GermGuardian AC4200W Vs Levoit Vista 200 – Which one Does it Better?

Let me introduce you to my newest comparison between two look-alikes, and yet different air purifiers, hoping that by the end of this article you will easily decide which one to choose. 

Though Levoit Vista 200’s design may be more catchy at first, both appliances are equally elegant, and their round shape and white color will easily fit into any interior. Not to mention the affordability of GermGuardian AC4200W, which makes it more approachable. 

At first, you might think that visually there are no significant differences between these two, but if I tell you that the GermGuardian AC4200W is intended primarily for rooms that are up to 105 sq. ft. and that the Levoit Vista 200 for rooms up to 161 sq. ft., will it make any difference to you?

Allow me to take you into a detailed comparison, showing you all the benefits and weaknesses of each of these air purifiers.

Specs: GermGuardian AC4200W Vs Levoit Vista 200

GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 Features

Besides the fact that both GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 are very small appliances that will fit perfectly into your space, I can’t help but notice that none of them has any extra special features along with the basic ones that each purifier already has. 

A slight advantage goes in favor of Levoit Vista 200, just for having one or two options more than the other one. 

While you could buy a GermGuardian AC4200W at a cheaper price and get better performance, Levoit Vista 200 offers you better space coverage and control over the power usage.

Filter Reset Indicator

A filter reset indicator is basically a notification light that alarms you when the air purifier filter needs to be replaced. In this case, both GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 have these indicators. I consider this to be an excellent feature that every air purifier should have.

Thanks to the filter reset indicator you will never have to worry about when is the right moment to replace your filter. 

Night Light

While GermGuardian AC4200W is missing out on this feature, with the night light option you can use Levoit Vista 200 to create an almost romantic atmosphere in spaces like your bedroom. 

Thanks to its calmingly yellow light, when turned on, you can adjust the night light at two levels of brightness.

What I like the most is that you can turn on the night light without turning on the purifier, which makes Levoit Vista 200 an utterly interesting night lamp. 

Timer

The timer option is a common feature of both of these air purifiers. You can use it by simply adjusting the time you want the purifier to switch off. In both cases, you can set the time to 2h, 4h, or 8h. 

Given the fact that neither GermGuardian AC4200W nor Levoit Vista 200 have an auto mode option or the ability to connect to a smart app, I find it very useful that with the timer option you can still have control over the usage of your purifier. 

Display Off

This is the feature that both appliances can use but in different ways. Levoit Vista 200 air purifier has an actual Display Off button which, when pressed, automatically shuts down all of the indicators on this device. 

In my opinion, this is a great feature because there are moments when you are struggling to fall asleep, and you don’t want anything to distract you. Especially the lights coming from nearby devices. In that way, Levoit Vista 200 will be purifying your air while you fall into your deepest sleep mode.

On the other hand, GermGuardian AC4200W does not have this particular feature. Instead, its Speed 1 option gives you the opportunity to, when turned on, set the device into sleep mode and shut down all of the indicators on your purifier.  

Warranty

Before I decide to buy any type of appliance, I want to make sure that the appliance I prefer has a warranty. You never know what might happen. 

Both of these purifiers come with a warranty, with slight differences in duration period. With GermGuardian AC4200W, you are protected for 3 years, while with Levoit Vista 200 the period of warranty comes down to 2 years. 

Keep in mind that if you decide to buy Levoit Vista 200, you must register online straight after your purchase in order for your product to be given full warranty coverage. 

Airflow

Speaking of the airflow, you can tell how both purifiers have almost identical cylindrical shapes. This brings us to filters that are integrated into these appliances, which also share the same shape. 

Further on, both GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 have their filters positioned in the device’s bottom part. Due to the purifier’s irregular shape, suction holes are not equally spread all over the device’s ‘’body’’. Instead, the air is being suctioned through the bottoms, then subjected to filtration, and finally spread through the upper bars, all over the room. 

Filtration Technology

Let me begin this section with the fact that both GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 use a 3-stage filtration. Their filters are pretty much alike, cylindrical and hollow. My biggest remark would be that they are actually too small. 

The thing that makes GermGuardian different is that both carbon and pre-filter are actually one and the same filter. 

