Compare the Best Vacuum CleanersOctober 2020

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 Prices

We currently list 280 vacuum cleaners ranging from $38 to $1,500. On average, a new vacuum cleaner costs $311 and 80% of vacuums are priced between $70 and $624. The Samsung VR20K9350WK is the most expensive vacuum that we found at $1,500, and the Black & Decker Dustbuster is the cheapest at only $39.

Vacuum Cleaner Brands - Price Range

The highest average vacuum cleaner price out of all brands is Omega vacuums with an average price of $1,400. Omega vacuums start at $1,400 and their most expensive vacuum cleaner costs $1,400.

The average price of LG vacuum cleaners is $1,141 which is the second highest average price of all vacuum brands. LG vacuum cleaners start at $1,070 and their most expensive vacuum costs $1,212.

Samsung vacuum cleaners range in price from $200 to $1,500, and the average price of Samsung vacuum cleaners is $657 which is the third highest average price of all vacuum brands.

Vacuum Cleaner Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 66 expert reviews and 3,165 user reviews for vacuum cleaners and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of vacuum cleaner. The top rated vacuum cleaner brand is Electrolux with an average rating of 95%. The second best brand is Bosch with 84% and the third best brand is Sebo with 82%.

Biggest Vacuum Cleaner Retailers

We found 241 current offers for vacuum cleaners from eBay making it the biggest vacuum retailer. That is over 6 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Overstock for whom we found 37 current offers for vacuum cleaners. The third biggest retailer is Target with 23 current vacuum offers.

When Are Most New Vacuum Cleaners Released?

We couldn't see any evident trend in the release dates for new vacuum cleaners over the last 3 years. The biggest month last year for new vacuum cleaner releases was February, with 20 new vacuum cleaners released that month. In August 2018, 91 new vacuum cleaners were released making it the biggest month that year for new vacuum releases. In 2017 most new vacuum cleaners were released in November, with 147 new vacuum cleaners released that month.

How Fast Do Vacuum Cleaner Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, vacuums drop in price by 7%.

A typical new vacuum cleaner costs on average $310. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $21.

Capacities

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

Comparing all vacuums, the capacities range from .035L to 450L. The capacities of most vacuums range from 0L to 2L. The Ecovacs DEEBOT, which sells for $109.99, has the largest capacity and is a 450L dust capacity vacuum. The vacuum with the smallest capacity is the Eufy HomeVac H11, which is a 0.09L dust capacity vacuum and currently retails for $42.00.

Weights

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

The weights of vacuum cleaners range from 100g to 90kg. The weights of most vacuums range from 3.5kg to 5kg. The vacuum with the heaviest weight is the Sealey PC477AK1, which is a 39kg heavy vacuum and is priced at $311.58. The vacuum with the lightest weight is the DeWALT DC515N, which is a 100g heavy vacuum cleaner and is on sale for $53.99.

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 most vacuum cleaners range from 600W to 800W. The Vacmaster VOC1210PF, which is priced at $93.19, has the highest maximum input power and is a 3,728W vacuum cleaner. The Kärcher KB 5, which is priced at $74.79, has the lowest maximum input power and is a 10W vacuum cleaner.

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 popular type is cylinder. We found 1,237 vacuums that are cylinder vacuums. We found 492 vacuums that are upright vacuums, making upright the second most frequently found type amongst new vacuums.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

The most frequently found cleaning type amongst new vacuums is dry. We found 2,112 vacuums that are dry vacuums. We found 217 vacuum cleaners that are wet & dry vacuum cleaners, making wet & dry the second most common cleaning type amongst new vacuum cleaners.

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 popular energy efficiency rating is A. We found 839 vacuum cleaners that have an energy efficiency rating of A. We found 135 vacuum cleaners that have an energy efficiency rating of B, making B the second most frequently found energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuum cleaners.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Vacuums?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying vacuum cleaners. For each retailer it shows the total number of vacuum cleaners where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying vacuum cleaners. 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. 219 of their vacuum 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. 90.9% of their vacuum cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.