Which Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifier to Buy
Buy the AeraMax 290, in a Staples store, where it runs $140 to $150. Its manual rates it for rooms up to 290 square feet, and it costs about what the much smaller AeraMax 90 costs in the same store. If you own a 90 or a 190, the filter table below lists the two filters your machine takes, and Fellowes sells both on its own site.
Room size, in square feet
- Rated room in the AeraMax 90 manual: 90 sq ft
- Rated room in the AeraMax 190 manual: 190 sq ft
- Rated room in the AeraMax 290 manual: 290 sq ft
The model number is the room rating
The AeraMax 90, 190 and 290 manuals each print a Room Area Served line that matches the model number.
AHAM certifies air purifiers’ clean-air figures and lists them in a directory. It sizes a room from a machine’s smoke CADR (clean air delivery rate), the filtered air the machine puts out, in cubic feet per minute. The size it gives is the room where the machine cleans the air 4.8 times an hour.
Every one of the three manual ratings is smaller than the room AHAM’s directory gives the same machine. Size off the model number and you get the smaller room.
The CDC recommends at least 5 air changes an hour (the number of times an hour the room’s air gets cleaned). All three reach it at the room size in their manuals. Every air-change figure here assumes an 8-foot ceiling.
| Model | Room in the manual | Smoke CADR, AHAM October 2023 | Air changes an hour at the manual’s room size |
|---|---|---|---|
| AeraMax 90 | 90 sq ft | 71 | 5.9 |
| AeraMax 190 | 190 sq ft | 127 | 5.0 |
| AeraMax 290 | 290 sq ft | 199 | 5.1 |
How to pick one, and where each is sold
- Multiply the room’s length by its width to get square feet.
- If the answer is 290 or less, buy the AeraMax 290. Its manual rates it for 290 sq ft, and in a Staples store it costs about what the 90 does.
- Read the 290 review before you buy. If you already own a 90 or a 190, go to the filter table instead.
The 290’s manual rates the largest room of the three, 290 sq ft. A room bigger than that needs a different machine.
Fellowes’ own air purifier catalog lists only its AeraMax Pro machines, so look for the 90, 190 and 290 at other stores.
AeraMax 290: rooms up to 290 sq ft
Buy the 290 in a Staples store, where it sells for $140 to $150. That is under half its Amazon price. Staples lists it as model 9790201 and does not sell it for delivery.
For delivery, Amazon has it at $350 to $375, sold by a third-party seller, Value Point Supply, and fulfilled by Amazon. It carries 4.5 stars over 2,534 ratings there.
More in the AeraMax 290 review.
AeraMax 190: rooms up to 190 sq ft
Buy the 290 for a room up to 190 sq ft. Its 290 sq ft rating covers the room, and it costs about half as much. Staples sells the 290 in stores for $140 to $150, and the one 190 found for sale, at Clary Business Machines, is $290 to $295.
Fellowes, Amazon, Home Depot, Staples and Walmart show no AeraMax 190 unit for sale. On Amazon, clicking the 190 in the comparison chart on the 290’s page takes you to the 290.
The 190’s filters cost less, $50 to $55 a year at the lowest prices found against $65 to $70 for the 290’s, but the machine itself costs about twice as much.
If you already own a 190, its two filters are in the filter table. More in the AeraMax 190 review.
AeraMax 90: rooms up to 90 sq ft, and its two filters
The 90’s manual rates it for a room of 90 sq ft, where it cleans the air 5.9 times an hour. Staples sells it in stores as model 9790101.
Buy the 290 instead. It runs $140 to $150 in a Staples store, the 90 costs about the same there, and the 290’s manual rates it for 290 sq ft against the 90’s 90.
A 90 takes the 9287001 True HEPA filter and the 9324001 carbon four-pack. Fellowes sells both on its own site, Staples and Walmart sell both, and Amazon has the carbon four-pack at the lowest price found for that part. Home Depot’s listings for the two show a Notify Me button rather than Add to Cart.
The filter table gives what a year of both filters costs. More in the AeraMax 90 review.
