REASONS TO BUY
Great performance
Low lifetime costs
REASONS TO AVOID
No child lock
Coway Airmega 200M Review
A decent option that offers great air cleaning performance, though higher performing options can be purchased for the same price
Credit: Coway
RELATED: Best Air Purifiers of 2024
Our Verdict
The Coway Airmega 200M provides decent air-purifying capabilities. It's quiet and has a friendly user interface. It offers great air cleaning capabilities alongside ease of use and operating costs; it's a quality machine that should meet the needs of most consumers. However, when compared to other models in our fleet, this unit is a little more complicated to assemble; it's also a bit cumbersome to move from place to place, but the built-in handles make it more manageable. While it's a worthy option for your home or office, higher-performing products exist for around the same price point.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Coway Airmega 200M | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  | |  | | |
| Price | $230 List $159.00 at Amazon | $250 List $159.99 at Amazon | $230 List $229.99 at Amazon | $220 List $189.99 at Amazon | $100 List $99.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | Offers great air cleaning performance and ease of use but still comes at a premium price | Superb air cleaning performance and quiet operation make for a great overall experience | High-end performance with an average lifetime cost make this a great choice for any room | This app-compatible model is user-friendly and comes with an assortment of programmable features | An affordable, high performing option that is ideal for smaller spaces |
| Rating Categories | Coway Airmega 200M | Winix 5500-2 | Coway Airmega 1512HH | Levoit Core 400S | Levoit Core 300 |
| Air Cleaning Performance (40%) | |||||
| Noise (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (25%) | |||||
| Operating Cost (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Coway Airmega 200M | Winix 5500-2 | Coway Airmega 1512HH | Levoit Core 400S | Levoit Core 300 |
| Dimensions //L x W x H// | 18.3" x 16.8"x 9.6" | 8.2" × 15" × 23.6" | 16.5 x 9.5 x 18.5 | 10.8" x 10.8" x 20.5" | 8.7" x 8.7" x 14.2" |
| Weight | 12.3 lbs | 15.4 lbs | 12.7 lbs | 10.5 Ibs | 7.5 Ibs |
| CADR | 288 CFM | 246 CFM | 240 CFM | 260 CFM | 135 CFM |
| True HEPA (99.97%) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Estimated Lifetime Cost (5 years) | $357 | $660 | $556 | $735 | $455 |
| Annual Cost | $71 | $132 | $111 | $147 | $91 |
| Airborne Particulate Reduction After 1 Hour (%) | 99.90% | 99.99% | 99.84% | 99.98% | 96.33% |
| App Control | No | No | No | Yes | No |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Coway Airmega 200M is equipped with some premium features, such as an air quality monitoring sensor and indicator. All in all, it does a good job but falls a little short, particularly when it comes to performance and price.
Performance Comparison
The Airmega 200M offers high performance and some premium features at a reasonable cost.
Credit: Laura Casner
Air Cleaning Performance
The first thing we looked at when rating each machine was to check their respective CADR (clean air delivery rate) and if it has been verified by AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers). The Airmega 200M has a CADR of 246 cubic feet per minute for dust, 240 for pollen, and 233 for smoke. While not the highest, it ranks pretty far up the list in terms of CADR number, making this a good choice for medium to large spaces.
To test the real-world performance of each machine, we sealed off our 150 square foot testing room and burned a variety of material to fill the space with smoke and large particulate matter. After the room reached our desired level of particulates in the air, we turned on the Airmega 200M and measured the reduction in particulate matter over the course of an hour. After 30 minutes, only eight percent of the original particulates were left in the air; at 45 minutes, only .93% remained. Unfortunately, after the full hour, that final number was only reduced to .10%. While .10% isn't terrible, the top-scoring models removed all measurable particulates from our testing room.
The Airmega 200M was able to remove all but .1% of measurable particulates from our testing room.
Credit: Laura Casner
Noise
To take the bias out of what we thought was a noisy machine, we measured the actual sound output of each model with a decibel reader. The Airmega 200M is one of the loudest of any of the other machines we tested. When set to high, it emits a noise that measures 62 decibels. When set to medium, the noise is reduced significantly, only producing 47 decibels, which was in line with most other models. When set to low, it produced 10 decibels, which is virtually silent.
When set to high, the Airmega is quite loud.
Credit: Laura Casner
Ease of Use
The Airmega 200M lost some points regarding the ease of setup. It took our testers about eight minutes to get the machine unboxed and functional. It took a little bit of strength to remove the front cover, which made our testers a little worried about breaking it.
The built-in handles make the Airmega easier to move around.
Credit: Laura Casner
The user interface is straightforward to use. This unit is equipped with an air quality monitor and a large range of settings, which includes an automatic mode based on the room's air quality. It weighs in at just over 12 pounds; it's a little heavy, but its built-in handles make it easy to move it around should you need to.
Removing the front panel on the Coway Airmega 200M can be a bit of a struggle.
Credit: Laura Casner
Operating Cost
To estimate the annual operating costs of each model, we hooked them up to a watt meter and determined how many kilowatts per hour they utilized. The Airmega 200M is pretty energy efficient, only using .01 kilowatts per two hours of use. Assuming 12 hours of daily use, that's 21.9 kilowatts per year. Multiplied by the national average cost of electricity, your yearly electric bill to run this model is around $3.01.
The Airmega 200M filter should last you about a year and it costs about $36 to replace. When you factor in the original purchase price, energy consumption, and the cost of replacing filters over five years, this air purifier has one of the best lifetime costs.
Replacement filters for the Airmega are affordable.
Credit: Laura Casner
Value
While there are cheaper versions and more premium options, the Airmega 200M is a high performer. However, there are higher performing options — like the award winning Coway — in our fleet that will cost about the same price.
Conclusion
The Coway Airmega 200M is a high to mid-level performer that performs well in medium to large spaces. It's generally easy to use and is incredibly energy efficient.
—
Buck Yedor
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