 cfm Speed 4: 352 cfm |
| Filter technology: | Particle Filter with 1 lbs (453 g) of carbon. |
| Recommended room size: | 529 sq. ft. (5 air changes per hour) |
| Dimensions: | 31.5 in x 11.5 in (80 cm x 29.2 cm) |
| Weight: | 25 lbs (11.3 kg) |
| Noise level in decibels from 3 ft. away: | Speed 1: 36.5 dBA Speed 2: 44.6 dBA Speed 3: 51.5dBA Speed 4: 60.1 dBA |
| Electricity consumption in watts: | Standby: 0.29 watts Speed 1: 7.25 watts Speed 2: 16.34 watts Speed 3 28.56 watts Speed 4: 64.48 watts |
| Filter lifespan: | 6 months |
| Manufacturer’s warranty: | 1 year |
| Country of origin: | United States |
| Country of manufacture: | China |
Filtration technology
A large cylindrical filter with particle filtration and activated carbon pellets.
The filter inside the Jaspr has a metal pre-filter mesh on the outside, a particle filter in the middle, followed by a layer of pelleted carbon.
The filter comes with 1 lb (453g) of carbon, which is a good amount but won’t be sufficient to tackle serious VOCs. See how it compares to other models:
You need to tip the Jaspr onto its head to access the filter. Once you twist the bottom cover, you’ll be able to see the filter inside.
The filter comes with an elasticated handle at one end, which makes it easy to grab and pull out of the body of the Jaspr.
Jaspr seems to have designed the checkout process so that a recurring $199 filter subscription is mandatory.
I reached out to Jaspr to ask whether customers can currently purchase a Jaspr without enrolling in a recurring subscription, and the spokesperson said customers can contact the company via the website to buy a unit without a filter subscription.
Design, controls and features
A large, cylindrical air purifier made out of metal that weighs 25 lbs (11.3 kg).
Considering how big and heavy it is, I was surprised to find that it doesn’t have handles or wheels.
You get smart functions, but there are no buttons to set timers or lock the screen. Also, there’s no app, which might be something you expect at this price point.
It has a touch screen at the top with four buttons: smart mode, fan speed, light and turbo mode.
It comes with a particle sensor and a gas sensor, which makes the auto mode more responsive and more useful – especially in a room like a kitchen.
You also get real-time particle readings on screen (PM2.5), and an air quality indicator ring.
The ring changes color depending on the quality of the air in the room, going from green to yellow to red based on readings from the sensor.
When I first saw the Jaspr, it immediately reminded me of the air purifier that my dentist uses called the DentAir MedicAir 1.0.
There are certainly some differences, but it seems to me that this DentAir device has a similar height, control positioning, air quality indicator layout, and even a similar rolled-steel body to the Jaspr.
I dug deeper and came across a listing on Alibaba for the AGCEN KJ-600F-T01. Another tall, cylindrical air purifier with a steel body, the same reported CADR, dual sensors, and a similar touchscreen at the top.
Finding this unit made me even more curious, so I did some additional research to learn more about Jaspr Air Ventures Inc., the company behind Jaspr.
I found import/export data showing that Jaspr has been importing purifiers from AGCEN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Technology Co., Ltd, which is the same company that manufactures the KJ-600F-T01.
So I spent an additional $299 to buy a KJ-600F-T01 to test it and compare its results with those of the Jaspr. I’ll include the results for the AGCEN device in the sections below.
Air cleaning performance
We tested the Jaspr in our 728-cubic-ft test room, measuring how quickly it removed PM1 particles from the air after we filled the space with incense smoke.
When running at top speed, our PurpleAir Zen multi-sensor array shows that the Jaspr needed 17 minutes to reach PM1 zero. Based on the natural ventilation of our test room, we estimate a PM1 CADR of 353 cfm.
This makes the Jaspr powerful enough to provide five air changes per hour in rooms up to 529.5 sq. ft.
While top speed performance is good, there are cheaper models from different brands that achieved the same or even better performance – in fact, 17 minutes was the exact same result we recorded for the AGCEN KJ-600F:
Just to put it into perspective, you could afford to buy four (4) Levoit Core 600S or seven (7) AirFanta 3Pros for the price of one Jaspr, and in both cases, you would be getting an air purifier with similar or even better particle removal performance.
But performance in isolation might not be showing us the full picture here.
Sound levels
The sound levels of the Jaspr range from 36.5 dBA to 60.1 dBA — which is louder than air purifiers from Blueair, Levoit and Coway with similar performance.