What goes wrong: buying for the room on the listing
Size from the model number, not from the listing. The AeraMax 290’s listings at Amazon and Staples run up to 600 sq ft, and its manual rates it for 290.
On all three, the top of the listed range is about double the room size in the manual.
| Model | Room range on the listing | Room size, AHAM October 2023 | Air changes an hour at the top of the range |
|---|---|---|---|
| AeraMax 90 | 100 to 200 sq ft at Staples | 100 sq ft | 2.7 |
| AeraMax 190 | 200 to 400 sq ft in Amazon’s comparison table, for the 190 and 200 | 200 sq ft | 2.4 |
| AeraMax 290 | 300 to 600 sq ft at Amazon and Staples | 300 sq ft | 2.5 |
AHAM sizes a room for 4.8 air changes an hour. The Amazon listing sizes its ranges for 3 to 5. A range built on fewer air changes an hour claims a bigger room for the same machine.
None of the three reaches the CDC’s 5 at the top of its listed range.
Buy the 290 for a 250 sq ft bedroom
A 250 sq ft bedroom needs the AeraMax 290. Amazon’s comparison table puts 250 inside the 190’s range of 200 to 400 sq ft, but the 190’s manual stops at 190.
In that room the 290 gives 6.0 air changes an hour, above the CDC’s 5. The 190 gives 3.8 and the 90 gives 2.1.
The cheaper way to buy the 290 is in a Staples store.
AeraMax filters: which two your machine takes, and what they cost
An AeraMax 90, 190 or 290 takes one True HEPA filter and one four-pack of carbon filters a year. Fellowes sells all six parts on its own site, and five of the six sell for less at another store.
Change the True HEPA filter about every 12 months and the carbon filter about every 3 months, so one four-pack lasts a year. Change either one sooner if its indicator on the machine has turned red.
| If your machine says | True HEPA, yearly | Carbon 4-pack, yearly | A year of filters at Fellowes | A year at the lowest price found |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AeraMax 90, 100 or DX5 | 9287001 | 9324001 | $80 to $85 | $60 to $65 |
| AeraMax 190, 200 or DX55 | 9287101 | 9324101 | $100 to $105 | $50 to $55 |
| AeraMax 290, 300 or DX95 | 9287201 | 9324201 | $125 to $130 | $65 to $70 |
Fellowes is the cheapest seller found for one 9287001, the 90’s True HEPA filter. Staples and Walmart sell it for less per filter, but only in boxes of four.
Check a second seller before you reorder. The same 9287201 filter costs 2.6 times as much at Staples as at Home Depot or Amazon.
Lowest price found for each part: 9287001 is $45.99 at Fellowes. 9324001 is $16.63 at Amazon. 9287101 is $27.00 at Amazon. 9324101 is $27.48 at Home Depot. 9287201 is $35.82 at Home Depot and at Amazon. 9324201 is $30.13 at Home Depot.
AeraMax 90 filters
HEPA 9287001 at Fellowes $45.99 Carbon 9324001 four-pack at Fellowes $34.99
AeraMax 190 filters
HEPA 9287101 at Fellowes $57.99 Carbon 9324101 four-pack at Fellowes $45.99
AeraMax 290 filters
HEPA 9287201 at Fellowes $68.99 Carbon 9324201 four-pack at Fellowes $57.99
The full cross-reference is in AeraMax and Boneco replacement filters.
Humidifiers not in AHAM’s directory: the Boneco W200 and H680
Boneco rates the W200 at up to 350 g of water an hour for rooms up to 538 sq ft, and up to 28 hours per fill. The H680 manual gives 1,000 g an hour.
The W200 is sold out at Boneco’s own store and out of stock at eVacuumStore, and the H680 is out of stock at eVacuumStore.
AHAM has certified no clean-air figure for either Boneco machine. The name does not appear in either edition of the directory, October 2023 or April 2020.
The Boneco name is also not on CARB’s list (California’s list of certified air cleaning devices). That list is a long one, so an entry could have been missed.
The H680 manual prints its own CADR of 112 cubic feet per minute, which neither AHAM edition lists.
