Alen BreatheSmart 75i vs Coway Airmega 400
Bottom line
In our scoring the Alen BreatheSmart 75i wins, 6.3 to 4.0, a 2.3-point gap, and both still land in our Limited band. The Coway's hard-fail, for a 1,560 sq ft rating against about 620 sq ft at our 4.8 air changes per hour standard, is what drags it down in our view, even though it is the cheaper unit up front at $388.99 versus $799 and uses pure mechanical filtration with no ionizer or ozone. The Alen's defeatable ionizer is a real mark against it in our rubric, but its rated room of 448 sq ft sits within what its AHAM CADR covers at our standard, and its filters run about $99 a year versus the Coway's $129, which we view as the better fit-and-cost package.
The biggest split here is how each room rating compares with its CADR. The Coway Airmega 400 is rated for 1,560 sq ft by the maker (Coway lists that at 2 air changes per hour); at our 4.8 air changes per hour standard its top AHAM-verified CADR of 400 cfm covers about 620 sq ft, so we apply a room-size hard-fail. The Alen BreatheSmart 75i is rated for 448 sq ft, which sits inside the 544 sq ft its top CADR of 351 cfm covers at the same standard, though it ships with a defeatable ionizer. Five-year costs are close, roughly $1,294 for the Alen against $1,034 for the Coway, and both have AHAM-verified CADR.
| 351 cfm (AHAM-verified) | CADR (independently verified?) | 400 cfm (AHAM-verified) |
| 7.0 | Verified Performance30% | 3.0 |
| 6.0 | Total Cost of Ownership25% | 1.0 |
| 5.0 | Certification15% | 3.0 |
| 5.0 | Safety15% | 8.0 |
| 8.0 | Practical Fit15% | 8.0 |
FAQ
- Is the Alen BreatheSmart 75i better than the Coway Airmega 400?
- In our scoring the Alen BreatheSmart 75i rates 6.3/10 and the Coway Airmega 400 4.0/10. In our scoring the Alen BreatheSmart 75i wins, 6.3 to 4.0, a 2.3-point gap, and both still land in our Limited band. The Coway's hard-fail, for a 1,560 sq ft rating against about 620 sq ft at our 4.8 air changes per hour standard, is what drags it down in our view, even though it is the cheaper unit up front at $388.99 versus $799 and uses pure mechanical filtration with no ionizer or ozone. The Alen's defeatable ionizer is a real mark against it in our rubric, but its rated room of 448 sq ft sits within what its AHAM CADR covers at our standard, and its filters run about $99 a year versus the Coway's $129, which we view as the better fit-and-cost package.
- Does the Coway Airmega 400 really cover 1,560 sq ft?
- Not at our standard. Coway rates it for 1,560 sq ft (at 2 air changes per hour); at our 4.8 air changes per hour standard its top AHAM-verified CADR of 400 cfm covers about 620 sq ft, and that gap is why we apply a room-size hard-fail. In our view, treat it as a unit for a room around 600 sq ft if you want about 4.8 air changes per hour.
- Is the Alen BreatheSmart 75i worth the extra money over the Coway?
- In our scoring, yes. The Alen costs more up front ($799 vs $388.99) but scores 6.3 to the Coway's 4.0 and runs cheaper on filters ($99 vs $129 a year); over five years it runs about $1,294 against the Coway's $1,034. Its rated 448 sq ft sits within what its CADR covers at our standard.
- Which one avoids ozone and ionizers?
- The Coway Airmega 400 does. The facts list its ozone technology as none, so it is pure mechanical filtration. The Alen BreatheSmart 75i carries an ionizer, though it is defeatable, meaning you can switch it off.