Looking for the best vacuum under 300? You’ve come to the right place.
Vacuum cleaners range from cheaper to expensive depending on the type and features they have. But getting a vacuum with the best features and a lower price tag is the real deal.
There’s a myth that the more expensive a vacuum is the more powerful, reliable it will be. But that doesn’t make lower price vacuums invaluable. Choosing a great vacuum under $300 requires some effort as there are a lot of vacuums and some brands are less trustworthy than others.
In this article, you will be able to choose the best vacuum cleaner under 300 dollars that meets your needs. You will end up getting a powerful, reliable, robust, and feature-rich vacuum without overspending.
Ready? Let’s get started…
Best Vacuum Under $300
Table of Contents
The vacuums we have selected for you are described below with pros, cons, and features to make the decision easier for you. All of these vacuums were able to pass our strict criteria that make this list valuable for you.
1. Shark Navigator NV356E
Here we have Shark Navigator NV356E the most dependable unit and advanced in the $200-$300 range. The Shark Navigator NV356E is a 2-in-1 convertible upright and canister vacuum.
Regarding design, the Shark Navigator NV356E brings innovation without sacrificing maneuverability. The cleaning head has a foot the enables you to recline the body. The rubberized wheels and swivel head makes navigation smoother.
The looped handle connected with the wand acts like a backbone of the body. Plus, it detachable and the canister by pressing the button for each. To clean upholstery and stairs, you can disconnect at the junction between the wand and the handle.
The Shark Navigator NV356E brings the longest cord but lacks auto cord rewind feature that might become clutter when you constantly move here and there while cleaning. The cord is long enough to clean wider areas without worry about plugging/unplugging the power source. So along the extended reach, you can carry the vacuum without worry about straining as it weighs only 14 pounds.
Moving on, the Shark Navigator NV356E features a motorized brush roll that agitates the dirt off the low and medium pile carpet and then suction generated by 10amp motor sucks everything up and throw it into the canister. You can also control the suction via rotating sleeve on the handle. The motor has a failsafe that keeps the motor protected if it overloads or the nozzle stalls. The cleaning head is 9.25 which is narrow but helps you quickly clean your furniture and deep carpets.
Another cool feature of Shark Navigator NV356E is the HEPA filtration mechanism that traps 99.97% of dirt particles while vacuuming and the cyclonic suction plays an important role in the separation of dirt from the air to keep the filter clean longer. Combined with the anti-allergen complete sealed chamber, the air moving out of the vacuum is filtered completely making this vacuum a top allergy machine.
The biggest concern with each vacuum cleaner is the dust canister. Emptying and ejecting it becomes a real problem with some vacuum. This model comes with a dirt cup capacity of 0.55 gallons and has an easy-reject bottom hatch that enables non-messy emptying.
This item brings Hard Floor Hero Tool to tackle bare floors. But if you don’t’ want to use it simply turn off the brush roll, but the advantage of using Floor Hero Tool is superior cleaning and no buffing.
The vacuum uses microfiber pads to capture the smallest dust particles. The package brings 2 replacement microfiber pads and further you need to purchase. The equipment also brings 8-inch and 24-inch crevice tool that helps cleaning nooks and crannies. A dusting brush helps you clean furniture legs and edges of walls. Lastly, extra Pet hair brush for pet owners having a pet that sheds a lot of hair.
- Upright convertible to canister
- HEPA filtration
- Tons of accessories
- Smooth navigation
- Lacks auto cord rewind
2. Dyson V6 Absolute
The Dyson V6 Cordless vacuum belongs to the Dyson V-series and a great unit that dropped to sub-$300 price range due to newer models. The convenient design packs a lot of features that make this vacuum a great unit for home.
The unit is lightweight, powerful, and battery-powered eliminating the hassle of switching outlets. And top of everything, the HEPA filtration that makes the unit and environment ideal for allergy sufferers.
The Dyson V6 is designed for floor-to-ceiling with its the petite structure you can almost clean any surface you want to. The artistic design connected with a handle combines futuristic-looking cylinder that houses the powerful motor, dirt container and the batteries. This component is connected with the wand via a single lock. At the other end of the wand is the cleaning head and all of these things combined makes the vacuum cleaner of 5.1 pounds making it the lighter if not the lightest Dyson vacuum. The higher distribution of weight makes the navigation easier for your hands.
