Airthings Wave Plus vs Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor

The Airthings Wave Plus is the better overall monitor. It wins on the number of sensors, owner rating, its 5-year warranty, battery life and connectivity, covering six measurements including radon and CO2. The Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor is cheaper and adds an e-ink display and Apple HomeKit, but it only senses VOCs, temperature and humidity.

How much they measure. The Airthings Wave Plus reads radon, CO2, VOCs, temperature, humidity and pressure in one device, while the Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor senses only TVOCs, temperature and humidity, with no radon or CO2. The Wave Plus is a full air-quality monitor; the Aqara focuses on VOCs.

The Airthings Wave Plus syncs over Bluetooth on its own and can join an Airthings hub over SmartLink for continuous, remote data. The Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor is a Zigbee device that requires an Aqara hub to work and to reach Google Home, Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Home Assistant or IFTTT.

The Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor has an on-device e-ink screen, while the Airthings Wave Plus has no screen and shows a wave-to-check Good, Fair or Poor light instead. On battery life the Wave Plus runs about 1.5 years on AA cells, versus roughly 1 year for the Aqara's CR2450 cells.

Anyone wanting one device for radon plus broader air quality. The Airthings Wave Plus suits long-term trend monitoring, tracking a mitigation system, and Home Assistant users, covering radon, CO2, VOCs and the basics with a 5-year warranty and Google Home, Alexa, Home Assistant and IFTTT support.

Aqara or Apple HomeKit owners who only need a compact VOC, temperature and humidity sensor with an e-ink display. The Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor adds Apple HomeKit and a screen, but requires an Aqara Zigbee hub and cannot measure radon or CO2.