Compare the Best Vacuum CleanersJanuary 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 Prices

Vacuums range in price from $41 to $1,500 and in total we found prices for 271 vacuums. The average price of a new vacuum cleaner is $315 and the 80% of vacuum cleaners are priced between $70 and $669. The Samsung VR20K9350WK is the most expensive vacuum that we found at $1,500, and the Dirt Devil SimpliStik is the cheapest at only $42.

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 range in price from $1,400 to $1,400.

The second highest average vacuum price out of all brands is LG vacuum cleaners with an average price of $1,180. LG vacuum cleaners range in price from $1,110 to $1,250.

AEG vacuum cleaners start at $873 and their most expensive vacuum cleaner costs $1,120. The third highest average vacuum cleaner price out of all brands is AEG vacuum cleaners with an average price of $996.

Vacuum Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,529 expert reviews and 52,858 user reviews for vacuums and used this data to determine the average rating for each brand of vacuum. Miele is the top rated vacuum cleaner brand with an average rating of 88%. Hoover is the second best brand with 83% and Bosch is the third best brand with 83%.

Biggest Vacuum Retailers

We found 252 current offers for vacuums from eBay making it the biggest vacuum cleaner retailer. That is over 7 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Overstock for whom we found 35 current offers for vacuums. The third biggest retailer is Walmart with 22 current vacuum cleaner offers.

When Are Most New Vacuums Released?

The most common period for new vacuum cleaners to be released in is between April and May. If you wait until April 2021 then you might be able to get better features on your vacuum. It's also worth keeping in mind that the price of the current vacuum cleaners tend to drop off when the next models are released. In 2020 most new vacuum cleaners were released in May, with 17 new vacuum cleaners released that month. In April 2019, 31 new vacuum cleaners were released making it the biggest month that year for new vacuum cleaner releases. 91 new vacuum cleaners were released in August 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new vacuum releases.

How Fast Do Vacuum Cleaner Prices Drop After Release?

On average vacuum cleaners drop in price by 5% in the first 6 months after release.

That means a saving of $17 on a typical $314 new vacuum cleaner if you wait 6 months before buying.

Capacities

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

Across the range of vacuum cleaners, the capacities range from .035L to 450L. The capacities of most vacuums range from 0L to 2L. The Ecovacs DEEBOT, which is on sale for $69.99, has the largest capacity and is a 450L dust capacity vacuum. The Eufy HomeVac H11, which is on sale for $48.00, has the smallest capacity and is a 0.09L dust capacity vacuum.

Weights

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

Comparing all vacuums, the weights range from 100g to 90kg. The weights of most vacuums range from 4.5kg to 5.5kg. The vacuum cleaner with the heaviest weight is the Sealey PC477AK1, which is a 39kg heavy vacuum cleaner and is priced at $327.09. The DeWALT DC515N, which currently retails for $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 vacuum cleaners, the maximum input powers range from 10W to 4,200W. The maximum input powers of most 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 and sells for $93.19. The vacuum with the lowest maximum input power is the Kärcher KB 5, which is a 10W vacuum cleaner and is priced at $319.24.

Types

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

We found 1,251 vacuums that are cylinder vacuums, which makes this the most popular type amongst new vacuums. Upright is the second most common type amongst new vacuum cleaners. We found 535 vacuum cleaners that are upright vacuums.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

Amongst new vacuums, the most common cleaning type is dry. We found 2,187 vacuums that are dry vacuums. We found 220 vacuum cleaners that are wet & dry vacuums, making this 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.

The most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuum cleaners is A. We found 846 vacuum cleaners that have an energy efficiency rating of A. The second most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuums is B. We found 136 vacuums 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 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. 228 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. 90.5% of their vacuum prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.