Dreo Air Purifier 338: Specs, Price, Pros & Cons
Dreo numbers its purifiers in a way that tells you nearly everything: the 338 is the smallest and cheapest of them, the 539 family sits a size above, and an S suffix anywhere in the range means Wi-Fi. This one carries no S, and that is the single most useful fact about it.
Physically it is a small cylinder of around two and a half kilograms, a nightstand or shelf machine rather than a floor-standing tower. It is built to keep one modest room clean, and unusually for this category, Dreo and the arithmetic agree about how large that room can be.
What matters in daily use is how little attention it asks for. The air-quality light reports the room at a glance and the auto mode acts on what it reads, so the machine can be left alone. That is uncommon at this tier, where most entry purifiers run blind and hold whatever speed you last set. Sleep mode drops it to near silence and dims the display, which in practice is what decides whether a bedroom purifier stays in the bedroom or ends up in a cupboard.
The omissions are predictable rather than disappointing. There is no app, no voice control and no separately washable layer, and Dreo's published documentation thins out quickly once you look past the headline coverage claim.
This makes sense as a first purifier, or as a second one for a bedroom when the main machine lives elsewhere. It makes far less sense as the only purifier in an open-plan home, where a unit this size will sit permanently at the top of its range and still lose ground.
Category strengths
Where the Dreo Air Purifier 338 beats the median
- A lower min noise level ?18 dB vs 23 dB (median)
- A much lighter build ?2.5 kg vs 5.26 kg (median)
Where the Dreo Air Purifier 338 trails the median
- A much lower coverage area ?178 sq ft vs 354 sq ft (median)
- A lower CADR (smoke) ?115 CFM vs 161 CFM (median)
- No washable pre-filter ?
- No app control ?
- No voice assistant ?
How this VS Score was computed
Score 47: each known spec is measured against the median of all air purifiers (41 products), then weighted; 50 means level with that median. In classes of six or more, a value beyond the class’s 10th–90th percentile range counts as that limit, so one extreme product cannot set the scale. 64% of the scoreable weight could be used; unknown values, features not applicable to this class and proxies (battery capacity where a rated life exists) add or remove nothing.
| Specification | This product | Cohort median | Score weight | Points moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| True HEPA filter | Yes | 61% of the class have it | 1.5 | +75.0 |
| Coverage area | 178 | 354 | 2 | −50.0 |
| CADR (smoke) | 115 | 161 | 2 | −28.0 |
| Washable pre-filter | No | 54% of the class have it | 0.5 | −24.0 |
| App control | No | 70% of the class have it | 0.5 | −24.0 |
| Min noise level | 18 | 23 | 1.5 | +21.0 |
| Weight | 2.5 — capped at the class’s lower range (2.53) | 5.26 | 0.3 | +15.0 |
| Voice assistant | No | 64% of the class have it | 0.3 | −14.4 |
| Air changes per hour | 4.8 | 4.8 | 1 | +0.0 |
| Filtration stages | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
Not scored: Activated carbon filter (standard for the class (100% have it)); Filter life (unknown: not scored); Max noise level (unknown: not scored); Power consumption (unknown: not scored); Sleep mode (standard for the class (95% have it)); Air quality sensor (standard for the class (93% have it)); Auto mode (standard for the class (90% have it)); Filter replacement indicator (unknown: not scored); Timer (standard for the class (88% have it)).
Editor’s note
The 338 is Dreo's entry ticket, and it makes an unusually honest first impression: the coverage figure Dreo leads with is AHAM-verified, and the arithmetic checks out exactly, with 115 CFM of smoke CADR delivering nearly five air changes an hour across a genuine 178 square feet. The 856-square-foot number on the listing is the usual one-air-change marketing stretch, but unlike many rivals, the honest number is printed right alongside it.
For a small bedroom, nursery or office, the essentials are all present. An 18-decibel sleep mode (the same class-leading quiet floor as Dreo's bigger machines), a PM2.5 sensor with an LED air-quality display, an auto mode that responds to it, four speeds, a timer, and the same 3-in-1 cartridge design (pre-filter, HEPA-grade media, activated carbon) the rest of the range uses. There is even a small aroma pad, a rare touch at this tier: a few drops of essential oil and the outflow carries it.
What is missing is exactly what the price says should be missing. No Wi-Fi, no app, no voice control (the 338S exists for that), and Dreo's usual documentation gaps apply: no published wattage, no maximum noise figure, no stated filter-life in months on the listing we verified.
The competitive picture is tight, because this sits squarely against Levoit's Core 300 (the category's long-running default) and Blueair's 511i Max. The Dreo counter-argument is the sensor: at this price, an air-quality display with auto mode is uncommon, and the Levoit does not have one.
For a first purifier in a small room, buy whichever of those three is cheapest on the day, and if they are level, the sensor makes the Dreo the smarter box.
Specifications
Quality bars show where each figure sits between the lowest and highest of the 41 air purifiers this VS Score is measured against.
Performance
Filtration
Noise & power
Design
Smart features
Sources and verification
Where the specifications come from
- Official product pagedreo.com
- Retailer listing (cross-check)amazon.com
Verification
- First published
- Specifications last checked
- Sheet completeness
- 16 of 22 specifications verified; the rest show as Unknown and are never estimated or scored
- Page type
- Product specification page — Compiled from the manufacturer’s published specifications and the cited sources; this is not a hands-on test.
- Basis
- Research-based: specifications and editorial text were compiled from the documents listed here and the manufacturer’s published data. We have not tested this unit ourselves; where independent measurements are mentioned they belong to the linked publication.
Where to buy
Prices and availability may change. Check the retailer before buying. We may earn a commission on purchases.
Price history
Air Purifiers with similar specs to the Dreo Air Purifier 338
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The bottom line
The Dreo Air Purifier 338 earns a VS Score of 47, below the median of the 41 air purifiers it is measured against (a score of 50 is level with that median).
- Who it’s for
- A first purifier for a small bedroom or office: honest AHAM-verified coverage, a near-silent sleep floor, and a real PM2.5 sensor with auto mode at entry money.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone wanting app or voice control (that is the 338S) or a larger room, where the 539 family is the correct size up.
- The trade-off that matters
- Rare-at-this-price sensing and auto mode from a maker that documents little else: no wattage, no max noise, no stated filter life.
- The main alternative
- Levoit Core 300 is the category's proven default at the same money, but without the air-quality sensor that is this Dreo's whole argument.
The VS Score is calculated from the weighted specifications above, each measured against the median of comparable air purifiers — a shortlisting guide, not a substitute for your own priorities. See how we score.