This is a 2-in-1 model that can be used as a stick and convertible into handheld as well. The handheld section contains the trigger that requires you to keep it pressed to keep the vacuum running. This can be frustrating for some people but this can be a battery-saver as well. If you live in a small place of household, storage of this vacuum is not a problem as it features a neat docking station to hang it on the wall and it charges on the dock as well.
The Dyson V6 Absolute is a 2-in-1 vacuum has 2 cleaning heads. One is specifically designed for tackling carpets. This motorized brush roll, lift out the embedded dirt regardless of the thickness of the carpet, thanks to the powerful cyclonic suction.
The Dyson Cyclonic suction technology grabs dirt without clogging up the filters. The other head is designed for cleaning wood floors that have nylon and carbon fiber filaments to collect the dirt efficiently and buff the floor. The cleaning head is 9.84 inches wide that takes a lot of dirt in quickly.
The vacuum brings tons of attachments including a motorized tool for pet hair. While using as a handheld you can lift dirt from car interiors and other compact places like stairs and edges. The crevice tool can be helpful for cleaning the ceiling. A dusting brush and a combination brush are helpful for other surfaces.
The runtime of this removable battery is 20 minutes while using the vacuum on standard mode and it offers fade-free suction. But using the vacuum on the boost mode can quickly drain the battery in 6 minutes. So for regular cleaning standard mode is good. Keep one thing in mind that the recharge time for the battery is 3.5 hours.
The vacuum also offers HEPA filtration that has airtight sealing to make sure all the air moves from the post-filter. If you are cleaning regularly the filters can get dusty but are washable. The only downside of this vacuum is the small dust bin of 0.11-gallon capacity. So be ready for frequent emptying sessions, sometimes hair can get caught in the filter and unwrapping can be tedious.
- Sealed HEPA filtration
- Cordless
- Lightweight
- Small dust bin
3. Shark Rotator NV501
Here we have a more genium vacuum Shark Rotator NV501 a 3-in-1 vacuum that delivers exceptional value for the money. This unit it not only best regarding convertability but it offers nemerous features that makes it versatile for home, office, or even professional use.
This product can clean almost any surface including low-pile rugs, medium pile rugs, wood floors, and carpets. And that’s the reason this unit got the top spot in our list of vacuums under $300.
The weight of the unit is slightly heavier at 15.5 pounds but the upper body is detachable to reveal the wand. The motor and dirt container assembly can be dismantled easily. The hose and wand combined to make a handheld unit that weighs 8.4 pounds. The vacuum also brings a canister caddy to hold the canister and can be rolled for several cleaning activities.
The unit has 30 feet power cord length that is enough to clean open spaces like hallways, driveways, even garden. Plus, the cleaning becomes quick with the 11.5 inches cleaning path. The body of the vacuum is narrow and the body reclines allowing you to clean under the furniture, bed, and couches.
The vacuum brings motorized brush bar that you can turn off while cleaning bare floors. The vacuum also offers height adjustment feature that can suck all types of debris. The cleaning head boasts LED lights to use the powerful suction and rotation on the right places. Unlike other vacuums, this unit features a suction release valve rather than a real suction control allowing you to control the suction depending on the application.
This vacuum uses three-level filtration to deal with the toughest messes. Similarly, there are pre-motor filter and post-motor filter along with a HEPA filter. The HEPA filter is sealed completely to retain the dirt out the air stream that passes through.
The Dyson Cyclonic suction makes sure the filters don’t get clogged easily. The dust cup is reasonably large at a capacity of 0.325 gallons, but it can be extended. This cup is easy to remove and can be emptied simply by unlocking the hatch.
The vacuum includes Premium Pet Power brush to removing pet hair and dander from different surfaces. Some other attachments include 18″ crevice tool, multi-angle dusting brush, 8.6 feet long stretch hose, and crevice tool.
