The best ionisers, compared.
Top pick: PTYcrazy XY-03 plug-in ioniser, 2 pack Best value: MELEDEN GL2103 desktop HEPA ioniser – HEPA claim for about 10 m² at about £19.99, with 4.0 from 2,203 reviews. The wall charger is not included, and filters are the running complaint. Updated 20 October 2026.
On amazon.co.uk the word ioniser covers three different machines. A filter-free plug sheds negative ions so dust settles on surfaces. A small fan adds a claim and an ion stage. A room unit charges particles inside the machine, as does, or beside a and carbon filter, as does. If you are shopping in this cooling hub, you are usually trying to cut dust, pollen, pet smell or smoke in a flat. Clinical guidance does not treat ionisers as asthma care. This page lines up seven listings that name an ion, plasma or electrostatic stage. The [ioniser buying guide](/hub/cooling/ionizer/sub/ionizer-buying-guide) asks which mechanism fits the room. An ioniser on amazon.co.uk is not one product.
On amazon.co.uk the word ioniser covers three different machines. A filter-free plug sheds negative ions so dust settles on surfaces. A small fan adds a claim and an ion stage.
24 products checked · 62 hrs invested · +18,600 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What do you need the machine to do?
The PTYcrazy XY-03 two-pack, listed at £10.99, plugs into a socket and the listing says it releases negative ions with no fan and no filter. Across all 8 amazon.co.uk reviews, buyers call the 110 g units quiet, put one in a bedroom and one elsewhere, and say a hallway smells less when they come in. There is no CADR, no room-size figure, and no wattage, so the listing does not show how much air it moves. A reviewer with COPD said charging particles so they fall is dangerous for that condition and tried to cancel. The plug form is not stated, and a line about taking a unit from room to car does not include a 12 V lead. Ozone-free is a seller sentence, not a measurement in the file.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap, quiet plug for a hallway smell and you will still open a window and dust.
Less suitable: You need pollen trapped in a filter, or you were warned off particle-charging devices because of COPD.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this plug-in have a filter to change?
The listing says it is filter-free and fan-free. There is no replacement filter in the spec table.
Is ozone-free a measured result?
The listing says ozone-free. No ozone test figure is in the saved listing.
Can it run in a car?
A bullet says you can take it from room to car. No 12 V lead is listed, and the plug type is not stated.
The Winix 5300-2, listed at £149.99, states a CADR of 390 m³/h, a HEPA stage, four carbon filters in the bullet, and PlasmaWave that a UK review says you can switch off. It has 4.7 from 114 amazon.co.uk reviews. One reviewer reported smoke cleared in under 30 minutes, and another mentioned help with cat allergies in that home. The title and table say 99 m², while a bullet says 20 m² in under 5 minutes, so the coverage lines are not one room. Table power is 50 W, and the bullet says 3 W in sleep and 23 W on high. A light sensor that one owner could not disable turns auto and PlasmaWave off when the room is dark. Sleep mode grew noisy from vibration after about a year in one report, and one box arrived with the filters assembled incorrectly.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a stated CADR and a plasma switch, and you can live with 114 reviews rather than tens of thousands.
Less suitable: You need the ion stage to stay on in a dark bedroom, or you want the deeper 5500-2 review set.
Specifications
Common questions
Can PlasmaWave be turned off?
A UK review says you can switch plasma mode off.
Which power figure is on the listing?
The bullet says 3 W in sleep and 23 W on high. The specification table says 50 W.
What happens in a dark room?
One review says the light sensor cannot be turned off, and that auto mode and PlasmaWave switch off when the room gets dark.
The Winix 5500-2, listed at £159, is the top pick in this set on stated equipment plus review depth: CADR 390 m³/h, a washable pre-filter, carbon, HEPA, and PlasmaWave, with 4.5 from 27,540 amazon.co.uk reviews. Reviewers see pet hair and dust on the pre-filter, and some of them call sleep mode inaudible. Turbo is described as very loud, and the timer does not give every buyer an all-night gentle run. One review reported an unusual odour with PlasmaWave on, and that reviewer’s own reading mentioned small ozone emissions, which is not a lab result in the file. The title says 99 m², the table says 360 square feet, and a bullet says 20 m² in under 5 minutes. Bullet watts are 3 W in sleep and 23 W on high, while the table says 70 W. One user put unbranded filters at about £20 and changed them every two months.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the room unit with a stated CADR and the largest UK review count in this set, and you can turn PlasmaWave off.
Less suitable: You need a quiet turbo, a 2 kg desk unit, or a single room figure you can trust.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the listing include a washable filter?
Yes. Special features include a washable filter, and reviews describe vacuuming the pre-filter.
