Best Henry vacuum cleaners – our top 7 picks, tried and tested

If there's one vacuum that has reached icon status in the UK, it's Henry. With its signature smile, you're guaranteed to spot a Henry vacuum cleaner hard at work in homes, schools and offices all across the country. However, there's more to love about a Henry vacuum than just its charming, nostalgic design.

Known for their robust build, affordable price point, and no-nonsense controls, it's no wonder these reliable cleaning companions have long been (and continue to be) contenders for the title of best vacuum cleaner.

If you've landed on this page, there's a strong chance you've already decided that Henry is the brand for you, but have questions about which model will suit you best, as well as which colourway.

To help, we've tested seven of the bestselling Henrys out there, rigorously putting each through its paces at home. From suction to accessories and even battery life for the brand's first venture into the world of cordless vacuums, every detail of these Henry vacs has been scrutinised to help you shop for the character that will suit you.

And if you're still undecided about Henry's credentials, you can read on to find specs and ratings of each type and click through to read our detailed reviews following our testing process of each model.

Quick list

Best Henry vacuum

Best Henry vacuum overall

Buy it if: you have multiple floor types.

What could be better than a Henry vacuum for your home? A bigger, better Henry vacuum, with a larger capacity and three interchangeable floorheads, we reckon. The Henry Xtra wowed our reviewer Helen when she used it at home, with a great range of extras for just £20 more than you'll pay for the standard Henry.

If you do have hard floor and carpet at home, then this Henry is fully equipped to help with the cleaning, with a range of floor tools. What's more, if your home is bigger then the large capacity dust bag will mean that you have to switch these over less regularly. Helen tested both the standard Henry and the Xtra for us, and thinks that the Xtra is superior, especially thanks to the fantastic AiroBrush carpet tool. The only exception is if you don't have much storage space or just one floor type, in which case you might want to opt for the standard model instead.

Read our full Henry Xtra vacuum cleaner review for more information.

Best Henry vacuum for pets

Buy it if: you have pets at home.

The Henry Pet200 is a standout choice for anyone who needs a reliable vacuum, especially if you've got pets running around. It has a range of attachments to help combat pet hair and dirt, and in our review, we found it was really easy to switch between tools, especially as they are all stored on board.

Although its RRP is £179.99, you can regularly find it on offer for lower, making it an affordable pick for a pet-specific vacuum too, with other choices from brands like Miele coming in at much higher prices. On the whole, it's a solid piece of kit which is easy to maintain. Buying the vacuum bags is a consideration, however, but with a capacity of 9L you will need to do a lot of vacuum cleaning to get through a pack of 10, as they are commonly sold for.

A thing to note is that this vacuum cleaner may not be suitable if you want an appliance to vacuum your home and car. It is a bulky vacuum cleaner and, again, it is corded so unless you have a driveway or a guaranteed parking space outside your home, the Henry Pet may not be the vacuum cleaner for you.

Read our full Henry Pet 200 vacuum cleaner review for more information.

Best large capacity Henry vacuum

Buy it if: you need a large capacity vacuum for a large home or DIY.

The Henry XL Plus is proof that bigger is better, offering everything that the other models in the leading brand's line do but supersized. Boasting a generous 15L capacity and an extremely long 12.5m cable, this industrial heavy duty model is armed for whatever job you throw at it; both big and small. It offers impressive suction power and pet hair pick-up for everyday cleaning, as well as a wide array of tools and floorheads to tackle any type of flooring or hard-to-reach nooks and crannies irrespective of the occasion at hand. Better yet, its convenient tool tidy actually fits all of the attachments – a feat that other Henry models haven't been able to meet.

Considering its sub-£200 price point, you're guaranteed to get the most bang out of your buck by investing in this model – especially if you've got a large bustling home to maintain or are especially partial to a DIY. It's no wonder it's become our reviewer, Jullia's family's all-in-one solution in her parent's home comprised of six occupants (herself included) and three dogs.

While it's a fantastic option, it is worth noting that as its name suggests, he's a big boy and can definitely be a little overkill if you have a small home and household. Although you reap the benefits of its generous bag capacity, the Henry XL Plus is, in turn, quite heavy to push around and especially bulky to store. Unless you have storage available in a utility room, garage, or a cleaning cupboard, it's possible that you'll find it a pain to store when it's not in use. In this case, we'd suggest you save yourself the trouble and opt for one of its smaller counterparts instead. However, if big is exactly what you're after, look no further.

Read our full Henry XL Plus vacuum cleaner review for more information.

Best affordable Henry vacuum

Buy it if: you want the most affordable Henry.

Henry vacuums are many things: nostalgic, iconic and reliable. That's why you'll find them in homes up and down the country, as well as in the arsenal of many a professional cleaner. The Henry HV160 is the original Henry, and it's also the most affordable model you can buy from the brand.

