Abstract Sampling pumps are an essential part of the chemical exposure assessment process, as the flowrate is used for the calculation of the atmospheric concentration of pollutants. Flowrate stability is important for its contribution to uncertainty, but also because some of sample trains require a specific flow rate value to properly operate, especially for particle sampling. Pump principles are based on rotary or alternative movements which involves a very short variation in flowrate, called “pulsation”, which lasts few milliseconds and is not perceptible with a conventional flowmeter. This pulsation is a critical parameter to be measured for the characterization of the pump. The international standard ISO 13137 specifies the method for evaluating the pulsation which is based on the use of a rapidly responding hotwire anemometer. This method is particularly precise and sensitive but complex to set up and calibrate. We have developed an alternative method for measuring pump pulsation based on the determination of acoustic pressure. Assuming that the sample pumps connected to a solid tube are plane wave generators with infinite impedance, the acoustic pressure measurement is the sum of the incident and reflected waves. Using five microphones in the the acoustic pressure can be measured in the tube to calculate the acoustic velocity and therefore the dynamic flow with a very high frequency. 13 different individual pumps were tested with both hotwire anemometry and acoustic pressure methods. Pulsation result comparison with both methods exhibits a great agreement. Acoustic pressure measurement is therefore a very convenient alternative method for the personal pump pulsation determination.