Check live air quality first
Before buying filtration or masks, check whether outdoor AQI is actually elevated in your area. Open the live dashboard or browse city pages.
Buying guide
Best AQI Monitors & Air Quality Sensors
A desk monitor can complement — not replace — outdoor AQI from monitoring networks. Aether gives free live outdoor AQI; a home sensor tells you if indoor air is
A desk monitor can complement — not replace — outdoor AQI from monitoring networks. Aether gives free live outdoor AQI; a home sensor tells you if indoor air is worse than outside.
Outdoor vs indoor monitoring
Outdoor AQI apps use government stations and models near you. Indoor monitors measure your room — useful when cooking, using fireplaces, or sealing up during smoke.
- Laser-scattering PM2.5 sensors for home use
- Calibration drift — compare occasionally to official data
- Smart-home integration if you automate purifiers
What accuracy to expect
Consumer laser-scattering sensors are generally good at tracking relative changes (rising vs falling PM2.5) but can drift from reference-grade instruments over time, especially in high humidity, which scatters light similarly to fine particles and can inflate readings.
A practical way to sanity-check a new sensor is to compare its baseline reading on a calm, clear day against the nearest outdoor AQI reading for your area on Aether — a large, consistent gap on clean days suggests calibration drift rather than a real indoor pollution source.
Buying guides are for informational purposes. Aether may display ads on this page. Always verify product specs and local availability before purchasing.