Compare the Best Vacuum CleanersMay 2021

There is a huge variety of vacuum cleaners available today. Buyers have a choice between upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners for average cleaning tasks and more specialised hoovers designed to pick up dog hairs or help allergy sufferers.

Finding the right vacuum cleaner may sound daunting but understanding what advantages and disadvantages the different technologies and features provide goes along way in finding the best hoover for your needs.

Upright Vacuum Cleaners

Upright vacuums are ideal for cleaning larger spaces and are particularly suited for cleaning carpeted areas. A rotating brush in the vacuum’s head combs the carpet to loosen dirt and dust. They are also very effective in picking up pet hair. Most models have a carpet height selector to adjust the cleaning head according to the carpet pile.

Uprights allow you to work in a comfortable position without the need to bed over a lot. They are ideal for those with lower back pain. Most models are very easy to manoeuvre and come with a set of tools for corners and stairs. Most upright vacuums are bagless as the bin is more accessible and easier to remove than in cylinder cleaners.

Cylinder Vacuum Cleaners

Cylinder vacuum cleaners are usually smaller and lighter than uprights and therefore easier to move around. They are ideal for smaller spaces and the flexible hose and removable head let you clean corners and hard to reach spaces with ease. Because the distance between the cleaning head and dust bag is longer compared to upright vacuum cleaners, cylinder cleaners require a higher motor power in order to generate the same amount of suction.

Cylinder cleaners can be bagged or bagless. Bagless cleaners will be slightly more expensive but will save you money in the long run.

Wet & Dry Cleaners

Usually aimed for use in workshops, garages and environments that can get dirtier than the average household, wet & dry vacuum cleaners are robust and can handle a variety of cleaning tasks. They can hoover up sawdust, leaves, wet mud and even water.

Wet & dry vacuums are available from a number of manufacturers like Karcher, Vax, deWalt and Bosch. These multi-purpose vacuum cleaners have a robust construction and a large container volume. Filters can usually be washed and tools and accessories are stored within the industrial vacuum cleaners.

Cleaning Efficiency

In a drive to ensure greater energy efficiency, the EU banned vacuum cleaners with a motor power above 1600W in 2014.

It is important that a vacuum cleaner’s power rating is not the only factor affecting the amount of suction it produces.

Less powerful models regularly outperform those with a higher power rating. Design, how full the bag is and how often filters are cleaned all contribute to how good a vacuum clear is at its job.

Look out for independent reviews that measure a vacuum cleaner’s suction power in relation to how full the dust bag or container is to get a better understanding of the suction power it produces.

Attachments & Accessories

Most vacuum cleaners come with a number of accessories to clean upholstery and to reach narrow spaces and corners. Some models car store accessories inside the vacuum cleaner while some cylinder models have a holder attached to the telescopic tube.

Pet accessories

Pet hair can be difficult to remove from carpets are upholstery. To make cleaning after your furry friends easier, pet models are specifically designed to make lifting cat and dog hair easier.

Pet vacuum cleaners come with cleaning heads that include rotating brush bars, sometimes called power tools. They also use strong suction power to tackle even the most stubborn hair.

Vacuum Cleaner Prices

Vacuum cleaners range in price from $42 to $8,815 and in total we found prices for 281 vacuum cleaners. A new vacuum costs on average $342 and 80% of vacuum cleaners are priced between $69 and $720. The Kärcher FC5 is the most expensive vacuum cleaner that we found at $8,814, and the Dirt Devil SimpliStik is the cheapest at only $42.

Vacuum Brands - Price Range

The average price of Oreck vacuums is $3,000 which is the highest average price of all vacuum brands. Oreck vacuums start at $3,000 and their most expensive vacuum costs $3,000.

The second highest average vacuum price out of all brands is Kärcher vacuums with an average price of $1,115. Kärcher vacuums range in price from $47 to $8,814.

The average price of LG vacuums is $1,056 which is the third highest average price of all vacuum brands. LG vacuums start at $1,056 and their most expensive vacuum costs $1,056.

