While we've tested all kinds of the best vacuums, including premium splurge models that retail for nearly $2,000, we've found that a modest threshold of $200 can get you a solid and reliable vacuum. Suction power and ease of use are the most important factors for any vacuum. Those after the best cheap vacuum can rest easy knowing we've tested various budget-friendly models that are up to whatever mess you throw at them. Though we use the word "cheap" throughout, we're referring to the best value vacuums — the most performance and utility you can get for the least amount of money.
What our testing found: Budget vacuums can clean surprisingly well, but they usually compromise on large-debris pickup, bin emptying, runtime on max mode, and premium features like automatically adjusting suction, auto-emptying, LED displays and sealed HEPA filtration. In our tests, the best cheap vacuums weren't always the newest or flashiest models — the strongest values were the ones that aced our cleaning tests with flour, cereal, pet hair, and litter consistently without frustrating maintenance and were easy to handle. Our picks for the best cheap vacuums deliver an effective clean, and that's what really matters. —
Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and researches home products.
Our picks for the best cheap vacuums:
Best cheap upright vacuum: Bissell Cleanview Swivel Pet Vacuum - $140 $120 at Amazon
Best cheap cordless cordless: Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Stick - $200 $140 at Amazon
Best vacuum under $100: Tikom V500 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner - $100 $80 at Amazon
Best cheap HEPA vacuum: Shark Navigator Deluxe Liftaway - $200 at Amazon
Best upgrade cordless vacuum: Bissell Powerclean FurFinder - $260 $200 at Amazon
Best cheap robot vacuum: Roborock Q7 M5+ - $300 at Amazon
Best cheap handheld vacuum: Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum - $50 $40 at Amazon
Best cheap upright vacuum
The Bissell Cleanview Swivel Vacuum is a bit large but powerful and operates smoothly. It comes with attachments to pick up pet hair and clean hard-to-reach spots.
What we like
What we don't like
This is your classic corded upright vacuum. As restrictive as the cords can be on these vacuums, The Bissell's Cleanview Swivel Vacuum builds in many thoughtful design features to compensate for the inconvenience.
- Read more about the best upright vacuums
It passed all of our cleaning tests with flying colors. The large, square cleaner head has a brush roll that effectively lifts and removes small and large debris. From whole Cheerios to fine flour, the vacuum sucked up all the particles cleanly and quickly. It worked well with pet hair as well, resisting hair wrap. It's also our choice as the best affordable pet vacuum.
It has five settings for different floor types, which you must bend down and adjust at the top of the cleaner head. But turning on the vacuum is as easy as pressing a lever at the base with your foot. There's also a separate foot pedal to tilt the vacuum and allow it to swivel in different directions.
The 0.26-gallon dust bin is generous. It's easy to remove by clicking the release button at the top. The contents empty out at the bottom so you'll have minimal or no direct contact with all the dirt and dust. The bin has a handle on top to easily carry the vacuum up and down stairs or to different rooms.
The vacuum is already a great deal for its consistent, powerful suction and easy maneuverability. Even better, it comes with a few attachments, which you affix to the 6-foot-long hose to clean upholstery or get into crevices. We might still prefer a cordless handheld vacuum for these cleaning tasks, but it's nice to have the option here. We love that the attachments are stored directly on the vacuum, so you'll never lose them. For added convenience, consider the Cleanview Swivel Rewind edition, which will automatically retract the cord at the touch of a button, no wrapping required.
Best cheap cordless vacuum
Levoit's cordless stick vacuum offers great performance for the price. It can clean for up to 50 minutes, has three power settings, and has a special ability to store upright.
What we like
What we don't like
The Levoit LVAC-200 is effective at cleaning everyday messes and pet hair from a variety of surfaces. It retails at the $200 mark and is frequently on sale. It's exceptionally lightweight (just over six pounds) and features user-friendly design elements like the ability to stand on its own and LED headlights. For a value-price cleaner, it doesn't feel cheap.
- Read more about the best cordless vacuums.
In our cleaning tests, it easily picked up flour, sugar, and rice on carpets and hard floors. Larger debris like cereal took a few extra passes but was eventually suctioned up. Even better, we didn't encounter hair tangling or clogging in the brush roll, which incorporates a rubber fin style on the brushroll to send strands directly into the dustbin. The accompanying pet tool and crevice tool were great for cleaning upholstery and along floorboards, respectively.
