I tested the new Ultenic U20 and it's a great budget vacuum for hard floors with surprisingly strong suction, but here's where it falls short

Ultenic has long been my go-to recommendation for a budget vacuum brand with surprisingly strong offerings. I don't usually advise buying budget vacuums, but Ultenic has been the exception thanks to impressive suction and premium-like features.

So, when the brand-new Ultenic U20 was announced, I was excited to get my hands on it. It's promised to be the more powerful successor to the U16 Flex – one of my favorite budget alternatives to Dyson vacuums.

I put the Ultenic U20 through its paces in a local pet shelter and our dedicated test center, to see if it's worth your time as one of the best cordless vacuums on a budget.

The one-minute review

The Ultenic U20 cleans well when you consider its low price point, but it falls short in some major areas that shouldn't be ignored. It struggles to vacuum pet hair from carpets, and it gets clogged easily when cleaning large amounts of debris.

But unless your home has carpets and pets, this is a great choice to save hundreds of dollars on a vacuum cleaner. It can clean hard floors with no issues, and it's strong enough to vacuum fine dust from between the panels of wooden floors.

If you need something stronger, I'd recommend the Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off, the Shark Cordless PowerDetect, or the Dyson V11 that cost a little bit more. All performed better on test.

• Buy the Ultenic U20 for $219.99 at Ultenic.

Ultenic U20: Specifications

Ultenic U20: Design and features

Three of the U20's main design features are displayed on its floorhead, with a key one being its 'GreenEye Technology' that promises to illuminate hidden dust. It's essentially a green light that shines close to the ground to show dust and hair that you can't normally see. It's fairly common in recent cordless vacuums – but it has to be done right to avoid being one of many vacuum feature gimmicks.

The best Dyson vacuums paved the way with laser illumination to reveal hidden dust, and up until recently, the Ultenic U16 Flex (the predecessor to the U20) was the only vacuum that had managed to recreate it. But sadly, the green light on the U20 is positioned higher up on the floorhead, and is notably less effective at seeking out dust.

You can see this in the video below from when vacuuming at the pet shelter, as the light didn't illuminate any debris or hair more clearly. When I looked closer, there was mess there that was just as visible with or without the light:

That being said, the floorhead itself is bigger and sturdier than the U16. The U20 can also stand up by itself, which is always useful in a cordless vacuum for easier vacuum storage, avoiding having to lean it against the wall or screwing in a mount – both of which can result in you having to patch up your walls.

It also has a dusting brush built into the vacuum unit. So rather than removing the wand then attaching the cleaning tool, you can save yourself from carrying it around the house by simply extending it:

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The dusting brush is built-in

Dusting brush extended

Pet owners and allergy sufferers will be grateful for the HEPA filter, which is essential when shopping for the best vacuums for allergies as it captures pollen, dander and dust that can trigger symptoms. It comes with a spare replacement filter, but it would be more sustainable (and avoid recurring costs) if the HEPA filter was washable.

The U20 can bend at the wand to reach under furniture more easily, similar to the Shark Cordless PowerDetect which is one of our favorites on test.

You get three suction modes: floor, carpet, and turbo. Each is a step-up in suction power from the last, and is a great way to reserve the higher power usage for areas that need it best, and preserve your battery when cleaning easy hard floors.

I tested the airflow for each suction mode using an anemometer. It reaches 8.5 mph on floor mode, 9.6 mph on carpet, and 15.6 mph on turbo. This is higher than I've seen in some cordless vacuums that cost more (such as the Levoit LVAC-300), and significantly lower than premium vacuums (such as the Dyson V11). So at this price, I'd say this is relatively strong.

It's powered using a trigger, but instead of requiring constant pressing, the trigger works as an on/off button. This helps avoid fatigue when cleaning, especially for those with limited mobility.

I'm a fan of the bright gold and purple colorway, and its another example of Ultenic taking design notes from Dyson, making them some of the best Dyson alternatives in this regard.

What is the Ultenic U20 like to use?

The Ultenic U20 weighs just 3.75lbs, making it one of the most lightweight vacuums we've tested (cordless vacuums average around 5-8lbs). Its flexibility isn't to be ignored either, as you can easily weave into tight spaces and reach under furniture thanks to its ability to lie close to the ground and bend at the wand. If it wasn't for the battery positioning, it would be able to lie almost completely flat.