Vacuum Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 1,779 expert reviews and 97,635 user reviews for vacuum cleaners and used these reviews to calculate the average rating for each brand of vacuum. The top rated vacuum brand is Miele with an average rating of 88%. The second best brand is Bosch with 82% and the third best brand is Hoover with 81%.

Biggest Vacuum Cleaner Retailers

The biggest vacuum retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 253 current vacuum offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Overstock with 46 offers. That means eBay is over 5 times bigger than Overstock when it comes to vacuums. e-Global Central US is the third biggest retailer with 8 current offers.

When Are Most New Vacuum Cleaners Released?

We couldn't see any obvious trend in the release dates for new vacuums over the last 3 years. The biggest month last year for new vacuum cleaner releases was May, with 17 new vacuum cleaners released that month. August was the biggest month in 2019 for new vacuum cleaners, with 30 new vacuum cleaners released that month. 90 new vacuums were released in August 2018 making it the biggest month that year as well for new vacuum releases.

How Fast Do Vacuum Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, vacuums drop in price by 5% on average.

That means that on a typical vacuum costing $342 you could save on average $16 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Capacities

The space that the product e.g. vacuum cleaner,vacuum cleaner bag has for dust or dirty water.

The capacities of vacuum cleaners range from .035L to 450L. The capacities of the majority of vacuum cleaners range from 0L to 2L. The Ecovacs DEEBOT, which can be purchased for $103.99, has the largest capacity and is a 450L dust capacity vacuum. The vacuum with the smallest capacity is the VAX Air Cordless, which is a .035L dust capacity vacuum cleaner and is priced at $127.37.

Weights

The weight of the vacuum cleaner, including all attachments that fit onto the device.

Across the range of vacuums, the weights range from 100g to 90kg. The weights of most vacuum cleaners range from 4.5kg to 5.5kg. The vacuum cleaner with the heaviest weight is the Sealey PC460, which is a 16kg heavy vacuum cleaner and is priced at $630.59. The DeWALT DC515N, which is priced at $53.99, has the lightest weight and is a 100g heavy vacuum cleaner.

Maximum Input Powers

'Maximum Power' measures the power level of the vacuum cleaner, rated in watts.

Across the range of vacuums, the maximum input powers range from 10W to 4,200W. The maximum input powers of the majority of vacuums range from 600W to 800W. The vacuum cleaner with the highest maximum input power is the Vacmaster VOC1210PF, which is a 3,728W vacuum cleaner and can be purchased for $93.92. The Kärcher KB 5, which sells for $88.87, has the lowest maximum input power and is a 10W vacuum.

Types

The type denotes the design of the vacuum cleaner - whether it is an upright model, a small handheld design, or something different.

Amongst new vacuums, the most common type is cylinder. We found 1,262 vacuums that are cylinder vacuum cleaners. We found 567 vacuums that are upright vacuums, making upright the second most popular type amongst new vacuums.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

We found 2,229 vacuum cleaners that are dry vacuums, which makes dry the most popular cleaning type amongst new vacuum cleaners. We found 225 vacuums that are wet & dry vacuums, making wet & dry the second most common cleaning type amongst new vacuums.

Energy Efficiency of Vacuum Cleaners

The Energy Efficiency Class of a vacuum cleaner shows how well it uses energy, and how much is unnecessarily wasted. Products are ranked from G to A++ in terms of how little energy they use compared to the norm.

Amongst new vacuum cleaners, the most frequently found energy efficiency rating is A. We found 848 vacuum cleaners that have an energy efficiency rating of A. The second most frequently found energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuum cleaners is B. We found 136 vacuum cleaners that have an energy efficiency rating of B.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Vacuum Cleaners?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying vacuums. For each retailer it shows the total number of vacuums where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying vacuums. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 232 of their vacuum cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Vacuums for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for vacuum cleaners by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of vacuum prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's vacuum prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 91.7% of their vacuum prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.