The 5 Best Canister Vacuums The Spruce Has Tested

Best Overall

Kenmore Elite 21814 CrossOver Canister Vacuum

$450 $420 at Amazon $450 at Walmart

In our experience, the Kenmore Elite 21814 CrossOver Canister Vacuum can zap up 95 percent of debris from carpet in just one pass. Along with its exceptional suction power, it has several attachments in its box, too, to thoroughly clean hard-to-reach areas and grab pet hair or dust from upholstery. All that said, this machine is an easy pick for our best overall canister vacuum.

Now, if you've never used a bagged vacuum like this one, you should know that bagged and bagless vacuums offer different advantages in general. The former tend to seal away dirt and allergens more efficiently, while the latter can be more cost-effective in the long run, since replacement bags aren't needed—as we mentioned a bit ago. With this model, the bagged design pairs well with the strong filter, seemingly helping with the overall air quality in our home. 

Another perk we noticed was just how little hair stuck to the roller brush. So, if you’re shopping for a canister vacuum for your pet-loving household, the Kenmore Elite 21814 is an excellent option. The 26-foot cord is also the longest on our list, allowing you to clean larger areas of floor without having to stop and switch outlets.

The one quirk we noticed with this machine is that the wheels seem to work better when rolling forward, so be ready for some extra maneuvering if you need to make lots of twists and turns.

_{Weight: 23 pounds | Bag Type: Bagged | Cord Length: 26 feet | Attachments: Motorized pet PowerMate, dusting brush, crevice tool, fan tool}

Best Overall, Runner-Up

Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog Canister Vacuum

$999 $949 at Amazon $629 at Wayfair $1,000 at Crate And Barrel

Another powerhouse pick, the Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat and Dog Bagless Canister Vacuum is specifically designed for pet owners, but is versatile enough that animal-free homes can still enjoy it, too. (We also stand by the fact that if a vacuum can handle pet messes, it can handle anything.)

This vacuum comes with five different attachments (not including the motorized brush head) that allow you to clean virtually any floor type, plus upholstery. On its lowest setting, this vacuum easily picked up dog kibble and crumbs from hard flooring, and on the highest setting managed them on high-pile carpet.

The Miele Blizzard CX1 is bagless (unlike our best overall pick), and its container is straightforward to empty. Navigating stairs may be slightly more difficult with this unit (it's 19 pounds), but leaving the canister at the bottom of a set of stairs while cleaning them can alleviate some of that.

The brush head and canister are slightly difficult to maneuver on carpet, based on our experience, but the canister easily rolled from hardwood to carpet without any issues. Overall, we believe this pick is worth the splurge; the higher price tag is in line with Miele's other high-end, long-lasting vacuums, but also keeps this powerful pick from being our top choice.

_{Weight: 19 pounds | Bag Type: Bagless | Cord Length: 21 feet | Attachments: Crevice tool, upholstery tool, parquet twister floor head, handheld mini turbo brush, electro plus floor head}

Best Value

Bissell Zing Canister Vacuum

$79 at Amazon $80 at Walmart $80 at Wayfair

The Bissell Zing Bagless Canister Vacuum gets the job done on hard floors and upholstery. When we tested this model at home, we were impressed by its suction power and how much dust and debris it collected in the dust bin. It has both hard floor and carpet modes, so you can tailor the vacuum's suction power to the surface you're tackling.

The bagless design means you won't have to buy extra replacement bags. The container-emptying process was simple, and we didn't create a mess when dumping out the debris. You just remove the canister and dump it out in the garbage. The canister itself is pretty large, so we noted that we didn't have to empty it as often. We were also impressed at how longer strands of hair didn't get tangled up inside the vacuum.

This model leaves something to be desired when it comes to maneuverability on carpet, though. The floor head didn't swivel as we would have liked it to and the hose proved fairly stiff, but the compact design of the vacuum still made it relatively easy to get into nooks and crannies. We also ran into some issues with the handle staying connected.

Still, the value here is undeniable. The 15-foot power cord is on the shorter side, but the vacuum does come with a telescoping wand and a crevice tool to elevate your cleaning routine. Just note that with a shorter cord length, you might need to change to different outlets more often when working with the Bissell Zing.

_{Weight: 10.2 pounds | Bag Type: Bagless | Cord Length: 15 feet | Attachments: Multi-surface brush, crevice tool}

Best Lightweight

Eureka Whirlwind Canister Vacuum

$90 $77 at Amazon $12 at Walmart $130 at Home Depot

This canister vacuum from Eureka is the kind of machine you can expect to move around your home without breaking a sweat. It weighs just 8.15 pounds, putting it in the range of our favorite lightweight vacuums, and it's the lightest on our list. Similar to other canister vacuums, it's designed with a handle on the top so you can carry it while you vacuum stairs, and it was equally efficient on hard flooring and carpet when we tested it in the lab.

The wand itself was easy to maneuver around, though we did notice that it was more effective—and generally easier to use—when we pulled it back toward us, as opposed to pushing it forward. The attachments were also effective on upholstery (especially the crevice tool), but using the wand on its own gets the job done, too.

We wish the cord was a bit longer than 16 feet to better clean larger spaces. Still, the dust bin size was more than sufficient, and we were able to complete our cleaning without needing to empty it in between tasks. In general, this vacuum did better in our testing with hair than some of its peers, and there weren't many pieces caught up as we saw in some of the other models.

It's a stone's throw from our best value pick, which makes us even more inclined to overlook inconveniences. You can even pick up the Eureka Whirlwind on its own, without the second filter added, to save a few dollars.

_{Weight: 8.15 pounds | Bag Type: Bagless | Cord Length: 16 feet | Attachments: Crevice tool, dusting brush}

We Also Love

Miele Classic C1 Turbo Team PowerLine Vacuum

$469 $371 at Amazon $470 at Crate And Barrel View on Mieleusa.com

Boasting six suction settings and a self-winding cord, this canister vacuum pulls out all the stops to clean your surfaces and is, all in all, built to last.

During testing, we gave it a thumbs up across the board, and were particularly impressed with how it cleaned on hard floors, carpet, and upholstery—although there was a tad bit of debris spit across the hard flooring. The canister vacuum was impressively quiet, and we also like the telescoping wand, which made made it really easy to reach under our low-sitting couch and coffee table.

At 17 pounds, this is a hardy machine, but it has the power and capacity to back it up. With a 4.5-quart bag, you will be able to do more cleaning at one time since it takes a while to fill it up (which is ideal because you have to purchase replacement bags separately). For context, we didn't even fill the Miele Classic C1 Turbo during our testing in the lab.

_{Weight: 15 pounds | Bag Type: Bagged | Cord Length: 18 feet | Attachments: Upholstery nozzle, crevice nozzle, dusting brush}