Winix A231 (Zero Compact) review

Winix is a South Korean company that has been producing air quality devices since 1973. We have previously tested and reviewed the Winix 5300-2 and 5500-2 with good results, so we know Winix knows how to produce air purifiers with excellent performance at affordable prices.

The Winix A230 comes in all black, and the A231 — the device we are reviewing — is white and grey. Besides the color, the Winix A230 and A231 have all the same features and functions. This same device is known as the Winix Zero Compact in Europe.

The Winix A231 is aimed at those with smaller spaces of up to 230 square feet and is a much smaller device than the popular Winix 5500-2.

All Winix devices are sent for independent CADR testing as part of AHAM/ANSI AC-1-2002, to see how well the device can remove dust, smoke and pollen. After years of testing air purifiers, I recommend you always choose a device with an AHAM CADR lab result, as this will help you get an adequately powered air purifier to keep your room clean.

All Winix devices use PlasmaWave, a bi-polar ionization technology that can improve particle removal performance beyond HEPA filtration alone. One big thing I like about Winix is that their Plasmawave technology is optional and easily switched off. I wish more air purifiers with an ionizer would offer this.

As with all the reviews we perform here at HouseFresh, we bought the Winix A230 with our own money and have no relationship with Winix. We aim to share the results of our hands-on testing, including a performance test, sound levels, long-term costs and energy usage.

When writing this review, the Winix A231 was $81.22, and the all-black A230 was $78.99 — this is even cheaper than the popular Levoit Core 300, and the Winix device has a better Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). 

I am excited to see if Winix can offer their usual high cleaning performance in an air purifier that can be found regularly for less than $99.

The lowdown on the Winix A231

Some people just want to know the key findings without reading the entire review, so I distilled the review down to the seven most important things to be aware of with the Winix A230/A231.

A small air purifier that takes little space

The Winix A231 is light, bright and easy to the eye

This small device takes up very little space in the home and could easily be used in smaller rooms like a bedroom or office. It’s a good-looking device with a flared design that makes it stand out from the standard white cylindrical designs of other manufacturers. 

In terms of size and weight, the Winix A231/Zero Compact is similar to the Levoit Core 300 — small and easy to move around. But similar ≠ the same: the A231 comes with a flared design that makes it a little shorter than the Core 300. That being said, both units have a similar floor footprint.

The control panel of this air purifier sits at the top. It is a touchscreen surrounded by the air quality indicator: a circular light that changes color depending on the current air quality (red = poor, amber = fair and blue = good).

In terms of buttons, you will see that there is a filter alert at the top (to let you know when it’s time to change the filter) and then three buttons for enabling auto mode, sleep mode and switching PlasmaWave on and off. There are also two arrows to switch through the three fan speeds available (low, medium and high). Finally, you have a power button at the bottom of the screen.

One minor issue I found with the control panel of the Winix A231 is that the arrow buttons don’t light up, so it can be tricky to see them in the night or when using this unit in darker spaces.

This air purifier comes with an on-board air quality sensor, which powers the AQI light indicators and the possibility of running the unit on automatic. The sensor sits at the back of the device and you should always make sure that it is not blocked by anything.

While this device comes with an auto-mode, it doesn’t come with a smartphone app or smart speaker connectivity. This limits your ability to operate your A231 remotely. Not everyone cares about this but I always like to clarify for those who do.

H13 HEPA, carbon and an integrated pre-filter

The Winix A231 (Zero Compact) offers great CADR for less than $80!

With the recent fiasco of Levoit falsely claiming their filters were HEPA-certified, we are paying close attention to other air purifier brands who might be overselling their features.

It’s reassuring that all Winix devices are third-party tested by Aham Verifide. These tests pit purifiers against the most common air pollutants, and we can see below the impressive results backing up Winix’s performance claims for the A231.  

Winix uses HEPA H13 for their Winix A231/Zero Compact. These filters are considered medical-grade, which means they can remove 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns — the equivalent of ultra-fine pet dander, dust mites and bacteria particles. 

The Winix A231 also uses activated carbon, but it’s the same impregnated fabric we saw we testing the 5300-2 rather than the pelleted carbon we saw in the latest 5500-2. As this is a small air purifier, the amount of carbon will still be tiny, so it’s unlikely to make much of a difference in daily usage against gasses and odors.

Like the Levoit Core 300, you can remove the filter from the bottom of the device by twisting it in the direction of the arrows.

