D8 Professional

Since you have no "carpet" I would consider the less expensive non powered brush Sebo's too, or maybe a Henry. The canister style shines on maneuverability too, low places, around tables, chairs, etc.

Dealers in person will have better prices than what is listed online. A quick recommendation would be a Sebo Felix, but that might be just above your price range. Sebo, Miele, Lindhaus are all gonna be great. IMO after experiencing the maintenance and the mess of bagless, I am forever a bagged convert. I was first worried I'd be changing bags often, but I find I can get a month + out of a bag, where each 'whole house' clean would equate to 8-10 dyson bin dumps. Full disclosure the machine I recently bought was a Sebo canister.

The Simplicity Jill is a good for bare floors. It's not up to the quality level of the Sebo D or K, but it's solid and does a good job. Not for carpets, though - for that you need a power nozzle, and then you're looking at a Sebo K if you want smallish.

I would recommend the Kenmore 200, 400 or 600-series canisters, or if you can find one, a used Sebo, Riccar, Lindhaus or Miele canister with an electric power nozzle. Canisters generally are less tiring to use, in my experience - most of the weight is dragged on wheels behind you instead of being held in your hand. They also are far better for stairs, hard floors and above-floor cleaning. A tip - enter a room and vacuum your way out, instead of vacuuming your way in the way you might with an upright.

Best comes down to the user preference and circumstance - floor types and other needs. However, some things for me are non negotiable; durability, ease of maintenance, repair and use and of course, performance - not just out of the box, but in 5 or 10 years. When it comes to performance, when it comes to carpets especially, suction is important, but it isn't the most important. Airflow and agitation are more important, to beat and flow the air through the carpet fibres, so the suction can take it away. The old Hoover advert - it beats as it sweeps as it clean a remains true and they had 300 watts. Hard floors generally don't require huge amounts of suction. Creating a good seal can also work, but that means snow ploughing large items, so usually you can't have one without the other, but some vacs have a retractable flap to allow large items in but keep the seal. These are usually on cordless vacs with lower power. Well designed corded vacuums with a powered brush bar is the starting point. You have to decide whether you prefer an upright or a canister, though personally I think a canister is more versatile. I don't understand the issues people have with using canisters, it's just a vacuum! That means you should buy a bagged vacuum. The Miele's have great suction and amazing filtration. The performance is superb BUT they are not as reliable as Sebo. The bags are more expensive, the brush rolls are not as easy to remove hair off or generally maintain and on the C3 range at least, there is an issue where the bags can fail to seat correctly and the dirt can fill the chamber around the bag, possibly getting into the motor. I think Sebo's are better options. In day to day use, the performance is essentially the same, the bags are bigger and they are easier to maintain. Furthermore, they all use the same power head, the ET-1, so the performance from that defines the pick up performance essentially. Any vacuum that uses it will have the same at the head performance, including the upright Felix/Dart. The brush roll can be removed to cut off hair and clean it, it can even be put in the dishwasher! The E Series is the sweet spot, but the D Series is fantastic but big. That would be my choice. Lindhaus also make excellent vacuums but they are harder to find and harder to get the spares for, but if you can, they shouldn't be overlooked.

Another left field option. As they are both bagged, I would have no concern buying a second hand machine, if in good condition. Indeed, I have done so, twice. If you replace the bag, filters and clean the pipes, you have essentially a clean, refurbished machine. Particularly with Sebo machines, you can replace virtually everything, including the brush bar very easily, which can’t be done in the Miele. My other concern with the Miele is the bag connector which is meant to close when the compartment closes, doesn’t always close properly, so dirt can escape the bag and fly around the compartment and potentially get past the motor filter. I have a C3 and it has done this on mine. It can be worse with fake bags, but it can happen with genuine bags too. It doesn’t happen with Sebo. Additionally, Sebo’s motors are rated for double the life of Miele’s and Mieles are rated at 4 times the life of Shark’s! Miele does have slightly better filtration, but not that you would notice in the real world. If there are second hand Sebo’s where you are, this may reduce the cost for you. The cleaning performance won’t be any less than a new machine and you can keep it performing as new very easily. I bought my second hand Felix for £10 when the family used it during a renovation to clean up drywall etc about 6 years ago. I changed the bag, filter and brush roll as ell as cleaning the hose and it still works perfectly.

