The best vacuum cleaners to suit all budgets

The Stihl 33 is an impressively powerful wet and dry vacuum cleaner that boasts strong suction and covers a large surface area without needing to frequently swap power sockets. Plus it comes with a PET filter.

Unlike other wet and dry vacuums that have a single filter for both modes, such as the Karcher Wet and Dry WD1 Battery, the Stihl SE 33 requires converting from wet to dry mode which can be a bit fiddly. To enable dry mode, you’ll need to insert the PET filter and the optional dust bag into the 12-litre body and for wet mode, both need to be removed and instead a foam filter needs to be added. 

There are just two accessories that come with the vacuum: a standard crevice tool and an adjustable floor head for both carpets and hard floors. These accessories, alongside the two metre hose, can all be stored neatly on the body of the vacuum. 

Speaking of the hose, when combined with the four-metre cable the Stihl SE 33 can cover plenty of surface area without you needing to regularly swap power sockets. Although the body weighs a substantial 5.4kg when empty, the underside wheels means it’s still easy to push around.

Thanks to its hefty 1400W motor, the SE 33 is able to deliver a mammoth 405.89AW of suction, a performance that resulted in us concluding that it performs as well, if not better, than typical vacuum cleaners.

Although this raw power does make light work of cleaning up tough messes, it can cause the floor head to stick down on the surface you’re trying to clean, making it slightly difficult to push around. 

Overall the Stihl SE 33 is an exceptionally powerful, solidly built and reasonably-priced wet and dry vacuum cleaner that makes light work of household and DIY messes.

A beast of a cylinder vacuum cleaner, the Bissell SmartClean Pet weighs 9.98kg. This size doesn’t go to waste: the wide head and large 3-litre bin mean that you can clean a large area quickly, making this our favourite cylinder vacuum cleaner for large homes.

If the weight is causing concern, don’t let that put you off, as the large wheels make this much easier to move around. In our review, we found that this cylinder cleaner was as easy to move as any. There’s a long 3m hose gives you plenty of reach: we could tackle our stairs with the cleaner at the bottom. In fact, the only time we had to lift this vacuum cleaner was to physically go upstairs.

The core tool is the motorised brush, which is suitable for carpets and hard floors alike. It’s an anti-tangle brush, designed to stop hair wrapping around it. And, it works well: we didn’t have to cut any hair away from the roller during our testing.

As this is a large vacuum cleaner, it has a huge 3-litre bin. That’s absolutely massive to the extent that we only had to empty it every couple of weeks or so.

We measured suction at 227AW in maximum mode (that’s the required amount of power and outdoes many cordless cleaners on turbo mode), down to a more sedate 185AW on minimum: that’s a more useful power mode for thicker carpets. There’s an Auto mode, too: we found that this lets the SmartClean Pet adapt to the surface it was on perfectly.

Real-world tests showed that this cleaner was excellent: perfect cleaning to the edges, clean sweeps on carpet and hard floors and pet hair removed with no issue.

There’s are multiple clips for the wand: one for storage while cleaning, and a second one underside for storage when the vacuum is stood on its back. It’s a shame that there are no clips for the brush and crevice tool. The lack of a mini motorised tool for upholstery is a little disappointing, particularly for a vacuum cleaner aimed at pet owners.

This is a very large and heavy cylinder vacuum cleaner, but if that doesn’t bother you, its power and cleaning ability make it a great choice, particularly in large homes.

If there’s one problem with cylinder vacuum cleaners, it’s that they’re often bulky and messy to store. The Miele Boost CX1 is different.

First, it’s very small (280 x 400 x 400) and it weighs 7.8kg, which makes it more compact than the competition. Secondly, there’s room on board for all of the tools (dusting brush, crevice tool and upholstery brush), and there’s a clip for stowing the floor head. All-in, we found this the neatest and most compact cylinder we have tested.

The minor downside to such a cleaner is that the hose is a little shorter than on rivals, as is the power cable. As such, you may need to use a couple of extra power sockets to clean your home, compared to a regular cleaner.

We loved the power settings on this vacuum cleaner: they’re clearly labelled for the job at hand with settings for curtains and upholstery, rugs, carpet and hard floors. No more guessing which mode to use.

There’s a lot of power in this cleaner, too. We measured it at 89AW on its lowest setting, up to a massive 422AW on its maximum power. That’s a huge amount of suction, and great for picking up larger spills fast.

In our real-world tests, we found that mess on carpet was gone straight away and that the cleaner reached right to the edge of rooms. Hard floor pick-up was flawless. The only test that this cleaner struggled with was pet hair removal: with suction only, the Boost CX1 struggles to agitate and remove hair, and a cleaner with a motorised brush is really required. Miele does sell a Cat & Dog version that adds a motorised brush for these jobs.