After taking it for a test vacuum at home, our reviewer Helen can only agree that Henry is a dependable workhorse, with a low-maintenance design. It doesn't have the sophisticated features that brand-new cordless vacuums do, but it also doesn't need to be charged or regularly emptied, with its six litre capacity.

If you need a no-frills, all functionality vacuum with a friendly face, then Henry won't let you down. As our reviewer Helen says 'In an age where most vacuums now seem to have screens, lasers, and tiny bagless dust canisters, Henry reminds us that you don’t need to spend a fortune on all this tech to get the job done'.

Read our full Henry HV160 vacuum cleaner review for more information.

Best cordless Henry vacuum

Buy it if: you like the convenience of cordless vacuums.

If you love Henry, but wish he was a little easier to use, then the Henry Quick is a fantastic cordless vacuum that still features Henry's friendly features. It's so easy to use, from charging to operation, and packs in a phenomenally good amount of suction. Budget-friendly (at under £300) and with a fantastic 70 minute run time, it's hard not to love this slimmed down Henry.

I tried this vacuum at home for a number of weeks, and while I did find that there were some instances of hair getting trapped around the brush roll, on the whole it helped to achieve a fantastic clean. You can use the suction on the normal or turbo modes, and carpet cleaning was fantastic too. And if you'd rather pick up a Hetty than a Henry cordless, then you're in luck, as it comes in pink too.

Read our full Henry Quick cordless vacuum review for more information.

Best Henry vacuum for allergies

Buy it if: you suffer with allergies.

The top line with this vacuum is that it's approved by Allergy UK, which means that you can trust this Henry to help you get rid of allergens at home. Made in the UK, this vacuum is great suction-wise, and has the tools to help with corner and edge cleaning.

It's also a bargain, like the other Henrys on offer, with an RRP of £199.99. You can really feel the deep cleaning power with this vac, and pick up smaller debris as well as larger items.

Our reviewer did find this vacuum a little more difficult to push around than the other Henry vacuums she tested, something she put down to the intensity of the suction power.

After two weeks of testing, the large collecting bag was no way full, which means that if you're worried about the environmental impact of bags, you may at least be soothed by the fact that you'll be reaching to replace them infrequently. And of course, the fact that you don’t have plumes of dust on emptying is essential for keeping allergies at bay.

Read our full Henry Allergy vacuum review for more information.

Best looking Henry vacuum

Buy it if: you want a Henry in pink.

Hetty's appeal is simple – she's just like the Henry HV160, but she's pink and also features eyelashes. Just like Henry, instead of being packed full of fancy features, Hetty is simply a reliable, hardworking vacuum. She’s effortlessly simple to use, comes with a decent selection of tools, and most importantly, the price tag won’t break the bank.

There’s not too much that can go wrong and the sturdy build quality really does make Hetty feel like she’s built to last. However, our reviewer Helen also advises that if you have a very busy household or have pets, it might be worth upgrading to one of more beefed up models in the range. The same goes for houses with lots of thick carpets that need a vacuum with a floorhead that offers a deep clean.

Read our full Hetty HET Corded Bagged Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner review for more information.

How we test Henry vacuums

At Ideal Home, we want you to be able to trust our product recommendations as much as the British public trust Henry vacuums. That's why we put every single one of the Henrys featured in this list to the test for at least two weeks before coming to the conclusions in our reviews.

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As part of our testament to how we test, we also make sure each vacuum is tested on different floor types and with different debris - including cereals, flour (to replicate dust) and hair, to really scrutinise suction power.

FAQs

Are Henry vacuum cleaners good?

After rigorously testing more than a handful from the iconic brand, we can confidently say that Henry vacuum cleaners continue to hold up to this day as a reliable and powerful cleaning companion for both domestic and commercial settings.

One thing Henry has over its competitors is that despite all the changes and technological advancements other leading brands are making, Henry knows the areas in which they excel at and they stick to it. Now offering multiple different models to target whatever specific pain points you have with cleaning your home, we believe there's a Henry out there for everybody.

If you want a reliable, hardy vacuum cleaner that will last you many years to come, we think a Henry vacuum is a smart choice and worthy of a spot in your cleaning roster.

Are Henry vacuum cleaners bagless?

No, Henry vacuum cleaners are not bagless – but contrary to popular belief, we actually think it's better this way. Every Henry vacuum uses the brand's HepaFlo Filter Bags that have been specifically designed for Henry to maximise capacity and airflow, delivering fantastic suction power.

The bags are made with three layers of filtration-boosting material and a self-seal tab, meaning that whatever you vacuum up stays inside, ensuring a completely mess and dust-free emptying experience every single time.