Speaking of filtration stages, both of the appliances have their way of functioning. For instance, GermGuardian AC4200W combines carbon and pre-filter in the first and the second stage, whereas Levoit Vista 200 only uses pre-filter in the first stage. 

By the time that GermGuardian jumps to the third stage with the usage of a True HEPA filter, Levoit is already using a True HEPA filter in stage two, leaving the carbon filter for the last stage. 

Unlike many previous GermGuardian purifiers that I tested, this model is missing the UV-C light as the fourth stage of filtration. The fact that we are used to some things doesn’t make it a rule.

How To Replace Filter On Both These Devices

For a start, let’s point out that none of these air purifiers have a washable filter. But let’s not lose our hopes. Both purifiers have almost identical periods of filter duration, whereas, in the case of GermGuardian AC4200W, you would have to change filters every 6 months, while Levoit Vista 200 gives you an extra month or two to change the filter.

From my experience, filters on these two will last approximately five months.

Did I mention that replacement of Levoit’s filters is cheaper than the ones at GermGuardian? Given the identical average filter usage, Levoit Vista turns out to be quite economical.

Noise

When buying an air purifier, along with many other features, you want to pick the one that doesn’t make any noise, or at least that the noise is at its lowest. You don’t want your purifier to be the ‘’third person’’ if you happen to invite someone special to come over to your place, right? 

Well, rest assured. Both of these appliances have their motors working smoothly, emitting that pleasant ‘’all’s well’’ sound. No trace of crackling or any kind of awkward sounds.

Although GermGuardian AC4200W and Levoit Vista 200 both have 4 levels of fan speed, and they both have Sleep mode, somehow I find that GermGuardian AC4200W should work on better motor optimization when in Sleep mode, which would definitely make this device more silent. 

While working on the lowest speed level Levoit Vista 200 produces noise of 43.5 dBA which is really good, opposed to GermGuardian AC4200W that creates a lot more noise than it should with its 49.3 dBA.

When it comes to creating noise at a maximum speed level, both of the appliances need some improvement in reducing the amount of noise that comes out. While GermGuardian AC4200W tends to be too loud at its maximum with 63.1 dBA, Levoit Vista 200 could also use some changes in order to decrease the noise under its current 56.9 dBA.

In my opinion, Levoit Vista 200 has shown to be more silent while working at all speed levels, which just might be the crucial feature when deciding which purifier to choose. 

Performance

As I previously mentioned, GermGuardian AC4200W is designed to cover up to 105 sq. ft. rooms, while Levoit Vista 200 covers even bigger spaces, up to 161 sq. ft. 

Since the difference in room coverage is kind of small, yet real, I wanted to test both of the products in two different-sized rooms. Each test lasted 60 minutes. 

120 sq. ft. Room Tests

I decided to test both of the appliances in a 120 sq. ft. room, in two separate tests. Putting these devices to maximum speed for a full hour, I realized that GermGuardian AC4200W did a much better job than Levoit Vista 200. Even though it is designed for rooms smaller than the one in the experiment, the quality of air was improved by approximately 92%.

On the other hand, Levoit Vista 200’s performance was only about 68% effective. In my opinion, this is a significant difference between the two purifiers.

194 sq. ft. Room Tests

I repeated the same test, but this time in a larger space. Contrary to my expectations, GermGuardian AC4200W was once again better than the Levoit Vista 200, and here is why. In overall performance, it turned out that GermGuardian AC4200W was able to improve the air quality by 90%, while Levoit Vista 200 showed about 74% successful results. 

It is beyond reason that the purifier, which was intended for smaller spaces, did a much better job than the one that was supposed to be more efficient. GermGuardian AC4200W turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise. 

Operating Costs

Now that you’ve seen all the specifications of both products, let’s say a word or two about how it all affects your budget.

Of course, the amount of electricity that both purifiers use could be a determinative feature. 

GermGuardian AC4200W is operating with a 26W motor, while Levoit Vista 200 does it with a 15W motor, which is almost half the power that GermGuardian uses.  

Let’s say you leave it working full time, 24/7 for a whole month, at maximum speed, by the end of the month your bill will be larger by approximately 2.7$ in the case of GermGuardian, and only about 0.5$ for using Levoit.

As it turns out, Levoit is obviously a much affordable solution and a power consumer. Which is pretty satisfying, don’t you think?