If you’ve got a more modest home and like the idea of a cylinder cleaner, this compact and powerful model is a great choice.

Even though the outstanding Hoover HL5 has a secure spot on this list, the company has another excellent vacuum that’s well worth checking out in the form of the Hoover HL4 Pet. While it shares quite a few similarities with the HL5, the HL4 is a smaller device overall which makes it better suited to those who don’t want to push around a heavier vacuum cleaner, or those who don’t have much in the way of storage space.

At its core, the HL4 has all of the main features that you’d want out of a vacuum, namely the ability to swap between hard floor and carpet modes, as well as a vent to give you more precise control over the suction’s power.

That suction power is pretty high too, with our in-house tests showing a peak of 243AW. At that rate, it’s just shy of the Shark NZ860UKT and can pick up plenty of debris, even from a distance which is handy for any hard to reach places.

As its name implies, the HL4 Pet is more than ready to tackle any loose hair found on your floors, packing the same great Anti-Twist floor head from the HL5 which can funnel hair into the 1.2-lite bin without it getting tangled, which saves you from any additional bother after the cleaning’s done.

Also working in the HL4’s favour is its low price point. With an RRP of just £219, and the fact that it can often be found for less, the HL4 is cheaper than both the HL5 and a fair amount of competing upright cylinder vacuums, making it an easy one to recommend for anyone on a budget.

The only thing that holds the HL4 back is its lack of accessories. There are only two included in the box – a crevice tool and a mini pet brush – so if you’re looking to give every area of your home a good clean then you might want to pick out a vacuum with more versatility.

Big and powerful, the Karcher WD6 P Premium can suck up dust and larger debris from any surface fast. It comes with a smart filter cleaner, and can tackle wet spills without you having to change the filter. It’s perfect for proper filth and mess, such as wet plaster dust and sawdust from DIY jobs. If you find yourself doing a lot of work in and around your home, then the Karcher WD6 P Premium could well be for you.

Offering phenomenal power, an integrated power socket for power tools, and the ability to handle wet and dry mess, it’s an exceptional all-round vacuum cleaner. It’s quite large, though, and a bit unwieldy to store. As such, it’s best suited to those who have a garage or shed in which they can store the vacuum when it isn’t in use.

Karcher provides a few accessories in the box: a crevice tool, floor head (with a switch to raise the brushes for normal vacuuming, and lower them for water removal), a tool attachment, and a mini detail hose. The tool adapter lets you plug the vacuum cleaner into the back of a power tool to suck away dirt as you work.

Wet and dry vacuum cleaners aren’t subject to the same power restrictions as normal vacuum cleaners, which means there’s a lot more power on offer here. This enables the Karcher WD6 P Premium to suck up water, large bits of debris, and even higher volumes of dust and dirt than a regular vacuum cleaner. We measured it at at a huge 472AW, the most that we have seen from any vacuum cleaner.

Its huge capacity, the ability to tackle wet and dry mess, and a ridiculous amount of power means that the Karcher WD6 P Premium is perfect for any messy cleanup job. Try to suck up sawdust, and it will quickly clean an area in a fraction of the time that it would take a regular vacuum cleaner. And with wet spills or larger debris, it sucks up the mess in an instant. It’s also easy to empty, and the integrated filter cleaning option helps to maintain top performance as you work. If you regularly have dirty jobs to contend with, you’re unlikely to find anything better.

Easily one of the most recognisable vacuums in the UK, the Henry is known for its iconic design and (more importantly) its exceptional power and performance.

Available as the classic red Henry or the pink Hetty, the Numatic Henry HVR160 is able to make light work of most cleaning tasks from everyday household mess to even DIY work with minimal hassle. The Henry HVR160 is easy to manoeuvre too thanks to its wheeled cylindrical body however it’s worth noting that it does weigh 7.5kg so it isn’t the lightest vacuum to carry around.

Storing the Henry isn’t particularly neat either as there isn’t any dedicated space to house the 2.4m long hose, so it ends up loosely piled on top of the base. Having said that, the Henry does boast a manual handle to wind the cable back into the main body which neatens it up slightly. 

Included with the Henry HVR160 is a set of useful accessories, including a two-in-one floor head that can switch between carpets and hard floors, a crevice tool for hard to reach areas, a dusting brush and an upholstery brush. 

The Henry also boasts a massive 10m long power cable alongside a 2.4m hose, which should be enough to clean an entire floor from a single power socket. 

We found that the Numatic Henry was simply one of the most powerful vacuums we’ve ever tested, with its raw power measuring at a whopping 408AW. This means the Henry is able to pick up debris much faster than its rivals, although we did find that this sheer strength had a tendency to suck up lighter rugs, which can be a nuisance. 