The W200 is an air washer, like the two Venta Airwasher models Consumer Reports tested in February 2008. Consumer Reports found those two “no better at removing dust and smoke than no air purifier at all,” though “efficient at adding moisture to the room.” It did not test the W200.
The longer comparison is in air washer versus humidifier.
Questions
Should I buy the AeraMax 90 for a small room?
Buy the 290. In a Staples store it runs $140 to $150, the 90 costs about the same there, and the 290’s manual rates it for 290 sq ft against the 90’s 90. If you own a 90 already, its two filters are 9287001 and 9324001.
Can you still buy an AeraMax 190?
Yes, Clary Business Machines sells one at $290 to $295. The AeraMax 290 costs about half that in a Staples store and covers any room a 190 would. Fellowes’ own site sells only the 190’s filters.
Which AeraMax should I buy for a 300 square foot room?
The 290, the largest of the three. Its manual rates it for 290 sq ft, and in a 300 sq ft room it gives 4.98 air changes an hour, just under the CDC’s 5.
Is the AeraMax 200 the same as the 190?
Yes, in the air they clean and the filters they take. AHAM’s October 2023 directory gives the 190, 200 and DX55 the same smoke CADR, 127, and the same room size, 200 sq ft. All three take the same two filters, 9287101 and 9324101.
Does Fellowes still sell AeraMax filters?
Yes, all six, on its own site. Its air purifier catalog now lists only AeraMax Pro machines, but the filters for the 90, 190 and 290 are still there.
Sources
- AHAM certified air cleaner directory, October 2023, the source for the certified smoke CADR of 71, 127 and 199, the room sizes of 100, 200 and 300 sq ft, the 1.55 times smoke CADR formula, the 4.8 air changes an hour behind the seal, the identical figures for the 190, 200 and DX55, and the absence of any Boneco entry
- AHAM certified air cleaner directory, April 2020, read for the same Boneco absence and the identical figures for the 190, 200 and DX55
- AHAM white paper on air cleaners and equivalent air changes per hour, January 2026, the source for the room-size equation, the CDC recommendation of at least 5 air changes an hour, and CADR in cubic feet per minute
- Air changes an hour are calculated as smoke CADR times 60, divided by floor area times ceiling height, using the October 2023 CADR figures
- EPA, Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home, the second source for CADR in cubic feet per minute
- CARB certified air cleaning device list, read for the Boneco name
- Fellowes operator manuals for the AeraMax 90, AeraMax 190, AeraMax 290 and AeraMax 200, the source for the room areas, the filter replacement intervals, and the 200’s filter part numbers
- Fellowes air quality management catalog and searches of fellowes.com for the AeraMax 90, 190 and 290, the source for the machines not being sold on Fellowes’ own site
- Fellowes filter pages for 9287001, 9324001, 9287101, 9324101, 9287201 and 9324201, the source for the Fellowes prices and the model groups each filter fits
- Staples listings for the AeraMax 90 and the AeraMax 290, the source for the in-store prices and the listed room ranges
- Amazon listing for the AeraMax 290, the source for its price, seller, rating, room range, the family comparison table giving the 190 and 200 range, and the 190 tile that opens the 290 listing
- Clary Business Machines listing for the AeraMax 190, the source for its price
- Searches of Fellowes, Amazon, Home Depot, Staples and Walmart for an AeraMax 190 unit
- Filter listings and searches at Amazon, Home Depot, Staples and Walmart, the source for the lowest prices found, the Staples and Walmart boxes of four 9287001 filters, and the $93.49 Staples listing for 9287201
- Home Depot listings for the 90’s two filters, 9287001 and 9324001, both showing a Notify Me control rather than Add to Cart
- Boneco H680 operating manual, the source for the printed CADR line and the humidity output
- Boneco W200 product page, the source for the W200’s humidity output, room size and sold-out status
- eVacuumStore listings for the W200 and the H680, both out of stock
- Consumer Reports, claim check on the Venta Airwasher, February 2008
- Documents above read September 14, 2026
- Prices and stock, read by hand, September 14, 2026