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Air quality is something I didn’t pay any attention to for most of my life. While most of the U.S. thinks my hometown of Seattle has grey, rainy weather year-round, we actually have incredible summers. But lately we’ve run into a new and very unwelcome event — smoke season. Sometime between July and September, wildfire smoke from Canada or Eastern Washington makes its way into the city, covering us in a thick haze that makes the sky look apocalyptic. While I truly love the smell of campfire, inhaling that smoky air 24/7 is really unhealthy.

Air purifiers with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration are the go-to when dealing with wildfire smoke. They capture elements that negatively impact indoor air quality, like smoke, pollen, dust, and even viruses. Since I deal with seasonal allergies and I live in an area prone to wildfire smoke, air purifiers are all over my house now. But I didn’t want a huge model in my bedroom, so when Shark came out with the NeverChange Compact Pro, I needed to test it out. It’s adorable and comes in really fun colorways, but is it actually worth the $180 price tag?

How does the Shark NeverChange Compact Pro work?

The Shark NeverChange Compact Pro is designed to be used in rooms that are 250 square feet in size or less. Shark uses a multi-level filtration system that includes an initial screen, meant to capture large stuff like hair, dust bunnies, or lint. You can easily wipe or vacuum that screen clean, which means none of that stuff is clogging up the more important HEPA filter. That filter uses three layers of protection: an outer layer catches larger air particles like pollen and dander, behind that is a carbon filter that helps clean the air of smells from cooking or from pets, and lastly is the ever-important HEPA filtration itself, which is where super-fine particles like smoke and viruses get stuck.

The NeverChange part of the name refers to the filter, since Shark says you might be able to go five years before getting a new filter. Keep in mind that that number comes from testing the air purifier for 12 hours of operation each day on the maximum fan speed, so your mileage will probably vary. As of May 2025, a new Shark PetPro HEPA Filter, which is what the NeverChange Compact Pro comes equipped with, sells for $49.99 on Shark’s website.

A round of applause for the design

Let’s be honest — air purifiers are not the prettiest decor to add to a room, but I genuinely think the Shark NeverChange Compact Pro is adorable. It looks like a cute little robot that sits on your bedside or your desk, keeping the air clean and healthy. And we have to talk about the colorway options because you’re not stuck with a neutral white option here (although that’s the model I tested). Shark makes this model in a calming lilac, a really pretty light pink called quartz, and the truly magnificent honeydew. Not only do I find these colors awesome, but I imagine kids would love them too. Getting your choice of colors in an air purifier that isn’t black, white, or grey is unusual, and it’s one of the things I love most about the Shark Compact Pro.

The LCD display is also a strong contender for my absolutely favorite part of the Shark air purifier. I’m a numbers person, which means that I don’t love that most air purifiers work on a simple color system (blue is clean air, yellow/orange is questionable, and red is bad). Instead of this, the Shark’s LCD displays the brand’s CleanSense IQ, which gives a percentage reading of clean air. You can also toggle this to display PM 1.0, PM 2.5, or PM 10 (these are air particle measurements). And, as is my preference at bedtime, you can adjust the brightness of this display or turn it off entirely.

The display is super useful for knowing when to open some windows to clear out bacon smoke or when to close windows in the summer wildfires. The adjustable fan speed has five settings, or you can go with the auto mode, which hands the brains over to the purifier to adjust as needed. If air quality sticks at 100 percent, the Shark will turn the fan off and hang out in eco mode until it feels the air quality dips into a level that needs filtration. 

The Shark NeverChange Compact Pro also gets high marks when it comes to a quiet operation. Of course, on the max speed setting, you clearly hear a fan sound, but on a low setting, it’s barely noticeable and a welcomed white noise in many situations. This makes it extra ideal for a bedroom, nursery, or office. When I slept with the Shark on my nightstand with the LCD display off, I had to double-check if the air purifier was even still on — the noise was that unnoticeable.

The Compact Pro is lightweight, coming in at just under 4.5 pounds, which makes it super easy to take from room to room. Moving it from the office to the bedroom at night is no problem, but I wish there were a carrying handle or a slot on the back to get a secure grip on the purifier.

The Shark air purifier also neutralizes odors

Shark equipped the Compact Pro with the brand’s Odor Neutralizer Technology which “releases a fresh scent,” and can help cut down on pet or cooking smells. This is done via a cartridge that sits on the top of the purifier, and you can adjust the dial to choose your desired scent intensity. 

I’m not a candle girly, and I don’t like air fresheners, so this is not the feature for me. I didn’t find the scent to be off-putting and my family members didn’t mind the scent, but I followed Shark’s guidelines for using the purifier without the scent and removed the cartridge from the dial. But if you’re one to use air fresheners in your house, this feature certainly adds some bang to your buck.

Shark NeverChange Compact Pro vs. Shark NeverChange Max

Shark’s lineup of NeverChange air purifiers includes several models at the time of writing this review — the Compact Pro is the smallest, and the Max is the largest. While the Compact Pro is meant for small spaces, the Max can filter air in areas that reach a massive 1,400 square feet. This makes the Max a much better option if you’re aiming to clean the air in your dining room, kitchen, and living room. It can also be optimal if you live in a studio apartment. The NeverChange Compact Pro really shines in a small office or a bedroom, not the whole house.

In terms of bang for your buck, the NeverChange Max offers the best deal. At full price, the Max costs $329.99 to clean an area of 1,400 square feet. That works out to under 25 cents per square foot. That’s a much better price per square foot compared to the Compact Pro, which costs $179.99 to cover 250 square feet — that works out to about 70 cents per square foot.

Even though the Max offers a better value, the Compact Pro is still desirable if you only need to purify the air in a small room or you sleep with the bedroom door closed, cutting it off from other air purifiers. Plus, the Max only comes in white, which means you have to go with the Compact Pro to get that lilac colorway.

Is the Shark NeverChange Compact Pro worth the price?

The price to value ratio of the Shark Compact Pro depends on your desires. Air purifiers with HEPA filtration can be a lot less expensive, but I find the CleanSense IQ to be worth the premium price since it gives me a real-time reading of my indoor air quality in numbers instead of a color display. The overall look and colorway options are also huge benefits, and it makes the air purifier fit into the category of function and fun decor instead of just function. Plus, the long-lasting HEPA filter might wind up saving you big time when it comes to filter replacements.

There’s also the health factor when deciding if you need an air purifier. For me, breathing in clean air is an investment in my future self and overall well-being, especially when dealing with wildfire smoke. I think it’s well worth the price, especially if you can find it on sale.

At full price, the Shark NeverChange Compact Pro comes in at $179.99 in all colorways. If the filter does actually last you the full five years, that works out to under $40 per year, which feels reasonable for clean air.