Last updated on December 27th, 2023
Are you still wondering whether to get a bagless or bagged canister vacuum? Some people prefer a bagged vacuum but those that prefer the bagless models also do a lot.
One of the reasons why people prefer a bagged canister vacuum is the convenience of removing the bag and just throwing it away. But people are arguing that bagless models can save costs as you do not need to buy the bag regularly!
So, both types of vacuums have their pros and cons, and that is why we write this article to enlighten you and help you make a decision to get the best vacuum model. (See the top-rated canister vacs with bags).
This vacuum cleaner buying guide aims to throw some light on whether you should purchase one and how the bagged cleaner could help you from a healthy home point of view. In addition to getting a quality machine bear in mind that more money does not always ensure higher quality.
*** Important Points to Consider…***
Do you prefer a bagless vacuum cleaner?
To be honest, most of the bagless vacuums are NOT quality cleaners (with exceptions like Dyson models). Usually, those bagless cleaners will last for about 5 to 7 years if you take great care of them. Not to mention the bagless vac’s lifespan is far less than a bagged vacuum.
Just to let you know that many manufacturers also claim to have lifetime or washable filters and hence no replacement costs. In reality, the filters on bagless models still need replacements after several years and hence it’s not eco-friendly. The filter costs are far more expensive than a couple of packs of bags for most canister vacuums.
A bagless machine can last you a while if you take good care of it (meaning you are willing to disassemble them to clean the filter or any possible areas that get clog). So, if you are looking for a cleaner that can last longer (or even a lifetime), get a bagged model.
As you can see (in the following section of this post), both types of vacuums have their own pros and cons; but they still can do the cleaning jobs pretty effectively. Just coincident or not, our editor’s top-rated canister models recommended on our home page comparison table are bagged cleaners!
The 7 Best Canister Vacuum with Bag Reviews
We have outlined several bagged cylinder vacuums below with various price points that get good consumer reviews. Check out these cleaners with bags now.
#1: Best Overall – Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor
As one of the top canister vac manufacturers, Miele vacuums have a 20-year average lifespan. Also, Miele has undergone 1,000 hours of testing their vacuums to ensure they can run smoothly and great suction (performance) all the time.
We choose this model as the best overall bagged canister vacuum because this cleaner is good for hard floors and low-pile carpeting. It comes with great features, high consumer ratings in many online stores, and the price is reasonable.
It comes with 2 different floor tools; the SBB 400-3 Parquet Twister XL Floor Brush is a 16” wide mouth hard floor cleaning tool to help can finish the cleaning job even faster. The soft bristles can let you clean hard floors safely without scratching them. The SBD 285-3 Combination Floor Tool is suitable for cleaning hard floors and area rugs. You can easily flip a footswitch to switch between them.
Following are the notable features of this affordable cleaner by Miele:
- Power with a Miele 1200-watt Vortex motor to ensure excellent suction power.
- AirClean Filter and Pre-motor filter; optional to upgrade to HEPA filter.
- A 6-speed rotary dial setting helps you in cleaning different surfaces. You can use max suction for the hard floor and lower the suction for carpet cleaning.
- 7-qt self-sealing bag with a bag change indicator.
- This vacuum has a 21′ power cord with an automatic cord winder.
- The 3 non-marking wheels (360° maneuverability) will not scratch the hardwood floor finish.
- Attachments: The crevice tool, dust brush, and upholstery tools.
- 1-year warranty for parts and a 7-year warranty for motor and casing.
- Please read our editor’s full review of this model here.
See the demo about this Miele Complete C2 hard floor vacuum.
For more info, customer reviews, and FAQs, visit Amazon.com.
#2: Best Under $300 – Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction
This is a cheaper model of canister vac by Miele. This cleaner is made in Germany and it has proven to be good in terms of design quality and performance. It can efficiently clean hard floors including tile, hardwoods, laminate, and linoleum as well as a low-pile carpet (a footswitch on the floorhead).
To make cleaning hard floors even easier, this Miele model comes with an ergonomic carrying handle, stainless steel telescopic to extend the reach, and caster wheels for easy maneuverability.
As usual, this cleaner also included the SBD 285-3 Combination floorhead and three other accessories. Those tools not only can use hard floors, but it’s also effective when dealing with pet hairs. You can trust this model can make vacuuming fun!
Here are the great features of this cleaner:
- Use the Miele 1200-watt powerful Vortex motor.
- Six-stage power settings that can be changed via +/- footswitch controls for different suction when dealing with various surfaces.
- It uses an AirClean system consisting of an AirClean exhaust filter, Miele Filterbag, and motor protection filter to ensure maximum filtration to make the room air fresher and cleaner.
- Long power cable with auto rewind with just a single touch of a button. You can extend the cleaning reach with the stainless steel telescopic wand up to a max of 29.5 feet cleaning radius.
- A built-in thermal protector prevents the machine from overheating.
- 3 accessories are included: an upholstery tool, a crevice tool, and a dusting brush.
- 1-year manufacturer warranty for parts & labor; and a 7-year warranty for motor and casing.
- You can read our editor’s full review of this Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction vacuum here.
