https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study These results are not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes VOCs at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m2 of a building's floor space. Answer from Guygan on reddit.com
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CO2 Meter
co2meter.com › blogs › news › nasa-compiles-list-of-best-plants-to-clean-indoor-air
NASA compiles list of best plants to clean indoor air – CO2 Meter
July 8, 2025 - Plants and air purifiers both contribute to improved indoor air quality, but work in different ways. We list the unique advantages, limitations, and the best house plants for improving indoor air quality according to NASA research.
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Hicks Nurseries
hicksnurseries.com › home › breathe easy with clean air plants
Clean Air Plants | Gardening Advice | Hicks Nurseries
February 16, 2023 - Peperomia, Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) and Pothos all emit a high oxygen content. Boston Fern: natural air humidifier. Ficus: great overall air purifier. ... This group of plants not only takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen but is ...
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Bloombox Club
bloomboxclub.com › home › breathe fresh: 10 best indoor plants that release oxygen
Breathe Fresh: 10 Best Indoor Plants That Release Oxygen – Bloombox Club
March 27, 2025 - Let’s explore 10 of the best oxygen-releasing indoor plants and how they can benefit you. Aloe Vera is well known for its medicinal properties, but it also contributes to better air quality. It absorbs toxins like benzene and formaldehyde while releasing oxygen, making it a great choice for bedrooms and living spaces.
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RASNetwork
rasnetwork.org › home › plants & trees › 20 indoor plants for better oxygen & clean air 24 hrs (nasa approved)
20 Indoor Plants for Better Oxygen & Clean Air 24 Hrs (NASA Approved)
May 28, 2025 - This is one of the best indoor plants for oxygen at home if your space doesn’t get much natural light or you’re not the most attentive plant parent. ... With its low-maintenance nature and strong air-cleaning ability, Chinese Evergreen deserves a spot among the top 10 indoor plants for oxygen.
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Garden Health
gardenhealth.com › home › articles › top 10 air purifying houseplants
Top 10 Air Purifying Houseplants - Advice - Westland Garden Health
April 24, 2024 - If this is you, the Spider Plant could be a great option as they are extremely easy to grow. This houseplant is able to remove carbon dioxide ( the stuff we breathe out into the air around us) therefore creating more oxygen.
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Plant Detectives
plantdetectives.com › blogs › storytime-in-the-nursery › best-indoor-plants-for-oxygen-top-picks-for-cleaner-air
Best Indoor Plants for Oxygen: Top Picks for Cleaner Air – Plant Detectives
February 11, 2025 - Gerbera daisies prefer bright, indirect light, so place them near a window with filtered sunlight for optimal growth. The golden pothos is a fast-growing vine that is among the best indoor houseplants for oxygen.
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The Old Farmer's Almanac
almanac.com › 10-indoor-plants-clean-air
The 10 Best Houseplants for Purifying Indoor Air | Almanac.com
October 6, 2025 - Snake plant (this 35-year-old Mother-in-Law’s Tongue actually did come from a mother-in-law). Bromeliads win a gold star for cleaning up most pollutants. They release oxygen and remove air pollutants at night while you sleep! These pretty plants, with their bright flowers and green foliage, do best with bright, indirect sunlight or fluorescent office lighting.
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Eureka Farms
eureka-farms.com › blogs › news › top-10-highest-oxygen-producing-indoor-plants
Top 10 Highest Oxygen-Producing Indoor Plants – Eureka Farms
November 7, 2024 - Pothos is the number one indoor plant for air purification. It has a high rate of oxygen conversion. The test showed that there was a 6.5% decrease in carbon dioxide, lowering the CO2 content while increasing the oxygen.
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Plant Calculators
plantcalculators.com › home › houseplants › 10 best indoor plants for oxygen
Best Indoor Plants for Oxygen | Top 10 Picks for Clean Air
May 29, 2025 - Peace lilies are efficient at removing toxins like benzene and formaldehyde from the air. And while they don’t release oxygen at night like the snake plant, they more than make up for it during the day with steady, high-output photosynthe...
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Cornell Cooperative Extension
warren.cce.cornell.edu › gardening-landscape › warren-county-master-gardener-articles › houseplants-for-healthier-indoor-air
Cornell Cooperative Extension | Houseplants for Healthier Indoor Air
Thanks to some initial research by NASA scientists who were interested in the potential of plants to help clean the air, we now know that many popular houseplants are actually quite good at removing some of the toxins that are often found indoors. And, not just the plants! Microorganisms in the potting soil also do a fair job of cleaning the air! Most people are aware that as plants photosynthesize they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
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Bagiyaa-decor
bagiyaa.com › blogs › all › best-indoor-plants-for-oxygen
Top Indoor Plants for Clean Air & Oxygen Boost
February 21, 2025 - Spider plant, snake plant, dracaena, aloe vera plants are known to be the best air plants for indoor. They have shown to remove most of the toxins, pollutants and chemicals from the air.
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Nurserylive
nurserylive.com › blogs › top-10-plants › top-10-highest-oxygen-producing-indoor-plants
Top 10 Highest Oxygen Producing Indoor Plants | Nurserylive
July 15, 2025 - It's a fantastic oxygen-producing indoor plant. It's also recognised for distributing positive energy and aiding anxiety and stress management. 6. Peace Lily ... Peace lilies have a distinctive, eye-catching white blossom.
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Marcum's Nursery
marcumsnursery.com › home › just add sun blog › nasa approved plants to purify air in your home
NASA Approved Air Purifying Plants | Marcum's Nursery | Goldsby, OK
October 29, 2024 - Snake Plant otherwise known as the Mother-In-Law’s Tongue is unique for its nighttime oxygen production, and ability to purify air through the removal of benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and toluene.
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Filti
filti.com › best-houseplants-for-clean-air-at-home
The Best Houseplants For Clean Air At Home
August 18, 2022 - This includes English ivy, peace lily, palms, snake plant, Boston fern, and spider plant. Mold is one of many common toxins these houseplants eliminate from the air indoors. Having plants around your house is a proactive way to remove mold spores ...
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FNP
fnp.com › air-purifying-n-stress-relieving-plants-lp
Air Purifying Plants - Indoor Plants for Oxygen
They clean toxins and make your home feel fresh and inviting. Ans: Snake Plants, Aloe Vera, and Areca Palms are excellent bedroom air-purifying plants. They release oxygen at night and are easy to care for.
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Growing Family
growingfamily.co.uk › home › 25 best indoor plants for oxygen and air purifying
25 best indoor plants for oxygen and air purifying - Growing Family
September 28, 2025 - You might associate Gerbera Daisy plants with the garden, but they also make lovely indoor plants that release oxygen at night. Gerbera daisies are also plants that clean the air, removing benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.
Top answer
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Most plants will increase oxygen content in the air, and the more plants you have, the greater the effect. Just having a single plant will make a very small difference, but the effect will be much greater with, say, 6 houseplants. Many are also good at absorbing indoor pollutants along with carbon dioxide as well as putting out oxygen. The most commonly mentioned ones for both oxygen and indoor pollutants are Sansevieria, Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum), Dracaena varieties such as D. marginata, Aloe vera and palms such as Areca. All are relatively easy care, but will require the usual care with watering routine (more info below). Dracaena marginata tolerates pretty low light conditions and is easy care, but if you have pets, dracaenas are toxic if ingested,though toxicity on ingestion is not uncommon with many plants. Palms are obviously large plants, so consider whether you have the space for any of those. The ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) increases oxygen and cleans the air, and is particularly easy care,tolerating quite low light conditions.