The Levoit LVAC-200 has three power settings. It's easy to toggle through with a press of a button and offers up to 50 minutes of cleaning time when used on its lowest power setting. We preferred cleaning on the medium setting, which averaged about 25 minutes, while Turbo mode, which is great for carpets, lasted about 16 minutes.
The vacuum uses a five-part filtration system, which includes a metal filter, pre-motor filters, and a post-motor filter. The system captures 99.9% of 0.3-micron particles, but it is not HEPA-certified.
Read our full Levoit LVAC-200 review for more information.
Best vacuum under $100
For under $100, the Tikom V500 impressed with the highest rated suction power I've found, battery life that matches advertising claims, and convenient LED lights to help spot debris.
What we like
What we don't like
Tikom is giving the top brands a run for their money. Our senior commerce director was on the hunt for the cheapest cordless vacuum that that could keep up after his shedding cat and maneuver around his city apartment. The almost-too-good-to-be true $100 price tag on the Tikom V500 intrigued him with higher rated suction power than any other comparably priced models, and generally favorable reviews. It even features a 7-stage HEPA filtration system that captures 99.99% of microscopic dust particles.
It's quite effective. It's a very maneuverable roller head and has had no problems picking up loose hair, crumbs, cat litter, and kibble on hard floors, carpeted areas, and rugs. He's noticed minimal hair wrap or clogs around the brush roll. The LED lights on the roller also help show smaller debris and the telescoping wand is also useful to accommodate the comfort of people of varying heights.
The 1.3 liter dustbin is actually bigger than our top recommendations from Shark and Dyson. However, our reviewer thought it was on the small side. Hair clings to the filter inside quite easily, but this did not seem to hamper suction performance in regular or turbo modes. The battery actually exceeded the 32 minute, running for 34 minutes in normal mode, or 19 on turbo. It was enough to clean a small apartment. Charging takes roughly five hours from empty.
The Tikom V500 isn't capable of free-standing, and is very top-heavy. It does come with a wall mount, and the white design keeps it simple to display without being distracting, but it is available in other colorways too like orange and black or blue and white.
Best cheap HEPA vacuum
The Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360 features a detachable pod for cleaning surfaces other than your floor; it also includes a HEPA filter for allergens and swivel steering for easy maneuverability.
What we like
What we don't like
The Shark Navigator has a loyal user following and is one of Shark's most long-standing designs. The Navigator employs Shark's signature Lift-Away functionality where the dust-bin and motor separate from the base to be carried like a pod. It brings extra versatility to an upright design for above-floor cleaning tasks, from stairs to upholstery and everywhere in between.
For general cleaning, the Navigator performed well at pulling up the dust bunnies. However, its size and weight may make it cumbersome to maneuver and swivel for some. During testing, however, it also failed to pick up large quantities of our test material — which included flour, sugar, and kibble — and streaks of flour were left on the carpet and hardwood. Everything was suctioned up, but it did take multiple passes. There's also a brushroll shut-off feature that can be engaged when cleaning on hard floors, and the vacuum is HEPA rated.
The Shark Navigator is frequently sold across various retailers with subtle differences. We tested the NV360 model. It retails for $200, but is often on sale for far less.
Our guide to the best Shark vacuums compares its top performing models.
Best cordless upgrade
The Bissell PowerClean FurFinder is a great value-driven cordless vacuum with three suction settings, bright LED lights, a tangle-free brush-roll, and up to 40 minutes of battery life. Bonus, it can stand upright when not in use, and the wall-dock has space to store the two attachments.
What we like
What we don't like
The Bissell PowerClean FurFinder slightly exceeds our $200 threshold, but can frequently be found on sale, making it an even smarter buy. It offers three cleaning modes, HEPA filtration, super bright LED lights, useful attachments and can stand upright on it's own. The vacuum's battery lasts about 40 minutes on Eco, but I preferred using medium power, which was also sufficient on carpet, and lasted about 22 minutes. The battery life on the Levoit is slightly longer, but the build quality on the Bissell feels more substantial.
It's been great for general cleaning, but struggled with large debris and super fine flour. Whisking it around my house has been a breeze and I noticed an improvement in how clean my floors were. My main gripe compared to some of the higher end vacuums I've used is that my long strands of hair did wrap around the brushroll. Putting it through our standardized tests as well, however, I noticed how it was unable to pick up large pieces of cereal and while it was OK at picking up flour, a lot of it ended coating the inside of the cleanerhead as opposed to making its way to the dustbin.