How loud is turbo?
Reviews call the top speed very loud. The sleep figure on the bullet is 27.4 dB.
What did reviewers say about PlasmaWave smell?
One review reported an unusual odour with PlasmaWave on, and that reviewer’s own reading mentioned small ozone emissions. That is not a lab result in the file.
The JINPUS GL2103, listed at £25.99, uses the same model string as the MELEDEN and ships with a 5 V, 1.5 m USB lead and an integrated ioniser. The Amazon line is 4.5 from 1,459 reviews, but the saved listing notes that the raw text mixes this machine with older filter purchases from 2019 to 2021. The specification table says 2.5 micrometres while a bullet says 99.97% of PM2.5, so the particle claim is not one number. A review describes twisting the filter out from underneath and running the unit from a phone-charger battery. Buyers who expected a mains plug in the box were surprised. No square-metre room figure is stated, and ozone-free is a claim rather than a test result in the file.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already compared it with the MELEDEN and you want this listing’s USB lead and twist-out filter.
Less suitable: You want a review count that clearly belongs to this ASIN, or a single particle-size figure.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the particle size 0.3 or 2.5 micrometres?
The specification table says 2.5 micrometres. A bullet says 99.97% of PM2.5. Both lines are on the listing.
Does the box include a wall plug?
The listing names a 5 V, 1.5 m USB cable. A mains adaptor is not listed.
How is the filter changed?
A review says the filter twists out from underneath. The listing says replace it every 6 months and do not wash it.
The Blueair Blue Max 3250i, listed at £125, is the app-controlled HEPASilent unit the listing rates for up to 48 m², with activated carbon aimed at odours. It has 4.4 from 377 amazon.co.uk reviews. Reviewers watch PM2.5 move in the app after deodorant or frying, and they use night mode with the lights dimmed. Auto mode is less sensitive to milder tobacco smoke for at least one buyer, so a cigarette smell is not the same test as a kitchen spray. The bullet says 18 dB on low and names Quiet Mark, while the table says 46 dB. Wattage is not stated. One review says it does not produce ozone, and there is no ozone figure in the table. It is larger and dearer than a desk cube, which is the right complaint if you only needed a bedside unit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want carbon and an app for a room the listing calls 48 m², and you will check filter life on the phone.
Less suitable: You want a simple dial, a stated CADR, or a unit that stays on a desk.
Specifications
Common questions
Does it connect to a phone?
Yes. The controller type is a mobile app, and reviews mention PM2.5 graphs and filter life in the Blueair app.
Why are there two noise figures?
The bullet says 18 dB on low and names Quiet Mark. The specification table says 46 dB.
Does the listing include carbon?
Yes. The title says activated carbon reduces VOCs and odours.
The MELEDEN GL2103, listed at £19.99, is a 550 g desktop unit the listing rates for about 10 m², with a HEPA claim at 0.3 micron and a built-in negative-ion generator. It has 4.0 from 2,203 amazon.co.uk reviews, the widest review base among the units under £30. Some buyers leave it overnight on the 8-hour shut-off and like the blue night light, while others hear more than the 32 dB table figure. The box is one filter and a micro-USB lead, not a wall charger. Replacement filters are the complaint that comes up again, and one unit stopped after about six months. Zero ozone is claimed on the listing, not measured in the file.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a filtered desk unit for about 10 m² and you already own a USB charger.
Less suitable: You need a BS 1363 plug in the box, carbon for cooking smells, or a stated CADR.
Specifications
Common questions
Does it come with a UK plug?
The listing includes a micro-USB cable and says the wall charger is not included.
How often is the filter replaced?
The listing says every 6 months and that the filter cannot be washed.
What room size does the listing state?
About 10 square metres.
The Blueair Blue Pure Mini Max, listed at £59, draws 10 W and uses HEPASilent, Blueair’s name for a filter plus an electrostatic stage, rather than a filter-free plug. It has 3.9 from 533 amazon.co.uk reviews, the lowest star line in this set. The title says up to 47.4 m², the table says 20 m², and a bullet says up to 8.6 m² in 30 minutes. Some buyers notice a change in about half an hour in a small room, and some use it in a dorm or a child’s room. Others say the lowest of the three speeds still keeps them awake, and one unit arrived without a plug. Touch controls need a light tap. Carbon and CADR are not stated. AHAM is named on the listing.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a small mains unit for a desk or a child’s room and you trust the 8.6 m² in 30 minutes bullet.
Less suitable: You bought it for the 47.4 m² title, or you need carbon for smoke smell.
Specifications
Common questions
Which room size should you trust?
The title says up to 47.4 m², the table says 20 m², and a bullet says up to 8.6 m² in 30 minutes.