- To get more info and read genuine consumer reviews, visit Amazon.com.
#3: Best Under $150 – Severin Germany Vacuum Cleaner, BC 7055
You will be impressed with this Germany-engineering high-quality vacuum cleaner as it’s quiet, compact, and powerful. You can use it to clean upholstery, carpets, and hard floors.
The cleaner is easy to handle and has versatile capabilities. Besides using the HEPA filter, it also uses a 4-layer microfiber dustbag with hygienic closing to ensure everything is kept inside the vacuum itself.
The low sound level of 76 dB enables you to do the cleaning anytime even at night. Following are the vacuum features in more detail or you can read the editor’s full review here:
- A lightweight, powerful vacuum with 750W suitable for cleaning large spaces.
- Six-stage power suction lets you clean different floors with appropriate suction power.
- It uses HEPA 14 filter that can capture almost all dust, pollen, and allergens.
- The power cable is about 20 feet and contains an easy push button to extract the power cord.
- The easytouch® telescopic can extend the reach with a sleeve to adjust the length easily; the handle and tube can be locked securely too.
- It comes with a Premium-Eco floor nozzle with rollers, an XL-parquet nozzle, and 3 attachments including upholstery, furniture, and floor nozzles
- A highly recommended affordable canister, click here for more info.
#4: Best Splurge – Miele Compact C1 Turbo Team
The release of their Turbo Team model reflects the Miele company’s commitment to producing quality and a durable canister vacuums. In fact, almost all of the cleaners by Miele are produced with beautiful designs and have an average life span of 20 years.
The Compact C1 Turbo Team is another cylinder vac that is very affordable, and it’s suitable for those homes with more hard floors and fewer carpet areas. It features a completely sealed filtration system to ensure all airflow through the machine reaches the exhaust filter.
The other notable features of this canister:
- It’s powered with Miele 1200 Watt Vortex Motor for thorough cleaning performance.
- 6-stage variable speed control via rotary dial for different suction needs while cleaning different types of surfaces.
- AirClean Filter sealed system that can capture almost all the particles.
- About 18” power cord with auto cord rewind. It also comes with a telescopic wand to increase the cleaning radius up to 29.5 feet.
- This vacuum has three wheels that swivel 360° for easy maneuverability.
- Accessories included: Dusting brush; crevice tool; and upholstery tool.
- Special cleaning tools like SBB Parquet-3 hard floor nozzle and STB205-3 air drive Turbo nozzle are included for cleaning the hard floor and low-pile carpet.
- 1-year warranty for parts and a 7-year warranty for motor and casing.
- Click here to read our editor’s review of this Miele vacuum.
Let’s see the vacuum overview video here:
If you want to get this cleaner, amazon.com is an ideal store with a very attractive price now.
#5: Best Value – Hoover CH30000 PortaPower Commercial Canister Vac
This bagged vacuum is among the cheaper options machines available in the market. It’s a lightweight and portable cleaner that is very suitable for small or light cleaning jobs. This vacuum also comes with a built-in blower that can help in some ways while doing the cleaning job.
Following are some of the notable features of this Hoover CH30000 canister vac:
- A moderate 4 amps motor power.
- The vacuum weight of 3 lbs is a super lightweight canister vacuum.
- It uses a reusable commercial cloth vacuum bag to collect debris and dust.
- The vacuum has 10 inches wide nozzle width to ensure faster cleaning. The included stretch hose can help you do the above-floor cleaning or hard-to-reach areas.
- A long 33’ power cord extends the reach of the vacuum and hence reduces the cleaning time. No cord rewind is available.
- Three accessories are included: a crevice tool, dusting brush, and floor nozzle.
- 2-year warranty.
- To read the unbias review for this Hoover CH30000 vacuum by our editor, click here.
- To check up on the latest price of this canister machine, visit online giant Amazon.com.
#6: Best for Pets – Kenmore 81214 200 Series Pet Friendly
This canister from Kenmore is a great cleaning machine that can clean all floor types including hardwood, laminate floors, and carpets. You also can use this unit to get rid of pet dander, dust bunnies, pollens, etc.
With its powerful dual system, power cord with 9” wand, and 14” wide cleaning mouth, this is definitely a great bagged vacuum to help you better clean your house or apartment.
Let’s see the key features of this Kenmore 200 series appliance:
- This model uses the dual-motor system for effective, powerful suction strength, and deep cleaning with enhanced airflow.
- A lightweight, compact design cleaner (about 20 lbs) plus 2 rubber wheels to let you easily maneuver from one place to another.
- Using a HEPA filtration system that can trap almost all the dust, dander, or pollens inside the vacuum (fewer pollutants in the rooms)
- It comes with 4 height adjustments to let you adjust the suction power on different types of floors.
- A quick-release handle is great for above-floor cleaning, tight spaces, or under furniture and car interior.
- 3 versatile attachments – Crevice tool, dusting brush, and bare floor tool to ease your cleaning
- The vacuum 24–foot power cable with auto-rewind feature plus a 9-foot wand to extend the vacuum reach
- Check out the latest price of this affordable vacuum at Amazon.com!
