Compare the Best Steam CleanersOctober 2018

A steam cleaner is a specialised floor cleaning machine - it heats up water to produce jets of steam, which is then used to clean floors,curtains or upholstery at very high pressure. The mixture of the very hot steam and the high pressure mean that it is far more effective than a vacuum cleaner for shifting stains and dirt from floors and carpets - think of it as a super-powered version of a standard mop and bucket! There are 3 main types of steam cleaner - upright, cylinder and portable:

Upright

These steam cleaners look like traditional vacuum cleaners, with a handle on top, the steam generator built into the main body, and a flat cleaning head on the bottom. The design makes it easy to clean large areas of floor at once, though the all-in-one design means that it's far more bulky for cleaning upholstery and curtains.

Cylinder

This particular make of steam cleaner has a separate section (usually on wheels) for the steam generator and power, then a nozzle and cleaning head extending from the base. Unlike the upright design, the nozzle is free-moving and very flexible. This means cylinder cleaners are extremely versatile - they can be used on floors, upholstery and curtains with equal ease. However they do tend to be the more expensive option.

Portable

As the name suggests, these steam cleaners are smaller and handheld. Because of the lack of size, they aren't designed for cleaning floors or carpets - instead these devices are meant for cleaning upholstery or curtains. Their handheld size makes them extremely flexible and can reach awkward corners with ease, but their size comes with a tradeoff in power and water capacity, so are nowhere near as effective as their larger brothers.

Water Capacity

Steam cleaners have an onboard water tank that is used to generate the steam used for cleaning. The capacity of these tanks can vary considerably - from small 0.2L handheld tanks, to enormous 2L tanks in the bigger models. The larger the water tank, the more steam can be generated before the machine needs to be refilled. This means larger machines can be used for longer at a time, and so are more efficient for larger cleaning jobs or extended use.

Steam Pressure

Steam cleaners have a pressure rating, measured in 'bars'. The higher the pressure rating, the stronger the steam will be 'pushed' against the floor or carpet. This leads to more effective, deeper cleans, meaning your carpets get cleaner, faster! We have models with pressure ratings from 1 to 5 bars.

Included Accessories

Finally, many steam cleaners come equipped with a range of different nozzles, brushes and accessories to help with different cleaning scenarios. Be aware that some of the extra accessories may come with an additional cost, but the increased utility is usually worth it. Things to look for include:

Steam Cleaner Prices

We currently list 91 steam cleaners ranging from £22 to £684. The average price of a new steam cleaner is £112 and 80% of steam cleaners are priced between £30 and £225. The most expensive steam cleaner that we found is the Kärcher SC4 Steam Cleaner at £684, and the cheapest is the Hoover CAP at only £23.

Steam Cleaner Brands - Price Range

Kärcher steam cleaners start at £90 and their most expensive steam cleaner costs £684. The average price of Kärcher steam cleaners is £333 which is the highest average price of all steam cleaner brands.

The second highest average steam cleaner price out of all brands is T-Fal steam cleaners with an average price of £278. T-Fal steam cleaners range in price from £278 to £278.

The average price of Steam One steam cleaners is £256 which is the third highest average price of all steam cleaner brands. Steam One steam cleaners start at £256 and their most expensive steam cleaner costs £256.

Steam Cleaner Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 13 expert reviews and 3,206 user reviews for steam cleaners available online and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of steam cleaner.

Biggest Steam Cleaner Retailers

The biggest steam cleaner retailer by number of products currently for sale is Amazon UK. We found 68 current steam cleaner offers from Amazon UK. The second biggest retailer is eBay with 57 offers. That means Amazon UK is slightly bigger than eBay when it comes to steam cleaners. Littlewoods is the third biggest retailer with 11 current offers.

When Are Most New Steam Cleaners Released?

Over the last 3 years we couldn't see any evident pattern in the release month for new steam cleaners. June was the biggest month in 2017 for new steam cleaners, with nine new steam cleaners released that month. In 2016 most new steam cleaners were released in October, with 15 new steam cleaners released that month. 16 new steam cleaners were released in February 2015 making it the biggest month that year for new steam cleaner releases.

How Fast Do Steam Cleaner Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, steam cleaners drop in price by 7% on average. On a typical new steam cleaner costing £112, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £8.

Powers

'Power' measures the power level of the steam cleaner, rated in watts.

Across the range of steam cleaners, the powers range from 550W to 2,450W. The powers of the majority of steam cleaners range from 1,500W to 1,700W. The steam cleaner with the biggest power is the Kärcher SC5 Steam Cleaner, which is a 2,300W steam cleaner and sells for £429.99. The steam cleaner with the smallest power is the Hotpoint VS S15 AAW, which is a 550W steam cleaner and currently retails for £69.99.

Steam Pressures

'Steam Pressure' denotes the maximum steam pressure that the steam cleaner can achieve.

The steam pressures of steam cleaners range from 1 bar to 7.2 bar. The steam pressures of most steam cleaners range from 3 bar to 3.5 bar. The steam cleaner with the biggest steam pressure is the Philips GC312, which is a 7.2 bar steam pressure steam cleaner and sells for £45.85. The steam cleaner with the smallest steam pressure is the Hoover ATSG011, which is a 2 bar steam pressure steam cleaner and sells for £75.68.

Water Capacities

The capacity of a steam cleaner measures how much water it can store at once.

Comparing all steam cleaners, the water capacities range from 0.06L to 5L. The water capacities of the majority of steam cleaners range from 0.3L to 0.5L. The steam cleaner with the biggest water capacity is the Hoover ATSG011, which is a 5L capacity steam cleaner and is priced at £75.68. The steam cleaner with the smallest water capacity is the Philips GC312, which is a 0.06L capacity steam cleaner and sells for £45.85.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Steam Cleaners?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying steam cleaners. For each retailer it shows the total number of steam cleaners where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying steam cleaners. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was Amazon UK. 45 of their steam cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Steam Cleaners for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for steam cleaners by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of steam cleaner prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's steam cleaner prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Amazon UK. 66.2% of their steam cleaner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.