Miele Guard L1, M1 or S1 (L1 is the best moving canister out there). All can be fitted with the HA50 H13 Hepa filter, which will make it the best filtering canister on the planet. Sebo E or D series are another fantastic option! Filtration is very similar, and they are built very well as well. The reason I've recommended options that are above $250, is because HEPA doesn't mean what it should. Lower end hepa filters just bleed dust over time, and units in that price range just aren't sealed units. They may try to claim they are.... they aren't. Some of them exhaust right on the floor, which blows the dust into the air. There is also the Miele Classic C1 series and Sebo K series. They aren't quite as good as the other models (why they are less expensive than them), but they are still much much much better than other vacuums out there.

See if any vac shops have any used Miele or Sebos with a good straight air tool (you probably don't need a powerhead, but if they have one where the price is right, it could then be an option). They are some of the most serviceable vacuums out there, which is important cause everything breaks at some point, and its nice to be able to fix it. They are also sealed units. You can add different tools later on to any of them, but powerheads can only be added to the electric hose models. Best models to look for would be: Miele Compact C1, C2, C3, or any guard series Sebo E or D series Their other models are still good, those are just the best.

Watch for how the vacuum exhausts if you’re getting a new one. The exhaust should be straight up, away from the floor. Not blowing right out the back or side against the floor, which blows the dust up in the air. Also, the hepa rating is not enough. There’s multiple levels of hepa, and just because a vacuum says it’s hepa, it doesn’t mean it’s an actual sealed system. I’ve tested plenty of “hepa” vacuums, just to find out they aren’t really hepa. Miele’s C3 / Guard Series are properly sealed vacuums. Add on an H13 hepa filter, and you truly have the best of the best. Sebo is another fantastic option - I’m very allergic to dust and it works awesome for myself. The airbelt even disperses the exhaust, so it helps the dust in the air settle, and doesn’t disrupt the dust on the floor. Anyone, and I will state this firmly, that says anything against Miele or Sebo as far as filtration, truly has not a clue what they are talking about, respectfully. Brands like Kenmore, Shark, Dyson, have no business being in the same conversation when it comes to filtration - they are without question worse. Edit: I will also add on, Miele and Sebo are Quiet vacuums.

SEBO and Miele are commercial grade vacuums, and they focus on suction quality build quality and longevity. They don’t do flashy colorful gimmicks like you see on Dyson and shark. Gimmicks don’t last long. They tend to wear much quicker such as the little blades on the brush roller on the shark and Dyson that “prevent“ hair from tangling up on the roller. Then they generally come with a fabric roller that gets dirty and has to be washed. And they have not worked very well. They work only OK. Like I said, those are gimmicks and shark and Dyson are generally infomercial vacuums that are advertised heavily on home shopping networks such as QVC and HSN. Gimmicks sell but gimmicks don’t last. When a company puts more emphasis on gimmicks the quality of the vacuum generally is not that great which is why shark and Dyson don’t last very long before they need replacing.

I’m happy for you that you’re happy OP, but I can’t believe I’m saying this but as much as I have loved Miele they are going in a completely different direction that I don’t like. It’s a Vacuum, not a smartphone, but all this Bluetooth and app downloading nonsense and the LCD screen is silly. On top of that Miele is outsourcing parts for several of their newer machines. I can’t recommend anything but SEBO.

I don’t have pets, but the Miele vac is what I have for 15 years and it worked perfectly for the full 15 years before it started showing its age. Never once broke down. Nothing ever got stuck in it. The Miele models of today are not as great unless you buy their mid tier or higher end. Today I’m using a SEBO and love it even more than the Miele.