- 3-in-1 design
- Long reach
- HEPA filtration
- Tons of accessories
- Sometimes tips over easily
4. Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2
The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 is a a powerful and beautiful vacuum with several characteristics and surprisingly affordable price. This HEPA-grade vacuum features a self-adjusting active cleaning head that makes the machine versatile across all floor and surface types. The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 features modern ball design that you will definitely love without paying more than $300.
This vacuum is a popular uber-maneuverable unit that features ball structure allowing you to move the vacuum side to side effortlessly. The total weight of the unit is 15.6 pounds which can be difficult to carry up and down stairs for those having back problems. The body rests on a wheel assembly and right above the ball is a bigger dirt container with filtration assembly.
The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 uses motorized brush roll to clean the majority of surfaces but for carpets, you can turn it off. After sucking the dirt the unit conveys it to the suction stream going to the canister. The vacuum is extremely powerful and pulls out dirt from carpets and area rugs convincingly.
If you are cleaning carpets and suddenly go cleaning the floor or vice versa the unit handles it carefully with the self-adjusting head. Sometimes the unit may get stuck on high pile carpets but this little snag cannot make this vacuum less effective. It doesn’t offer suction control and produces 245 air watt suction.
As mentioned earlier, for cleaning our floors or wood floors you can turn off the brush bar to avoid scratches. Unlike other vacuums, the Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 is ideal when it comes to cleaning edges. The automatic height adjustment hinders with large debris. Sometimes dirt particles are scattered but require few passes to get rid of them.
The tools include stair tool, combination tool, crevice tool, and a dusting brush to weave off the dirt from multiple surfaces.
The vacuum brings washable pre-motor and a HEPA post motor filters. With these filters combined the cleaning becomes efficient resulting in a clean environment for Asthma and Allergy sufferers. The iconic Cyclonic technology keeps the filter unclogged. The dirt container is transparent and has a capacity of 0.42 gallons and it’s way easier to empty. You can pull the canister out dump it into the trash and put it back.
- Highly maneuverable
- Extensive reach
- Powerful suction
- HEPA filter
- Struggles on deep-pile carpets
5. Shark DuoClean HV382
The Shark DuoClean HV382 is another powerful vacuum that has a strong foundation of full-sized uprights and this versatile device is suitable for various floors types with its dual cleaning head. The Shark DuoClean HV382 is an innovative appliance that offers incredible performance, and tons of features at an affordable price tag.
The Shark DuoClean HV382 is ideal for deep cleaning. At 9.4 pounds it’s not that heavier to drag around, but lits lighter enough that you can easily carry up and down stairways. Most of the weight is concentrated at the handle where a wide section houses dust cup and a powerful motor. By removing a wand it can be converted into a handheld unit, but it’s a piece of bulky equipment overall with all these components. The ergonomic handle design features several controls.
The vacuum brings 30 feet long power corf enough for cleaning bigger spaces and the 8.4 inches wide cleaning head eats the dirt more quickly saving your some time with cleaning chore and making your floors tidy.
The Shark DuoClean HV382 brings specially-designed motorized brush roll along two rollers. The front roller is a soft brush roll and the other one is a hard bristled roll in a helix pattern. The soft brush takes care of the floors, and the large brush deep cleans carpets. Both rollers are engaged to clean mixed floors and surfaces. You cannot turn off the brush unlike other vacuums, but you can control their speed. Pet hairs can get tangled with brush rolls so a detanglement toll is packed under the cleaning head to remove this issue.
This Shark DuoClean HV382 vacuum is responsible to lift all size of dirt particles and also prevent scattering. The powerful suction allows you to clean your entire home without missing the smallest spot.
The unit brings 8 attachments including TreuPet mini motorized brush that is helpful for hair removal. It also brings special under appliance wand and a flat 36″ tool that can be slipped under appliances and refrigerators to clean washing machines and other similar surfaces.
The Shark DuoClean HV382 brings 2 pre-motor filters and a single exhaust filter which are washable and easily accessible. The dirt cup capacity is 0.3 gallons but it is easy to remove and empty.
- Motorized dual brushes
- Convertible
- Lightweight
- Several accessories
- Not freestanding
6. Miele Compact C1
The Miele Compact C1 is a classic vacuum cleaner that maintain quality throughput being an affordable and powerful vacuum. This suction-only vacuum is ideal across various floor types and offers seamless operation without breaking the bank.