I tested noise levels using the DecibelX app, and it ranges from 61.3 to 72 decibels, depending on suction mode and whether the motorized floorhead is attached. This is a little quieter than your average cordless stick (it's usually around 65 to 75 decibels), and notably quieter than the best upright vacuums which can go louder than 80 decibels.

Its cleaning power is good for the price, but there's still a lot to be desired. It has no problem vacuuming hard floors like hardwood and linoleum, but it struggles a little when tackling carpets – particularly if there's a high volume of debris (more on this below).

You can choose between suction modes using the touch control screen, and it's positioned helpfully so that you can do it with the same hand that's vacuuming. I love this design thought, as it keeps your other hand free to move objects out of the way whilst cleaning.

If you're vacuuming on 'floor' mode, when you turn it off it will do a 2-second burst of high suction to pull any internal debris into the dustbin. It's a nice touch to avoid your vacuum losing suction power by helping to prevent blockages.

I found that when using turbo mode, the handle can get warm. Usually, vacuums are designed to avoid this by limiting heat exposure to internal parts and blowing out cool air, and I'm concerned for the vacuum's durability if its external parts are heating up just from using it normally.

I also found that the U20 can be a little stiff when vacuuming carpets and rugs.

• Buy the Ultenic U20 for $219.99 at Ultenic.

Ultenic U20: Flour and sugar test

I tested the Ultenic U20 using a half cup of flour and sugar in our dedicated test center. This test demonstrates the vacuum's ability to pick up fine powder and small powders, similar to the dust and dead skin you'll find at home. It's also an effective visual test, highlighting where mess has been left behind or become stuck in the internal parts.

On hardwood and linoleum, the Ultenic U20 picked up almost everything in its first pass on floor mode, then carpet mode (in the video above) was able to get those bits left behind between the wooden panels. This is strong performance, as more expensive cordless vacuums have left more behind, and it could easily be one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors if you're on a budget, especially with its safe rubber wheels.

On carpet, the Ultenic U20 impressed once again. On carpet mode, it cleared all visible powder after one forward-and-backward pass. When using turbo mode (in the video above) – it was almost entirely cleared in one forward pass. Cordless vacuums don't typically perform too well in this test, especially when you compare a budget Ultenic vacuum against a $750 Dyson.

Ultenic U20: Pantry test

I tested the Ultenic U20 using a cup of cereal and lentils to see how it handles debris of different sizes. Some vacuums crush the cereal down, some fling it across the floor, and some aren't able to pick it up at all.

On hardwood and linoleum, the Ultenic U20 had varying success across the different suction modes:

• On floor mode, it mostly pushed the pieces forward and vacuumed very little.
• On carpet mode, a few pieces were pushed forward, one was flung to the side, and two fell out – but it picked up almost all of it in the first pass.
• And on turbo mode, it incredibly picked up everything in one and nothing leaked out.

On carpet, the results were less successful. The vacuum powered down and a red light indicated a blockage, so I had to remove the dustbin and see that cereal pieces were getting stuck in the inlet valve between the wand and the dustbin.

This happened two or three more times, and the high volume of mess resulted in the vacuum losing suction power each time. It was quite a messy affair, with cereal pouring out of the floorhead and the dustbin opening every time I tried to unblock it (my vacuum jargon buster explains these terms).

Now – we test with high volumes of debris to see exactly what a vacuum is capable of in the most extreme cases, but unless you’re frequently vacuuming large amounts of pet kibble, for instance, then this shouldn't be an issue. And if so, an easy fix is to vacuum bit-by-bit to avoid overloading the small dustbin opening.

But it's certainly worth taking into account as, over time, it's possible that blockages will happen more and more frequently.

Ultenic U20: Pet hair test

I tested the Ultenic U20 at Bristol ARC, a local cat and dog shelter, to see how well it can handle pet hair across different floor types, as well as the busy mess of an environment with high foot traffic.

I would say the U20's performance on pet hair is its biggest disappointment. On hard floors, it had no problem picking up dust, stones and hair in a single pass. But on carpets, it didn't do much at all.