#7: The Cheapest – Eureka Mighty Mite Corded, 3670G
This model was one of the best seller products in the market for the past few years. Even though this cleaner is not equipped with the latest technology, it’s still one of the models preferred by many users. The main reasons are that it’s very affordable and the machine can do the cleaning job pretty well on various surfaces.
Following are some of the features:
- An average suction machine with 12-amp motor power.
- The vacuum uses HEPA media filtration that can capture almost all the pollens and allergens. You also can remove the dust bag easily.
- Very lightweight canister cleaner with just less than 9 lbs so you can easily carry the machine throughout the house.
- It has 2-setting height adjustments for carpet and bare floor cleaning. The cleaning mouth is about 10 inches wide.
- The vacuum is integrated with extension wands to extend the reach and allow above-floor cleanings like stairs and upholstery.
- It comes with a blower port that is convenient for cleaning the workshop or garage.
- It has 20 feet power cord length and no auto rewind feature.
- Accessories: crevice tool and a combination of dusting and upholstery tools.
- 1-year warranty.
- Read the full review about this canister machine here. You also can check out the latest price of this model on Amazon.
Best Bagged Canister Vacuum from Consumer Reports
Before we go to see the pros and cons of having a bagged cleaner, you may want to know which is the best-bagged model picked by Consumer Reports (CR).
After checking out the CR’s website (specifically on their bagged vs. bagless vacuum post), we know which model is their favorite. Well, it’s a Miele vacuum!
This bagged canister model was picked by CRs!
Well, we got no doubt about this Miele model as well and it earns many high ratings. This compact series cleaner can be space-saving when storing it. The Miele Electro+ is a higher-end canister machine, but the performance, quality, and durability will reassure you to get it.
This model comes with a motor-driven SEB228 Electro+ floor head and the SBB Parquet-3 attachments to help you to do quickly and thoroughly clean the carpeting, hard floor surfaces, as well as pet hairs.
Check out the latest price on Amazon.com now.
Canister Vacuum Cleaners with Bags – Pros and Cons
This type of vacuum is older than the bagless and at one point in the past was the only vacuum on offer. Miele, Kenmore, Hoover, Bissell, and Eureka spring to mind as these companies sell quality stick, upright, and canister bagged vacuum cleaners, which will help you live in a dust-free environment.
The following we outline the advantages and disadvantages of a bagged cleaner:
The Benefits
- Hygienic?
The obvious advantage of bagged vacuums is the quick disposal of filled dust/debris bags direct into your outside bin area. No direct exposure to harmful dust and dirt collected from your carpets or flooring. So considering of hygienic option, the bagged machine is a winner.
- Suitable for Allergy Sufferers
This type of cleaner is also recommended for asthma or allergy sufferers since the bag itself can effectively trap the dust and debris inside the bag. This results in a cleaner and freshens air environment.
- Advantage of HEPA Filter on Bagged Cleaner
If the bagged vacs come with a sealed HEPA filtration system, this can have more benefits since the filter can capture up to 99.97% of particles and pollens. Of course, the HEPA filter is available in all types of vacuums (including bagless canister cleaners).
- Bag-full Light Indicator
Most new models of bagged quality vacuum cleaners come fitted with a bag full of indicator light that shows when to empty it.
The following video shows the pros and cons of bagged vs. bagless cleaners:
You may like to know: The Top-rated Bagless Canister Model Recommendations!
The Drawbacks
- Cost to Buy Bags
Although you do not have to clean and replace filters, you will have to buy replacement bags, which sometimes can be costly and inconvenient. Many people often find that when the time comes to replace their bag, it is not in stock anymore and it can take up much of their time.
- Keep Hygiene When Changing the Bag
When the time comes to change the bag, there should be no mess or escaping dust. Years ago, bagged vacuum cleaner bags were quite thin compared to today, which resulted in an unacceptable amount of unhealthy leakage.
A quality bagged cleaner will not or less pose these problems as it could have a self-sealing bag that prevents dust escape and dirty hands.
- Decrease in Performance When Bag Fills
The overall performance of bagged vacuums will slowly deteriorate at the same rate as your bag fills up. This means that your vacuum will begin operating at 100% using an empty bag and gradually lose that suction and ability as the bag slowly fills up. Luckily some of the new models will have an indicator to let you know when to empty the bag.
- Better Filtration System?
In general bagless machines have a better & secure filtering system that endeavors to stop even the tiniest dust or allergen particles to escape. But this does not apply to every machine as every manufacturer has its own design specifications. Generally, if a machine uses the HEPA filter it’s better, especially for allergy and asthma sufferers.
Also read: Water Filtration Vacuum Cleaner – Capturing 100% of Allergens & Dirt!
Conclusion: Pick One According to Your Needs and Budget!
To summarize, this bagged vacuum cleaner guide concludes that if you are susceptible to dust or any sort of breathing problems, then it’s wise to consider buying one.
If you are unsure which bagged canister vac to choose from, you can get any one of the recommended models by our editors. Those models are thoroughly selected, and our editors also undergo in-depth reviews before we finalized the top 7 recommended models.
If you want us to make a choice for you, we will choose Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor as it’s a truly reliable bagged canister vacuum cleaner.