There are many links to sites giving information about cleaning up air pollutants with houseplants and increasing oxygen levels; this link is specifically in regard to increasing oxygen, but the list of plants they give is by no means exhaustive, and not all of them are long term houseplants or necessarily very easy care https://lunginstitute.com/blog/top-5-plants-for-increasing-oxygen/

There are some rules to observe even with easy care houseplants - none should be placed near a heat source, all will need daylight in varying degrees (but often no sun is preferred), and all will require drainage holes in their pots, as well as watering regularly to a greater or lesser extent depending on the plant, along with never leaving any outer tray or pot full of water for longer than 30 minutes after watering.

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In addition to the other answers, it is important to note that...

During photosynthesis, plants release oxygen. Photosynthesis occurs when a plant is exposed to light.

During cellular respiration, plants release carbon dioxide. Cellular respiration occurs constantly.

Plants do not photosynthesise at night (without light).

At night, plants produce only carbon dioxide.

As noted by others there are exceptions. For this reason, we only keep Sansevieria sp. in our bedroom, as it has the capacity to absorb carbon dioxide at night.

For clarity:

Plants absorb the energy they need through aerobic (cellular) respiration, which is a chemical reaction that uses the oxygen in the air and glucose from within the plant to form carbon dioxide and water. The plant derives the energy it needs to live from the water and carbon dioxide formed by the respiration process. To remain alive, the plant must respire at all times.

Cellular respiration is linked to photosynthesis but the outcome is opposite. Photosynthesis uses energy from light, primarily from the Sun and the carbon dioxide in the air to produce oxygen. Cellular respiration uses up oxygen and produces carbon dioxide.

Not only do plants respire at all times, the rate of respiration remains constant throughout the day and night. In bright light, the rate of photosynthesis exceeds the respiration rate, while in dim light the rate is about the same. In darkness, photosynthesis stops but respiration continues.

From Wikipedia...

Sansevieria - Air purification

According to a NASA Clean Air Study, along with other plants such as golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and corn plant (Dracaena fragrans), Sansevieria trifasciata is capable of purifying air by removing some toxins such as formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. Sansevieria use the crassulacean acid metabolism process, which absorbs carbon dioxide at night, although oxygen is released during daylight. Nighttime absorption of CO₂ purportedly makes them especially suitable bedroom plants. However, since the leaves are potentially poisonous if ingested, Sansevieria is not usually recommended for children's bedrooms.