How much should you spend on a vacuum cleaner? Expert advice to avoid overspending

Vacuum cleaners can cost as little as $100 or as much as $1,000. That's a big price difference for something that largely does one thing: vacuum your floors.

When it comes to knowing exactly how to choose a vacuum cleaner, the first step is considering what features are dealbreakers within your budget, and how to get the most for your money. The range in price often accounts for different factors like suction power and smart features, but even the best vacuums have flashy features that aren't always essential, so you can save yourself $100s if you know what to prioritize.

I'm Homes & Gardens' home tech editor and I've reviewed plenty of vacuum cleaners from all budgets. Here's everything I've learned on how to find the right vacuum cleaner for the right price.

How much should you spend on a vacuum?

From the best cordless vacuums to the best vacuums for pet hair, I've tested all types of vacuum cleaners, from big brands to budget options, here are my expert thoughts on how much you should spend.

Is a budget vacuum cleaner worth it?

While it might seem like a smart move, buying a budget vacuum cleaner can cost you more time and money down the line. The product pages of low-budget and off-brand vacuums will list all the features you're looking for: powerful suction, pet hair pickup, anti-hair wrap, long battery life, and smart features – to name just a few, but in reality, these are often exaggerated marketing claims.

These descriptors to make it seem like they're the same as the more expensive competitors, but words like 'powerful' and 'smart' don't refer to anything specific or comparative within industry standards. Any vacuum cleaner is powerful in the fact that it can vacuum.

From testing vacuum cleaners of all budgets, I know this to be true. Budget brands like Proscenic and Vactidy offer affordable vacuum options, but they generally aren't able to completely do the job. When testing multiple vacuums at once, I often have to rely on other, more capable vacuums to clean the mess that the budget ones aren't able to take care of. We have tested some reasonably impressive budget vacuums like the Ultenic U12 Vesla (which surprised our testers considering it costs under $200), but generally a budget vacuum cleaner will leave mess behind and could even break not long into their lifespan.

But if the real deal is a bit out of your price range, there are other ways to save on a vacuum cleaner. The surest option is to wait until a big sale event like Prime Day or Black Friday where you can often find $100s off some of the best vacuums available. There are also other sale events throughout the year (which you can see for yourself at our best vacuum deals hub), where the brands themselves will occasionally run site-wide sales.

When shopping for deals, there are a few tips to know if you're getting an actual good deal. Honey is a great browser extension that can show price history and comparisons across a number of online retailers, and CamelCamelCamel will show historical price information for any product on Amazon.

Another option is to visit online retailers like Walmart, Amazon or Best Buy as they tend to stock older models of vacuum cleaners, whereas vacuum brands themselves typically only stock their latest models. When retailers are clearing out old stock, they'll reduce the price to sell them out faster. So, while it might not be the best model available right now, you could buy a vacuum cleaner that was perhaps the best a few years ago for a fraction of the original price.

So, how much should you spend on a vacuum cleaner?

If you have more money to spare, it's wise to see it as an investment. Vacuum cleaners are high-use appliances which have a huge impact on the homes we live in, often being used at least once a week or even most days. A good vacuum cleaner will also last for years so it's important to make sure you get a reliable one.

The quality of your vacuum cleaner will dictate how clean your home is and how much time you need to spend vacuuming. The absolute best vacuum cleaner will be able to clear all dust, dirt and hair in one run, making a whole-house clean an easy task. Down the line, this can save you hours of time on chores and will leave your floors looking spotless.

When it comes to value for money Shark is a great choice. Some of their best models like the Shark Detect Pro Cordless or the Shark Stratos Upright sit around the $300-400 mark, which is a reasonable cost considering how well they can clean your floors. I'm personally a big fan of Shark because they typically don't overprice their products, and they come with thoughtful features like odor-neutralization or multi-use cleaner heads that can improve your home cleaning routine.

But if you're looking for the absolute best, I'd have to recommend the market leader: Dyson. Their vacuums' suction power is unrivalled, being able to clean everything from the floor in one run, with attachments and smart features to make cleaning as easy as possible.

Their best vacuum cleaners are in the 'Detect' range, but sadly this can set you back around $500 to $1,000. The Dyson Gen5detect is the best of the best (costing around $1,000), but you can get similar features and suction power in the Dyson V12 Detect Slim which costs around $650. They are often on sale however (this Prime Day the Dyson V15 Detect was on sale with $200 off at its lowest ever price), so if you're looking for the top-of-the-line then be sure to keep a lookout for any deals.

With vacuum cleaners you do generally get what you pay for, where if you spend more you'll get more out of it. But this isn't always the case. Some luxury brands like Samsung and Miele have some impressive and stylish vacuums, but they are slightly overpriced as you can get a more effective Dyson for a similar price.

In short, for a good vacuum cleaner, you're looking to spend at least $300. If you're looking for the best, be prepared to spend a few hundred more.