I recommend this vacuum for pet owners. Though my long hair inconveniently wrapped around the brushroll, it had no issue pulling up embedded fur from the carpets. It also comes with a motorized brushroll attachment, what Bissell dubs its FurFinder tool, perfect for small jobs and upholstery. But if hair wrap is your top concern, see our full guide to the best vacuums for pet hair.
I have mixed thoughts on the dustbin, too. I've grown accustomed to only needing one hand to empty the dustbin, so the act of unscrewing the lid is an extra step that has taken getting used to. The advantage of Bissell's design however, is that I've never once need to reach in to pull out any stuck debris, it just pours out.
Best cheap robot vacuum
Even as a budget-friendly robot vacuum, the Roborock Q7 M5 7+ you don't feel like cleaning performance is compromised and offers smart features like smart home mapping and a decent number of cleaning customization options.
What we like
What we don't like
A budget-friendly robot vacuum with smart features. The bump-and-roll style robots were once your only entry level options, but as robotic floorcare technology has evolved, you can find more fully hands-off robot cleaners. The Roborock Q7 M5+ offers hands-off convenience with smart home mapping and intelligent navigation, thanks to LIDAR technology. It also introduces an auto-empty dock and mopping capabilities for around $300, and almost half that when on sale.
Convenience and customizations: The biggest upgrade from our previous pick, the Shark Ion robot vac, is that the Roborock can map your home, which lets you easily set cleaning routes and schedules as well as no-go zones, and adjust suction power and water levels. The self-empty dock is a convenient upgrade too, holding a 2.7 liter dustbag that can last for up to seven weeks.
Decent cleaning performance for the price. This likely won't fully replace you grabbing a vacuum from the closet ever again, but it passed our debris tests, suctioning up almost all of the Cheerios, rice, and hair, despite more middling results with finer materials, like baking soda. It also mops too, with a microfiber mop pad, reminiscent of a Swiffer, which you'll want to wet before starting a cleaning run and clean up promptly. It applies a subtle downward pressure to polish up floors and
And if you want to spend even less, consider the Roborock Q7 M5, which is frequently on sale for as low as $150 but skips the auto-empty base in favor of a larger onboard dustbin. All the other core specs remain the same.
Best handheld
The Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model HHVI315JO42) is the most affordable and best handheld vacuum we tested. It performs well on carpet, hardwood, and in the car.
What we like
What we don't like
The best handheld vacuum we tested was also the most affordable. It's the classic Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model HHVI315JO42), a hardworking pint-sized handheld, but it does have a limited battery life of 12 minutes, making it best suited for quick clean ups.
It was one of the best at cleaning on every surface in our tests, especially hardwood. While most of the vacs struggled with flour and Cheerios, the Dustbuster was the best at picking up both of these materials. It also was quieter than most of the models we tested, but it was still about as loud as a noisy restaurant.
The Dustbuster couldn't be easier to use. It only weighs about 2 pounds, is well-balanced, and operates using two buttons: an on/off button and a dustbin-release button. Once you release the dustbin, you pull out the filter to empty debris. The filter is washable in soap and warm water.
Our guide to the best handheld vacuums has more recommendations.
Our top picks compared
| Our pick | The winner | Standout feature | Type | Dustbin size | Weight | Filter type |
| Best upright | Bissell Cleanview Swivel Pet Vacuum | Powerful suction with swivel steering | Upright | 0.26 gallons | 15 pounds | Washable |
| Best cordless | Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Stick | Three power setting, solid 50-minute runtime, and lightweight | Cordless Stick | 0.75 liters | 6.1 pounds | 5-stage filtration with washable filters |
| Best under $100 | Tikom V500 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner | Converts to handheld | Cordless Stick | 1.3 liters | 5.5 pounds | HEPA |
| Best robot vacuum under $200 | Shark Ion Robot Vacuum | Hands-free floor cleaning | Robot | 6.6 pounds | ||
| Best handheld | Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum | Compact and portable | Handheld | 0.25 gallons | 2.1 pounds | Cloth |
| Best HEPA vacuum | Shark Navigator Deluxe Liftaway | Lift-away canister for stairs | Upright (lift-away) | 0.9 quarts | 16 pounds | HEPA |
| Best cordless upgrade | Bissell Powerclean FurFinder | Pet-focused accessories, bright LED lights | Cordless Stick | 0.4 liters | 7.3 pounds | HEPA |
What to look for in the best cheap vacuum
Not all cheap vacuums are created equal. Often, shoddy construction results in your vacuum parts or motor breaking down within months of use. Here are some features to look for in a vacuum, even if you're being budget-conscious:
Motor: The motor is the most important contributor to suction and, thus, cleaning ability. Edward Chudleigh, a former Dyson engineer of 11 years, recommends a brushless motor: "Brushless motors are very efficient and translate much more of the available power from the battery to cleaning the floor. The trouble with brushed motors is that there is more friction in the system, which eats some of the battery power and, among other things, makes the machine less efficient."
