Compare the Best Vacuum CleanersApril 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

We currently list 286 vacuum cleaners ranging from $41 to $8,668. On average, a new vacuum costs $354 and 80% of vacuum cleaners are priced between $67 and $726. The cheapest vacuum that we found is the Eufy HomeVac H11 Pure at only $41, and the most expensive is the Kärcher FC5 at $8,668.

Vacuum Brands - Price Range

The highest average vacuum price out of all brands is Oreck vacuums with an average price of $3,000. Oreck vacuums range in price from $3,000 to $3,000.

The average price of Kärcher vacuums is $1,171 which is the second highest average price of all vacuum cleaner brands. Kärcher vacuums range in price from $47 to $8,668.

The average price of LG vacuum cleaners is $1,031 which is the third highest average price of all vacuum brands. LG vacuum cleaners start at $1,031 and their most expensive vacuum costs $1,031.

Vacuum Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,754 expert reviews and 95,081 user reviews for vacuums and used these reviews to calculate the average rating for each brand of vacuum. The top rated vacuum cleaner 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

The biggest vacuum retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 264 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 vacuum cleaners. e-Global Central US is the third biggest retailer with 8 current offers.

When Are Most New Vacuum Cleaners Released?

Over the last 3 years we couldn't see any clear pattern in the release month for new vacuum cleaners. May was the biggest month last year for new vacuums, with 17 new vacuums released that month. 30 new vacuum cleaners were released in August 2019 making it the biggest month that year for new vacuum cleaner releases. In 2018 most new vacuums were released in August as well, with 91 new vacuums released that month.

How Fast Do Vacuum Prices Drop After Release?

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

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $20 on a typical $353 new vacuum 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 vacuums range from .035L to 450L. The capacities of most vacuum cleaners range from 0L to 2L. The Ecovacs DEEBOT, which is available at $118.00, has the largest capacity and is a 450L dust capacity vacuum cleaner. The VAX Air Cordless, which is available at $125.26, has the smallest capacity and is a .035L dust capacity vacuum cleaner.

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 4.5kg to 5.5kg. The Sealey PC477AK1, which currently retails for $337.41, has the heaviest weight and is a 39kg heavy vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner with the lightest weight is the DeWALT DC515N, which is a 100g heavy vacuum cleaner and currently retails for $53.99.

Maximum Input Powers

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

The maximum input powers of vacuums range from 10W to 4,200W. The maximum input powers of the majority of vacuums range from 600W to 800W. The Vacmaster VOC1210PF, which sells for $93.92, has the highest maximum input power and is a 3,728W vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner with the lowest maximum input power is the Kärcher KB 5, which is a 10W vacuum cleaner and currently retails for $80.25.

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 1,261 vacuums that are cylinder vacuums. Upright is the second most frequently found type amongst new vacuums. We found 565 vacuums that are upright vacuums.

Cleaning Types

Way in which device cleans something or itself.

We found 2,224 vacuums that are dry vacuum cleaners, which makes this the most frequently found cleaning type amongst new vacuums. Wet & dry is the second most popular cleaning type amongst new vacuum cleaners. We found 226 vacuum cleaners that are wet & dry 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 common energy efficiency rating amongst new vacuums is A. We found 848 vacuums that have an energy efficiency rating of A. We found 136 vacuums that have an energy efficiency rating of B, making B 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 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. 247 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 vacuums by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of vacuum cleaner prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's vacuum cleaner prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 93.6% of their vacuum cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.