Does it have a child lock?
Yes. The bullet lists a child lock and a two-button interface.
How loud is the table figure?
The specification table says 44 dB. Reviews disagree about whether the low speed is quiet enough for sleep.
For this comparison we read seven ioniser listings on amazon.co.uk and scored them as editorial totals out of 100. The parts are star quality, review volume, stated equipment and price against that equipment. They are not a lab test, and they are not Amazon stars times 20. A review line that mixes older products is treated as a weaker count.
Star quality
35%Amazon stars on that listing, scaled from the five-star line. The star line stays separate from the editorial score.
Review volume
15%A larger amazon.co.uk review count counts for more. A count whose text mixes older products is marked down.
Stated equipment
30%A filter, a room figure, carbon, a published CADR and an ion stage you can switch off score higher than a filter-free plug with no CADR.
Price against that equipment
20%Shelf price on amazon.co.uk set against the equipment the listing actually states. The highest score on this part is the best value.
Choose the mechanism before the price. A filter-free plug, a USB cube with a HEPA claim and a room unit with a stated CADR do different jobs. The shelf price does not include replacement filters. A room title is not a CADR. Ozone-free on a cheaper listing is a sentence, not a measurement in the file. None of these machines cools the room, and none is an asthma treatment.
An ioniser on amazon.co.uk is not one product. In this set the word covers a filter-free plug, a small USB fan with a HEPA-style claim plus an ion stage, and a room purifier that charges particles inside the machine or beside a HEPA and carbon filter. The plug, the PTYcrazy XY-03 two-pack at about £10.99, is listed as filter-free and fan-free, at 110 g, with 4.8 from 8 reviews and no CADR.
A filter-free ioniser moves particles onto surfaces. It does not trap them. Which? describes that settling and normally recommends HEPA. The PTYcrazy has no filter and no CADR.
The Blueair Mini Max prints 47.4 m², 20 m² and 8.6 m² in 30 minutes. Winix titles say 99 m², a bullet says 20 m² in under 5 minutes, and the 5500-2 table also says 360 square feet. Those lines are not one room.
GL2103-class listings say replace the filter every six months, and it is not washable. One Winix 5500-2 user put unbranded filters at about £20 and changed them every two months. Eight reviews on the plug-in are not a durability record.
Start with a filter if you need pollen out of the air. A filter-free ioniser charges particles so they fall onto surfaces. Which? describes ionisation that way and normally recommends HEPA. The PTYcrazy XY-03 is the filter-free plug in this set: two units, about £10.99, no CADR and no room figure. The MELEDEN and JINPUS add a HEPA claim to an ion stage, but they do not state a CADR, and the JINPUS particle-size lines disagree.
Trust a room figure only when the listing does not contradict itself. The MELEDEN states about 10 m². The JINPUS does not state square metres. The Blueair Mini Max prints 47.4 m² in the title, 20 m² in the table and 8.6 m² in 30 minutes in a bullet. The 3250i states 48 m² once. Both Winix models state a CADR of 390 m³/h, the only CADR in this set, but the title says 99 m², a bullet says 20 m² in under 5 minutes, and the 5500-2 table also says 360 square feet. Those three lines are not one room.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a cheap, quiet plug and you will still open a window and dust. The PTYcrazy XY-03 two-pack is about £10.99, with no filter and no CADR. It is not a pollen trap, and it is not for someone warned off particle-charging devices because of COPD.
You need a filter and carbon, and this must not be sold as an asthma treatment. The Winix 5500-2 states a CADR of 390 m³/h, with HEPA, carbon and a washable pre-filter, and it has the largest UK review count in this set.
A £10.99 plug and a £159 Winix are different tools. If you want a filtered desk unit for about 10 m² and you already own a USB charger, the MELEDEN GL2103 is the best value in this set.
The Winix 5500-2 is the top pick: a stated CADR of 390 m³/h, carbon, a washable pre-filter and 4.5 from 27,540 amazon.co.uk reviews, at about £159. The MELEDEN GL2103 is the best value at about £19.99, with a HEPA claim for about 10 m² and 4.0 from 2,203 reviews, if you already have a USB charger. A filter-free plug does not trap pollen. None of these listings is an asthma treatment, and we did not run a lab test.
MELEDEN GL2103 desktop HEPA ioniser
HEPA claim for about 10 m² at about £19.99, with 4.0 from 2,203 reviews. The wall charger is not included, and filters are the running complaint.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page on 20 October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in this comparison. Listing CADR, room and decibel figures were not treated as a lab test.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Charlie White (Charlie DIYte) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk with the tag pcuk26-21. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the UK listing lines in this comparison. We did not run a lab test.
