Commercial low-cost sensors for particulate matter measurements are a fast growing market and find many applications in the particulate matter (PM) immission characterization in the environment. This application includes uncontrolled factors such as humidity, making the devices more prone to errors. These factors are controllable in closed emission control applications, turning these affordable sensors into potential monitoring devices for exhaust concentrations. Time-resolved PM emissions of a surface filter were measured at various concentration levels. The suitability and limitations of a SDS011 PM2.5 low-cost sensor were evaluated by comparing its PM readings to a welas (R) 2100 sensor by Palas (R). Experimental setup and results are presented and further discussed in this paper.