Most people who shop for air purifiers need them for one of two reasons: The first is people who are concerned about occasional threats to air quality from pollution or wildfires. The second is people who use air purifiers as a constant preventative health measure against pollen or viruses like COVID. What type of user you are will determine which air purifier you ultimately buy: some air purifiers are better at screening for viruses, and some are easier to store for occasional use. Mila, one of the newer generations of smart air purifiers, tries to spread the bet by having solutions for everyone via a variety of filters, while eschewing the clinical look of most air purifiers in favor of a modern design. There were a lot of things I liked about Mila, including how large an area it covers (as large as 950 square feet, depending on which filter you choose) and the reporting available in the Mila app. Still, it’s expensive compared to air purifiers in its size range (prices start at $399 and go up depending on which filters you choose). While the Mila worked well, and many traditional purifier companies are adding Wi-Fi capabilities to their existing lines of purifiers, I think the Mila is best suited for someone who really values design and is willing to pay a little extra for it.

Most consumer air purifiers are small white towers, and they can be scaled up to cover larger areas. Models from Levoit, Medify, and BlueAir would all fit into any medical office. New players in the consumer air purifier space have tried to move away from that clinical design, and sometimes it doesn’t work well, like with the Dreo model I recently reviewed . But Mila has opted for a modern, squat design that combines wood with the perforated white plastic you’re used to, with some nice curves to make the purifier look more natural in your home. By dropping the “tower,” the Mila has a larger footprint than other air purifiers, measuring 12 inches square and 15 inches tall; it could pass as a footstool. The top of the purifier is where the interface is, and the beauty of the Mila is that you can control it without ever installing the Mila app. It arrived ready to use, just unbox it, plug it in, and turn it on. But it would be a stretch to think that you would pay top dollar for a smart purifier and not use this feature. Fortunately, the Mila app works well. The purifier paired quickly and without any issues and stayed paired the entire time I tested the Mila.

One aspect of the Mila app that I really liked was that it walked you through basic questions about your home and its occupants, and revealed features of the air purifier that you might not have wanted to know about. This is the first way that Mila really allows you to customize your experience, via its “modes.” Essentially, you can manually set a power level for the purification, or you can let the Mila determine the power level needed to achieve a pollution-free room. You may be wondering, as I did, why you would ever choose the former over the latter, and that comes back to the point I was originally making: it depends on what kind of user you are. On some higher settings, the Mila, like all air purifiers, can be noisy. It never reached a level that would interfere with a phone conversation, it was merely background noise. Still, I can imagine people finding it annoying enough that they only use that kind of power level when necessary due to air quality concerns. But if you’re a new parent or someone who uses the air purifier to prevent COVID-19 or allergens, it’s reassuring to know that the mode will always keep the room clean. And that’s unique to the Mila.

While most air purifiers have a filter that you replace every six months, Mila offers seven different types of filters, all based on the type of user you are. A few examples include ones for parents, pet owners, allergy sufferers, or anyone looking for the highest level of air cleaning possible. I opted for the latter, the Overreactor. Each filter has different levels of HEPA or extra filters, but they also affect how big an area the purifier actually covers, and that’s a big variable. The “Mama to Be” filter only covers 540 square feet, versus the “Big Sneeze,” which covers 950. Replacement filters were also on the high side — all the way up to $115 for the Overreactor.