22 facts in comparison
Dreo Air Purifier 539 vs Dreo Air Purifier 338 vs Dreo Air Purifier 338S
Three purifiers, but really two decisions. The 338 and the 338S are the same air-moving machine, with identical clean-air delivery and an identical rated room, separated by a radio and a different carbon. The 539 is a physically larger unit that beats both on the only number describing how fast a room actually gets cleaned.
That structure is worth spelling out, because the table below rewards attention rather than skimming. Two of the rows that differ apply only to the 338S: app control and voice assistants. One row applies only to the 539: it moves more air and therefore carries a larger rated room. Scan the columns quickly and the S looks like the upgrade over the 338. It is an upgrade in control, not in cleaning.
The coverage numbers deserve the same care. They describe the room each unit can hold at the air-change rate the industry body uses to rate purifiers, not the far larger rooms printed on the boxes, which generally assume the air is turned over once or twice an hour. Anyone checking our figures against a retail listing will find ours smaller, and that is deliberate.
The last row is the one nobody considers at purchase and everybody considers later. The 338S uses carbon pellets while the other two laminate a carbon layer into the HEPA filter. Pellets hold more carbon, which matters in a kitchen or a smoking household and matters very little in a clean bedroom.
Read together, the three form a ladder that does not climb evenly: the middle model is the cheapest route to the same air as the top of the pair, and the largest is the only one that cleans faster.
Editor’s note
What this trio exposes is how thin the middle of an air-purifier line-up usually is. Two of the three are the same product with a wireless module and a different filter recipe, sold as separate models, and only a specification table laid side by side makes that obvious.
There is a practical wrinkle worth flagging. Filters are model-specific across all three, and the pellet carbon in the 338S is not interchangeable with the combined filters the 338 and 539 use. Anyone buying two units for different rooms should expect to stock two kinds of consumable, an annoyance that never shows up in a feature comparison.
I would also temper expectations about voice control. Turning a purifier on by voice is a novelty. The setting that matters is a schedule that runs it before you get home and drops it to quiet overnight, and that is an app function rather than an assistant one. Judge the 338S on its scheduling and the extra spend either justifies itself immediately or does not justify itself at all.
Category strengths
- Dreo Air Purifier 539
- Dreo Air Purifier 338
- Dreo Air Purifier 338S
Spec wins (head-to-head)
- Dreo Air Purifier 539 2
- Dreo Air Purifier 338 1
- Dreo Air Purifier 338S 2
Why Dreo Air Purifier 539?
- A higher CADR (smoke) ?158 CFM vs 115 CFM
- A higher coverage area ?245 sq ft vs 178 sq ft
Why Dreo Air Purifier 338?
- A lighter build ?2.5 kg vs 3.1 kg
Why Dreo Air Purifier 338S?
- Has app control ?
- Has voice assistant ?
Key real-world differences
The spec sheet pulls in both directions. These are the gaps big enough to shape the decision — with the actual figures, and what each one means in real-world use.
- Coverage areaPerformance245 sq ft vs 178 sq ft vs 178 sq ft — 27% more for the Dreo Air Purifier 539
The room size the purifier is rated to clean effectively.
- CADR (smoke)Performance158 CFM vs 115 CFM vs 115 CFM — 27% more for the Dreo Air Purifier 539
Clean Air Delivery Rate — how quickly smoke particles are scrubbed from the air.
- App controlSmart featuresNo vs No vs Yes — only the Dreo Air Purifier 338S has it
Control and monitor it from a phone app.
- Voice assistantSmart featuresNo vs No vs Yes — only the Dreo Air Purifier 338S has it
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant.
- WeightDesign3.1 kg vs 2.5 kg vs — — 19% less for the Dreo Air Purifier 338
A lighter unit is easier to move between rooms.
Which one should you buy?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you will actually use it for. Match your priority to the pick below.
- Best for performance Dreo Air Purifier 539 takes the category 100 to 27 — driven by coverage area (245 sq ft vs 178 sq ft vs 178 sq ft).
- Best for smart features Dreo Air Purifier 338S takes the category 100 to 72 — driven by app control (No vs No vs Yes).
- Best for design Dreo Air Purifier 338 takes the category 100 to 0 — driven by weight (3.1 kg vs 2.5 kg vs —).
- The safe all-rounder Dreo Air Purifier 539 wins more of the categories that carry real weight, topping the overall VS Score at 93.
Where each one falls short
Dreo Air Purifier 539
- App control: No vs No vs Yes
- Voice assistant: No vs No vs Yes
- Weight: 3.1 kg vs 2.5 kg vs —
- 3 specs are unreported (shown as Unknown) and excluded from its scores.
Dreo Air Purifier 338
- Coverage area: 245 sq ft vs 178 sq ft vs 178 sq ft
- CADR (smoke): 158 CFM vs 115 CFM vs 115 CFM
- 6 specs are unreported (shown as Unknown) and excluded from its scores.
Dreo Air Purifier 338S
- No major spec weaknesses in this matchup — the gaps that exist are small.
- 8 specs are unreported (shown as Unknown) and excluded from its scores.
What matters to you?
Drag the sliders to weight each category and re-rank the products to suit your priorities.
Score breakdown
Performance
Filtration
Noise & power
Design
Smart features
Specs last verified August 23, 2026Dreo Air Purifier 539: 19 of 22 specs verified (86%)Dreo Air Purifier 338: 16 of 22 specs verified (73%)Dreo Air Purifier 338S: 14 of 22 specs verified (64%)Unverified specs show as Unknown — never estimated, never scored
Where to buy
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What reviewers say
The bottom line
For most rooms the 338 is the value pick. It delivers exactly the same clean air as the 338S and asks nothing extra for it, provided you are content to press a button on the unit itself. Pay the difference for the 338S only if scheduling and voice control will genuinely get used, or if odours are the problem you are solving and the pellet carbon earns its keep. Choose the 539 when the room is larger than either 338 was rated for, and accept that you are buying an appliance with no smart control whatsoever. The purchase to avoid is the 338S bought as a performance upgrade over the 338, because on air alone it is not one.
