Molekule Air Vs Coway AP-1512HH – Top-Notch Comp. (2023)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation as a kid where you had to choose between two completely opposite pairs of sneakers? Because, of course, you cannot afford both. Your mom is pushing you to buy the cheaper ones, most likely the ones you actually need for the gym class. Still, your eyes keep reaching the top shelf in the store with the prettiest and, according to your mom, the most expensive hit-the-road sneakers. 

Some of you still get stuck in situations like these, even if you are an adult and without your mom’s wallet. Somehow, this comparison has led me to make this sneaker parallel. 

On one side, you have the Molekule Air, one of the most expensive air purifiers out there in the market, and on the other side, there is Coway AP-1512HH, an affordable middle-class air purifier. 

Molekule Air belongs to the premium type of air purifier due to its price and innovative technology installed. It is an aluminum tower-shaped air purifier and, honestly said, one of the top-quality air purifiers I have ever tested. Another thing that elevates the first impression is the elegant silver-luxury color, which makes it so effective and premium lookalike. So, as expected, a lot of hype has been created around this device. As for the room coverage, it can cover up to 600 sq. ft. room size.

Compared to the Molekule, Coway Mighty does seem of lower quality, considering the plastic material that feels cheap under the fingers. With a slightly outdated look, you can find it in black and white color, with 361 sq. ft. room coverage.  

I guess it all comes to that sneaker choice connotation. They’re both air purifiers, and both will make your room air cleaner, but which one really meets your needs?

Let’s check out together throughout this detailed summarized review.

Molekule Vs Coway Specifications

Features Overview

With having so many advanced features preinstalled, both air purifiers promise to spice up this comparison. Even though they don’t belong to the same price category.

For instance, Molekule Air belongs to the group of Smart appliances with a Smart App connection and control, while Coway Mighty doesn’t. However, as opposed to Molekule Air, Coway comes with an Air Quality Sensor, which I really consider as an extremely important option. 

Next, Coway is missing out on a Sleep Mode, which serves as an advantage to the Molekule Air since it comes with a Dark Mode that sets the appliance speed to the minimum and entirely turns off the UV-C light. 

Another interesting detail I would like to mention is the handle that engineers of Molekule and Coway had installed each on its own device. The practical purpose of this handle is to simplify the transfer of these heavy devices between rooms. We all know how hard that can be. 

Air Quality Sensor and Indicator

As I already mentioned, Molekule Air does not have this feature, unlike Coway Mighty. This Air Quality Sensor detects dust particles in real time.

The thing I liked the best is that the user gets to appoint the level of sensitivity. Based on the detected amount of particles, the Sensor sends the information to the LED indicator, placed on the right side of the Control Panel. Depending on the real air quality in the room, the Indicator will light up in different colors. A basic way of handling the air quality. 

Auto Mode and ECO Mode

Given that Coway AP-1512HH has the Air Quality Sensor, it would be eligible to assume that it also has the Auto Mode. In this case, once you set the Coway Mighty on Auto Mode, your device will automatically adjust work modes depending on the real-time air quality. On the contrary, the Molekule Air cannot automatically adjust work modes. You have to manually input the room size, and based on that data, Molekule Air will adjust the speed. 

In addition to the Auto Mode, Coway Mighty also has the Eco Mode. It is the upgraded version of Auto Mode that constantly monitors the air quality in the room. If the air quality is satisfying for at least thirty minutes, the Eco Mode switches the air purifier into a standby mode. But, the minute the air quality decreases, the appliance wakes up and continues to work. 

Timer

Having a Timer option is always convenient, no matter which appliance it is. In this particular case, Molekule Air does not have preinstalled the Timer feature, while Coway Mighty does have. So, if you don’t want your air purifier to work all the time, just set it on to 1h, 4h, or 8 hours, and it will shut down the moment the set time expires. 

Filter Reset Indicator

If you don’t like to lean over the shoulders all the time, wondering if it’s time to swap the filter, then you should choose an air purifier with a Filter Reset Indicator. But I’m not making it easy for you because both Molekule Air and Coway AP-15122HH have this feature. 

The Molekule Air will let you know at any time how used up the filters are. The info will show up on the Control Panel or in a Smart App. On the other hand, Coway uses the indicators in a completely different manner. The manufacturer has split the Filter Reset Indicator into two separate indicators. One is for the HEPA filter, while the other is for the Carbon filter. Both indicators will light up once it’s time for filter replacement. 

Honestly, I liked the Molekule indicator better, and I liked it because it can be quite handy to be constantly up to date about the filter usage. That way, you can plan and determine how long it takes before the next replacement. 

Airflow

As you can see for yourself, the Molekule Air is a tower-shaped cylindrical air purifier, but what you can’t see is how small the suction holes are. They are located at the bottom of the appliance, where the air gets into the air purifier. Once it is filtered, the air spreads out all over the room. 

Coway, however, has a bit differently distributed suction holes. The suction holes are positioned under the front lid since the appliance is somewhat between the square and rectangular shape. Once the air gets filtered, the air is distributed through the holes on the upper side. 

Warranty

Warranty issues are always a big deal for any appliance user. You might think that an air purifier with such hype around such as the Molekule Air would have longer warranty coverage, but you’d be wrong.

