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 Prices

In total we found 284 vacuums ranging from $42 to $8,748. The average price of a new vacuum is $347 and the 80% of vacuum cleaners are priced between $67 and $699. The most expensive vacuum cleaner that we found is the Kärcher FC5 at $8,748, and the cheapest is the Dirt Devil SimpliStik at only $43.

Vacuum Cleaner Brands - Price Range

Oreck vacuum cleaners range in price from $3,000 to $3,000, and the average price of Oreck vacuum cleaners is $3,000 which is the highest average price of all vacuum cleaner brands.

The second highest average vacuum cleaner price out of all brands is Kärcher vacuum cleaners with an average price of $1,078. Kärcher vacuum cleaners start at $47 and their most expensive vacuum cleaner costs $8,748.

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

Vacuum Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 1,952 expert reviews and 95,343 user reviews for vacuum cleaners and used these reviews to determine 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 81% and the third best brand is Hoover with 81%.

Biggest Vacuum Retailers

We found 246 current offers for vacuums from eBay making it the biggest vacuum retailer. That is over 5 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Overstock for whom we found 46 current offers for vacuums. The third biggest retailer is Adorama with 5 current vacuum offers.

When Are Most New Vacuums Released?

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

How Fast Do Vacuum Cleaner Prices Drop After Release?

New vacuum cleaners drop in price by an average of 5% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $17 on a typical $350 new vacuum cleaner 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.

Across the range of vacuums, 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 $134.99, has the largest capacity and is a 450L dust capacity vacuum cleaner. The VAX Air Cordless, which is priced at $142.02, has the smallest capacity and is a .035L dust capacity vacuum.

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 most vacuums range from 4.5kg to 5.5kg. The Sealey PC477AK1, which currently retails for $284.47, has the heaviest weight and is a 39kg heavy vacuum. The DeWALT DC515N, which is available 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 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 Vacmaster VOC1210PF, which currently retails for $93.92, has the highest maximum input power and is a 3,728W vacuum. The Kärcher WV2, which is on sale for $862.53, 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.

We found 1,265 vacuum cleaners that are cylinder vacuums, which makes cylinder the most common type amongst new vacuum cleaners. Upright is the second most popular type amongst new vacuum cleaners. We found 577 vacuum cleaners that are upright vacuum cleaners.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

We found 2,243 vacuums that are dry vacuums, which makes this the most popular cleaning type amongst new vacuums. Wet & dry is the second most common cleaning type amongst new vacuum cleaners. We found 225 vacuum cleaners that are wet & dry 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. The second most frequently found 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. 231 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 vacuums 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. 93.9% of their vacuum cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.