One benefit of the A231/Zero Compact over the Levoit Core 300 is that it’s much harder to remove the base by accident when the device is standing on the floor. This is an issue that my wife uncovered: sometimes, when cleaning the floors, she will pick up the Core 300, and the filter falls out because the base of the device was unlocked. The Core 300’s base can easily unlock when moving the air purifier around the floor. With the Winix A231, the base stays on unless you intentionally twist it with your hands, so it is a much better design.

The Winix A231 cleared our test room in 35 minutes

This small air purifier is nine minutes quicker than the popular Levoit Core 300

For our performance test, we used the Purpleair Indoor Sensor with an additional BM680 gas filter that allows us to continually track the levels of PM1, PM2.5 PM10 and VOCs in our 728 cubic feet room.

First, we performed the test at the highest speed with PlasmaWave enabled.

At top speed and with PlasmaWave enabled, the Winix A231/Zero Compact cleared all traces of pollutants from our home test lab in 35 minutes. 

We know that plenty of our readers don’t want to use any type of ionizer, so we are pleased that Winix keeps this optional. We decided to test how fast this device could clean without the use of the PlasmaWave function:

Without the PlasmaWave, the Winix A231 still managed to clean our test room of PM1 in 38 minutes, showing no significant drop in performance, still completing the test two minutes faster than the Levoit Core 300.

Considering the small size of this air purifier, we were impressed that it was faster at removing PM1 than the much pricier Austin Air HealthMate (37 minutes) and was much quicker than the Okaysou Airmax10L Pro (44 minutes).  

Although the Winix A230/A231 is still only suitable for smaller rooms, I was very impressed by its air cleaning performance, considering its low price.

Noise levels test results

The final test is to see how much sound is generated at each of the three fan speeds.

Air cleaning performance is essential, but if you don’t want to use the device due to the level of sound, then it won’t matter.

We recorded that the Winix A231 produced 57.9 dBA at the highest fan speed, similar to other Winix devices we reviewed. 57.9 dBA is not quiet enough to use during sleep or work, but it wasn’t excessively high compared to other air purifiers we tested.

At the second fan speed, noise levels peaked at 48.3 dBA. And at the lowest speed, sound levels went down to 35.2 dBA. This is very quiet, but we wouldn’t recommend using such a small device at its lowest speed as it just wouldn’t be able to clean enough air, even in a tiny space.

The cost to run a Winix A231/Zero Compact: $119.54 per year

Low energy draw and affordable filters keep annual costs feasible. 

1. Electricity costs = $69.55 per year

It’s advisable to keep your air purifier running constantly to improve the number of air changes in your room. This means you must be aware of the energy costs because they can add up when running inefficient devices. 

Assuming that Winix A231 was on 24/7 every day of the year at its highest speed, it would add $69.55 to your electricity bill. This level of electricity usage aligns with other small air purifiers and is fair, considering how well it can clean the air. 

2. Filter costs = $49.99 per year

Winix states that you should change the filter every 12 months for the A231, but this will depend on how you use it and how bad the air is. Thankfully, it also includes an alert to tell you when to change the filter at the top of the device. 

Genuine filters are $20 cheaper than those from Levoit for similar-sized devices, so these filters are some of the best value on the market. 

If you want to keep costs even lower, you can also go for generic filters that bring the yearly filter costs down to just over $15 if you buy a 2-pack.

Bottom line: Is the Winix A231/A230 (Zero Compact) worth it?

A great performing small air purifier for an equally small price.

I always recommend readers who email me asking for advice to oversize their air purifiers because larger devices can run at lower fan speeds without loss in performance, which means they are quieter but still pack some power for moments when you need it. 

That being said, there are times when you just need a small device or when space is limited, and those big units will be impossible to fit in. The Winix A230/A231 is a great unit for those cases — for example, for a small bedroom or the top of a desk in a small home office.

When it comes to competitor units, I have to compare the A231/Zero Compact to the Levoit Core 300 and the Core 300S. After our testing, it’s clear that the A230 beats both of them:

• The Winix A230 was quicker to clean our test room of PM1 than the $99 Levoit Core 300
• It comes with an onboard air quality sensor and auto-mode, which are features you would get with the Levoit Core 300S after paying $50 extra

I recommend looking at bigger Winix devices like the 5500-2 for serious air cleaning performance, including odors and VOC-busting capabilities. However, if you are short on space or budget, the Winix A230/231 is one of the best small air purifiers I have tested.

SOURCES

We calculated yearly costs associated with running the Winix A230/231 for 24 hours a day, 365 days per year utilizing the latest average energy prices as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of $0.174/kWh as of April 2024.

Last update on 2024-12-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API