In this case, Coway Mighty has the advantage due to a 3-year warranty coverage by the manufacturer. The Molekule Air offers only 2 years which is way too short if you ask me.

Air purifiers or appliances, in general that are in this price range should have a better warranty deal. Such small yet important matters can have of greater impact on brand reliability. 

Filtration Technology

Before I continue with filtration details, I must point out how amusing it was for me to decompose both air purifiers. The filters are nothing like you would expect at first sight. While Molekule Air, large as it is, has only two filters plus UV light, Coway Mighty uses three filters plus the Ionizer. The surprising factor was that Coway’s filters are much larger than the Molekule’s. 

As the first level of filtration, Molekule Air uses a pre-filter. This pre-filter is actually a MERV-12 filter, ready to collect all the great dust particles, pet dander, and much more in order to prevent and prolong the PECO filter’s life. 

Coway Mighty has a washable pre-filter, which is great, and it serves to protect the HEPA filter from any larger particles and make it last longer. 

My recommendation would be to clean the pre-filter at least once a month, no matter which air purifier we’re talking about. That is how you provide the longevity and high level of efficiency of your favorite air purifier. 

As the second stage in Molekule’s filtration system, the manufacturer has placed a PECO filter. This abbreviation stands for photoelectrochemical oxidation. It means that, with the help of UV light, the PECO filter will break down the pollutant particles on the molecular level. You can find more info on the PECO technology in a separate Molekule Air air purifier review. 

A fibrous carbon filter takes second place in the Coway filtration system, and it serves as the odor neutralizer. As for the last stage, the True HEPA filter comes as one of the most relevant filters in the system. Particularly, the True HEPA filter can capture up to 99.97% of airborne allergens like mold, pet dander, pollen, dust, smoke, etc. 

Just in case you wondered the difference between the PECO and the True HEPA filter: the HEPA filter traps the whole airborne particles, while PECO breaks down those same airborne particles on a molecular level. 

As for the last Coway filtration stage, the Ionizer is an arbitrary filter which means it is turned OFF by default, but you can turn it ON whenever you wish to.  

How To Replace Filter On Both These Devices?

Given the fact that Coway’s pre-filter is washable, it is expected for other filters to last long, and so it is. You will only need to replace the filters once a year. The replacement rate in Molekule Air is a bit shorter, whereas the pre-filter needs to be replaced every three months and the PECO filter twice a year.  

Even though it might seem difficult to replace the filters, especially in Molekule Air, it isn’t so. If you take proper care of the filters, you can be sure that your air purifier will serve you for a long time.

Noise Tests

To begin with, both Molekule Air and Coway AP-1512HH have three-speed levels, plus the Molekule Air comes with the Dark Mode option. 

Regarding the noise Coway Mighty emits, I have to admit, there is none at the first and the second speed levels. The motor runs smoothly. However, once you set the third speed, the air purifiers get pretty loud, and this noise might be intolerable for some users. It can be quite annoying if you plan to put the air purifier into the room where you spend most of your time. 

Even though Molekule Air turned out to be louder than Coway Mighty, according to the measuring scales, in reality, it isn’t. They do tend to be very loud while at maximum speed, but Molekule Air has a much more pleasing sound than the Coway.  

So, in terms of general noise both air purifiers produce, in my opinion, Molekule Air is a much quieter device. 

Performance Tests

Since both air purifiers are designed for totally opposite room sizes, I had to pick the most objective space for this comparison. Therefore, I decided to test Molekule Air and the Coway Mighty in a 320 sq. ft. room size. As you can see, Coway Mighty is appropriate for up to 361 sq. ft., while Molekule Air for a 600 sq. ft. room size. However, based on the tests I conducted, Molekule Air is highly overrated by its producer, and you’ll see why. 

I have tested both air purifiers in various circumstances; hence, if you wish to know more about it, you can find all the answers in individual air purifier reviews. 

320 sq. ft. Room Test

As I said, I decided to run this test as I couldn’t be convinced that Molekule Air could not live up to the task and clean the 600 sq. ft. room. I was right. This test showed that if you leave the Molekule Air running for 60 minutes on top speed, by the end, it will clean up to 88% of the room air. At the same time, Coway Mighty does an amazing job meliorating the air quality by up to 96%. I find that it’s the Molekule’s airflow to blame and the fact that the PECO filter destroys the particles of the pollutant, as opposed to True HEPA technology that collects it. 

As a result, the Molekule Air is totally blown away by Coway AP-1512HH, a.k.a. the Mighty. 

Operating Costs

One thing is for sure, Coway Mighty and Molekule Air have quite large motors installed, unlike many other air purifiers. While Molekule Air runs an 80W motor, Coway can stand next to it with its 77W motor power. 

If you left any of these air purifiers to run 24/7 for a whole month, plus on maximum speed level, you would spend an equal amount of electricity, and it would cost you around 6$. To be true, this is a lot more than I expected.

Again, Coway has a slight advantage thanks to its ECO mode that will cut the costs while keeping the efficiency at the same level. 

As for the filter replacement prices, once again, Coway Mighty takes the victory primarily due to the fact that its filters last much longer than Molekule’s. 

Let’s talk straight, neither Coway nor Molekule Air is a cheap solution. However, I think that Coway AP-1512HH is far more affordable than the Molekule Air.