I used our BAFX sound meter to measure how much sound the Jaspr generates at each of its fan speeds at 3 ft away:
Reaching 60.1 dBA at speed 4, the Jaspr is the fourth loudest at top speed, behind the AlorAir air scrubber, the Atem X and the Levoit Core 600S.
Running at speed 2, the Jaspr cleared our test room of PM1 pollutants in 30 minutes while generating 44.6 dBA of noise.
So far, we’ve learned that the Jaspr offers similar performance to much cheaper models, but perhaps it will make up for it in long-term maintenance costs…
Long-term running costs
Running a Jaspr will cost you $696.57 per year, combining energy and filter replacement costs.
We used our energy meter to record how much electricity the Jaspr pulls at each fan speed and while on standby.
At top speed, the Jaspr draws 64.48 watts, so if you were to leave it running at top speed 24/7 for one year, it will add $98.57 to your energy bill.
The Jaspr ranks as the fourth most power-hungry model after the AlorAir air scrubber, the Atem X, and the EverestAir.
However, energy costs are not the only costs that add up when running your air purifier; eventually, you will also need to replace the filters.
According to Jaspr (and their automatic filter subscription), you will need to replace the filters every 6 months. Jaspr sells filter replacements outside the subscription for $299 on its website, resulting in a yearly filter cost of $598.
I added this to the energy costs and can tell you that you need to budget $696.57 each year to keep your Jaspr running at to speed 24/7 in your home:
When accounting for both energy and filters, the Jaspr will cost nearly 1.5x as much to run as the super power-hungry commercial air scrubber from AlorAir.
And when we compare it to similarly powered air purifiers, the gap grows wider – the Jaspr is around 3x more expensive to run than the more powerful Coway Airmega ProX and even the high-end IQAir Atem X.
When you add the $1,199.99 list price to that first year’s running cost, you will need to invest $1,896.56 in the first year of owning a Jaspr:
To put this figure into perspective, for the same amount of money, you could afford to buy and run five (5!) AirFanta 3Pros 24/7 for a year at top speed – and you’d have $175 to spare to buy us a coffee.
Expensive filter replacements don’t help, but what inflates the investment you’ll need to make in the first year of ownership is the high price tag.
But… Is the Jaspr worth the $1,199.99 price tag?
Bottom line: Should you get a Jaspr?
Is the Jaspr as good as all these influencers + podcasters + YouTubers say? In our view… No, it is not.
Let me start by clarifying that the Jaspr isn’t a bad air purifier. At top speed, it cleaned the air as fast as some of the best units we’ve tested.
In terms of sound, it gets a bit loud at top speed, but at speed 2 it stays below 45 dBA and still offers fair performance. Plus. it’s made out of a durable material and it comes with both a particle sensor AND a VOC sensor that make the auto mode more responsive.
That said, there is nothing in the performance, filtration technology, features, or design of the Jaspr that justifies the $1,200 price tag.
At top speed, the Jaspr delivers good performance, but you’re expected to pay a premium for it.
To show the differences in even clearer terms, I’ve calculated the cost per CADR cfm at top speed across all these models – the lower the cost per CADR, the more air cleaning power you get for your money:
The Jaspr Pro offers a cost per CADR cfm of $3.40, which is the highest across the board – even higher than the work of art that is the $,1400 Atem X from IQAir.
And it gets worse…. When you factor in the cost of filter replacements and power consumption, the Jaspr ranks as the most expensive model to buy and to run in that first year of ownership.
So my verdict is simple: I wouldn’t advise anyone to spend over $1,000 in a Jaspr.
If you want top-tier air cleaning performance, there are better options that cost less to buy and operate.
- If you’re looking for a unit for a large room or an open-plan space, the Coway Airmega ProX delivers more power for under $900.
- If you want more carbon, I would look at the Austin Air HealthMate because it comes with 15x as much carbon as the Jaspr.
- If you want the best air cleaner money can buy, then check out the Atem X from IQAir. It offers better performance than the Jaspr at top speed AND at quiet fan speeds.
- And if you’re looking to get the best performance for your money, then look no further than the $165 AirFanta 3Pro – it offers the same air cleaning power as the Jaspr with quieter operation, lower energy consumption, and cheaper filter replacement costs.
If you appreciated this review and want to support the work we do here at HouseFresh, you can buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/housefresh
And if you’re still unsure of which air purifier to buy, you can try using our air purifier comparison tool to see how the Jaspr stacks up against units with similar prices:
If you have any questions about the Jaspr or about air purifiers in general, please drop them in the comments below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