The Miele Compact C1 rides itself being a compact unit. The total weight of the unit is 14 pounds and brings various accessories onboard. The overall design is stylish and it has 360-degree rotating wheels allowing the hitch-free movement. The crush proof hose is 5.5 feet long and the telescopic stainless steel wand has 18 length detents.
The vacuum brings a powerful of 21 feet length and also features automatic cord rewind feature. Combined with the hose the total reach becomes over 29 feet and that’s enough to for tackling various places in compact living spaces.
The Miele Compact C1 brings a great cleaning heat tool STB-285-3 Floor tool to take care of bare floors and low-pile carpets and rugs. The cleaning head has a button that retracts the brush bar. The brush bar is powered by the suction of the vacuum to effectively agitate the thinner carpets. The vacuum has 6 suction settings knob allowing you to adjust the suction for thick or thin carpets.
The Miele Compact C1 uses 3-level filtration. The first level is electrostatically-charged 3.5L dust bag the prevent dust escaping and when removing it seals itself automatically to ensure minimum exposure to allergens. Then a pre-motor filter that protects the filter from collected dirt. And, a final exhaust filter. Combined with this three-stage filtration process 99.95% of the dust particles are captured in the replaceable bag with a HEPA filter or an activated charcoal filter that is also responsible to absorb odors. The dust bag indicator is helpful when the bag gets full.
The Miele Compact C1 also brings a handful of attachments like a crevice tool and upholstery tool. A VarioClip comes with the unit that stores all these attachments. The Miele Compact C1 is a popular vacuum for noise insulation.
- Meticulous filtration
- Lightweight
- Autom cord rewind
- Higher suction
- Low overall reach
7. Shark Rocket HV322
Here we have anothe Shark vacuum that is Shark Rocket HV322 and it’s nifty like NV3821. It’s a lightweight machine that is convertible into a handheld unit and it has the ability to clean pet hair and dander even when it brings pet attachments. Plus, it derives heavily from the older models by Dyson that makes this a winning machine.
The Shark Rocket HV322 is a corded model and lighter at 8 pounds. The majority of the weight depends on the handle making it easy to lift up to clean ceilings. The low profile cleaning head sneaks under table, furniture, or beds to clean without straining or bending too much. To clean further the swivel head at 45-degree movement makes the navigation smooth. Plus, the unit comes with 32 feet long power cord that gives the vacuum a lot of leeway for cleaning but a disappointing fact is the lack of auto cord rewind feature.
The Shark Rocket HV322 comes with a motorized brush roll and the cleaning head features an array of bright LED headlights allowing you to draw your attention to uncleaned areas. You can either turn off the brush roll of reducing the speed. Powerful suction loosens the stubborn dirt off the floor and sucks up everything that comes in its way. The vacuum also brings a separate hard floor genie which is suction only. The removable microfiber pad buffs the floors but cleaning it is a hassle after a few wipes.
If you are a proud pet owner having many furry friends at your home, Shark Rocket HV322 has got your covered. This attachment sucks every little stay hair from the floor even from the corners while connected with the handheld version. The other attachments include a crevice tool, a dusting brush, and an extension wand to penetrate into more tight areas.
The vacuum uses two filters and both are removable and washable. To store the vacuum, you can slide the motor assembly down and put it keep it along the wall as it’s not freestanding. The dust is bigger, easy to empty and removable.
- Lightweight
- Long reach
- Best for pet hair
- Floor genie is not convenient
8. Oreck Commercial U2000R-1
As the name suggests Oreck Commercial U2000R-1 is a professional-grade vacuum designed to deal with industrial and residential cleaning activities. It offers amazing cleaning performance certified by CRI and approved for superior cleaning. Being an underpriced unit it doesn’t offers much tools but you will love the performance.
The Oreck Commercial U2000R-1 is a bagged vacuum and the capacity of the dirg bag is 10.3L which is 20 times higher than a dirt cup so you can keep capturing dirt for a longer period without worry about the bag getting filled. It shares looks of a stick vacuum and has a metal backbone and ergonomic design. The height of the unit is 43 inches and the total weight is 8 pounds.
