Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max vs Winix 5520

Winix 5520 is the better everyday buy: True HEPA with a washable pre-filter, an AHAM Verifide 253 CFM smoke CADR, a 2 year warranty and a much lower price. Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max is the stronger large-room option at 435 CFM for 674 sq ft, and the only one reporting PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 separately.

PlasmaWave is the ionization stage in Winix 5520, which can be switched off from the control panel; testing bodies generally recommend leaving ionizers off, and the mechanical filtration works fully without it. Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max has no ionizer stage at all, relying on its HEPASilent electrostatic and mechanical filtration.

Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max, rated at 435 CFM smoke CADR for 674 sq ft against 253 CFM for 392 sq ft. Both figures are AHAM Verifide, so they can be compared directly, which is not true of every purifier in this category.

Winix 5520 has the lower quoted floor at 27 dB and adds a light sensor that switches it to sleep mode when the lights go out. Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max peaks at 53 dB across four speeds and has a Night mode with lights that can be dimmed or turned off, and owners describe its low speeds as very quiet.

Both have washable pre-filters, which is unusual. Winix 5520 uses a washable fine mesh screen in front of its carbon and True HEPA filters, and Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max wraps a washable fabric pre-filter around a combined particle and carbon filter rated at 9 months. Winix does not publish a filter replacement interval.

Anyone clearing a large or open-plan space who wants certified airflow and detailed particle data, including PM1 for the finest fraction. It is Energy Star certified at 46 W and works with both Alexa and Google Home, though its warranty is 1 year against the 2 years on Winix 5520.