Brush roll: The size, placement, and type of brush on the vacuum affect how much dust is swept up and also whether the brushes can dig into various surfaces to lift up dirt and debris.
Filter: Look for HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters, which are allergy-friendly. They trap and remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, dirt, mold, bacteria, and other airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns.
Battery life (if applicable): Cheaper cordless vacuums may not have as long a battery life as more expensive competitors. You may need to charge your battery more often or consider buying a replacement backup battery to keep on hand for longer cleaning jobs.
Cord and hose length (if applicable): Long cords and hoses reduce the need to hunt around the house for an open outlet. The average cord length of an upright vacuum is 25-30 feet.
Warranty: Even budget vacuums should come with at least one year of warranty on parts and labor. All our best cheap vacuum picks come warranty that span one to three years. Make sure to register your vacuum to speed up the warranty process later.
How we test the best cheap vacuums
Vacuuming Performance : We tested each of the vacuums against five materials (flour, ground coffee, cat litter, whole Cheerios, and dog hair) on both carpets and hard floors like hardwood or tile. We scattered a pre-measured amount of each material on each surface — resulting in 10 tests for each vacuum — and rated each vacuum on its ability to suck up the material powerfully, cleanly, and thoroughly. Our robot vacuum testing also included corner cleaning and obstacle avoidance. If the vacuum came with attachments, we also tested the attachments on appropriate surfaces (e.g., crevice tool on furniture cushions and car seats) and rated their effectiveness.
Comfort and ease of use: We evaluated each vacuum's ergonomics, including how tiring it was to hold, how easy it was to maneuver, and how much effort was required to turn it on and operate it. We also noted whether it could fit under low furniture and whether it had helpful features, such as headlights to illuminate the cleaning path.
Disposal method: We assessed how clean and easy it was to empty the dustbin after a cleaning session. We considered how the bin opened, whether debris emptied completely, and whether we had to reach inside and touch leftover dirt or dust.
Battery life: If the vacuum is cordless, we used it until its battery died and compared the actual battery life to the advertised battery life.
Storage: We noted how the vacuum breaks down into multiple parts and whether it comes with a wall mount or docking station.
Meet the expert behind the guide:
Jaclyn Turner, senior home editor: I've been covering floorcare for the last five years, and have tested countless vacuums,so I've seen fisthand what sets a great vacuum from an OK. When staying in budget is the highest priority, I'm looking for products that make cleaning floors fast and easy. In addition to testing many of these vacuums myself, I work with a team of product testers who replicate our methodology and then provide insights on their experience, and then I go through the results to compile the best options. James Brains and Connie Chen contributed to earlier iterations of this guide.
Cheap vacuum FAQs
How long does a cheap vacuum last?
According to data from Consumer Reports, vacuum cleaners can last for a median of 8 years.
However, it depends on how often you use your vacuum and how well you maintain it. Cheap vacuum motors may not have the same longevity as those of more premium options, costing you more in the long run if you find yourself replacing them sooner than you planned.
What is the average price of a vacuum cleaner?
We've tested $50 vacuums all the way up to $1,000 plus options, so the landscape can vary widely. For a cheap vacuum, we set the parameters at under $200 for an upright or cordless and under $350 for a robot vacuum. The sweet spot for an affordable option is right around $150.
When is the best time to buy a vacuum?
Vacuum cleaners go on sale frequently throughout the year, especially around the holidays and major shopping events like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. Typical discounts range from about 25% to 50% off on top brands, giving you the opportunity to snag a more premium model for less.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