The unit offers 40 feet long power cord and it’s removable and replaceable or you twist it around the unit as there’s no cord rewind feature but you get two hooks to hang the cable.
The Oreck Commercial U2000R-1 uses motorized brush bar in which bristles are arranged in a double helix structure. The barusbar goes deep into the carpets and you can turn it off to clean long pile shag carpets. Avoid using it on delicate flooring to prevent scratches.
The vacuum reclines enough to clean under tables, chair, and furniture. It also features bumpers around the head to protect it against impacts. The Oreck Commercial U2000R-1 is good for a single level, large carpeted area to clean regularly. The lightweight structure makes it easier to carry up and down the stairs.
The Oreck Commercial U2000R-1 uses paper dust bags to filter the air. The bags are disposable and have a high capacity. The manufacturer recommends changing the bags once the bag reaches its capacity. The filter assembly is packed in a more visible bag. The outer bag requires to clean periodically and you get 25 disposable bags.
- Reclines flast
- Bagged vacuum
- Powerful suction
- Not attachment or hose
9. Ecovacs Deebot N79
Under $300 you cannot only get a traditional regular vacuum cleaner. But you can get a good robot vacuum under $300. Compared to more expensive vacuums, its less adaptable but offers incredible performance and tons of features to give you a satisfactory experience according to your expectations.
The Ecovacs Deebot N79 is a small portable robotic vacuum that is slim at 13.1 inches diameter and sits around 3.1 inches high. It uses underbrush for cleaning wall edges. It also features bumpers to protect against crashes and bumps with obstacles.
The best part? It brings a docking station where vacuum charges itself automatically and a power adapter. When the vacuum is running low on battery it heads back to the docking station to charge itself. Unlike other expensive autonomous machines, it cannot start cleaning from where it left. It brings remote control and requires a Wi-Fi network to get its commands from you.
The Ecovacs Deebot N79 facilitates you with a bunch of cleaning activities without having you to touch the robot. It uses a brush bar and two side brushes to clean the floor. The helical bristle arrangement lifts dirt from cracks. It offers powerful suction but cannot deep clean carpets. It also offers multiple cleaning modes which are: Spot, Edge, Single Room mode as well.
No doubt that it is a smart vacuum under three hundred dollars. The coolest part about this vacuum is the wifi-connectivity that enables you to connect the robot with your smartphone either Android or iPhone and control the robot using the app. You can put the robot on schedule and also receive alerts and notifications from this high-tech duster. The 3-level filtration is another cool feature of this vacuum that you cannot imagine a robot vacuum would offer in such a reasonable price tag.
The robot is robust and features drop-protection to prevent dropping from the staircases. The battery life is 120 minutes but the navigation is a bit slower. But when the battery level drops below it runs back to the docking station.
- Smartphone enables
- Brush roll
- 120 minutes battery life
- 3L dust cup
- Cleaning pattern is not efficient
Buying Guide
Choosing the best vacuum under $300 involves a lot of effort as there are various types of vacuums with a number of features available in the market. You should be capable to choose the one that suits your needs. So this buyer guide will help you decide what vacuum you should get under 300 dollars.
Are expensive vacuums Worth buying?
While doing our research we went through dirt cheap vacuums to the most expensive units to see either expensive vacuums are worthy of spending money or not. This is what we found:
Cheap vacuums
The vacuum cleaners ranging close or under $100 are suitable for cleaning up meses, a lot of dust emits through their exhaust that can be a problem for allergy-sensitive customers, so you can expect good performance but not incredible or flawless. They can hardly last for 1-2 years max. Their navigation can be difficult you might end up bumping them into furniture or ride over bumpy surfaces. Majority of cheaper vacuums cannot withstand regular usage. Their attachments are prone to damage early and they have shorter warranties. You cannot expect much from cheaper vacuums they lack swiveling head that makes navigation bitter, and the motor may generate more noise to provide suction equal to well-insulated vacuums.
