Compare the Best Vacuum CleanersJune 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

The price range of vacuums is from $42 to $8,774 and in total we found prices for 287 vacuums. The average price of a new vacuum cleaner is $343 and the 80% of vacuums are priced between $63 and $699. The Dirt Devil SimpliStik is the cheapest vacuum at only $43, and Kärcher FC5 is the most expensive at $8,773.

Vacuum Brands - Price Range

Oreck vacuum cleaners start at $3,000 and their most expensive vacuum cleaner costs $3,000. The highest average vacuum cleaner price out of all brands is Oreck vacuum cleaners with an average price of $3,000.

Kärcher vacuum cleaners range in price from $47 to $8,773, and the average price of Kärcher vacuum cleaners is $1,113 which is the second highest average price of all vacuum brands.

The third highest average vacuum price out of all brands is LG vacuum cleaners with an average price of $1,067. LG vacuum cleaners start at $1,067 and their most expensive vacuum costs $1,067.

Vacuum Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 1,901 expert reviews and 97,330 user reviews for vacuum cleaners and used these reviews to evaluate the average rating for each brand of vacuum cleaner. The top three vacuum brands are Miele, Bosch and Hoover. Miele has an average rating of 88%, Bosch has an average rating of 81% and Hoover has an average rating of 81%.

Biggest Vacuum Retailers

We found 263 current offers for vacuum cleaners from eBay making it the biggest vacuum cleaner retailer. That is over 5 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Overstock for whom we found 46 current offers for vacuum cleaners. The third biggest retailer is Adorama with 5 current vacuum cleaner offers.

When Are Most New Vacuum Cleaners Released?

We couldn't see any prominent trend in the release dates for new vacuum cleaners over the last 3 years. 17 new vacuums were released in May 2020 making it the biggest month that year for new vacuum releases. August was the biggest month in 2019 for new vacuum cleaners, with 30 new vacuum cleaners released that month. Also the biggest month in 2018 for new vacuum cleaner releases was August, with 90 new vacuum cleaners released that month.

How Fast Do Vacuum Prices Drop After Release?

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

That means that on a typical vacuum costing $346 you could save on average $17 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.

Comparing all vacuums, the capacities range from .035L to 450L. The capacities of the majority of vacuum cleaners range from 0L to 2L. The vacuum with the largest capacity is the Ecovacs DEEBOT, which is a 450L dust capacity vacuum cleaner and currently retails for $140.00. The vacuum cleaner with the smallest capacity is the VAX Air Cordless, which is a .035L dust capacity vacuum cleaner and sells for $142.43.

Weights

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

Comparing all vacuum cleaners, the weights range from 100g to 90kg. The weights of the majority of vacuum cleaners range from 4.5kg to 5.5kg. The Sealey PC477AK1, which is available at $284.47, has the heaviest weight and is a 39kg heavy vacuum. 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 most vacuum cleaners range from 600W to 800W. The vacuum with the highest maximum input power is the Vacmaster VOC1210PF, which is a 3,728W vacuum and can be purchased for $93.92. The Kärcher WV2, which is available at $865.04, 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.

We found 1,265 vacuums that are cylinder vacuums, which makes cylinder the most common type amongst new vacuums. We found 576 vacuums that are upright vacuums, making this the second most frequently found type amongst new vacuums.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

The most common cleaning type amongst new vacuum cleaners is dry. We found 2,242 vacuum cleaners that are dry vacuum cleaners. We found 225 vacuums that are wet & dry vacuum cleaners, making this the second most frequently found 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.

We found 849 vacuums that have an energy efficiency rating of A, which makes this the most common energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuums. We found 136 vacuums that have an energy efficiency rating of B, making this the second most common energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuums.

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. 251 of their vacuum prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Vacuum Cleaners 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. 95.4% of their vacuum cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.