Overall the Numatic Henry HVR160 is a classic for numerous reasons. Not only is it a design icon but it’s exceptionally powerful and comes equipped with numerous tools and a large 6-litre bin capacity.

The Vacmaster Respira is a fantastic budget-friendly, upright vacuum. Although it doesn’t boast some of the fancy extras of more expensive models, it’s still a powerful and hardworking vacuum cleaner that makes light work of tough jobs. 

The Respire comes in two versions: Standard and Pet, with the latter costing slightly more as it comes equipped with a mini motorised brush for cleaning pet hair from upholstery. Aside from this, the two are otherwise identical. 

Both versions include a clever three-in-one attachment which is a crevice tool that has a double-headed brush for dusting and cleaning upholstery. Although useful, we did find it quite fiddly to set up with the wand and use comfortably without needing to stoop over. 

In fact, we found the tools and wand of the vacuum felt cheaply made in places and required quite a precise set-up to work efficiently. 

In addition its two-litre bin, which needs to be removed to empty every couple of cleans, was also fairly stiff at first too and made it difficult for the vacuum to reach and clean under furniture.

What the Vacmaster Respira lacks in a premium finish, it more than makes up for in terms of performance.

Boasting an impressive 229AW suction power, the Vacmaster Respira is on a similar level to the more expensive Bissell SmartClean Pet although it does fall short behind the Shark NZ850UKT. Even so, we found the Respira performed admirably and was able to pick up mess easily, even right up to the edges of the room. 

Pet hair collection on carpet was especially impressive, thanks to the main floor head’s anti-tangle capability which prevents hair from becoming caught around the roller. 

Overall if you need a powerful yet budget-friendly vacuum for everyday cleaning then you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than the Vacmaster Respira. Just be aware that its budget price is reflected in the finish of the product.

If you’re searching for a big vacuum cleaner on a small budget, the Numatic Henry XL Plus is an excellent pick. 

The Henry XL Plus presents a supersized alternative to the classic Henry vacuum cleaner, ideal for tackling bigger spaces that require a larger capacity cleaner. 

This model is large, measuring 510x350x370mm and weighing 10kg. Thankfully, the attached wheels make it easy enough to move around despite its size. The vacuum has a huge 15-litre capacity (twice that of a regular Henry) and requires NVM-2BH HepaFlo bags. There’s also a second filter that sits on top of the bag, locking in dust effectively. 

The controls are comparable to a regular Henry, with Numatic including a single on/off switch to toggle power and an air vent at the top of the wand to reduce airflow. 

The wand and hose have good reach and we found that we were able to clean a full flight of stairs without moving the vacuum further than the top and bottom steps. 

The Henry XL Plus comes with a regular floorhead for cleaning hard floors and carpets, along with a dedicated hard floor tool and a turbo tool to agitate dirt that works well with pet hair, though it’s a shame the brush isn’t an anti-tangle one. For this reason, you’ll be better off opting for one of our best vacuums for pet hair if you’re a pet owner searching for something a bit more adept at tackling fur. 

The vacuum has 431AW of power, which is similar to the suction power of the standard Henry and just above that of the Shark CZ500UKT. The Henry XL Plus performed admirably in our tests, making it an excellent pick for anyone looking for a large-capacity vacuum cleaner to tackle big spaces.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full Review: Numatic Henry XL Plus

The Hoover HL5 Pet is a vacuum cleaner with anti-twist technology, making it ideal for cleaning up after your furry friend. 

The HL5 Pet is a smart-looking vacuum cleaner with a bold blue and yellow finish. There are also some useful design details, including a clear porthole in the top of the bin to show how full the vacuum is while cleaning. 

This particular model includes a large 1.4-litre bin with a filter that lifts out easily to be fully cleaned from time to time. There’s a washable foam filter beneath the bin and a HEPA filter at the front to keep dirt locked inside the vacuum. 

The HL5 Pet is easy to use in its upright mode and the LED lights highlight the floor as you clean, though not quite as strongly as the laser on the Dyson V15 Detect. The vacuum is lightweight and easy to push around with an air vent that helps reduce power when needed. There’s also a carpet mode, which sets the brush to maximum speed. 

The Push&Lift feature makes this cleaner very nimble when tackling tricky areas like stairs and car interiors, while the anti-twist technology prevents hair from getting caught in the roller making the HL5 Pet ideal for cleaning up after pets. 

Furthermore, there’s a crevice tool and a motorised pet tool in the box for stairs, pet beds and sofas, along with a wand and hose for reaching ceilings. 

The HL5 Pet is incredibly powerful for an upright vacuum, hitting 332AW in our tests. For comparison’s sake, the Shark NZ860UKT has 268AW of power, though the Shark vacuum does do a faster job in many instances. The HL5 Pet also performed well in our real-world tests, especially when faced with pet and human hair. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full Review: Hoover HL5 Pet