Expensive vacuums
Expensive vacuums can start from $200 to over $1000. There are plenty of brands manufacturing high-quality vacuums like Miele, Dyson, Kenmore, and Roomba to meet the end-user requirements with their versatile cleaning activities. These brands are known for making top-end vacuums for customers to provide exceptional performance and good value of money.
These are the vacuums responsible for leaving your home sparkling clean with their insulated powerful noiseless motors, durable build, and handful of features to deal with different cleaning surfaces like carpets, wood floors, tile floors, bare floors, linoleum floors, area rugs, car interiors, furniture, and many other surfaces regardless of the debris type. Plus, they are super maneuverable, have higher capacities, and are more reliable compared to dirt cheap vacuums. So expensive or high-end vacuums are worthy of buying because of the perks they offer.
Why Vacuums under 300 are different from others?
We chose these vacuums carefully for claiming the advantages of both cheap and expensive models to give you a blend of features without spending doo much. Following are the benefits we consider while choosing vacuums for you.
Cleaning
The vacuum cleaners we chose give exceptional cleaning compared to cheap models. Majority of these units use brush roll and powerful suction to lift the dirt out of carpets that are not possible for a vacuum under $100 to clean medium or high-pile carpets. Some models are equipped with on/off the brush to make the vacuum suitable for carpets, bare floors. But if you have laminate floors or sensitive wood floors suction-only vacuuming will be good to avoid scratches and damage.
Filtration
A filtration system has a huge impact on the suction of the vacuum because the suction is created by negative air pressure and it should be balanced by positive air pressure at the exhaust and that’s where the filtration system exists. This assembly makes sure the dirt leaving the vacuum isn’t spewing dust back into the atmosphere. Cheaper vacuums have higher emission level due to the less reliable filtration system.
Filters
The filtration system depends on the filters a vacuum is using. There are different types of filters, foam filters, HEPA filters, and many others. The most common and popular filters are HEPA filters which are proven to trap 99.9% of allergens, pollens, dirt, and micro particles because they are completely sealed chambers. Whereas, inexpensive models end up leaving dust air out polluting the air inside your home. That’s why high-quality vacuums are better with completely sealed champers with gaskets at joints and HEPA or equal filtration.
Longevity
A vacuum under $300 is not an easy buck, and that’s why you should expect a vacuum to last longer than usual. The parts should be durable and the warranties should be longer. No one feels good about paying replacements after the huge expense of buying costly vacuums, so repairing, replacing should not be on your side.
Features
If you are spending 300 bucks on a vacuum it should be capable to clean multiple floors and should be convenient to use. So some helpful features that a vacuum should have turned off brush roll, crevice tool, automatic cord rewind, cordlessness, dusting brush, swivel cleaning head, smooth wheels, and low-profile design to clean tight places.
What makes a vacuum under $300 high quality?
There are several factors involved to make a vacuum under $300 a high-quality product. Let’s look at them.
Cleaning
All the vacuum cleaners we selected offers the same suction power as advertised. We checked them against a variety of particles on several floor types and other areas like edges and upholstery.
Usability
The vacuum cleaners selected above include heavier and lightest models offers a proper distribution of weight. There are smaller and larger units allowing you to choose according to your convenience. And from regular maintenance to emptying dust cup, they are convenient.
Features
We made sure the vacuums are offering enough features for the price you are going to pay. So you can expect these vacuums to offer you tons of good features, tools, and accessories to make cleaning simpler and easier for you.
Type
There is various type of vacuums including stick, upright, canister, handheld, and robot vacuums. Plus, these models are well-suited for bare floors, carpets, and multi-surfaces.
Budget
Below $300 does not mean there are vacuums under 100 or below. You are most likely to see vacuums above $200 to under $300 and these units are classifying as high-end quality products.
We discussed vacuums with mechanical and electronic some of them are slightly heavier and optimized for extreme cleaning, some of them are equipped with a digital motor to sweep every territory of your home. We also discussed robot vacuums which are decently robust and are ideal for cleaning low hung couches and some robots have virtual wall to block the robot in restricted areas. Almost every vacuum promises great suction and features intelligent design to make your investment worthwhile.
Now the decision depends on your preference that what type of vacuum you choose and what features you like in them.
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