Barely anything was picked up from the entrance mat. Granted, this is one of the most difficult cleaning tasks as the bumpy, high-friction material poses a challenge for most vacuums. But almost every hair was still there after repeated passes, and many of them didn't even move. It cleaned some feathers and loose debris, but the brushroll doesn’t seem strong enough to agitate the fabric.

When vacuuming carpet using carpet mode - the performance was OK. All debris was vacuumed in one or two passes, but it picked up maybe 60% of visible hairs while the small, stubborn ones were left behind.

I wouldn't recommend it as the best vacuum for pet hair unless your home has exclusively hard floors.

Ultenic U20: Attachments test

Having a built-in dusting brush is handy for quick dusting while you're vacuuming around your house, and it was great at cleaning the pet shelter's baseboards and shelves.

But when it comes to tight spaces, it became frustrating. When trying to vacuum a window sill, the large dustbin blocked the brush from reaching the corner (as seen in the above video).

The only other tool is the crevice tool, which doesn't do a great deal when trying to clean your windows. It would be great to see Ultenic introduce an upholstery tool or motorized brush, to help remove pet hair from fabric and sofas more easily.

Ultenic U20: Setup and maintenance

Before using the Ultenic U20 you have to wait for the battery to fully charge. For me, this took two hours and five minutes, then I attached the battery to the vacuum, attached the wand and floorhead – and it was ready to go.

There isn't too much vacuum maintenance aside from regularly cleaning the vacuum, and as the dustbin is completely removable, this is easier than with other cordless sticks as you can clean it more thoroughly.

After testing at the pet shelter however, barely any pet hair fell out of the dustbin when emptying. I had to go in and pull it out myself – so if you're often vacuuming pet hair, you might want to avoid this model.

It's a nice touch that Ultenic include a replacement HEPA vacuum filter, but I prefer washable filters that don't need replacing, like with the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, as they're better financially and sustainably.

How does the Ultenic U20 compare?

The Ultenic U20 comfortably sits at the lower end of the vacuum market, costing $219.99 at Ultenic. It's the most expensive cordless vacuum from Ultenic thus far.

The Ultenic U16 Flex [at Amazon] is the U20's predecessor, and has been my go-to recommendation for those looking for a budget cordless. It's surprisingly powerful considering it costs around $150 – it doesn't achieve a great deal on carpet, but it's powerful enough for homes with hard floors. It's also the only non-Dyson with a dust-revealing laser that actually works. My full Ultenic U16 Flex review goes into more details.

Another great budget vacuum is the Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off, which also sells for $219.99 when Bissell runs promotions. It performs better than the Ultenic U20 in every single way, except for the fact that it's corded, so you don't get the same freedom of movement. Our full Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off review reveals more.

If you're strictly cordless-only, I'd personally recommend spending a little more and going for the Shark Cordless PowerDetect. It's often on sale for around $319.99, and for that extra $100 you're getting a significant increase in suction, floorhead efficacy, durability, and pet hair performance. Read more in our full Shark Cordless PowerDetect review.

If the Shark Cordless PowerDetect isn't on sale however, and you need a vacuum now, go for the Dyson V11. It costs similar to the Shark and is perhaps the strongest cordless vacuums at that price, as you'll see in my full Dyson V11 review.

Should you buy the Ultenic U20?

The Ultenic U20 certainly has drawbacks, most notably its poor performance on pet hair and how easily it becomes blocked. But if you're looking for a lightweight vacuum that can tackle your home's hard floors, this is a fantastic way to achieve clean floors while spending a fraction of what you would elsewhere.

If you live in a messy, busy home, I wouldn't recommend this. Instead, look at the best corded vacuums to better equip yourself.

• Buy the Ultenic U20 for $219.99 at Ultenic.

How I tested the Ultenic U20

I tested the Ultenic U20 for a full day at our dedicated test center, using standardized substances on carpet, hardwood and linoleum. I then tested it for a day at a local pet shelter where I vacuumed pet hair from low-pile carpet, medium-pile carpet, thick rugs, and hard floors.

Still on the hunt for your next vacuum? Our ultimate best vacuum cleaners guide will help you decide, or our dedicated best robot vacuums guide can take chore time off your hands.