Xiaomi - Mi Air Purifier Pro

Xiaomi is very silent and reliable. Additionally they come with PM2.5 Sensors plus Wifi Connection

The smaller one: Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite, the bigger one: Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier Pro - works even to remove formaldehyde.

I agree with 3 months, atleast for my Xiaomi. In fact I do 2 months in Oct-mid to Dec-mid for Diwali + stubble burning and 2 months again for winter smog from Dec-mid to Feb-end. Then I go easy with 2 filters for the next 8 months, which I also justify by not running the filters all the time esp during monsoon. I don't like the idea of running the same filter for too long even if it is advertised. The efficiency rapidly decreases based on my testing and I don't want to take the chance of mold/bacteria developing in the trapped dirt, esp in humid (smog) conditions in winter. It's one reason I don't go with models with overly expensive filters advertised for > 6 months. I also agree that cleaning is not that useful. About the AQI spikes due to cooking. we don't fry much, so most of the time, the spike is due to pressure cooker whistle which I don't worry about too much as it is mostly steam and food particles. I haven't looked into longevity of the filter due to this but the high AQI last only a few mins so I've ignored it mostly. I too run 3 air purifiers: 2 in 2 bedrooms and 1 in the living room. I don't keep the bedroom doors to living room closed. I leave one living room window open all the time. The bedroom ones run on medium due to draft issues that you mentioned. I used to stress a lot about keeping AQI perfectly by closing windows and running all purifiers on high but I don't anymore. I can mostly tell now if something it's not working so I just go by feel. I'm also ok with shorter filter life due to window open. Traded for mental peace vs perfection over time. I started with Smart Air in 2014-ish then switched to Xiaomi's around 2018-19. They used to have filters for 1499 so it used to be 18k/year but now it's 2499 (they stopped providing the non-carbon, only HEPA filters). So it's gotten more expensive. Which model do you use. since you say your filter is 1500, I wanna know.

Depends. Earlier/cheaper models do give a lower AQI. Higher end models with laser sensors don't. My Xiaomi Pro purifier is much more accurate than my 3H was.

Yes, go grab a mi one, they're under $100 and worth every penny.

Mi (xiaomi) Purifier works great 

Check for the availability of filters, not easily available. Hence went ahead with MI, going good for last 2 years

Check during sale period, i got it around 12-13k. Also right now is the peak period when people really buy. I got mine during rains just before winters

Yes no brainer. We got 3 mi ones at home

I got my new Xiaomi home to my condo and it’s reading under 5. Not really worth the money. So far.