Kmart vacuums compared: Are the low prices worth it?

Admittedly Kmart isn't great at it's naming protocols because its best and worst stick vacuums are both called the Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner. The one you want to look out for is the $149 model, and subsequently avoid the $99 model.

The $149 stick vacuum has a huge 1 litre capacity, and up to 55 minutes of run time on the lowest setting. That should be more than enough time and space to get your vacuuming done without needing to pop it on charge or clean it out. It has five speeds, controlled by an LED touch screen and comes with a wall mount charger.

All up the basic specs are good enough for a cheap vacuum cleaner, but it is very loud with an above average charge time. On the highest speed the sound maxes out at 78 dB which would be uncomfortable to your ears for extended periods of time. You'll also need to wait five hours for it to fully recharge which is well above any other vacuum cleaner we have compared.

There are two other Kmart stick vacuums that also may be worth considering if you're looking for an affordable option. Of course, they both have the same name but the prices, battery life, and UX are a bit different.

The more expensive cordless vacuum has a motorised head with a microfibre brush, making it better suited to hard floors. It also uses an LED control panel complete with blockage warnings that illuminate on the screen. Its battery life goes up to 65 minutes on low, but on high it sits at approximately 12 minutes, so there are huge swings across the board on that one. The recharge time is also over five hours so you'll want to be mindful you don't blast through the battery too quickly, lest you lose motivation to finish cleaning while waiting for it to charge.

On the cheaper side the other cordless stick vacuum has a spinning brush head which is a better fit for carpet. It has a much shorter battery life of just 30 minutes on the lowest setting, with the same five hour recharge time. Unless you're mostly working with carpet, the battery trade off probably isn't worth the $40 saving.

Barrell vacuums are the OG for a reason, these machines have high suction power, and huge dust bins. While they have come some way and now don't neccessarily need vacuum bags these babies are still corded, and cumbersome to use. Still if you're looking for excellent suction they're the way to go.

Kmart has three options, but two stand out. The 2400W Bagless Vacuum is the biggest, but also the most powerful of the set. While we don't actually have the suction specs, this model has an extra 600W on the 1800W version, and 400W on the Anti-Allergy Bagless Vacuum. Both of these models have 20,000Pa suction (which is huge), so we can safely assume the 2400W Vacuum has significantly more again.

Otherwise the Anti-Allergy Bagless Vacuum will be the best option for anyone looking for the best filtration. Although both the 2400W and the Anti-Allergy models have HEPA filtration, the Anti-Allergy is fitted out with a HEPA 13 filter which is medical grade. This should capture over 99.95% of PM2.5 particles and allow for a cleaner space.

Kmart doesn't have a huge selection of handheld vacuums; it is either the dual purpose Wet & Dry Vacuum, the Compact hand vacuum cleaner, or the Mini Vacuum Cleaner. While they are all somewhat similar, they all have different purposes.

The Wet & Dry is angled towards both wet and dry messes (what a surprise), the Compact is for small spaces while the Mini is for detail work. Ultimately the Mini and the Compact are pretty similar, but the Compact will be able to handle more.

The Wet & Dry Vacuum has a water capacity of 120ml, and a dry bin capacity of up to 700ml, while the Compact Hand Vacuum has a capacity of 180ml max, and the Mini has just 60ml. They have respective battery lives of 20, 25 and 15 minutes, and ridiculously long charging times for the battery capacities. The Wet & Dry requires a 6 hour charge for those 20 minutes, while the Compact Hand Vacuum takes between 4 and 5 hours. Neither have much on the accessory front either, with just two extra nozzles to get into harder to reach areas.

Although the prices are low, many buyer reviews mention poor suction power on both the Wet & Dry and the Compact models. The Compact has only 4000-5000Pa which is about the same as a cheap robot vacuum. Fine for surface level debris, but not great for getting into the crevices.

The Mini Vac may be the smallest, but it is kinda dual purpose as well. Apart from the vacuum part, it also comes with a blowing nozzle that attaches to the fan end of the vacuum which you can use to blow dust out of small spaces instead of sucking it up.